Current through a hybrid four-terminal Josephson junction with Majorana nanowires

We investigate the current through a hybrid four-terminal Josephson junction with semiconductor nanowires, in which the junction is connected with two superconducting electrodes and two normal electrodes. The semiconductor nanowire, which is subject to an external magnetic field with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and proximity-induced superconductivity, can host Majorana bound states. When all the nanowires lie in topological nontrivial region, a 4 pi-periodic current can be observed through the normal terminal and a 2 pi-periodic current through the superconducting terminal. When a rotating magnetic field is applied to the junction, the supercurrent through different terminals varies with the variation of the magnetic field direction. Only when the magnetic field is applied at certain angles, we find that the 4 pi-periodic current will appear through the normal terminal.

Automated summary

By investigating a hybrid four-terminal Josephson junction, we found that under specific conditions, a 4 pi-periodic current can be observed through the normal terminal, while a 2 pi-periodic current can be observed through the superconducting terminal.