scholarly journals A Majorana perspective on understanding and identifying axion insulators

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yan ◽  
Hailong Li ◽  
Jiang Zeng ◽  
Qing-Feng Sun ◽  
X. C. Xie
Keyword(s):  
Surface States ◽  
Chern Number ◽  
Hall Conductance ◽  
Half Integer ◽  
Pairing Strength ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Topological State ◽  
Superconducting Pairing ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation ◽  
Made In

AbstractAn axion insulator is theoretically introduced to harbor unique surface states with half-integer Chern number $${{{{{{{\mathcal{C}}}}}}}}$$ C . Recently, experimental progress has been made in different candidate systems, while a unique Hall response to directly reflect the half-integer Chern number is still lacking to distinguish an axion state from other possible insulators. Here we show that the $${{{{{{{\mathcal{C}}}}}}}}=\frac{1}{2}$$ C = 1 2 axion state corresponds to a topological state with Chern number $${{{{{{{\mathcal{N}}}}}}}}=1$$ N = 1 in the Majorana basis. In proximity to an s − wave superconductor, a topological phase transition to an $${{{{{{{\mathcal{N}}}}}}}}=0$$ N = 0 phase takes place at critical superconducting pairing strength. Our theoretical analysis shows that a chiral Majorana hinge mode emerges at the boundary of $${{{{{{{\mathcal{N}}}}}}}}=1$$ N = 1 and $${{{{{{{\mathcal{N}}}}}}}}=0$$ N = 0 regions on the surface of an axion insulator. Furthermore, we propose a half-integer quantized thermal Hall conductance via a thermal transport measurement, which is a signature of the gapless chiral Majorana mode and thus confirms the $${{{{{{{\mathcal{C}}}}}}}}=\frac{1}{2}$$ C = 1 2 ($${{{{{{{\mathcal{N}}}}}}}}=1$$ N = 1 ) topological nature of an axion state. Our proposals help to theoretically comprehend and experimentally identify the axion insulator and may benefit the research of topological quantum computation.

scholarly journals Refined symmetry indicators for topological superconductors in all space groups

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (18) ◽  
pp. eaaz8367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seishiro Ono ◽  
Hoi Chun Po ◽  
Haruki Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Order Parameter ◽  
Surface States ◽  
Topological Invariants ◽  
Inversion Symmetry ◽  
Fermi Surfaces ◽  
Space Groups ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
Topological Superconductors ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation

Topological superconductors are exotic phases of matter featuring robust surface states that could be leveraged for topological quantum computation. A useful guiding principle for the search of topological superconductors is to relate the topological invariants with the behavior of the pairing order parameter on the normal-state Fermi surfaces. The existing formulas, however, become inadequate for the prediction of the recently proposed classes of topological crystalline superconductors. In this work, we advance the theory of symmetry indicators for topological (crystalline) superconductors to cover all space groups. Our main result is the exhaustive computation of the indicator groups for superconductors under a variety of symmetry settings. We further illustrate the power of this approach by analyzing fourfold symmetric superconductors with or without inversion symmetry and show that the indicators can diagnose topological superconductors with surface states of different dimensionalities or dictate gaplessness in the bulk excitation spectrum.

scholarly journals In-plane magnetic field-driven symmetry breaking in topological insulator-based three-terminal junctions

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Kölzer ◽  
Kristof Moors ◽  
Abdur Rehman Jalil ◽  
Erik Zimmermann ◽  
Daniel Rosenbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Topological Insulator ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Surface States ◽  
Output Terminal ◽  
Current Switch ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Orbital Effect ◽  
Topological Surface ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation

AbstractTopological surface states of three-dimensional topological insulator nanoribbons and their distinct magnetoconductance properties are promising for topoelectronic applications and topological quantum computation. A crucial building block for nanoribbon-based circuits are three-terminal junctions. While the transport of topological surface states on a planar boundary is not directly affected by an in-plane magnetic field, the orbital effect cannot be neglected when the surface states are confined to the boundary of a nanoribbon geometry. Here, we report on the magnetotransport properties of such three-terminal junctions. We observe a dependence of the current on the in-plane magnetic field, with a distinct steering pattern of the surface state current towards a preferred output terminal for different magnetic field orientations. We demonstrate that this steering effect originates from the orbital effect, trapping the phase-coherent surface states in the different legs of the junction on opposite sides of the nanoribbon and breaking the left-right symmetry of the transmission across the junction. The reported magnetotransport properties demonstrate that an in-plane magnetic field is not only relevant but also very useful for the characterization and manipulation of transport in three-dimensional topological insulator nanoribbon-based junctions and circuits, acting as a topoelectric current switch.

scholarly journals Giant phonon anomalies in the proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid α-RuCl3

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoxiang Li ◽  
T. T. Zhang ◽  
A. Said ◽  
G. Fabbris ◽  
D. G. Mazzone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Phonon ◽  
Energy Scale ◽  
Quantum Spin ◽  
Majorana Fermion ◽  
Spin Liquid ◽  
Optical Phonons ◽  
Large Intensity ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Topological State ◽  
Quantum Spin Liquid

AbstractThe Kitaev quantum spin liquid epitomizes an entangled topological state, for which two flavors of fractionalized low-energy excitations are predicted: the itinerant Majorana fermion and the Z2 gauge flux. It was proposed recently that fingerprints of fractional excitations are encoded in the phonon spectra of Kitaev quantum spin liquids through a novel fractional-excitation-phonon coupling. Here, we detect anomalous phonon effects in α-RuCl3 using inelastic X-ray scattering with meV resolution. At high temperature, we discover interlaced optical phonons intercepting a transverse acoustic phonon between 3 and 7 meV. Upon decreasing temperature, the optical phonons display a large intensity enhancement near the Kitaev energy, JK~8 meV, that coincides with a giant acoustic phonon softening near the Z2 gauge flux energy scale. These phonon anomalies signify the coupling of phonon and Kitaev magnetic excitations in α-RuCl3 and demonstrates a proof-of-principle method to detect anomalous excitations in topological quantum materials.

