Majorana fermions are spin-1/2 neutral particles that are their own antiparticles and were initially predicted by Ettore Majorana in particle physics but their observation still remains elusive. The concept of Majorana fermions has been borrowed into condensed matter physics, where, unlike particle physics, Majorana fermions emerge as zero-energy quasiparticles that can be engineered by combining electrons and holes and have therefore been coined Majorana zero modes. In this review, we provide a pedagogical explanation of the basic properties of Majorana zero modes in unconventional superconductors and their consequences in experimental observables, putting a special emphasis on the initial theoretical discoveries. In particular, we first show that Majorana zero modes are self-conjugated and emerge as a special type of zero energy surface Andreev bound states at the boundary of unconventional superconductors. We then explore Majorana zero modes in one-dimensional spin-polarized $p$-wave superconductors, where we address the formation of topological superconductivity and the physical realization in superconductor-semiconductor hybrids. In this part we highlight that Majorana quasiparticles appear as zero-energy edge states, exhibiting charge neutrality, spin-polarized, and spatial nonlocality as unique properties that can be already seen from their energies and wavefunctions. Next, we discuss analytically obtained Green's functions of $p$-wave superconductors and demonstrate that the emergence of Majorana zero modes is always accompanied by the formation of odd-frequency spin-triplet pairing as a unique result of the self-conjugate nature of Majorana zero modes. We finally address the signatures of Majorana zero modes in tunneling spectroscopy, including the anomalous proximity effect, and the phase-biased Josephson effect.
Topological superconductors are exotic gapped phases of matter hosting Majorana mid-gap states on their boundary. In conventional topological superconductors, Majorana in-gap states appear in the form of either localized zero-dimensional modes or propagating spin-1/2 fermions with a quasi-relativistic dispersion relation. Here we show that unconventional propagating Majorana states can emerge on the surface of three-dimensional topological superconductors protected by rotational symmetry. The unconventional Majorana surface states fall into three different categories: a spin-$S$ Majorana fermi…
We study theoretically the proximity effect of a one-dimensional metallic quantum wire (in the absence of spin-orbit interaction) lying on top of an unconventional superconductor. Three different material classes are considered as a substrate: (i) a chiral superconductor in class D with broken time-reversal symmetry; a class DIII superconductor (ii) with and (iii) without a nontrivial Z2 number. Interestingly, we find degenerate zero energy Majorana bound states at both ends of the wire for all three cases. They are unstable against spin-orbit interaction in case (i) while they are topological…
A junction between two topological superconductors containing a pair of Majorana fermions exhibits a `fractional' Josephson effect, $4π$ periodic in the superconductors' phase difference. An additional fractional Josephson effect, however, arises when the Majoranas are spatially separated by a superconducting barrier. This new term gives rise to a set of Shapiro steps which are essentially absent without Majorana modes and therefore provides a unique signature for these exotic states.
Quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAH)/$s$-wave superconductor (SC) hybrid systems are known to be an ideal platform for realizing two-dimensional topological superconductors with chiral Majorana edge modes. In this paper we study QAH/unconventional SC hybrid systems whose pairing symmetry is $p$-wave, $d$-wave, chiral $p$-wave, or chiral $d$-wave. The hybrid systems are a generalization of the QAH/$s$-wave SC hybrid system. In view of symmetries of the QAH and pairings, we introduce three topological numbers to classify topological phases of the hybrid systems. One is the Chern number that ch…
In contrast to conventional s-wave superconductivity, unconventional (e.g. p or d-wave) superconductivity is strongly suppressed even by relatively weak disorder. Upon approaching the superconductor-metal transition, the order parameter amplitude becomes increasingly inhomogeneous leading to effective granularity and a phase ordering transition described by the Mattis model of spin glasses. One consequence of this is that at low enough temperatures, between the clean unconventional superconducting and the diffusive metallic phases, there is necessarily an intermediate superconducting phase whi…
Semiconducting nanowires in proximity to superconductors are promising experimental systems for Majorana fermions, which may ultimately be used as building blocks for topological quantum computers. A serious challenge in the experimental realization of the Majorana fermions is the supression of topological superconductivity by disorder. We show that Majorana fermions protected by a robust topological gap can occur at the ends of a chain of quantum dots connected by s-wave superconductors. In the appropriate parameter regime, we establish that the quantum dot/superconductor system is equivalent…
We show that Majorana fermions associated with Majorana flat bands emerge as zero energy modes on the [110] edge of single layer or multilayer nodal superconductors with $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave pairing and Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Moreover, as long as the global inversion symmetry of the single layer or multilayer superconductor is broken, and in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field parallel to the [110] edge, the Majorana fermions together with usual fermionic Andreev bound states induce a triple-peak structure in tunnelling spectroscopy experiments. Importantly, we show that the zero bia…
In the heterostructure composed of a topological insulator sandwiched by two s-wave superconductors, the time reversal invariant topological superconducting phase, possessing helical Majorana edge modes, is found to exist when the two s-wave superconductors form a Josephson junction with a pi phase shift. Based on such a heterostructure, a helical Dirac-Majorana interferometer is proposed to directly measure a unique transport signature of the helical Majorana modes. Furthermore, we envision how our proposal can be realized on the basis of existing materials such as Bi2Se3 or Bi2Te3 thin films…
Recently, Majorana Fermions (MFs) have attracted intensive attention due to their exotic statistics and possible applications in topological quantum computation (TQC). They are proposed to exist in various two-dimensional (2D) topological systems, such as px+ipy topological superconductor and nanowire-superconducting hybridization system. In this paper, two types of Majorana Fermions with different polygon sign rules are pointed out. A "smoking gun" numerical evidence to identify MF's classification is presented through looking for the signature of a first order topological quantum phase trans…
We study theoretically the role of topological invariants to protect the Majorana fermions in a model of two-dimensional chiral superconductors which belong to class D of topological periodic table. A rich phase diagram is revealed. Each phase is characterized by the topological invariants for 2d (Z) and 1d (Z2), which lead to the Majorana fermion at the edge of the dislocation and the core of the vortex. Interference of the Majorana fermions originated from the different topological invariants is studied. The stability of the Majorana fermion with respect to the interlayer coupling, i.e., in …
One of the goals of modern spectroscopy is to invent techniques which detect neutral excitations that have been theoretically proposed. For superconductors, two point transport measurements detect the Andreev crossed reflection which confirms the existence of the Majorana fermions. Similar information can be obtained from a measurement using two piezoelectric transducers. One transducer measures the stress tensor response from the strain field generated by the second transducer. The ratio between the stress response and strain velocity determines the dissipative response. We will show that the…
Majorana zero mode is an exotic quasi-particle excitation with non-Abelian statistics in topological superconductor systems, and can serve as the cornerstone for topological quantum computation, a new type of fault-tolerant quantum computation architecture. This review paper highlights recent progress in realizing Majorana modes in iron-based high-temperature superconductors. We begin with the discussion on topological aspect of electronic band structures in iron-based superconductor compounds. Then we focus on several concrete proposals for Majorana modes, including the Majorana zero modes in…
We found parity-violating Majorana fermions in a chiral superconductor Sr2RuO4. The current-voltage curves show an anomalous behavior: The induced voltage is an even function of the bias current. The magnetic field dependent results suggest the excitation of the Majorana fermions along the closed chiral edge current of the single domain under bias current. We also discuss the relationship between a change of the chirality and spontaneous magnetization of the single domain Sr2RuO4.
Second-order topological superconductors host Majorana corner and hingemodes in contrast to conventional edge and surface modes in two and three dimensions. However, the realization of such second-order corner modes usually demands unconventional superconducting pairing or complicated junctions or layered structures. Here we show that Majorana corner modes could be realized using a 2D quantum spin Hall insulator in proximity contact with an $s$-wave superconductor and subject to an in-plane Zeeman field. Beyond a critical value, the in-plane Zeeman field induces opposite effective Dirac masses…
As platforms of Majorana modes, topological insulator (quantum anomalous Hall insulator)/superconductor (SC) heterostructures have attracted tremendous attention over the past decade. Here we substitute the topological insulator by its higher-order counterparts. Concretely, we consider second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) without time-reversal symmetry and investigate SOTI/SC heterostructures in both two and three dimensions. Remarkably, we find that such novel heterostructures provide natural realizations of second-order topological superconductors (SOTSCs) which host Majorana corner m…
We study a realistic Floquet topological superconductor, a periodically driven nanowire proximitized to an equilibrium s-wave superconductor. Due to both strong energy and density fluctuations caused from the superconducting proximity effect, the Floquet Majorana wire becomes dissipative. We show that the Floquet band structure is still preserved in this dissipative system. In particular, we find that both the Floquet Majorana zero and pi modes can no longer be simply described by the Floquet topological band theory. We also propose an effective model to simplify the calculation of the lifetim…
We show that a chain of nonmagnetic impurities deposited on a fully gapped two- or three-dimensional superconductor can become a topological one-dimensional superconductor with protected Majorana bound states at its end. A prerequisite is that the pairing potential of the underlying superconductor breaks the spin-rotation symmetry, as it is generically the case in systems with strong spin-orbit coupling. We illustrate this mechanism for a spinless triplet-superconductor p+ip and a time-reversal symmetric Rashba superconductor with a mixture of singlet and triplet pairing. For the latter, we sh…
We consider a two-dimensional px+i py superconductor in the presence of multiple vortices, which support zero-energy Majorana fermion states in their cores. Intervortex tunnelings of the Majorana fermions lift the topological state degeneracy. Using the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we calculate splitting of the zero-energy modes due to these tunneling events. We also discuss superconducting fluctuations and, in particular, their effect on the energy splitting.
We theoretically describe a thermoelectric effect that is entirely due to Andreev processes involving the formation of Cooper pairs through the coupling of electrons and holes. The Andreev thermoelectric effect can occur in ballistic ferromagnet-superconductor junctions with a dominant superconducting proximity effect on the ferromagnet, and it is very sensitive to surface states emerging in unconventional superconductors. We consider hybrid junctions in two and three dimensions to demonstrate that the thermoelectric current is always reversed in the presence of low-energy Andreev bound states…
Coupled Majorana zero modes with nonzero energies are generally detrimental to the non-Abelian statistics due to the additional dynamic phase. Nevertheless, we show that a well-connected lead can introduce a local non-Hermitian dissipation term to shift the energies of the both coupled Majorana modes to zero, and surprisingly turn the coupled Majorana mode far from the lead into a dark Majorana mode with exponentially small dissipation. This dark Majorana mode can conquer the drawback of the partially overlapped Majorana zero modes and possess the properties of true Majorana zero mode such as …
The study of non-Abelian Majorana zero modes advances our understanding of the fundamental physics in quantum matter, and pushes the potential applications of such exotic states to topological quantum computation. It has been shown that in two-dimensional (2D) and 1D chiral superconductors, the isolated Majorana fermions obey non-Abelian statistics. However, Majorana modes in a $Z_2$ time-reversal invariant (TRI) topological superconductor come in pairs due to Kramers' theorem. Therefore, braiding operations in TRI superconductors always exchange two pairs of Majoranas. In this work, we show i…
We propose an easy-to-build easy-to-detect scheme for realizing Majorana fermions at the ends of a chain of magnetic atoms on the surface of a superconductor. Model calculations show that such chains can be easily tuned between trivial and topological ground state. In the latter, spatial resolved spectroscopy can be used to probe the Majorana fermion end states. Decoupled Majorana bound states can form even in short magnetic chains consisting of only tens of atoms. We propose scanning tunneling microscopy as the ideal technique to fabricate such systems and probe their topological properties.
We study the conditions for the existence of unpaired Majorana modes at the ends of vortex lines or the side edges of a layered topological superconductor. We show that the problem is mapped to that of a general Majorana chain and extend Kitaev's condition for the existence of its nontrivial phase by providing an additional condition when a supercurrent flows in the chain. Unpaired Majorana bound states may exist in a vortex line that threads the layers if the spin-orbit coupling has certain in-layer components but, interestingly, only if a nonzero supercurrent is maintained along the vortex. …
We investigate the realization of a topological superconductor in a generic bucked honeycomb system equipped with four types of mass-generating terms, where the superconductor gap is introduced by attaching the honeycomb system to an $s$-wave superconductor. Constructing the topological phase diagram, we show that Majorana modes are formed in the phase boundary. In particular, we analyze the honeycomb system with antiferromagnetic order in the presence of perpendicular electric field $E_{z}$. It becomes topological for $|E_{z}|>E_{z}^{\text{cr}}$ and trivial for $|E_{z}|<E_{z}^{\text{cr}}$, wi…
Motivated by recent experiments on FeTe$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$, we construct an explicit minimal model of an iron-based superconductor with band inversion at the $Z$ point and non-topological bulk $s_{\pm}$ pairing. While there has been considerable interest in Majorana zero modes localized at vortices in such systems, we find that our model - without any vortices - intrinsically supports 1D helical Majorana modes localized at the hinges between (001) and (100) or (010) surfaces, suggesting that this is a viable platform for observing "higher-order" topological superconductivity. We provide a general…
In this work, we show that an in-plane magnetic field can drive a fully gapped $p \pm i p$ topological superconductor into a gapless phase which supports symmetry protected Majorana edge states (MESs). Specifically, an in-plane magnetic field can close the bulk gap and create zero energy Majorana flat bands (MFBs) in the excitation spectrum. We show that the MFBs in the gapless regime are protected by symmetry and are associated with MESs. The MFBs acquire finite slopes when s-wave pairing and Rashba spin-oribit coupling terms are added to the Hamiltonian. In this case, novel uni-directional M…
We develop a quasi-classical theory for the superconducting proximity effect in a ballistic ferromagnetic layer in contact with a d-wave superconductor. In agreement with recent experiments we find that the density of states oscillate around the normal state value with varying the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer. We show that the phase, the amplitude, and the period of these oscillations depend on the orientation of the superconductor. This effect reveals spatial oscillations and anisotropy of the induced superconducting correlations in the ferromagnet.
We analyze the formation of Majorana zero-modes at the edge of a two-dimensional topological superconductor. In particular, we study a time-reversal-invariant triplet phase that is likely to exist in doped Bi$_2$Se$_3$. Upon the introduction of an in-plane magnetic field to the superconductor, a gap is opened in the surface modes, which induces localized Majorana modes. The position of these modes can be simply manipulated by changing the orientation of the applied field, yielding novel methods for braiding these states with possible applications to topological quantum computation.
We show that the presence of Majorana zero-modes in a one-dimensional topological superconductor can be detected by adiabatic cooling. This cooling effect results from an increase of the topological entropy associated with the ground state degeneracy due to such modes. Here, we consider an experimentally feasible topological superconductor: a strong spin-orbit coupled semiconducting quantum wire interfaced with an s-wave superconductor and subjected to a magnetic field. Numerical simulations of realistic experimental geometries indicate that the creation of Majorana zero-modes, which can be ac…
We study the magnetic susceptibility of a two-dimensional cone of Majorana modes localised at the surface of a three-dimensional time-reversal invariant topological superconductor belonging to class DIII. A field parallel to the surface tilts the surface Majorana cone along the supercurrent direction. For fields larger than a critical threshold field $H^*$, $H>H^*$, a transition from type I to type II Dirac cone occurs and a finite current carried by the Majorana modes start to flow, leading to an additional diamagnetic contribution to the surface magnetization. On a curved surface interband t…
Majorana bound states have been recently observed at the boundaries of one-dimensional topological superconductors. Yet, controlling the localization of the Majorana states, which is essential to the realization of any topological quantum device, is an ongoing challenge. To this end, we introduce a mechanism which can break a topologically homogeneous state via the formation of topological domains, and which can be exploited to control the position of Majorana states. We found in fact that in the presence of amplitude-modulated fields, contiguous magnetic domains can become topologically inequ…
Fingerprints of unconventional pairing in superconductor-hole-gas heterostructures
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)（奥地利科学技术研究所）；Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen（哥本哈根大学尼尔斯·玻尔研究所）；Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology（挪威科技大学物理系）
