Chains of magnetic atoms placed on the surface of an s-wave superconductor with large spin-orbit coupling provide a promising platform for the realization of topological superconducting states characterized by the presence of Majorana zero-energy mod
es. In this work we study the properties of the one-dimensional chain of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states induced by magnetic impurities using a realistic model for the magnetic atoms that include the presence of multiple scattering channels. These channels are mixed by the spin-orbit coupling and, via the hybridization of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states at different sites of the chain, result in a multi-band structure for the chain. We obtain the topological phase diagram for such band structure. We identify the parameter regimes for which the different bands lead to a topological phase and show that the inclusion of higher bands can greatly enlarge the phase space for the realization of topological states.
We study the effect of strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on bound states induced by impurities in superconductors. The presence of spin-orbit coupling breaks the $mathbb{SU}(2)$-spin symmetry and causes the superconducting order parameter to have gene
rically both singlet (s-wave) and triplet (p-wave) components. We find that in the presence of SOC the spectrum of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states is qualitatively different in s-wave and p-wave superconductor, a fact that can be used to identify the superconducting pairing symmetry of the host system. We also predict that in the presence of SOC the spectrum of the impurity-induced bound states depends on the orientation of the magnetic moment $bf{S}$ of the impurity and, in particular, that by changing the orientation of $bf{S}$ the fermion-parity of the lowest energy bound state can be tuned. We then study the case of a dimer of magnetic impurities and show that in this case the YSR spectrum for a p-wave superconductor is qualitatively very different from the one for an s-wave superconductor even in the limit of vanishing SOC. Our predictions can be used to distinguish the symmetry of the order parameter and have implications for the Majorana proposals based on chains of magnetic atoms placed on the surface of superconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling.
Spin-orbit coupling in solids describes an interaction between an electrons spin, an internal quantum-mechanical degree of freedom, with its linear momentum, an external property. Spin-orbit interaction, due to its relativistic nature, is typically s
mall in solids, and is often taken into account perturbatively. It has been recently realized, however, that materials with strong spin-orbit coupling can lead to novel states of matter such as topological insulators and superconductors. This exciting development might lead to a number of useful applications ranging from spintronics to quantum computing. In particular, theory predicts that narrow band gap semiconductors with strong spin-obit coupling are a suitable platform for the realization of Majorana zero-energy modes, predicted to obey exotic non-Abelian braiding statistics. The pursuit for realizing Majorana modes in condensed matter systems and investigating their exotic properties has been a subject of intensive experimental research recently. Here, we demonstrate the first realization of gate-defined wires where one-dimensional confinement is created using electrostatic potentials, on large area InAs two dimensional electron systems (2DESs). The electronic properties of the parent 2DES are fully characterized in the region that wires are formed. The strength of the spin-orbit interaction has been measured and tuned while the high mobility of the 2DES is maintained in the wire. We show that this scheme could provide new prospective solutions for scalable and complex wire networks.
We theoretically obtain the phase diagram of localized magnetic impurity spins arranged in a one-dimensional chain on top of a one- or two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The interactions between the spins are mediated by th
e Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) mechanism through the electron gas. Recent work predicts that such a system may intrinsically support topological superconductivity when a helical spin-density wave is formed in the spins, and superconductivity is induced in the electron gas. We analyze, using both analytical and numerical techniques, the conditions under which such a helical spin state is stable in a realistic situation in the presence of disorder. We show that it becomes unstable towards the formation of (anti) ferromagnetic domains if the disorder in the impurity spin positions $delta R$ becomes comparable with the Fermi wave length. We also examine the stability of the helical state against Gaussian potential disorder in the electronic system using a diagrammatic approach. Our results suggest that in order to stabilize the helical spin state, and thus the emergent topological superconductivity, a sufficiently strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, is required.
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 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.
