• Accepted Paper

Superconducting diode effect in multichannel Majorana wires

Sagar Santra, Dibyendu Samanta, and Sudeep Kumar Ghosh

Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 11 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sryb-sd6w

Abstract

The superconducting diode effect (SDE) enables nonreciprocal dissipationless transport when inversion and time-reversal symmetries are simultaneously broken. Rashba nanowires proximitized by conventional s-wave superconductors provide a minimal setting in which spin–orbit coupling and Zeeman fields generate asymmetric finite-momentum pairing. While most studies focus on the single-channel limit, which yields small diode efficiencies and requires multiple Zeeman-field components, realistic devices host multiple transverse subbands. Here, we investigate the SDE in multichannel Rashba nanowires with harmonic and rectangular quantum-well confinement using a self-consistent Bogoliubov–de Gennes formalism. Both geometries support asymmetric Fulde–Ferrell (FF) states that drive pronounced nonreciprocal supercurrents and stabilize a topological phase with Majorana zero modes, where the Cooper-pair momentum is controlled by an externally injected supercurrent. Pairing-susceptibility analysis shows that field-induced asymmetry favors directional Cooper pairing, explaining the nonmonotonic Zeeman-field dependence of the diode response. Harmonic confinement yields diode efficiencies of 60% ({coupled channels}) and 55% ({independent-channels}). In contrast, rectangular confinement sustains 60% efficiency in both regimes and uniquely exhibits a tunable sign reversal in the coupled-channels case. Moreover, interchannel coupling allows a transverse Zeeman field alone to generate a finite diode response. These results establish the robustness of the SDE and topological FF states against transverse confinement variations, highlighting multichannel nanowires as powerful platforms for high-efficiency nonreciprocal transport and current-controlled topological superconductivity.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation

If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation