Josephson current between topological and conventional superconductors

We study the stationary Josephson current in a junction between a topological and an ordinary (topologically trivial) superconductor. Such an S-TS junction hosts a Majorana zero mode that significantly influences the current-phase relation. The presence of the Majorana state is intimately related with the breaking of the time-reversal symmetry in the system. We derive a general expression for the supercurrent for a class of short topological junctions in terms of the normal-state scattering matrix. The result is strongly asymmetric with respect to the superconducting gaps in the ordinary (Delta(0)) and topological (Delta(top)) leads. We apply the general result to a simple model of a nanowire setup with strong spin-orbit coupling in an external magnetic field and proximity-induced superconductivity. The system shows parametrically strong suppression of the critical current I-c proportional to Lambda(top)/R-N(2) in the tunneling limit (R-N is the normal-state resistance). This is in strong contrast with the Ambegaokar-Baratoff relation applicable to junctions with preserved time-reversal symmetry. We also consider the case of a generic junction with a random scattering matrix and obtain a more conventional scaling law I-c proportional to Delta(top)/R-N.