High-temperature Majorana zero modes

Alejandro Mercado; Sharmistha Sahoo; M. Franz

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.128.137002

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arXiv · 2106.12473

High-temperature Majorana zero modes

Alejandro Mercado·Sharmistha Sahoo·M. Franz

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Abstract

We employ general arguments and numerical simulations to show that unpaired Majorana zero modes can occur in cores of Abrikosov vortices at the interface between a three-dimensional topological insulator, such as Bi$_2$Se$_3$, and a twisted bilayer of high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductor, such as Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. When the twist angle is close to $45^{\rm o}$ the latter forms a fully gapped topological superconductor up to temperatures approaching its native $T_c\simeq 90$K. Majorana zero modes in these structures will persist up to unprecedented high temperatures and, depending on the quality of the interface, may be protected by gaps with larger magnitudes than other candidate systems.

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Alejandro Mercado, Sharmistha Sahoo, M. Franz. 2021-06-23. High-temperature Majorana zero modes. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.137002

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