Disorder-enabled Andreev reflection of a quantum Hall edge

Abstract

AbstractWe develop a theory of charge transport along the quantum Hall edge proximitized by a superconductor. We note that generically Andreev reflection of an edge state is suppressed if translation invariance along the edge is preserved. Disorder in a “dirty” superconductor enables the Andreev reflection but makes it random. As a result, the conductance of a proximitized segment is a stochastic quantity with giant sign-alternating fluctuations and zero average. We find the statistical distribution of the conductance and its dependence on electron density, magnetic field, and temperature. Our theory provides an explanation of a recent experiment with a proximitized edge state.