Two-dimensional Topological Superconductors Research Articles

Number-conserving interacting fermion models with exact topological superconducting ground states

We present a method to construct number-conserving Hamiltonians whose ground states exactly reproduce an arbitrarily chosen BCS-type mean-field state. Such parent Hamiltonians can be constructed not only for the usual $s$-wave BCS state, but also for more exotic states of this form, including the ground states of Kitaev wires and two-dimensional topological superconductors. This method leads to infinite families of locally interacting fermion models with exact topological superconducting ground states. After explaining the general technique, we apply this method to construct two specific classes of models. The first one is a one-dimensional double wire lattice model with Majorana-like degenerate ground states. The second one is a two-dimensional ${p}_{x}+i{p}_{y}$ superconducting model, where we also obtain analytic expressions for topologically degenerate ground states in the presence of vortices. Our models may provide a deeper conceptual understanding of how Majorana zero modes could emerge in condensed matter systems, as well as inspire novel routes to realize them in experiment.

Majorana zero modes in a two-dimensional p -wave superconductor

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.

Topological spin-singlet superconductors with underlying sublattice structure

Majorana boundary quasiparticles may naturally emerge in a spin-singlet superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit interactions when a Zeeman magnetic field breaks time-reversal symmetry. Their existence and robustness against adiabatic changes is deeply related, via a bulk-edge correspondence, to topological properties of the band structure. The present paper shows that the spin-orbit may be responsible for topological transitions when the superconducting system has an underlying sublattice structure, as it appears in a dimerized Peierls chain, graphene, and phosphorene. These systems, which belong to the Bogoliubov--de Gennes class D, are found to have an extra symmetry that plays the role of the parity. It enables the characterization of the topology of the particle-hole symmetric band structure in terms of band inversions. The topological phase diagrams this leads to are then obtained analytically and exactly. They reveal that, because of the underlying sublattice structure, the existence of topological superconducting phases requires a minimum doping fixed by the strength of the Rashba spin orbit. Majorana boundary quasiparticles are finally predicted to emerge when the Fermi level lies in the vicinity of the bottom (top) of the conduction (valence) band in semiconductors such as the dimerized Peierls chain and phosphorene. In a two-dimensional topological superconductor based on (stretched) graphene, which is semimetallic, Majorana quasiparticles cannot emerge at zero and low doping, that is, when the Fermi level is close to the Dirac points. Nevertheless, they are likely to appear in the vicinity of the van Hove singularities.

Analytic expression for the entanglement entropy of a two-dimensional topological superconductor

We study a model of two dimensional, topological superconductivity on a square lattice. The model contains hopping, spin orbit coupling and a time reversal symmetry breaking Zeeman term. This term, together with the chemical potential act as knobs that induce transitions between trivial and topological superconductivity. As previously found numerically, the transitions are seen in the entanglement entropy as cusps as a function of model parameters. In this work we study the entanglement entropy analytically by keeping only its most important components. Our study is based on the intuition that the number of Fermi surfaces in the system controls the topological invariant. With our approximate expression for the entanglement entropy we are able to extract the divergent entanglement entropy derivative close to the phase transition.

Self-consistent study of Abelian and non-Abelian order in a two-dimensional topological superconductor

We perform self-consistent studies of two-dimensional (2D) $s$-wave topological superconductivity (TSC) with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman field by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. In particular, we examine the effects of a nonmagnetic impurity in detail and show that the nature of the spin-polarised midgap bound state varies significantly depending on the material parameters. Most notably, a nonmagnetic impurity in a 2D $s$-wave topological superconductor can act like a magnetic impurity in a conventional $s$-wave superconductor, leading to phase transitions of the ground state as the impurity potential is varied. Furthermore, by solving for the spin-dependent Hartree potential self-consistently along with the superconducting order parameter, we demonstrate that topological charge density waves can coexist with TSC at half filling just as in a conventional $s$-wave superconductor.