The zero-energy bound states at the edges or vortex cores of chiral p-wave superconductors should behave like majorana fermions. We introduce a model Hamiltonian that describes the tunnelling process when electrons are injected into such states. Using a non-equilibrium green function formalism, we find exact analytic expressions for the tunnelling current and noise and identify experimental signatures of the majorana nature of the bound states to be found in the shot noise. We discuss the results in the context of different candidate materials that support triplet superconductivity. Experiment…
The two-dimensional nature of graphene makes it an ideal platform to explore proximity-induced unconventional planar superconductivity and the possibility of topological superconductivity. Using Green's functions techniques, we study the transport properties of a finite size ballistic graphene layer placed between a normal state electrode and a graphene lead with proximity-induced unconventional superconductivity. Our microscopic description of such a junction allows us to consider the effect of edge states in the graphene layer and the imperfect coupling to the electrodes. The tunnel conducta…
Motivated by the recent experimental observation of the topological Anderson insulator in disordered atomic wires based on the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, we study disorder effects on a dimerized Kitaev superconductor chain which is regarded as the superconductor version of the SSH model. By computing the real-space winding number and the zero-bias differential conductance, we analyze the topological phase transitions occurring in a dimerized Kitaev superconductor chain with disorder. It is found that disorder can induce a topologically nontrivial superconductor phase hosting Majorana ze…
We study the properties of the "spin quantum Hall fluid" - a novel spin phase with quantized spin Hall conductance that is potentially realizable in superconducting systems with unconventional pairing symmetry. A simple realization is provided by a $d_{x^2-y^2} + id_{xy}$ superconductor which we argue has a dimensionless spin Hall conductance equal to two. A theory of the edge states of the $d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy}$ superconductor is developed. The properties of the transition to a phase with vanishing spin Hall conductance induced by disorder are considered. We construct a description of this tra…
Topological superconductors are predicted to harbor exotic boundary states - Majorana zero-energy modes - whose non-Abelian braiding statistics present a new paradigm for the realization of topological quantum computing. Using low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), we here report on the direct real-space visualization of chiral Majorana edge states in a monolayer topological superconductor, a prototypical magnet-superconductor hybrid system comprised of nano-scale Fe islands of monoatomic height on a Re(0001)-O(2$\times$1) surface. In particular, we demonstrate that interface e…
A vortex in an s-wave superconductor with a surface Dirac cone can trap a Majorana bound state with zero energy leading to a zero-bias peak (ZBP) of tunneling conductance. The iron-based superconductor FeTe$_x$Se$_{1-x}$ is one of the material candidates hosting these Majorana vortex modes. It has been observed by recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurement that the fraction of vortex cores possessing ZBPs decreases with increasing magnetic field on the surface of this iron-based superconductor. We construct a three-dimensional tight-binding model simulating the physics of over a hundre…
Josephson effect in junctions between unconventional superconductors is studied theoretically within the model describing the effects of interface roughness. The particularly important issue of applicability of the frequently used Sigrist-Rice formula for Josephson current in d-wave superconductor / insulator / d-wave superconductor junctions is addressed. We show that although the SR formula is not applicable in the ballistic case, it works well for rough interfaces when the diffusive normal metal regions exist between the d-wave superconductor and the insulator. It is shown that the SR appro…
Majorana quasiparticles localized in vortex cores of a chiral p-wave superconductor hybridize with one another to form bands in a vortex lattice. We begin by solving a fully microscopic theory describing all quasiparticle bands in a chiral p-wave superconductor in magnetic field, then use this solution to build localized Wannier wavefunctions corresponding to Majorana quasiparticles. A low-energy tight-binding theory describing the intervortex hopping of these is then derived, and its topological properties---which depend crucially on the signs of the imaginary intervortex hopping parameters--…
UBe13 was the second discovered heavy fermion superconductor, and numerous pieces of evidence exist that imply that it is an unconventional (non-BCS, non-s wave pairing symmetry) superconductor. Exhibiting even more signs of unconventional superconductivity, Th-doped UBe13 is perhaps the most puzzling of any of the unconventional superconductors. This review considers both the parent, undoped compound as well as the more interesting Th-doped UBe13. After summarizing the rather thorough characterization, which because of the interest in these compounds has continued from their discovery in 1983…
We extend the circuit theory of superconductivity to cover transport and proximity effect in mesoscopic systems that contain unconventional superconductor junctions. The approach fully accounts for zero-energy Andreev bound states forming at the surface of unconventional superconductors. As a simple application, we investigate the transport properties of a diffusive normal metal in series with a d-wave superconductor junction. We reveal the competition between the formation of Andreev bound states and proximity effect, that depends on the crystal orientation of the junction interface.
