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Detecting the Universal Fractional Entropy of Majorana Zero Modes
Eran Sela1,2,3, Yuval Oreg4, Stephan Plugge2,3
1Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.
Abstract:
A pair of Majorana zero modes (MZMs) constitutes a nonlocal qubit whose entropy is log2. Upon strongly coupling one of the constituent MZMs to a reservoir with a continuous density of states, a universal entropy change of 1/2log2 is expected to be observed across an intermediate temperature plateau. We adapt the entropy-measurement scheme that was the basis of a recent experiment by Hartman et al. [Nat. Phys. 14, 1083 (2018)10.1038/s41567-018-0250-5] to the case of a proximitized topological system hosting MZMs and propose a method to measure this 1/2log2 entropy change-an unambiguous signature of the nonlocal nature of the topological state. This approach offers an experimental strategy to distinguish MZMs from non topological states.
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