Majorana bound states without vortices in topological superconductors with electrostatic defects

Vortices in two-dimensional superconductors with broken time-reversal and spin-rotation symmetry can bind states at zero excitation energy. These socalled Majorana bound states transform a thermal insulator into a thermal metal and may be used to encode topologically protected qubits. We identify an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Wimmer, M, Akhmerov, A R, Medvedyeva, M V, Tworzydło, J, Beenakker, C W J
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 24.09.2011
Subjects
Metal surfaces
Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Topological superconductors
Vortices
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Summary:Vortices in two-dimensional superconductors with broken time-reversal and spin-rotation symmetry can bind states at zero excitation energy. These socalled Majorana bound states transform a thermal insulator into a thermal metal and may be used to encode topologically protected qubits. We identify an alternative mechanism for the formation of Majorana bound states, akin to the way in which Shockley states are formed on metal surfaces: An atomic-scale electrostatic line defect can have a pair of Majorana bound states at the end points. The Shockley mechanism explains the appearance of a thermal metal in vortex-free lattice models of chiral p-wave superconductors and (unlike the vortex mechanism) is also operative in the topologically trivial phase.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1002.3570