Chern Numbers and Green's Functions in Solid State Physics

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1389-1410
Author(s):  
Xiao-Rong Wu-Morrow ◽  
Cecile Dewitt-Morette ◽  
Lev Rozansky
Keyword(s):  
Periodic Potential ◽  
Solid State Physics ◽  
Hall Conductance ◽  
Energy Eigenvalues ◽  
Finite Dimensional ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Chern Numbers ◽  
Density Response ◽  
Physical Quantities ◽  
Noninteracting Electron

Using the energy Green's function formulation proposed by Niu 1 for particle densities, we construct and clarify the nature of the topological invariant assigned to the Hall conductance in the Hall system of 2-dimensional noninteracting electron gas; we identify this topological quantum number explicitly as the first Chern number of a complex vector bundle over a 2-torus parametrized by the magnetic potential (a1, a2); the fibres are finite dimensional spaces spanned by eigenfunctions of the system with energy eigenvalues below the Fermi energy. Other cases can be treated by a similar procedure, namely, by recognizing that some physical quantities are integrals of curvatures defined on a nontrivial finite dimensional complex bundle. Therefore, in suitable units, they take integer values. We treat, as an example, the electron density response to a dilation of a periodic potential. The integer in this case is the number of Bloch bands. The quantization of the Hall conductance and density response is also shown in the presence of disorder.

scholarly journals Majorana zero modes in impurity-assisted vortex of LiFeAs superconductor

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingyuan Kong ◽  
Lu Cao ◽  
Shiyu Zhu ◽  
Michał Papaj ◽  
Guangyang Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Computation ◽  
Zero Mode ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Homogeneous Material ◽  
Dirac Fermions ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Zero Modes ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
One Step ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation

AbstractThe iron-based superconductor is emerging as a promising platform for Majorana zero mode, which can be used to implement topological quantum computation. One of the most significant advances of this platform is the appearance of large vortex level spacing that strongly protects Majorana zero mode from other low-lying quasiparticles. Despite the advantages in the context of physics research, the inhomogeneity of various aspects hampers the practical construction of topological qubits in the compounds studied so far. Here we show that the stoichiometric superconductor LiFeAs is a good candidate to overcome this obstacle. By using scanning tunneling microscopy, we discover that the Majorana zero modes, which are absent on the natural clean surface, can appear in vortices influenced by native impurities. Our detailed analysis reveals a new mechanism for the emergence of those Majorana zero modes, i.e. native tuning of bulk Dirac fermions. The discovery of Majorana zero modes in this homogeneous material, with a promise of tunability, offers an ideal material platform for manipulating and braiding Majorana zero modes, pushing one step forward towards topological quantum computation.

scholarly journals Competing ν = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall states in confined geometry

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (44) ◽  
pp. 12386-12390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailong Fu ◽  
Pengjie Wang ◽  
Pujia Shan ◽  
Lin Xiong ◽  
Loren N. Pfeiffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Computation ◽  
Filling Factor ◽  
Fault Tolerant ◽  
Quantum Hall ◽  
Point Contact ◽  
Fractional Quantum ◽  
Fractional Quantum Hall ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Quantum Point ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation

Some theories predict that the filling factor 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state can exhibit non-Abelian statistics, which makes it a candidate for fault-tolerant topological quantum computation. Although the non-Abelian Pfaffian state and its particle-hole conjugate, the anti-Pfaffian state, are the most plausible wave functions for the 5/2 state, there are a number of alternatives with either Abelian or non-Abelian statistics. Recent experiments suggest that the tunneling exponents are more consistent with an Abelian state rather than a non-Abelian state. Here, we present edge-current–tunneling experiments in geometrically confined quantum point contacts, which indicate that Abelian and non-Abelian states compete at filling factor 5/2. Our results are consistent with a transition from an Abelian state to a non-Abelian state in a single quantum point contact when the confinement is tuned. Our observation suggests that there is an intrinsic non-Abelian 5/2 ground state but that the appropriate confinement is necessary to maintain it. This observation is important not only for understanding the physics of the 5/2 state but also for the design of future topological quantum computation devices.

QUANTUM COMPUTING WITH NON-ABELIAN QUASIPARTICLES

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (08n09) ◽  
pp. 1372-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. BONESTEEL ◽  
L. HORMOZI ◽  
G. ZIKOS ◽  
S. H. SIMON
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Quantum Hall ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Fractional Quantum ◽  
Fractional Quantum Hall ◽  
Quantum Operations ◽  
Topological Quantum ◽  
Dimensional Space Time ◽  
Two Space Dimensions ◽  
Topological Quantum Computation

In topological quantum computation quantum information is stored in exotic states of matter which are intrinsically protected from decoherence, and quantum operations are carried out by dragging particle-like excitations (quasiparticles) around one another in two space dimensions. The resulting quasiparticle trajectories define world-lines in three dimensional space-time, and the corresponding quantum operations depend only on the topology of the braids formed by these world-lines. We describe recent work showing how to find braids which can be used to perform arbitrary quantum computations using a specific kind of quasiparticle (those described by the so-called Fibonacci anyon model) which are thought to exist in the experimentally observed ν = 12/5 fractional quantum Hall state.

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