Thermopower and Mott formula for a Majorana edge state

Abstract

We study the thermoelectric effect between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state. In the tunneling limit, we first use the Landauer-Büttiker formalism to derive the Mott formula relating the thermopower and the differential conductance between a conducting lead and a superconductor. When the tunneling takes place between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state, we show that a nonvanishing thermopower can exist. Combining measurements of the differential conductance and the voltage induced by the temperature difference between the conducting lead and the edge state, the Mott formula provides a unique way to infer the temperature of the Majorana edge state.

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