Theory of quasiparticle scattering interference on the surface of topological superconductors

Abstract

Topological superconductors, such as noncentrosymmetric superconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling, exhibit protected zero-energy surface states, which possess an intricate helical spin structure. We show that this nontrival spin character of the surface states can be tested experimentally from the absence of certain backscattering processes in Fourier-transform scanning tunneling measurements. A detailed theoretical analysis is given of the quasiparticle scattering interference on the surface of both nodal and fully gapped topological superconductors with different crystal point-group symmetries. We determine the universal features in the interference patterns resulting from magnetic and nonmagnetic scattering processes of the surface quasiparticles. It is shown that Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy allows us to uniquely distinguish among different types of topological surface states, such as zero-energy flat bands, arc surface states, and helical Majorana modes, which in turn provides valuable information on the spin and orbital pairing symmetry of the bulk superconducting state.

11 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (13)

• Classification of topological insulators and superconductors in three spatial dimensions
• Topological Phases of Noncentrosymmetric Superconductors: Edge States, Majorana Fermions, and the Non-Abelian Statistics
• Spin Triplet Superconducting State due to Broken Inversion Symmetry in Li_2Pt_3B
• Topological spin-current in non-centrosymmetric superconductors
• Anomalous Andreev bound state in non-centrosymmetric superconductors
• Surface density of states and topological edge states in non-centrosymmetric superconductors
• Majorana Fermions in Nodal Superconductors: Gapless Topological Phase
• Surface bound states and spin currents in non-centrosymmetric superconductors
• Topologically protected flat zero-energy surface bands in non-centrosymmetric superconductors
• Andreev bound states and tunneling characteristics of a non-centrosymmetric superconductor
• Observation of Andreev bound state and multiple energy gaps in the non-centrosymmetric superconductor BiPd
• Spin current in topologically trivial and nontrivial noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Scattering theory of topological invariants in nodal superconductors

Cited by in corpus (23)

• Topological surface Fermi arcs in the magnetic Weyl semimetal Co${}_3$Sn${}_2$S${}_2$
• Topological surface states in nodal superconductors
• Superconducting Topological Surface States in Non-centrosymmetric Bulk Superconductor PbTaSe2
• Quasi-particle interferences of the Weyl semimetals TaAs and NbP
• Universal signatures of Fermi arcs in quasiparticle interference on the surface of Weyl semimetals
• Majorana surface modes of nodal topological pairings in spin-$\frac{3}{2}$ semi-metals
• Stability of flat-band edge states in topological superconductors without inversion center
• Helical spin texture of surface states in topological superconductors
• Majorana Kramers pair in a nematic vortex
• Majorana vortex-bound states in three-dimensional nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Helical Majorana surface states of strongly disordered topological superconductors with time-reversal symmetry
• Odd-Parity Quasiparticle Interference in the Superconductive Surface State of UTe2
• Surface instability in nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Drumhead surface states and their signatures in quasiparticle scattering interference
• Selection rules for quasiparticle interference with internal nonsymmorphic symmetries
• Quasiparticle Interference and Symmetry of Superconducting Order Parameter in Strongly Electron-Doped Iron-based Superconductors
• Quasiparticle interference from different impurities on the surface of pyrochlore iridates: signatures of the Weyl phase
• Quasiparticle interference and spectral function of the UTe${}_2$ superconductive surface band
• Momentum space imaging of locally noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Complete zero-energy flat bands of surface states in fully gapped chiral noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Visualizing the Odd-parity Superconducting Order Parameter and its Quasiparticle Surface Band in UTe2
• Manipulation of Majorana wave packets at surfaces of nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors
• Majorana flat bands at structured surfaces of nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors