Soliton-induced Majorana fermions in a one-dimensional atomic topological superfluid

Among the different platforms to engineer Majorana fermions in one-dimensional topological superconductors, topological insulator nanowires remain a promising option. Threading an odd number of flux quanta through these wires induces an odd number of surface channels, which can then be gapped with proximity induced pairing. Because of the flux and depending on energetics, the phase of this surface pairing may or may not wind around the wire in the form of a vortex. Here we show that for wires with discrete rotational symmetry, this vortex is necessary to produce a fully gapped topological superconductor with localized Majorana end states. Without a vortex the proximitized wire remains gapless, and it is only if the symmetry is broken by disorder that a gap develops, which is much smaller than the one obtained with a vortex. These results are explained with the help of a continuum model and validated numerically with a tight binding model, and highlight the benefit of a vortex for reliable use of Majorana fermions in this platform.

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Fractionalized flux, Majorana fermions and non-Abelian anyons in topological superfluid on optical lattices

EPL (Europhysics Letters) ◽

10.1209/0295-5075/116/13002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 116 (1) ◽

pp. 13002

Author(s):

Ya-Jie Wu ◽

Su-Peng Kou

Keyword(s):

Optical Lattices ◽

Majorana Fermions ◽

Topological Superfluid

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Platform of chiral Majorana edge modes and its quantum transport phenomena

Communications Physics ◽

10.1038/s42005-019-0250-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James Jun He ◽

Tian Liang ◽

Yukio Tanaka ◽

Naoto Nagaosa

Keyword(s):

Quantum Transport ◽

Bound States ◽

Majorana Fermions ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Quasi Particle ◽

One Dimensional ◽

Solid States ◽

Topological Superconductors ◽

Wide Range ◽

Majorana Modes

AbstractMajorana fermions, as electronic quasi-particle modes in solid states, have been under the focus of research due to their exotic physical properties. While the evidence of Majorana fermions as zero-dimensional bound states has been well established, the existence of one-dimensional Majorana modes is still under debate. The main reason is that the current theoretical proposals of platforms supporting such states are very challenging experimentally. Here, we propose a method to create two-dimensional topological superconductors with a heterostructure of ferromagnet, topological insulator thin film and superconductor. We show that such a system supports one-dimensional chiral Majorana edge modes in a wide range of parameters which is readily achievable in experiments. We further propose a new transport measurement to detect these modes.

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