{
  "id": "1609.09482",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2016-09-29T19:46:28.000Z",
  "updated": "2016-09-29T19:46:28.000Z",
  "title": "Topological Superconductivity in a Planar Josephson Junction",
  "authors": [
    "Falko Pientka",
    "Anna Keselman",
    "Erez Berg",
    "Amir Yacoby",
    "Ady Stern",
    "Bertrand I. Halperin"
  ],
  "categories": [
    "cond-mat.mes-hall",
    "cond-mat.supr-con"
  ],
  "abstract": "We consider a two-dimensional electron gas with strong spin-orbit coupling contacted by two superconducting leads, forming a Josephson junction. We show that in the presence of an in-plane Zeeman field the quasi-one-dimensional region between the two superconductors can support a topological superconducting phase hosting Majorana bound states at its ends. We study the phase diagram of the system as a function of the Zeeman field and the phase difference between the two superconductors (treated as an externally controlled parameter). Remarkably, at a phase difference of $\\pi$, the topological phase is obtained for almost any value of the Zeeman field and chemical potential. In a setup where the phase is not controlled externally, we find that the system undergoes a first-order topological phase transition when the Zeeman field is varied. At the transition, the phase difference in the ground state changes abruptly from a value close to zero, at which the system is trivial, to a value close to $\\pi$, at which the system is topological. The critical current through the junction exhibits a sharp minimum at the critical Zeeman field, and is therefore a natural diagnostic of the transition. We point out that in presence of a symmetry under a modified mirror reflection followed by time reversal, the system belongs to a higher symmetry class and the phase diagram as a function of the phase difference and the Zeeman field becomes richer.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2016-09-29T19:46:28.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "zeeman field",
      "planar josephson junction",
      "phase difference",
      "hosting majorana bound states",
      "topological superconductivity"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}