Manipulating Andreev and Majorana Bound States with microwaves

Joseph Weston, Benoit Gaury, Xavier Waintal

Published 2014-11-25Version 1

We study the interplay between Andreev (Majorana) bound states that form at the boundary of a (topological) superconductor and a train of microwave pulses. We find that the extra dynamical phase coming from the pulses can shift the phase of the Andreev reflection, resulting in the appear- ance of dynamical Andreev states. As an application we study the presence of the zero bias peak in the differential conductance of a normal-topological superconductor junction - the simplest, yet somehow ambiguous, experimental signature for Majorana states. Adding microwave radiation to the measuring electrodes provides an unambiguous probe of the Andreev nature of the zero bias peak.