Isolating Majorana fermions with finite Kitaev nanowires and temperature: Universality of the zero-bias conductance

Abstract

The zero-bias peak (ZBP) is understood as the definite signature of a Majorana bound state (MBS) when attached to a semi-infinite Kitaev nanowire (KNW) nearby zero temperature. However, such characteristics concerning the realization of the KNW constitute a profound experimental challenge. We explore theoretically a QD connected to a topological KNW of finite size at nonzero temperatures and show that overlapped MBSs of the wire edges can become effectively decoupled from each other and the characteristic ZBP can be fully recovered if one tunes the system into the leaked Majorana fermion fixed point. At very low temperatures, the MBSs become strongly coupled. We derive universal features of the conductance as a function of the temperature and the relevant crossover temperatures. Our findings offer additional guides to identify signatures of MBSs in solid state setups.