Magnetic-field instability of Majorana modes in multiband quantum wires

Jong Soo Lim, Llorens Serra, Rosa Lopez, Ramon Aguado

Published 2012-02-22, updated 2012-10-19Version 2

We investigate the occurrence of Majorana modes in semiconductor quantum wires in close proximity with a superconductor and when both, Rashba interaction and magnetic field, are present. We consider long, but finite, multiband wires (namely, planar wires with dimensions $L_x\gg L_y$). Our results demonstrate that interband mixing coming from Rashba spin orbit term hybridizes Majorana pairs originating from different transverse modes while simultaneously closing the effective gap. Consequently, multiple Majorana modes do not coexist in general. On the contrary, Majorana physics is robust provided that only one single transverse mode contributes with a Majorana pair. Finally, we analyse the robustness of Majorana physics with respect to magnetic orbital effects.