In this study, we examine effective field theories of superconducting phases with topological order, making connection to proposed realizations of exotic topological phases(including those hosting Ising and Fibonacci anyons) in superconductor-quantum
Hall heterostructures. Our effective field theories for the non-Abelian superconducting states are non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories in which the condensation of vortex-quasiparticle composites lead to the associated Abelian quantum Hall states. This Chern-Simons-Higgs condensation process is dual to the emergence of superconducting non-Abelian topological phases in coupled chain constructions. In such transitions, the chiral central charge of the system generally changes, so they fall outside the description of bosonic condensation transitions put forth by Bais and Slingerland (though the two approaches agree when the described transitions coincide). Our condensation process may be generalized to Chern-Simons theories based on arbitrary Lie groups, always describing a transition from a Lie Algebra to its Cartan subalgebra. We include several instructive examples of such transitions.
We provide a current perspective on the rapidly developing field of Majorana zero modes in solid state systems. We emphasize the theoretical prediction, experimental realization, and potential use of Majorana zero modes in future information processi
ng devices through braiding-based topological quantum computation. Well-separated Majorana zero modes should manifest non-Abelian braiding statistics suitable for unitary gate operations for topological quantum computation. Recent experimental work, following earlier theoretical predictions, has shown specific signatures consistent with the existence of Majorana modes localized at the ends of semiconductor nanowires in the presence of superconducting proximity effect. We discuss the experimental findings and their theoretical analyses, and provide a perspective on the extent to which the observations indicate the existence of anyonic Majorana zero modes in solid state systems. We also discuss fractional quantum Hall systems (the 5/2 state) in this context. We describe proposed schemes for carrying out braiding with Majorana zero modes as well as the necessary steps for implementing topological quantum computation.
We study origin of Rashba spin-orbit interaction at SrTiO$_3$ surfaces and LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces by considering the interplay between atomic spin-orbit coupling and inversion asymmetry at the surface or interface. We show that, in a simple t
ight-binding model involving 3d $t_{2g}$ bands of Ti ions, the induced spin-orbit coupling in the $d_{xz}$ and $d_{yz}$ bands is cubic in momentum whereas the spin-orbit interaction in the $d_{xy}$ band has linear momentum dependence. We also find that the spin-orbit interaction in one-dimensional channels at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces is linear in momentum for all bands. We discuss implications of our results for transport experiments on SrTiO$_3$ surfaces and LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces. In particular, we analyze the effect of a given spin-orbit interaction term on magnetotransport of LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ by calculating weak anti-localization corrections to the conductance and to universal conductance fluctuations.
We discuss systems which have some, but not all of the hallmarks of topological phases. These systems topological character is not fully captured by a local order parameter, but they are also not fully described at low energies by topological quantum
field theories. For such systems, we formulate the concepts of quasi-topological phases (to be contrasted with true topological phases), and symmetry-protected quasi-topological phases. We describe examples of systems in each class and discuss the implications for topological protection of information and operations. We explain why topological phases and quasi-topological phases have greater stability than is sometimes appreciated. In the examples that we discuss, we focus on Ising-type (a.k.a. Majorana) systems particularly relevant to recent theoretical advances and experimental efforts.
We introduce and study a class of anyon models that are a natural generalization of Ising anyons and Majorana fermion zero modes. These models combine an Ising anyon sector with a sector associated with $SO(m)_2$ Chern-Simons theory. We show how they
can arise in a simple scenario for electron fractionalization and give a complete account of their quasiparticles types, fusion rules, and braiding. We show that the image of the braid group is finite for a collection of $2n$ fundamental quasiparticles and is a proper subgroup of the metaplectic representation of $Sp(2n-2,mathbb{F}_m)ltimes H(2n-2,mathbb{F}_m)$, where $Sp(2n-2,mathbb{F}_m)$ is the symplectic group over the finite field $mathbb{F}_m$ and $H(2n-2,mathbb{F}_m)$ is the extra special group (also called the $(2n-1)$-dimensional Heisenberg group) over $mathbb{F}_m$. Moreover, the braiding of fundamental quasiparticles can be efficiently simulated classically. However, computing the result of braiding a certain type of composite quasiparticle is $# P$-hard, although it is not universal for quantum computation because it has a finite braid group image. This a rare example of a topological phase that is not universal for quantum computation through braiding but nevertheless has $# P$-hard link invariants. We argue that our models are closely related to recent analyses finding non-Abelian anyonic properties for defects in quantum Hall systems, generalizing Majorana zero modes in quasi-1D systems.
