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All-optical scheme for detecting the possible Majorana signature based on QD and nanomechanical resonator systems

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  • Special Topic: Optomechanics
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Abstract

Majorana fermions (MFs) are exotic particles that are their own anti-particles. Currently, the search for MFs occurring as quasiparticle excitations in condensed matter systems has attracted widespread interest, because of their importance in fundamental physics and potential applications in topological quantum computation based on solid-state devices. Motivated by recent experimental progress towards the detection and manipulation of MFs in hybrid semiconductor/superconductor heterostructures, in this review, we present a novel proposal to probe MFs in all-optical domain. We introduce a single quantum dot (QD), a hybrid quantum dot-nanomechanical resonators (QD-NR) system, and a carbon nanotube (CNT) resonator implanted in a single electron spin system with optical pump-probe technology to detect MFs, respectively. With this scheme, a possible Majorana signature is investigated via the probe absorption spectrum and nonlinear optical Kerr effect, and the coupling strength between MFs and the QD or the single electron spin is also determined. In the hybrid QD-NR system, vibration of the NR will enhance the nonlinear optical effect, which makes the MFs more sensitive for detection. In the CNT resonator with a single electron, the single electron spin can be considered as a sensitive probe, and the CNT resonator behaved as a phonon cavity is robust for detecting of MFs. This optical scheme will provide another method for the detection MFs and will open the door for new applications ranging from robust manipulation of MFs to quantum information processing based on MFs.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    HuaJun Chen & KaDi Zhu

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  1. HuaJun Chen
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  2. KaDi Zhu
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Correspondence to KaDi Zhu.

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Chen, H., Zhu, K. All-optical scheme for detecting the possible Majorana signature based on QD and nanomechanical resonator systems. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 58, 1–14 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-014-5637-4

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