Chiral p -wave superconductivity in a twisted array of proximitized quantum wires

Abstract

A superconductor with ${p}_{x}+i{p}_{y}$ 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. A weakly coupled parallel array of these wires forms a gapless $p$-wave superconductor. Two such arrays, stacked on top of one another with a twist angle close to ${90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, spontaneously break time reversal symmetry and produce a robust, fully gapped ${p}_{x}+i{p}_{y}$ superconductor. We map out the topological phases of this setup, demonstrate the existence of Majorana zero modes in vortices, and discuss prospects for experimental realization.