No Arabic abstract
The newly discovered topological Dirac semimetals host the possibilities of various topological phase transitions through the control of spin-orbit coupling as well as symmetries and dimensionalities. Here, we report a magnetotransport study of high-mobility (Cd1-xZnx)3As2 films, where the topological Dirac semimetal phase can be turned into a trivial insulator via chemical substitution. By high-field measurements with a Hall-bar geometry, magnetoresistance components ascribed to the chiral charge pumping have been distinguished from other extrinsic effects. The negative magnetoresistance exhibits a clear suppression upon Zn doping, reflecting decreasing Berry curvature of the band structure as the topological phase transition is induced by reducing the spin-orbit coupling.
The recently discovered three dimensional or bulk topological insulators are expected to exhibit exotic quantum phenomena. It is believed that a trivial insulator can be twisted into a topological state by modulating the spin-orbit interaction or the crystal lattice via odd number of band
In magnetic topological phases of matter, the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect is an emergent phenomenon driven by ferromagnetic doping, magnetic proximity effects and strain engineering. The realization of QAH states with multiple dissipationless edge and surface conduction channels defined by a Chern number $mathcal{C}geq1$ was foreseen for the ferromagnetically ordered SnTe class of topological crystalline insulators (TCIs). From magnetotransport measurements on Sn$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$Te ($0.00leq{x}leq{0.08}$)(111) epitaxial thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF$_{2}$ substrates, hole mediated ferromagnetism is observed in samples with $xgeq0.06$ and the highest $T_mathrm{c}sim7.5,mathrm{K}$ is inferred from an anomalous Hall behavior in Sn$_{0.92}$Mn$_{0.08}$Te. The sizable anomalous Hall angle $sim$0.3 obtained for Sn$_{0.92}$Mn$_{0.08}$Te is one of the greatest reported for magnetic topological materials. The ferromagnetic ordering with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, complemented by the inception of anomalous Hall effect in the Sn$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$Te layers for a thickness commensurate with the decay length of the top and bottom surface states, points at Sn$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$Te as a preferential platform for the realization of QAH states in ferromagnetic TCIs.
The quantized version of anomalous Hall effect realized in magnetic topological insulators (MTIs) has great potential for the development of topological quantum physics and low-power electronic/spintronic applications. To enable dissipationless chiral edge conduction at zero magnetic field, effective exchange field arisen from the aligned magnetic dopants needs to be large enough to yield specific spin sub-band configurations. Here we report the thickness-tailored quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in Cr-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin films by tuning the system across the two-dimensional (2D) limit. In addition to the Chern number-related metal-to-insulator QAH phase transition, we also demonstrate that the induced hybridization gap plays an indispensable role in determining the ground magnetic state of the MTIs, namely the spontaneous magnetization owning to considerable Van Vleck spin susceptibility guarantees the zero-field QAH state with unitary scaling law in thick samples, while the quantization of the Hall conductance can only be achieved with the assistance of external magnetic fields in ultra-thin films. The modulation of topology and magnetism through structural engineering may provide a useful guidance for the pursuit of QAH-based new phase diagrams and functionalities.
Topological superconductivity holds promise for fault-tolerant quantum computing. While planar Josephson junctions are attractive candidates to realize this exotic state, direct phase-measurements as the fingerprint of the topological transition are missing. By embedding two gate-tunable Al/InAs Josephson junctions in a loop geometry, we measure a $pi$-jump in the junction phase with increasing in-plane magnetic field, ${bf B}_|$. This jump is accompanied by a minimum of the critical current, indicating a closing and reopening of the superconducting gap, strongly anisotropic in ${bf B}_|$. Our theory confirms that these signatures of a topological transition are compatible with the emergence of Majorana states.
Topological superconductivity supports exotic Majorana bound states (MBS) which are chargeless zero-energy emergent quasiparticles. With their non-Abelian exchange statistics and fractionalization of a single electron stored nonlocally as a spatially separated MBS, they are particularly suitable for implementing fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. While the main efforts to realize MBS have focused on one-dimensional systems, the onset of topological superconductivity requires delicate parameter tuning and geometric constraints pose significant challenges for their control and demonstration of non-Abelian statistics. To overcome these challenges, building on recent experimental advances in planar Josephson junctions (JJs), we propose a MBS platform of X-shaped JJs. This versatile implementation reveals how external flux control of the superconducting phase difference can generate and manipulate multiple MBS pairs to probe non-Abelian statistics. The underlying topological superconductivity exists over a large parameter space, consistent with materials used in our fabrication of such X junctions, as an important step towards scalable topological quantum computing.