Revealing topological superconductivity in extended quantum spin Hall Josephson junctions

Abstract

Quantum spin Hall-superconductor hybrids are promising sources of topological superconductivity and Majorana modes, particularly given recent progress on HgTe and InAs/GaSb. We propose a new method of revealing topological superconductivity in extended quantum spin Hall Josephson junctions supporting `fractional Josephson currents'. Specifically, we show that as one threads magnetic flux between the superconductors, the critical current traces an interference pattern featuring sharp fingerprints of topological superconductivity---even when noise spoils parity conservation.