Effect of impurities and disorder on the braiding dynamics of Majorana zero modes

Abstract

Majorana zero modes, the midgap states in topological superconductors, can be utilized as topological qubits in future quantum computers. By pairwise exchanging them (called braiding), quantum gates can be operated. Impurities and random disorder are usually foes of Majorana zero modes and braiding operations. The authors investigate here both the case of single impurities and random disorder on a T-junction geometry with four Majorana zero modes, and analyze the induced qubit errors. Surprisingly, there is a parameter regime in which disorder can even enhance the topological phase (black dots in the figure) and improve the braiding performance.

Topics & Concepts