Poliana H. Penteado

Subtle leakage of a Majorana mode into a quantum dot

We investigate quantum transport through a quantum dot connected to source and drain leads and side coupled to a topological superconducting nanowire (Kitaev chain) sustaining Majorana end modes. Using a recursive Green’s-function approach, we determine the local density of states of the system and find that the end Majorana mode of the wire leaks into the dot, thus, emerging as a unique dot level pinned to the Fermi energy eF of the leads. Surprisingly, this resonance pinning, resembling, in this sense, a “Kondo resonance,” occurs even when the gate-controlled dot level edot(Vg) is far above or far below eF . The calculated conductance G of the dot exhibits an unambiguous signature for the Majorana end mode of the wire: In essence, an off-resonance dot [edot(Vg) � eF ], which should have G = 0, shows, instead, a conductance e 2 /2h over a wide range of Vg due to this pinned dot mode. Interestingly, this pinning effect only occurs when the dot level is coupled to a Majorana mode; ordinary fermionic modes (e.g., disorder) in the wire simply split and broaden (if a continuum) the dot level. We discuss experimental scenarios to probe Majorana modes in wires via these leaked/pinned dot modes.

Helical edge states in multiple topological mass domains

The two-dimensional topological insulating phase has been experimentally discovered in HgTe quantum wells. The low-energy physics of two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) is described by the Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang (BHZ) model, where the realization of a topological or a normal insulating phase depends on the Dirac mass being negative or positive, respectively. We solve the BHZ model for a mass domain configuration, analyzing the effects on the edge modes of a finite Dirac mass in the normal insulating region (soft-wall boundary condition). We show that at a boundary between a TI and a normal insulator (NI), the Dirac point of the edge states appearing at the interface strongly depends on the ratio between the Dirac masses in the two regions. We also consider the case of multiple boundaries such as NI/TI/NI, TI/NI/TI and NI/TI/NI/TI.

Persistent Skyrmion Lattice of Noninteracting Electrons with Spin-Orbit Coupling

A persistent spin helix (PSH) is a robust helical spin-density pattern arising in disordered 2D electron gases with Rashba α and Dresselhaus β spin-orbit (SO) tuned couplings, i.e., α=±β. Here, we investigate the emergence of a persistent Skyrmion lattice (PSL) resulting from the coherent superposition of PSHs along orthogonal directions-crossed PSHs-in wells with two occupied subbands ν=1, 2. For realistic GaAs wells, we show that the Rashba α_{ν} and Dresselhaus β_{ν} couplings can be simultaneously tuned to equal strengths but opposite signs, e.g., α_{1}=β_{1} and α_{2}=-β_{2}. In this regime, and away from band anticrossings, our noninteracting electron gas sustains a topologically nontrivial Skyrmion-lattice spin-density excitation, which inherits the robustness against spin-independent disorder and interactions from its underlying crossed PSHs. We find that the spin relaxation rate due to the interband SO coupling is comparable to that of the cubic Dresselhaus term as a mechanism of the PSL decay. Near anticrossings, the interband-induced spin mixing leads to unusual spin textures along the energy contours beyond those of the Rahsba-Dresselhaus bands. Our PSL opens up the unique possibility of observing topological phenomena, e.g., topological and Skyrmion Hall effects, in ordinary GaAs wells with noninteracting electrons.

Scanning tunneling microscope operating as a spin diode

We theoretically investigate spin-polarized transport in a system composed of a ferromagnetic Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) tip coupled to an adsorbed atom (adatom) on a host surface. Electrons can tunnel directly from the tip to the surface or via the adatom. Since the tip is ferromagnetic and the host surface (metal or semiconductor) is non-magnetic we obtain a spin-diode effect when the adatom is in the regime of single occupancy. This effect leads to an unpolarized current for direct bias (V > 0) and polarized current for reverse (V 0 and V < 0. We also find an imbalance between the up and down spin populations in the adatom, which can be tuned by the tip position and the bias. Finally, due to the presence of the adsorbate on the surface, we observe spin-resolved Friedel oscillations in the current, which reflects the oscillations in the calculated LDOS of the subsystem surface+adatom.

Time-evolution of wave-packets in topological insulators (Presentation Recording)

The electronic structure of topological insulators (TIs) are well described Dirac-like equations, e.g. the BHZ model, with a mass term that changes sign at some interface. This simplistic description includes a pseudo-spin-orbit coupling that is intrinsic to the Dirac Hamiltonian. Consequently, the TIs share common properties with the Dirac equation. Among them, the interference between positive and negative energy bands leads to the relativistic oscillatory motion known as the Zitterbewegung. Here we discuss the ballistic time-evolution (pico and nanoseconds) of wave-packets in TIs in the presence of an external electric field. We show that the guiding center of large wave-packets have a finite motion transversal to the electric field equivalent to side-jump in Rashba GaAs. However, for narrow wave-packets the dynamics change and the guiding center description is not complete. We also discuss the reflection of a wave-packet colliding with the edge of the system and the effects of the edge states. Acknowledgement: We acknowledge support from CAPES, CPNq, FAPEMIG, FAPESP, and NAP Q-NANO from PRP/USP.