{
  "id": "1108.1095",
  "version": "v2",
  "published": "2011-08-04T13:55:32.000Z",
  "updated": "2011-08-17T15:04:33.000Z",
  "title": "Coulomb stability of the 4π-periodic Josephson effect of Majorana fermions",
  "authors": [
    "B. van Heck",
    "F. Hassler",
    "A. R. Akhmerov",
    "C. W. J. Beenakker"
  ],
  "comment": "4 pages, 4 figures; v2: more references, improved phase-slip formula, and a discussion of the effect of overlapping Majorana's",
  "journal": "Phys. Rev. B 84, 180502(R) (2011)",
  "doi": "10.1103/PhysRevB.84.180502",
  "categories": [
    "cond-mat.mes-hall"
  ],
  "abstract": "The Josephson energy of two superconducting islands containing Majorana fermions is a 4\\pi-periodic function of the superconducting phase difference. If the islands have a small capacitance, their ground state energy is governed by the competition of Josephson and charging energies. We calculate this ground state energy in a ring geometry, as a function of the flux -\\Phi- enclosed by the ring, and show that the dependence on the Aharonov-Bohm phase 2e\\Phi/\\hbar remains 4\\pi-periodic regardless of the ratio of charging and Josephson energies - provided that the entire ring is in a topologically nontrivial state. If part of the ring is topologically trivial, then the charging energy induces quantum phase slips that restore the usual 2\\pi-periodicity.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v2",
      "updated": "2011-08-17T15:04:33.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "subjects": [
      "74.50.+r",
      "74.78.Na",
      "74.81.Fa",
      "73.23.Hk"
    ],
    "keywords": [
      "josephson effect",
      "coulomb stability",
      "islands containing majorana fermions",
      "ground state energy",
      "energy induces quantum phase slips"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "journal article"
    ],
    "publication": {
      "publisher": "APS",
      "journal": "Physical Review B",
      "year": 2011,
      "month": "Nov",
      "volume": 84,
      "number": 18,
      "pages": 180502
    },
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 4,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable",
      "adsabs": "2011PhRvB..84r0502V"
    }
  }
}