The zero-energy bound states at the edges or vortex cores of chiral p-wave superconductors should behave like Majorana fermions. We introduce a model Hamiltonian that describes the tunneling process when electrons are injected into such states. Using a nonequilibrium Green function formalism, we find exact analytic expressions for the tunneling current and noise and identify experimental signat...

In the Majorana equation for particles with arbitrary spin, the wave packet is due not only to the uncertainty affecting position and momentum but also to the infinite components with decreasing mass forming the Majorana spinor. In this paper we prove that such components contribute to increase the spreading of the wave packet. Moreover, as occurs in the time propagation of the Dirac wave packe...

We study charge transport through a topological superconductor with a pair of Majorana end states coupled to leads via quantum dots with resonant levels. The nonlocality of the Majorana bound states opens the possibility of crossed Andreev reflection with nonlocal shot noise due to the injection of an electron into one end of the superconductor followed by the emission of a hole at the other en...

A recent experiment Mourik et al. [Science 336, 1003 (2012)] on InSb quantum wires provides possible evidence for the realization of a topological superconducting phase and the formation of Majorana bound states. Motivated by this experiment, we consider the signature of Majorana bound states in the differential tunneling conductance of multisubband wires. We show that the weight of the Majoran...

We study the thermoelectric effect between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state. In the tunneling limit, we first use the Landauer-Büttiker formalism to derive the Mott formula relating the thermopower and the differential conductance between a conducting lead and a superconductor. When the tunneling takes place between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state, we show that a non-vani...

A recent experiment [Nadj-Perge et al, Science 346, 602 (2014)] gives possible evidence for Majorana bound states in chains of magnetic adatoms placed on a superconductor. While many features of the observed end states are naturally interpreted in terms of Majorana states, their strong localization remained puzzling. We consider a linear chain of Anderson impurities on a superconductor as a min...

The search for Majorana fermions is quickly becoming an obsession in the condensed-matter community. To understand the intense interest, I will begin with a practical definition: a Majorana fermion is a fermion that is its own antiparticle. While sophisticated particle physics experiments are testing for Majorana character in neutrinos propagating in three dimensions [1], solid state physicists...

The quest for realization of non-Abelian phases of matter, driven by their possible use in fault-tolerant topological quantum computing, has been spearheaded by recent developments in p-wave superconductors. The chiral p(x)+ip(y)-wave superconductor in two-dimensions exhibiting Majorana modes provides the simplest phase supporting non-Abelian quasiparticles and can be seen as the blueprint of f...

We study the mixing of elementary and composite particles. In quantum field theory the mixing of composite particles originates in the couplings of the constituent quarks and for neutrinos in self–energy diagrams. In the event that the incoming and outgoing neutrinos have different masses, the self–energy diagrams vanish because energy is not conserved but the finite decaying widths make the mi...

We give, for the first time, the English translation of a manuscript by Ettore Majorana, which probably corresponds to the text for a seminar lecture delivered at the University of Naples in 1938, where he lectured on theoretical physics. Some passages reveal a physical interpretation of quantum mechanics which anticipates for several years the Feynman approach in terms of path integrals, indep...