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Moire-enabled topological superconductivity

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 نشر من قبل Peter Liljeroth
 تاريخ النشر 2020
  مجال البحث فيزياء
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The search for artificial topological superconductivity has been limited by the stringent conditions required for its emergence. As exemplified by the recent discoveries of various correlated electronic states in twisted van der Waals materials, moire patterns can act as a powerful knob to create artificial electronic structures. Here we demonstrate that a moire pattern between a van der Waals superconductor and a monolayer ferromagnet creates a periodic potential modulation that enables the realization of a topological superconducting state that would not be accessible in the absence of the moire. We show that the existence of a magnetic moire pattern gives rise to Yu-Shiba-Rusinov minibands and periodic modulation of the Majorana edge modes that we detect using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Our results put forward moire patterns as a powerful tool to overcome conventional constrains for topological superconductivity in van der Waals heterostructures. In a broader picture, periodic potential modulation provides a general way of controlling topological superconductivity towards the realisation of topological qubits in the future.

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