A1 Journal article (refereed)
Directly probing the chirality of Majorana edge states (2022)

Lu, Y., Virtanen, P., & Heikkilä, T. T. (2022). Directly probing the chirality of Majorana edge states. Physical Review B, 106(4), Article 045139. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.045139

JYU authors or editors

Lu, Yao
Virtanen, Pauli
Heikkilä, Tero

Publication details

All authors or editors: Lu, Yao; Virtanen, P.; Heikkilä, Tero T.

Journal or series: Physical Review B

ISSN: 2469-9950

eISSN: 2469-9969

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 26/07/2022

Volume: 106

Issue number: 4

Article number: 045139

Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.045139

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access:

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/82780

Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.05707

Abstract

We propose to directly probe the chirality of Majorana edge states in 2D topological superconductors using polarization selective photon absorption. When shining circularly polarized light on a 2D topological superconductor in disk geometry, the photons can excite quasiparticles only when the polarization of the light matches the chirality of the Majorana edge states required by the angular momentum conservation. Hence, one can obtain the chirality of the Majorana edge states by measuring the photon absorption rate. We show that the polarization selective photon absorption can also serve as smoking gun evidence of the chiral Majorana edge mode.

Keywords: superconductors; photons; quasiparticles

Fields of science: