We study theoretically the onset of nonuniform superconductivity in a one-dimensional single wire in presence of Zeeman (or exchange field) and spin-orbit coupling. Using the Green's function formalism, we show that the spin-orbit coupling stabilizes modulated superconductivity in a broad range of temperatures and Zeeman fields. We investigate the anisotropy of the temperature-Zeeman field phase diagram, which is related to the orientation of the Zeeman field. In particular, the inhomogeneous superconducting state disappears if this latter field is aligned or perpendicular to the wire direction. We identify two regimes corresponding to weak and strong spin-orbit coupling respectively. The wave-vector of the modulated phase is evaluated in both regimes. The results also pertain for quasi-1D superconductors made of weakly coupled 1D chains.
We present a novel controllable platform for engineering Majorana zero modes. The platform consists of a ferromagnetic metallic wire placed among conventional superconductors, which are in proximity to ferromagnetic insulators. We demonstrate that Majorana zero modes emerge localised at the edges of the ferromagnetic wire, due to the interplay of the applied supercurrents and the induced by proximity exchange fields with conventional superconductivity. Our mechanism does not rely on the pairing of helical fermions by combining conventional superconductivity with spin-orbit coupling, but rather…
The interplay between superconductivity, spin-orbit coupling, and Zeeman or exchange field, is studied theoretically in two different setups: a single wire in which all these fields coexist, and a double wire system in which superconducting pairing and the spin-dependent fields are spatially separated. We first explore a magnetoelectric effect, namely the appearance of anomalous charge supercurrents. We determine the conditions under which such currents are allowed by symmetry and express them in terms of the SU(2) electric and magnetic fields. In leading order in the strength of the fields we…
A superconductor with $p_x+ip_y$ order has long fascinated the physics community because vortex defects in such a system host Majorana zero modes. Here we propose a simple construction of a chiral superconductor using proximitized quantum wires and twist angle engineering as basic ingredients. We show that a weakly coupled parallel array of such wires forms a gapless $p$-wave superconductor. Two such arrays, stacked on top of one another with a twist angle close to $90^\circ$, spontaneously break time reversal symmetry and form a robust, fully gapped $p_x+ip_y$ superconductor. We map out topol…
We study the Cooper instability in jellium model in the controlled regime of small to intermediate values of the Coulomb parameter $r_s \leq 2$. We confirm that superconductivity naturally emerges from purely repulsive interactions described by the Kukkonen-Overhauser vertex function. By employing the implicit renormalization approach we reveal that even in the small-$r_s$ limit, the dominant mechanism behind Cooper instability is based on dynamic screening of the Coulomb interaction--accurately captured by the random phase approximation, whereas the Kohn-Luttinger contribution is negligibly s…
Recently room temperature superconductivity with Tc=15 degrees Celsius has been discovered in a pressurized complex ternary hydride, CSHx, which is a carbon doped H3S alloy. The nanoscale structure of H3S is a particular realization of the 1993 patent claim of superlattice of quantum wires for room temperature superconductors where the maximum Tc occurs at the top of a superconducting dome. Here we focus on the electronic structure of materials showing nanoscale heterostructures at atomic limit made of a superlattice of quantum wires like hole doped cuprate perovskites, organics, A15 intermeta…
An electric current generates a magnetic field, and magnetic fields cannot exist in the interior of type I superconductors. As a consequence of these two facts, electric currents can only flow near the surface of a type I superconducting wire so that the self-field vanishes in the interior. Here we examine how an electric current flowing through the entire cross-section of a normal conducting wire becomes a surface current when it enters a superconducting portion of the wire. This geometry provides insight into the dynamics of magnetic flux expulsion that is not apparent in the Meissner effect…
The maximum critical temperature for superconductivity in pressurized hydrides appears at the top of superconducting domes in Tc versus pressure curves at a particular pressure, which is not predicted by standard superconductivity theories. The a high-order anisotropic van Hove singularity near the Fermi level observed in band structure calculations of pressurized sulfur hydride, typical of a supermetal, has been associated with the array of metallic hydrogen wires modules forming a nanoscale heterostructure at atomic limit called superstripes phase. Here we propose that pressurized sulfur hyd…
We present a theoretical study of the interplay between topological p-wave superconductivity, orbital magnetic fields and quantum Hall phases in coupled wire systems. First, we calculate the phase diagram and physical observables of a fermionic ladder made of two coupled Kitaev chains, and discuss the presence of two and four Majorana zero modes. Second, we analyze hybrid systems consisting of a Kitaev chain coupled to a Luttinger liquid. By tuning the magnetic field and the carrier density, we identify quantum Hall and charge density wave phases, as well as regimes in which superconductivity …
We investigate diffusive nanowire-based structures with two normal terminals on the sides and a central superconducting island in the middle, which is either grounded or floating. Using a semiclassical calculation we demonstrate that both device layouts permit a quantitative measurement of the energy-dependent sub-gap thermal conductance $G_\mathrm{th}$ from the spectral density of the current noise. In the floating case this goal is achieved without the need to contact the superconductor provided the device is asymmetric, that may be attractive from the experimental point of view. In addition…
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 supe…
Uniform Mixing of Antiferromagnetism and High-Tc Superconductivity in Electron-doped Layers in Four-layered Ba2Ca3Cu4O8F2 : A New Phenomenon in an Electron Underdoped RegimePhenomenon in an Electron Underdoped Regime
Pseudo-Ising superconductivity induced by $p$-wave magnetism
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology（香港科技大学）；RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS)（理化学研究所涌现物质科学中心）；The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)（香港科技大学（广州））
Modulated superconductivity due to vacancy and magnetic order in $A_x$Fe$_{2-x/2}$Se$_2$ [$A=$Cs, K, (Tl,Rb), (Tl,K)] iron-selenide superconductors
本文计算了铁硒化物超导体的“调制”超导态。零动量$d-$波配对打破了$I4/mmm$空间群的常规BaFe $_2$ Se $_2$类晶体的平移对称性。当Fe空位形成有序状态时，这种配对状态变得相容，并且晶体对称性变为低温$I4/m$对称性。对于在$Q_v=(1/5, 3/5)$在K $_{0.82(2)}$ Fe $_{1.626(3)}$ Se $_2$的一个无公度空位顺序的具体情况下，我们发现，它诱导块棋盘形反铁磁相波矢量${\bf Q}_m=4{\bf Q}_v$。空位有序和磁有序的共存导致了一个重建的基态，它自然地耦合到$d-$波超导在一个统一的相位，我们建议将是一个一般的耦合所有的铁硒化物超导体。我们的结果与迄今为止的大量实验数据一致。因此，我们建议，不可分割性导致多个相的均匀共存，作为一个可行的替代方案，在高- $T_c$超导体的纳米级相分离，并发挥重要作用，在增强超导性。
Most theoretical studies of topological superconductors and Majorana-based quantum computation rely on a mean-field approach to describe superconductivity. A potential problem with this approach is that real superconductors are described by number-conserving Hamiltonians with long-range interactions, so their topological properties may not be correctly captured by mean-field models that violate number conservation and have short-range interactions. To resolve this issue, reliable results on number-conserving models of superconductivity are essential. As a first step in this direction, we use r…