Electrically tunable topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions in two dimensions

The external controllability of topological superconductors and Majorana fermions would be important both for fundamental and practical interests. Here we predict the electric-field control of Majorana fermions in two-dimensional topological superconductors utilizing a topological insulator thin film proximity coupled to a conventional $s$-wave superconductor. With ferromagnetic ordering, the tunable structure inversion asymmetry by vertical electric field could induce topological quantum phase transition and realize a chiral topological superconductor state. A zero-energy Majorana bound state appears at the boundary of an applied electric field spot, which can be observed by scanning tunneling microscopy. Furthermore, the structure inversion asymmetry could also enlarge the helical topological superconductor state in the phase diagram, making the realization of such an exotic state more feasible. The electrical control of topological phases could further apply to van der Waals materials such as two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides.

Polygon sign rules of Majorana fermions in two-dimensional topological superconductors

Recently, Majorana fermions (MFs) have attracted intensive attention due to their exotic statistics and possible applications in topological quantum computation. They are proposed to exist in various two-dimensional (2D) topological systems, such as [Formula: see text] topological superconductor (SC) and nanowire–superconducting hybridization system. In this paper, we point out that Majorana fermions in different topological systems obey different types of polygon sign rules. A numerical approach is described to identify the type of polygon sign rule of the Majorana fermions. Applying the approach to study two 2D topological systems, we find that vortex-induced Majorana fermions obey topological polygon sign rule and line-defect-induced Majorana fermions obey normal polygon sign rule.

Tunable Majorana fermion from Landau quantization in 2D topological superconductors

We study the generation of Majorana fermions in a two-dimensional topological superconductor placed in a transverse magnetic field B. A topological insulator/superconductor heterostructure and a two-dimensional p-wave superconductor are discussed. It is demonstrated that in these systems a single vortex creates two Majorana fermions, one hosted at the vortex core. The wave function of the second Majorana state is localized in the superconductor volume along a circle of radius $r^* \propto B^{-1}$ centered at the vortex core. In the case of many vortices, the sensitivity of $r^*$ to the magnetic field B may be used to control the coupling between the Majorana fermions. The latter property could be an asset for quantum computations.

Manifestation of chirality in the vortex lattice in a two-dimensional topological superconductor

We study the vortex lattice in a two-dimensional s-wave topological superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman field by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations self-consistently for the superconducting order parameter. We find that when spin-orbit coupling is relatively weak, one of the two underlying chiralities in the topological superconducting state can be strongly manifest in the vortex core structure and govern the response of the system to vorticity and a nonmagnetic impurity where the vortex is pinned. The Majorana zero mode in the vortex core is found to be robust against the nonmagnetic impurity in that it remains effectively a zero-energy bound state regardless of the impurity potential strength and the major chirality. The spin polarization of the Majorana bound state depends on the major chirality for weak spin-orbit coupling, while it is determined simply by the vorticity when spin-orbit coupling is relatively strong.

Multifarious topological quantum phase transitions in two-dimensional topological superconductors

We study the two-dimensional topological superconductors of spinless fermions in a checkerboard-lattice Chern-insulator model. With the short-range p-wave superconducting pairing, multifarious topological quantum phase transitions have been found and several phases with high Chern numbers have been observed. We have established a rich phase diagram for these topological superconducting states. A finite-size checkerboard-lattice cylinder with a harmonic trap potential has been further investigated. Based upon the self-consistent numerical calculations of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, various phase transitions have also been identified at different regions of the system. Multiple pairs of Majorana fermions are found to be well-separated and localized at the phase boundaries between the phases characterized by different Chern numbers.

