Topological superconductivity from unconventional band degeneracy with conventional pairing

We present a new scheme for Majorana modes in systems with nonsymmorphic-symmetry-protected band degeneracy. We reveal that when the gapless fermionic excitations are encoded with conventional superconductivity and magnetism, which can be intrinsic or induced by proximity effect, topological superconductivity and Majorana modes can be obtained. We illustrate this outcome in a system which respects the space group P4/nmm and features a fourfold-degenerate fermionic mode at (π, π) in the Brillouin zone. We show that in the presence of conventional superconductivity, different types of topological superconductivity, i.e., first-order and second-order topological superconductivity, with coexisting fragile Wannier obstruction in the latter case, can be generated in accordance with the different types of magnetic orders; Majorana modes are shown to exist on the boundary, at the corner and in the vortices. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, another example related to the space group P4/ncc based on this scheme is also provided. Our study offers insights into constructing topological superconductors based on bulk energy bands and conventional superconductivity and helps to find new material candidates and design new platforms for realizing Majorana modes.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-09-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52156-1
Citations
14
Primary Topic
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.73

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article

Topological superconductivity from unconventional band degeneracy with conventional pairing

Shengshan Qin, Jiangping Hu, Zhenfei Wu, Chen Fang et al.
14 citations
Nature Communications
Topological Materials and Phenomena
4.73
article

Topological superconductivity from unconventional band degeneracy with conventional pairing

Shengshan Qin, Jiangping Hu, Zhenfei Wu, Chen Fang, Yuxuan Wang, Zhongyi Zhang, Fu‐Chun Zhang
article en
14 citations

Abstract

We present a new scheme for Majorana modes in systems with nonsymmorphic-symmetry-protected band degeneracy. We reveal that when the gapless fermionic excitations are encoded with conventional superconductivity and magnetism, which can be intrinsic or induced by proximity effect, topological superconductivity and Majorana modes can be obtained. We illustrate this outcome in a system which respects the space group P4/nmm and features a fourfold-degenerate fermionic mode at (π, π) in the Brillouin zone. We show that in the presence of conventional superconductivity, different types of topological superconductivity, i.e., first-order and second-order topological superconductivity, with coexisting fragile Wannier obstruction in the latter case, can be generated in accordance with the different types of magnetic orders; Majorana modes are shown to exist on the boundary, at the corner and in the vortices. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, another example related to the space group P4/ncc based on this scheme is also provided. Our study offers insights into constructing topological superconductors based on bulk energy bands and conventional superconductivity and helps to find new material candidates and design new platforms for realizing Majorana modes.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK), University of Florida (US), Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (CN), Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN), Institute of Physics (CN), National Laboratory for Superconductivity (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Florida College (US)
National Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars, Division of Materials Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Topological Materials and Phenomena
4.73
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