New directions in the pursuit of Majorana fermions in solid state systems

Abstract

The 1937 theoretical discovery of Majorana fermions-whose defining property is that they are their own anti-particles-has since impacted diverse problems ranging from neutrino physics and dark matter searches to the fractional quantum Hall effect and superconductivity. Despite this long history the unambiguous observation of Majorana fermions nevertheless remains an outstanding goal. This review article highlights recent advances in the condensed matter search for Majorana that have led many in the field to believe that this quest may soon bear fruit. We begin by introducing in some detail exotic 'topological' one-and two-dimensional superconductors that support Majorana fermions at their boundaries and at vortices. We then turn to one of the key insights that arose during the past few years; namely, that it is possible to 'engineer' such exotic superconductors in the laboratory by forming appropriate heterostructures with ordinary s-wave superconductors. Numerous proposals of this type are discussed, based on diverse materials such as topological insulators, conventional semiconductors, ferromagnetic metals, and many others. The all-important question of how one experimentally detects Majorana fermions in these setups is then addressed. We focus on three classes of measurements that provide smoking-gun Majorana signatures: tunneling, Josephson effects, and interferometry. Finally, we discuss the most remarkable properties of condensed matter Majorana fermions-the non-Abelian exchange statistics that they generate and their associated potential for quantum computation.

Topological states in a ladder-like optical lattice containing ultracold atoms in higher orbital bands

“…In contrast, breaking time-reversal symmetry within the SSH model of spinless fermions is impossible because the tunnelling is strictly 1D and thus cannot form flux loops. Finally, we discuss a potential connection of the orbital ladder to Majorana physics 38,39 . The orbital ladder at half filling maps to two decoupled Majorana chains (see Supplementary Note 8) 22 .…”

Effect of Majorana Fermions on Andreev Spectroscopy of Multiband Topological Superconductors

“…Recent interest in non-trivial topological properties of insulators [1] and superconductors [2,3] has spurred intensive research on band models displaying non-trivial topology [4].…”

Chemical Gating of a Weak Topological Insulator: Bi14Rh3I9

“…Their peculiar properties bear the potential to enable novel types of information processing. [6][7][8] An important step toward so-called topological quantum computing is the recent observation of signatures of Majorana fermion modes. 9 In closer reach could be an application of the recently observed excellent thermoelectric properties of the title compound 10 or of the allelectrical detection of spin polarization by combination of quantum spin Hall and metallic spin Hall transport in a single device.…”