Superconducting Proximity Effect and Majorana Fermions at the Surface of a Topological Insulator
We study the proximity effect between an s-wave superconductor and the surface states of a strong topological insulator. The resulting two-dimensional state resembles a spinless px + ipy superconductor, but does not break time reversal symmetry. This state supports Majorana bound states at vortices....
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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2008
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| Online Access: | https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/43444 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14332/43444 |
| Summary: | We study the proximity effect between an s-wave superconductor and the surface states of a strong topological insulator. The resulting two-dimensional state resembles a spinless px + ipy superconductor, but does not break time reversal symmetry. This state supports Majorana bound states at vortices. We show that linear junctions between superconductors mediated by the topological insulator form a nonchiral one-dimensional wire for Majorana fermions, and that circuits formed from these junctions provide a method for creating, manipulating, and fusing Majorana bound states. Suggested Citation: L. Fu and C.L. Kane. (2008). "Superconducting Proximity Effect and Majorana Fermions at the Surface of a Topological Insulator." Physical Review Letters. 100 , 096407. © 2008 The American Physical Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.096407 |
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