Robust and Clean Majorana Zero Mode in the Vortex Core of High-Temperature Superconductor (Li0.84Fe0.16)OHFeSe
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: The Majorana fermion, which is its own antiparticle and obeys non-Abelian statistics, plays a critical role in topological quantum computing.It can be realized as a bound state at zero energy, called a Majorana zero mode (MZM), in the vortex core of a topological superconductor, or at the ends of a nanowire when both superconductivity and strong spin orbital coupling are present.A MZM can be detected as a zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) in tunneling spectroscopy.However, in practice, clean and robust MZMs have not been realized in the vortices of a superconductor because of contamination from impurity states or other closely packed Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon (CdGM) states, which hampers further manipulations of MZMs.Here, using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we show that a ZBCP well separated from the other discrete CdGM states exists ubiquitously in the cores of free vortices in the defect-free regions of ðLi 0.84 Fe 0.16 ÞOHFeSe, which has a superconducting transition temperature of 42 K.Moreover, a Diraccone-type surface state is observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and its topological nature is confirmed by band calculations.The observed ZBCP can naturally be attributed to a MZM arising from the chiral topological surface state of a bulk superconductor.Thus, ðLi 0.84 Fe 0.16 ÞOHFeSe provides an ideal platform for studying MZMs and topological quantum computing.
Source: Physical Review X
Authors: Qin Liu, Chen Chen, Tong Zhang, Rui Peng, Ya-Jun Yan, Chen-Hao-Ping Wen, Xia Lou, Yu-Long Huang, Jin-Peng Tian, Xiao-Li Dong, Guang-Wei Wang, Wei-Cheng Bao, Qiang-Hua Wang, Zhi-Ping Yin, Zhong-Xian Zhao, Dong-Lai Feng
Institutions: Fudan University, Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Zhejiang University of Water Resource and Electric Power, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University
Language: Latvian
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,200
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Science Challenge Project
OpenAlex ID: W2811511128