Spin and charge signatures of topological superconductivity in Rashba nanowires

作     者：Paweł Szumniak Denis Chevallier Daniel Loss Jelena Klinovaja 

作者机构：Department of Physics University of Basel Klingelbergstrasse 82 4056 Basel Switzerland AGH University of Science and Technology Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science al. Mickiewicza 30 30-059 Kraków Poland 

出 版 物：《Physical Review B》 (Phys. Rev. B)

年 卷 期：2017年第96卷第4期

页      面：041401(R)-041401(R)页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 0702[理学-物理学] 

基　　金：Swiss NSF National Center of Competence in Research Quantum Science and Technology, NCCR QSIT 

主　　题：Topological materials Quantum wires Tight-binding model 

摘      要：We consider a Rashba nanowire with a proximity gap which can be brought into the topological phase by tuning external magnetic field or chemical potential. We study spin and charge of the bulk quasiparticle states when passing through the topological transition for open and closed systems. We show, analytically and numerically, that the spin of bulk states around the topological gap reverses its sign when crossing the transition due to band inversion, independent of the presence of Majorana fermions in the system. This spin reversal can be considered as a bulk signature of topological superconductivity that can be accessed experimentally. We find a similar behavior for the charge of the bulk quasiparticle states, also exhibiting a sign reversal at the transition. We show that these signatures are robust against random static disorder.