A road to reality with topological superconductors

C. W. J. Beenakker; L. P. Kouwenhoven

doi:10.1038/nphys3778

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arXiv · 1606.09439

A road to reality with topological superconductors

C. W. J. Beenakker·L. P. Kouwenhoven

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Abstract

Topological states of matter are a source of low-energy quasiparticles, bound to a defect or propagating along the surface. In a superconductor these are Majorana fermions, described by a real rather than a complex wave function. The absence of complex phase factors promises protection against decoherence in quantum computations based on topological superconductivity. This is a tutorial style introduction written for a Nature Physics focus issue on topological matter.

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C. W. J. Beenakker, L. P. Kouwenhoven. 2016-06-30. A road to reality with topological superconductors. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3778

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