Class D Spectral Peak in Majorana Quantum Wires

Proximity coupled spin-orbit quantum wires purportedly support midgap Majorana states at critical points. We show that, in the presence of disorder, these systems generate a second band center anomaly, which is of different physical origin but shares key characteristics with the Majorana state: it is narrow in width, insensitive to magnetic fields, carries unit spectral weight, and is rigidly tied to the band center. Depending on the parity of the number of subgap quasiparticle states, a Majorana mode does or does not coexist with the impurity peak. The strong "entanglement'' between the two phenomena may hinder an unambiguous detection of the Majorana by spectroscopic techniques.