Inter-band optical transitions of helical Majorana edge modes in topological superconductors

Abstract

The search for evidence of Majorana states on the edges of topological superconductors (TSCs) is challenging due to the difficulty of detecting such charge-neutral electronic quasiparticles. Local microwave spectroscopy has been shown to be a possible method to detect propagating Majorana modes, where a spatially focused light beam must be used. Here, we show that helical Majorana modes in TSCs allow inter-band transitions and thus contribute to optical conductivity under a spatially uniform light. The existence of such a signal requires the system to break certain symmetries so that the projection of the charge current operator onto helical Majorana edge states leads to inter-band hybridization terms. The general form of this contribution under a tunable time-reversal breaking field is derived, which is valid in the sub-gap low-frequency regime where the edge energy spectrum is linear, and numerical results are obtained in three TSC models, showing remarkable consistency with the analytical prediction. In comparison, the current operator for normal helical edge states, such as in quantum spin Hall insulators, does not cause inter-band transitions and the related optical conductivity vanishes unless the time-reversal symmetry is broken. Our results may help guide feasible experiments to provide evidence of Majorana edge modes in TSCs.Comment: 4.5 pages, 5 figures + Appendi