Majorana zero modes in regular B-form single-stranded DNA proximity-coupled to an s-wave superconductor

Abstract

We investigate the topological properties of a regular B-form single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) proximity-coupled by an $s$-wave superconductor, where the spin-orbit coupling and a Zeeman energy along with the helix axis are considered. It is found that a topological nontrivial superconductor phase can be formed under open boundary condition, in which the ssDNA molecule hosts a pair of Majorana zero modes. In addition both the magnitude and direction of the gate voltage on the topological superconducting ssDNA can adjust the Majorana zero modes. We also study the transport properties of the topological superconducting ssDNA, and find that the differential conductance shows a distinct peak structure at zero-bias voltage, which can be used to probe the existence of the Majorana zero modes in ssDNA in experiment.