Odd-frequency superconductivity in a nanowire coupled to Majorana zero modes

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that odd-frequency superconductivity naturally emerges in a spin-polarized nanowire coupled to Majorana zero modes, exhibiting a paramagnetic Meissner effect, which advances understanding of exotic superconducting phases.

Contribution

The study provides a theoretical demonstration of the emergence of odd-frequency superconductivity in nanowires coupled to Majorana zero modes, with explicit calculations of superfluid response.

Findings

Odd-frequency superconductivity appears in the nanowire-Majorana system.

The superfluid response shows a paramagnetic Meissner effect.

The work connects Majorana modes to exotic superconducting phases.

Abstract

Odd-frequency superconductivity, originally proposed by Berezinskii in 1974, is an exotic phase of matter in which Cooper pairing between electrons is entirely dynamical in nature. The pair potential is an odd function of frequency, leading to a vanishing static superconducting order parameter and exotic types of pairing seemingly inconsistent with Fermi statistics. Motivated by recent experimental progress in the realization of Majorana zero modes in semiconducting nanowires, we show that odd-frequency superconductivity generically appears in a spin-polarized nanowire coupled to Majorana zero modes. We explicitly calculate the superfluid response and show that it is characterized by a paramagnetic Meissner effect.