Topologically induced fermion parity flips in superconductor vortices

A highlighting feature of Majorana bound states in two-dimensional topological superconductors is that they gain a phase factor of $\pi$ upon being orbited by a vortex. This work focuses on the vortex degree of freedom itself and demonstrates that the change in the Majorana state is accompanied by a fermion parity change within the vortex. Such a parity flip is interpreted as a higher dimensional analog of the fermion parity pump mechanism in superconducting wires as well as through general topological arguments. It is demonstrated in terms of level crossings in three different situations - in i) spin-triplet paired superconductors, and in proximity-induced superconducting systems involving ii) quantum spin Hall-ferromagnet hybrids and iii) Chern insulators.

Orbital angular momentum in a topological superconductor with Chern number higher than 1

We investigate the bulk orbital angular momentum (AM) in a two-dimensional hole-doped topological superconductor (SC) which is composed of a hole-doped semiconductor thin film, a magnetic insulator, and an $s$-wave SC and is characterized by the Chern number $C=\ensuremath{-}3$. In the topological phase, ${L}_{z}/N$ is strongly reduced from the intrinsic value by the non-particle-hole-symmetric edge states as in the corresponding chiral $f$-wave SCs when the spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) are small, while this reduction of ${L}_{z}/N$ does not work for the large SOIs. Here ${L}_{z}$ and $N$ are the bulk orbital AM and the total number of particles at zero temperature, respectively. As a result, ${L}_{z}/N$ is discontinuous or continuous at the topological phase transition depending on the strengths of the SOIs. We also discuss the effects of the edge states by calculating the radial distributions of the orbital AM.

Zeeman-Field-Tuned Topological Phase Transitions in a Two-Dimensional Class-DIII Superconductor.

We investigate the topological phase transitions in a two-dimensional time-reversal invariant topological superconductor in the presence of a Zeeman field. Based on the spin Chern number theory, we find that the system exhibits a number of topologically distinct phases with changing the out-of-plane component of the Zeeman field, including a quantum spin Hall-like phase, quantum anomalous Hall-like phases with total Chern number C = −2, −1, 1 and 2, and a topologically trivial superconductor phase. The BdG band gap closes at each boundary of the phase transitions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the zero bias conductance provides clear transport signatures of the different topological phases, which are robust against symmetry-breaking perturbations.

Topological superconductor with a large Chern number and a large bulk excitation gap in single-layer graphene

We show that a two-dimensional topological superconductor (TSC) can be realized in a hybrid system with a conventional $s$-wave superconductor proximity-coupled to a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state from the Rashba and exchange effects in single layer graphene. With very low or even zero doping near the Dirac points, i.e., two inequivalent valleys, this TSC has a Chern number as large as four, which supports four Majorana edge modes. More importantly, we show that this TSC has a robust topologically nontrivial bulk excitation gap, which can be larger or even one order of magnitude larger than the proximity-induced superconducting gap. This unique property paves a way for the application of QAH insulators as seed materials to realize robust TSCs and Majorana modes.

Existence of zero-energy impurity states in different classes of topological insulators and superconductors and their relation to topological phase transitions

We consider the effects of impurities on topological insulators and superconductors. We start by identifying the general conditions under which the eigenenergies of an arbitrary Hamiltonian H belonging to one of the Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes undergo a robust zero energy crossing as a function of an external parameter which can be, for example, the impurity strength. We define a generalized root of \det H, and use it to predict or rule out robust zero-energy crossings in all symmetry classes. We complement this result with an analysis based on almost degenerate perturbation theory, which allows a derivation of the asymptotic low-energy behavior of the ensemble averaged density of states $\rho \sim E^\alpha$ for all symmetry classes, and makes it transparent that the exponent \alpha\ does not depend on the choice of the random matrix ensemble. Finally, we show that a lattice of impurities can drive a topologically trivial system into a nontrivial phase, and in particular we demonstrate that impurity bands carrying extremely large Chern numbers can appear in different symmetry classes of two-dimensional topological insulators and superconductors. We use the generalized root of \det H(k) to reveal a spiderweblike momentum space structure of the energy gap closings that separate the topologically distinct phases in p_x + i p_y superconductors in the presence of an impurity lattice.

