Majorana bound states in artificial Kitaev chains

The Kitaev chain model predicts the ability to engineer localized Majorana bound states: non-Abelian zero-energy excitations that are protected from local perturbations, which can be utilized for realizing robust quantum computation schemes. Recent work on InSb nanowires demonstrated that the ingredients for a minimal Kitaev chain, consisting of two sites, can be engineered by coupling quantum dots (QDs) via two second-order processes: crossed Andreev reflection and elastic co-tunnelling. To open up the path to more complex experiments, we implemented this system in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). In this talk, I will detail the theoretical background and our experimental implementation of the Kitaev chain in the InSbAs 2DEG platform. I will highlight recent results obtained on a chain consisting of three quantum dots, where we find that the presence of zero energy modes on the outer QDs is correlated with a bulk excitation gap in the middle QD, demonstrating key properties of the Kitaev chain.