Article,
Moving Majorana bound states between distinct helical edges across a quantum point contact
Phys. Rev. Res., 1 (3): 033212 (Dec 31, 2019)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.033212
Abstract
Majorana bound states are zero-energy excitations of topological superconductors that obey non-Abelian exchange statistics and are basic building blocks for topological quantum computation. To observe and exploit their extraordinary properties, we need to be able to properly manipulate them, for instance by braiding a couple of them in real space. We propose a setup based on the helical edges of two-dimensional topological insulators (2DTIs) that allows for a high degree of tunability by only controlling a handful of superconducting phases. In particular, our setup allows us to move the Majoranas along a single edge and to move them across two different edges coupled by a quantum point contact. Robustness against nonoptimal control of the phases is also discussed. This proposal constitutes an essential step forward toward realizing 2DTI-based architectures capable of performing braiding of Majoranas in a feasible way.