Spin-polarized edge currents and Majorana fermions in one- and two-dimensional topological superconductors

We investigate the persistent currents, spin-polarized local density of states, and spectral functions of topological superconductors constructed by placing ferromagnetic impurities on top of an s-wave superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit interaction. We solve self-consistently for the superconducting order parameter and investigate both two-dimensional blocks and one-dimensional wires of ferromagnetic impurities, with the magnetic moments pointing both perpendicular and parallel to the surface. We find that the topologically protected edge states of ferromagnetic blocks give rise to spin-polarized edge currents, but that the total persistent current flows in opposite direction to what is expected from the dispersion relation of the edge states. We also show that the Majorana fermions at the end points of one-dimensional wires are spin-polarized, which can be directly related to the spin-polarization of the edge currents of two-dimensional blocks. Connections are also made to the physics of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states for zero-dimensional impurities.

Verifying non-Abelian statistics by numerical braiding Majorana fermions

Recently, Majorana fermions have attracted intensive attention because of their possible non-Abelian statistics and potential applications in topological quantum computation. This paper describes an approach to verify the non-Abelian statistics of Majorana fermions in topological superconductors. From the relationship between the braiding operator of Majorana fermions and that of Bogoliubov–de Gennes states, we determine that Majorana fermions in one-dimensional and two-dimensional topological superconductors both obey non-Abelian statistics.

Topological aspects of π phase winding junctions in superconducting wires

We theoretically investigate Josephson junctions with a phase shift of π in various proximity induced one-dimensional superconductor models. One of the salient experimental signatures of topological superconductors, namely the fractionalized periodic Josephson effect, is closely related to the occurrence of a characteristic zero energy bound state in such junctions. We make a detailed analysis of a more general type of π-junctions coined ‘phase winding junctions’ where the phase of the order parameter rotates by an angle π while its absolute value is kept finite. Such junctions have different properties, also from a topological viewpoint, and there are no protected zero energy modes. We compare the phenomenology of such junctions in topological (p-wave) and trivial (s-wave) superconducting wires, and briefly discuss possible experimental probes. Furthermore, we propose a topological field theory that gives a minimal description of a wire with defects corresponding to π-junctions. This effective theory is a one-dimensional version of similar theories describing Majorana bound states in half-vortices of two-dimensional topological superconductors.

Orbital angular momentum in a nonchiral topological superconductor

We investigate the bulk orbital angular momentum in a two-dimensional time-reversal broken topological superconductor with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction, the Zeeman interaction, and the $s$-wave pairing potential. Prior to the topological phase transition, we find the crossover from $s$ wave to $p$ wave. For the large spin-orbit interaction, even in the topological phase, $L_z/N$ does not reach $-1/2$, which is the intrinsic value in chiral $p$-wave superconductors. Here $L_z$ and $N$ are the bulk orbital angular momentum and the total number of electrons at zero temperature, respectively. Finally, we discuss the effects of nonmagnetic impurities.

Charge and spin edge currents in two-dimensional Floquet topological superconductors

A time periodic driving on a topologically trivial system induces edge modes and topological properties. In this work we consider triplet and singlet superconductors subject to periodic variations of the chemical potential, spin-orbit coupling, and magnetization in both topologically trivial and nontrivial phases, and study their influence on the charge and spin currents that propagate along the edges of the two-dimensional system, for moderate to large driving frequencies. Currents associated with the edge modes are induced in the trivial phases and enhanced in the topological phases. In some cases there is a sign reversal of the currents as a consequence of the periodic driving. The edge states associated with the finite quasienergy states at the edge of the Floquet zone are in general robust, while the stability of the zero quasienergy states depends on the parameters. Also, the spin polarization of the Floquet spectrum quasienergies is strong as for the unperturbed topological phases. It is found that in some cases the unperturbed edge states are immersed in a continuum of states due to the perturbation, particularly if the driving frequency is not large enough. However, their contribution to the edge currents and spin polarization is still significant.