Quantum mechanics

Context (archaeology)

Engineering

Ecology

Squid

Biology

Metallurgy

Materials science

Coupling (piping)

Pi Josephson junction

Josephson effect

Paleontology

Mechanical engineering

Physics

MAJORANA

Mathematics

Fermion

Superconductivity

Condensed matter physics

Quantum

Combinatorics

Topology (electrical circuits)

Nature Communications

Josephson junctions hosting Majorana fermions have been predicted to exhibit a 4 π periodic current phase relation. One experimental consequence of this periodicity is the disappearance of odd steps in Shapiro steps experiments. Experimentally, missing odd Shapiro steps have been observed in a number of materials systems with strong spin-orbit coupling and have been interpreted in the context of topological superconductivity. Here we report on missing odd steps in topologically trivial Josephson junctions fabricated on InAs quantum wells. We ascribe our observations to the high transparency of our junctions allowing Landau-Zener transitions. The probability of these processes is shown to be independent of the drive frequency. We analyze our results using a bi-modal transparency distribution which demonstrates that only few modes carrying 4 π periodic current are sufficient to describe the disappearance of odd steps. Our findings highlight the elaborate circumstances that have to be considered in the investigation of the 4 π Josephson junctions in relationship to topological superconductivity.

Missing Shapiro steps in topologically trivial Josephson junction on InAs quantum well