title: Dissipation in a simple model of a topological Josephson junction.
abstract: The topological features of low-dimensional superconductors have created a lot of excitement recently because of their broad range of applications in quantum information and their potential to reveal novel phases of quantum matter. A potential problem for practical applications is the presence of phase slips that break phase coherence. Dissipation in nontopological superconductors suppresses phase slips and can restore long-range order. Here, we investigate the role of dissipation in a topological Josephson junction. We show that the combined effects of topology and dissipation keep phase and antiphase slips strongly correlated so that the device is superconducting even under conditions where a nontopological device would be resistive. The resistive transition occurs at a critical value of the dissipation that is 4 times smaller than that expected for a conventional Josephson junction. We propose that this difference could be employed as a robust experimental signature of topological superconductivity.
authors.affiliation: CIC nanoGUNE, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain and University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, D-01187 Dresden, Germany and Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Nöthnitzer Straße 40, D-01187 Dresden, Germany and CFIF, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: CFIF, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal and TCM Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Antonio M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: García-García