Braiding with a model that interpolates between Majorana bound states and trivial fermions

Demonstrating a nontrivial result of quasiparticle exchange (or braiding) is usually considered the ultimate proof of a topological phase with nonabelian excitations, such as Majorana bound states (MBSs) in a topological superconductor. However, in finite systems with disorder and smooth potential variations, the MBSs are delocalized and can to a varying degree resemble conventional fermions. We develop a braiding protocol in a model that can be tuned from hosting perfect localized MBSs to conventional zero-energy fermions and anything in between. Our protocol could be implemented in quantum-dot-based minimal Kitaev chains, but is relevant for any finite system with nonabelian excitations.