Phonon-Assisted Tunneling through Quantum Dot Systems Connected to Majorana Bound States

Abstract

We theoretically analyze phonon-assisted tunneling transport in a quantum dot side connected to a Majorana bound state in a topological superconducting nanowire. We investigate the behavior of the current through the dot, for a range of experimentally relevant parameters, in the presence of one long-wave optical phonon mode. We consider the current-gate voltage, the current-bias voltage and the current-dot–Majorana coupling characteristics under the influence of the electron–phonon coupling. In the absence of electron–phonon interaction, the Majorana bound states suppress the current when the gate voltage matches the Fermi level, but the increase in the bias voltage counteracts this effect. In the presence of electron–phonon coupling, the current behaves similarly as a function of the renormalized gate voltage. As an added feature at large bias voltages, it presents a dip or a plateau, depending on the size of the dot–Majorana coupling. Lastly, we show that the currents are most sensitive to, and depend non-trivially on the parameters of the Majorana circuit element, in the regime of low temperatures combined with low voltages. Our results provide insights into the complex physics of quantum dot devices used to probe Majorana bound states.