Closing Of The Induced Gap In A Hybrid Superconductor-Semiconductor Nanowire

We present conductance-matrix measurements in long, three-terminal hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowires, and compare with theoretical predictions of a magnetic-field-driven, topological quantum phase transition. By examining the nonlocal conductance, we identify the closure of the excitation gap in the bulk of the semiconductor before the emergence of zero-bias peaks, ruling out spurious gap-closure signatures from localized states. We observe that after the gap closes, nonlocal signals and zero-bias peaks fluctuate strongly at both ends, inconsistent with a simple picture of clean topological superconductivity.