1301.7420 (D. Chevallier et al.)

Destruction of Majorana modes in a topological nanowire by disorder in
the superconducting substrate    [PDF]

D. Chevallier, P. Simon, C. Bena

We study the proximity effect between a disordered superconductor substrate and a topological nanowire coupled via tunnel coupling. We illustrate how a finite pair-breaking term in the superconductor affects the local density of states in the nanowire. On one hand we show that the tunnel amplitude between the superconductor and the nanowire induces a topological transition in which the Majorana fermionic states can be destroyed when the coupling is very strong. On the other hand we note a non-trivial effect of the finite pair-breaking which can take the semiconducting nanowire between a topological and a non-topological phase in certain ranges of parameters. Our results have direct consequences for a nanowire coupled to an inhomogenous superconductor.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.7420