Abstract:
We propose two experiments to probe Majorana fermion edge states, which form at the interface between a superconductor and its surrounding area on the surface of a topological insulator. In a two-terminal experiment, a Fermi lead couples to the Majorana fermion edge state through electron tunnelings. The Majorana fermions induce resonant Andreev reflections (MIRAR) from the lead to the grounded superconductor causes highly nonlinear I-V curve which is a set of steps. At small voltage limit, the conductance from the lead to the superconductor is 2e2/h or 0 depending on the parity of the number of vortices in the superconductor. Attaching one more lead to the Majorana fermion edge states allows crossed Andreev reflection processes to happen. We study the current and noise characteristics of this device.
Coffee and tea will be served 20 minutes prior to the seminar.