We prove a topological criterion for the existence of zero-energy Majorana bound-state on a disclination, a rotation symmetry breaking point defect, in 4-fold symmetric topological crystalline superconductors (TCS). We first establish a complete topological classification of TCS using the Chern invariant and three integral rotation invariants. By analytically and numerically studying disclinations, we algebraically deduce a Z_2-index that identifies the parity of the number of Majorana zero-modes at a disclination. Surprisingly, we also find weakly-protected Majorana fermions bound at the corn…
In this paper, a one-dimensional non-Hermitian quasiperiodic $p$-wave superconductor without $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry is studied. By analyzing the spectrum, we discovered there still exists real-complex energy transition even if the inexistence of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking. By the inverse participation ratio, we constructed such a correspondence that pure real energies correspond to the extended states and complex energies correspond to the localized states, and this correspondence is precise and effective to detect the mobility edges. After investigating the topological properties, we a…
Diamagnetically coupled magnetic field can be used as a probe of nodal positions in unconventional superconductors. The heat capacity depends on the angle $ϕ_0$ between the magnetic field and the nodal directions. We show that the anisotropy $C(ϕ_0)$ persists even in systems with strong paramagnetic coupling to the electrons's spins.
Two dimensional topological superconductors (TS) host chiral Majorana modes (MMs) localized at the boundaries. In this work, within quasiclassical approximation we study the effect of disorder on the localization length of MMs in two dimensional spin-orbit (SO) coupled superconductors. We find nonmonotonic behavior of the Majorana localization length as a function of disorder strength. At weak disorder, the Majorana localization length decreases with an increasing disorder strength. Decreasing the disorder scattering time below a critical value $τ_c$, the Majorana localization length starts to…
Realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes in the laboratory is one of the major goals in condensed matter physics. We review the current status of this rapidly-developing field, focusing on semiconductor-superconductor proposals for topological superconductivity. Material science progress and robust signatures of Majorana zero modes in recent experiments are discussed. After a brief introduction to the subject, we outline several next-generation experiments probing exotic properties of Majorana zero modes, including fusion rules and non-Abelian exchange statistics. Finall…
We report the observation of half-integer magnetic flux quantization in mesoscopic rings of superconducting $β$-Bi$_2$Pd thin films. The half-quantum fluxoid manifests itself as a $π$ phase shift in the quantum oscillation of the critical temperature. This result verifies unconventional superconductivity of $β$-Bi$_2$Pd, in accord with the expectation of a topological superconductor. We also discuss the strong indication that $β$-Bi$_2$Pd is a spin-triplet superconductor.
In condensed matter systems, zero-dimensional or one-dimensional Majorana modes can be realized respectively as the end and edge states of one-dimensional and two-dimensional topological superconductors. In this $\textit{top-down}$ approach, $(d-1)$-dimensional Majorana modes are obtained as the boundary states of a topologically nontrivial $d$-dimensional bulk. In a $\textit{bottom-up}$ approach instead, $d$-dimensional Majorana modes in a $d$-dimensional system can be realized as the continuous limit of a periodic lattice of coupled $(d-1)$-dimensional Majorana modes. We illustrate this idea…
Floquet Majorana fermions are steady states of equal superposition of electrons and holes in a periodically driven superconductor. We study the experimental signatures of Floquet Majorana fermions in transport measurements and show, both analytically and numerically, that their presence is signaled by a quantized conductance sum rule over discrete values of lead bias differing by multiple absorption or emission energies at drive frequency. We also study the effects of static disorder and find that the quantized sum rule is robust against weak disorder. Thus, we offer a unique way to identify t…
This is a short note presenting a repeated experiment of the half-quantized transport signature given by Majorana chiral modes living in a heterostructure formed by an s-wave superconductor and a quantum-anomalous-Hall insulator.
