Comment on S. H. Simon, Interpretation of thermal conductance of the $\nu=5/2$ edge, arXiv:1801.09687

TL;DR

This paper critiques Simon's interpretation of thermal conductance data at the $ u=5/2$ edge, arguing it conflicts with experimental results and sample structure, especially regarding momentum mismatch and tunneling mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis showing that Simon's interpretation is inconsistent with experimental data and the physical structure of the sample.

Findings

Simon's interpretation conflicts with experimental data

Large momentum change occurs in low energy tunneling

The 'small Majorana velocity' mechanism is considered

Abstract

We address the interpretation proposed in [S. H. Simon, arXiv:1801.09687] of the thermal conductance data from [M. Banerjee et al., arXiv:1710.00492]. We show that the interpretation is inconsistent with experimental data and the sample structure. In particular, the paper misses the momentum mismatch between contra-propagating modes. Contrary to the claim of the paper, low energy tunneling involves a large momentum change. We consider only the 'small Majorana velocity' mechanism [S. H. Simon, arXiv:1801.09687]. Other mechanisms, interpretations of the experiment, and their difficulties are beyond the scope of this Comment.