We analyze the prospects for stabilizing Majorana zero modes in semiconductor nanowires that are proximity-coupled to higher-temperature superconductors. We begin with the case of iron pnictides which, though they are s-wave superconductors, are beli
eved to have superconducting gaps that change sign. We then consider the case of cuprate superconudctors. We show that a nanowire on a step-like surface, especially in an orthorhombic material such as YBCO, can support Majorana zero modes at an elevated temperature.
We introduce a Hamiltonian coupling Majorana fermion degrees of freedom to a quantum dimer model. We argue that, in three dimensions, this model has deconfined quasiparticles supporting Majorana zero modes obeying nontrivial statistics. We introduce
two effective field theory descriptions of this deconfined phase, in which the excitations have Coulomb interactions. A key feature of this system is the existence of topologically non-trivial fermionic excitations, called Hopfions because, in a suitable continuum limit of the dimer model, such excitations correspond to the Hopf map and are related to excitations identified in arXiv:1003.1964. We identify corresponding topological invariants of the quantum dimer model (with or without fermions) which are present even on lattices with trivial topology. The Hopfion energy gap depends upon the phase of the model. We briefly comment on the possibility of a phase with a gapped, deconfined $mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field, as may arise on the stacked triangular lattice.
We show that long-ranged superconducting order is not necessary to guarantee the existence of Majorana fermion zero modes at the ends of a quantum wire. We formulate a concrete model which applies, for instance, to a semiconducting quantum wire with
strong spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman splitting coupled to a wire with algebraically-decaying superconducting fluctuations. We solve this model by bosonization and show that it supports Majorana fermion zero modes. We argue that a large class of models will also show the same phenomenon. We discuss the implications for experiments on spin-orbit coupled nanowires coated with superconducting film and for LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces.
We present the first numerical computation of the neutral fermion gap, $Delta_psi$, in the $ u=5/2$ quantum Hall state, which is analogous to the energy gap for a Bogoliubov-de Gennes quasiparticle in a superconductor. We find $Delta_psi approx 0.027
frac{e^2}{epsilon ell_0}$, comparable to the charge gap, and discuss the implications for topological quantum information processing. We also deduce an effective Fermi velocity $v_F$ for neutral fermions from the low-energy spectra for odd numbers of electrons, and thereby obtain a correlation length $xi_{psi}={v_F}/Delta_{psi} approx 1.3, ell_0$. We comment on the implications of our results for electronic mechanisms of superconductivity more generally.
In a recent paper, Teo and Kane proposed a 3D model in which the defects support Majorana fermion zero modes. They argued that exchanging and twisting these defects would implement a set R of unitary transformations on the zero mode Hilbert space whi
ch is a ghostly recollection of the action of the braid group on Ising anyons in 2D. In this paper, we find the group T_{2n} which governs the statistics of these defects by analyzing the topology of the space K_{2n} of configurations of 2n defects in a slowly spatially-varying gapped free fermion Hamiltonian: T_{2n}equiv {pi_1}(K_{2n})$. We find that the group T_{2n}= Z times T^r_{2n}, where the ribbon permutation group T^r_{2n} is a mild enhancement of the permutation group S_{2n}: T^r_{2n} equiv Z_2 times E((Z_2)^{2n}rtimes S_{2n}). Here, E((Z_2)^{2n}rtimes S_{2n}) is the even part of (Z_2)^{2n} rtimes S_{2n}, namely those elements for which the total parity of the element in (Z_2)^{2n} added to the parity of the permutation is even. Surprisingly, R is only a projective representation of T_{2n}, a possibility proposed by Wilczek. Thus, Teo and Kanes defects realize `Projective Ribbon Permutation Statistics, which we show to be consistent with locality. We extend this phenomenon to other dimensions, co-dimensions, and symmetry classes. Since it is an essential input for our calculation, we review the topological classification of gapped free fermion systems and its relation to Bott periodicity.
