Transport properties and quantum phase transitions in one-dimensional superconductor-ferromagnetic insulator heterostructures
| Autor: | Feijóo, Javier, Iucci, Aníbal, Lobos, Alejandro M. |
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| Rok vydání: | 2024 |
| Předmět: | |
| Druh dokumentu: | Working Paper |
| Popis: | We theoretically propose a one-dimensional electronic nanodevice inspired in recently fabricated semiconductor-superconductor-ferromagnetic insulator (SE-SC-FMI) hybrid heterostructures, and investigate its zero-temperature transport properties. While previous related studies have primarily focused on the potential for generating topological superconductors hosting Majorana fermions, we propose an alternative application: using these hybrids to explore controllable quantum phase transitions (QPTs) detectable through transport measurements. Our study highlights two key differences from existing devices: first, the length of the FMI layer is shorter than that of the SE-SC heterostructure, introducing an inhomogeneous Zeeman interaction with significant effects on the induced Andreev bound states (ABS). Second, we focus on semiconductor nanowires with minimal or no Rashba spin-orbit interaction, allowing for the induction of spin-polarized ABS and high-spin quantum ground states. We show that the device can be tuned across spin- and fermion parity-changing QPTs by adjusting the FMI layer length orange and/or by applying a global backgate voltage, with zero-energy crossings of subgap ABS as signatures of these transitions. Our findings suggest that these effects are experimentally accessible and offer a robust platform for studying quantum phase transitions in hybrid nanowires. Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures |
| Databáze: | arXiv |
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