Magnus effect on a Majorana zero mode

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.205420

A supercurrent on the proximitized surface of a topological insulator can cause a delocalization transition of a Majorana fermion bound to a vortex core as a zero mode. Here we study the dynamics of the deconfinement, as a manifestation of the Magnus effect (the coupling of the superflow to the velocity field in the vortex). The initial acceleration of the Majorana fermion is ±2vF2K/?, perpendicular to the Cooper pair momentum K, for a ±2π winding of the superconducting phase around the vortex. The quasiparticle escapes with a constant velocity from the vortex core, which we calculate in a semiclassical approximation and compare with computer simulations.