Majorana zero modes on a 1D chain for quantum computation (1405.1180v1)

Abstract: Numerical calculations for Majorana zero modes on a one-dimensional chain are performed using the technique of block diagonalization for general parameter settings. It is found that Majorana zero modes occur near the ends of the chain and decay exponentially away from the ends. The phase diagrams show that Majorana zero modes of a long-enough chain indeed have a parameter domain of $2t>|\mu|$ as predicted from the bulk property of the chain, but a short chain has a much smaller parameter domain than the prediction. Through a numerical simulation Majorana zero modes are found to be robust under the disturbance of noise. Finally the reversion of the parity of the ground states is studied by applying a bias voltage on the quantum dot at an end of the chain. It is found that for a weak coupling between a chain and a quantum dot the parity of the ground states can be reversed through adiabatically tuning the bias voltage.