Detecting Majorana modes by readout of poisoning-induced parity flips

Reading out the parity degree of freedom of Majorana bound states is key to demonstrating their non-Abelian exchange properties. Here, we present a low-energy model describing localized edge states in a two-arm device. We study parity-to-charge conversion based on coupling the superconductor bound states to a quantum dot whose charge is read out by a sensor. The dynamics of the system, including the readout device, is analyzed in full using a quantum-jump approach. We show how the resulting signal and signal-to-noise ratio differentiates between local Majorana and Andreev bound states.

Automated summary

In this study, a low-energy model describing localized edge states in a two-arm device is proposed. Parity-to-charge conversion is achieved by coupling the superconductor bound states to a quantum dot and reading out its charge with a sensor. The dynamics of the system, including the readout device, is fully analyzed using a quantum-jump approach. It is demonstrated how the resulting signal and signal-to-noise ratio can differentiate between local Majorana and Andreev bound states.