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Detecting Spin Heat Accumulation by Sign Reversion of Thermopower in a Quantum Dot Side-Coupled to Majorana Bound States

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Abstract

We propose a scheme to detect the spin heat accumulation (SHA), an effective spin-dependent electron temperature, via sign reversion of thermopower induced by the Majorana bound states (MBSs) coupled to a quantum dot (QD). The SHA is generated in either a nonmagnetic material or a ferromagnet serving as an electrode connected to the QD and leads the spin-up and spin-down thermopowers to change signs at different temperatures with the help of QD-MBSs coupling. The existence of the SHA then can be detected by the variation of the spin-polarized or even charge thermopower with respect to the magnitude of the SHA. Our numerical results show that the transition temperature of the thermopower is sensitive to QD-MBSs coupling strength, hybridization between the MBSs, and the ferromagnetism on the leads. Around the transition temperature, either 100% spin-polarized or pure spin thermopower can be generated by the combined effects of SHA and MBSs. We also find that the intradot Coulomb interaction does not change the qualitative results of the present scheme.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Research Funds for Beijing Universities (Project NO. KM201910009002) and the NSFC (Grant Nos. 61274101), the Initial Project of UEST of China, Zhongshan Institute (415YKQ02), and Science and Technology Bureau of Zhongshan (Grant Nos. 2017B1116 and 180809162197886).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, North China University of Technology, Beijing, 100144, China

    Lian-Liang Sun

  2. School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Zhongshan Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan, 528400, China

    Feng Chi

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  1. Lian-Liang Sun
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  2. Feng Chi
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Correspondence to Feng Chi.

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Sun, LL., Chi, F. Detecting Spin Heat Accumulation by Sign Reversion of Thermopower in a Quantum Dot Side-Coupled to Majorana Bound States. J Low Temp Phys 203, 381–391 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-021-02593-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-021-02593-9

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