Anomalous Coherence Length of Majorana Zero Modes at Vortices in Superconducting Topological Insulators

Abstract

The coherence length of two Majorana zero energy modes in a p-wave topological superconductor is inversely proportional to the superconducting order parameter. We studied the finite size effect of the Majorana zero modes at vortices in a topological insulator/superconductor heterostructure in the presence of a vortex and found that the the coherence length of the two zero energy modes at the terminals of a vortex line is independent of superconducting order parameter, and determined by the intrinsic properties of the topological insulator. This anomalous property illustrates that the superconducting topological insulator is topologically distinct, contrary to a $p$-wave topological superconductor.