Josephson junction of finite-size superconductors on a topological insulator under a magnetic field

Abstract: We theoretically study a Josephson junction formed by two finite-size $s$-wave SCs on a topological insulator under a magnetic field. At certain conditions, the junction hosts the chiral Majorana modes enclosing the two finite-size SCs. The interplay of the extended chiral Majorana modes and the states inside the junction can results in nontrivial topological effects such as the $2n \pi$ fractional AC Josephson effects predicted in Ref.~\cite{ChoiSim} We show that the $2n \pi$ fractional AC Josephson effects can occur in a realistic situation, such as the presence of the midgap states, without requiring fine tuning of the parameters of the junction. We also find that the Shapiro spikes of the junction show a rich structure in a wide range of the AC voltage bias, facilitating experimental identification of the $2n \pi$ fractional AC Josephson effects. Moreover, we discuss how to observe the non-commutativity of the operations that braid the Majorana fermions of the junction, by measuring the Josephson current. Finally, we study the state evolution of the junction when the junction hosts a different number of Majorana zero modes from the case of the $2n \pi$ fractional AC Josephson effects.