Disorder-generated non-Abelions

Abstract

Two classes of topological superconductors and Majorana modes in condensed matter systems are known to date: one, in which impurity disorder strongly suppresses topological superconducting gap and is detrimental to Majorana modes, and the other, where Majorana fermions are protected by disorder-robust superconductor gap. In this work we predict a third class of topological superconductivity and Majorana modes, in which they appear exclusively in the presence of impurity disorder. Observation and control of Majorana fermions and other non-Abelions often requires a symmetry leading to a gap in a single-particle spectra. Disorder introduces states into the gap and enables conductance and proximity-induced superconductivity via the in-gap states. We show that disorder-enabled topological superconductivity can be realized in a quantum Hall ferromagnet, when helical domain walls are coupled to an s-wave superconductor. Solving a general quantum mechanical problem of impurity bound states in a system of spin-orbit coupled Landau levels, we show that disorder-induced Majorana modes emerge in a setting of the quantum Hall ferromagnetic transition in a CdMnTe quantum wells at a filling factor $\nu =2$. Recent experiments on transport through electrostatically controlled single domain wall in this system indicated the vital role of disorder in conductance, but left an unresolved question whether this could intrinsically preclude generation of Majorana fermions. The proposed resolution of the problem, demonstrating emergence of Majorana fermions exclusively due to impurity disorder, opens a path forward. We show that electrostatic control of domain walls in an integer quantum Hall ferromagnet allows manipulation of Majorana modes. Similar physics can emerge for ferromagnetic transitions in the fractional quantum Hall regime leading to the formation and control of higher order non-Abelian excitations.

arXiv commentConnection to existing experiment discussed in more detail. 27 preprint pages, 11 figures, Supplemental material: 7 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to Physical Review X

References in corpus (47)

• Fault-tolerant quantum computation by anyons
• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• Superconducting proximity effect and Majorana fermions at the surface of a topological insulator
• Unpaired Majorana fermions in quantum wires
• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
• Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures
• Helical liquids and Majorana bound states in quantum wires
• New directions in the pursuit of Majorana fermions in solid state systems
• Observation of Majorana Fermions in Ferromagnetic Atomic Chains on a Superconductor
• Observation of the fractional ac Josephson effect: the signature of Majorana particles
• Beyond paired quantum Hall states: parafermions and incompressible states in the first excited Landau level
• Topological Superconductivity and Majorana Fermions in RKKY Systems
• Fermion zero modes on vortices in chiral superconductors
• Majorana fermions emerging from magnetic nanoparticles on a superconductor without spin-orbit coupling
• Majorana Fermions in Semiconductor Nanowires
• Exotic non-Abelian anyons from conventional fractional quantum Hall states
• Universal topological quantum computation from a superconductor/Abelian quantum Hall heterostructure
• Self-Organized Topological State with Majorana Fermions
• Gapless Andreev bound states in the quantum spin Hall insulator HgTe
• How to realize a robust practical Majorana chain in a quantum dot-superconductor linear array
• Fractionalizing Majorana fermions: non-abelian statistics on the edges of abelian quantum Hall states
• Majorana Fermions in superconducting 1D systems having periodic, quasiperiodic, and disordered potentials
• Engineering a p+ip Superconductor: Comparison of Topological Insulator and Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupled Materials
• Griffiths effects and quantum critical points in dirty superconductors without spin-rotation invariance: One-dimensional examples
• Probability distribution of Majorana end-state energies in disordered wires
• Topological superconducting phases in disordered quantum wires with strong spin-orbit coupling
• Resistance Spikes at Transitions between Quantum Hall Ferromagnets
• Majorana fermions in superconducting helical magnets
• Experimental and materials considerations for the topological superconducting state in electron and hole doped semiconductors: searching for non-Abelian Majorana modes in 1D nanowires and 2D heterostructures
• Adaptive tuning of Majorana fermions in a quantum dot chain
• Fractional Quantum Hall Phase Transitions and Four-flux Composite Fermions in Graphene
• Effects of electron scattering on the topological properties of nanowires: Majorana fermions from disorder and superlattices
• Anyon Condensation and Continuous Topological Phase Transitions in Non-Abelian Fractional Quantum Hall States
• Ising Quantum Hall Ferromagnet in Magnetically Doped Quantum Wells
• Quantum Hall Phase Diagram of Second Landau-level Half-filled Bilayers: Abelian versus Non-Abelian States
• Quantum Hall Phase Diagram of Half-filled Bilayers in the Lowest and the Second Orbital Landau Levels: Abelian versus Non-Abelian Incompressible Fractional Quantum Hall States
• Momentum relaxation in a semiconductor proximity-coupled to a disordered s-wave superconductor: effect of scattering on topological superconductivity
• Majorana bound states in a disordered quantum dot chain
• Tunneling-driven breakdown of the 331 state and the emergent Pfaffian and composite Fermi liquid phases
• Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in a Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor
• Parafermion supporting platform based on spin transitions in the fractional quantum Hall effect regime
• Spin-orbit coupling effect on quantum Hall ferromagnets with vanishing Zeeman energy
• Mesoscopic transport in electrostatically-defined spin-full channels in quantum Hall ferromagnets
• Density-controlled quantum Hall ferromagnetic transition in a two-dimensional hole system
• Electrostatic control of quantum Hall ferromagnetic transition, a step toward reconfigurable network of helical channels
• Non-Abelian $\nu =1/2$ quantum Hall state in ${\Gamma }_8$ Valence Band Hole Liquid
• Fermions in the vortex core in chiral superconductors

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Momentum-resolved spin splitting in Mn-doped trivial CdTe and topological HgTe semiconductors
• Parafermion supporting platform based on spin transitions in the fractional quantum Hall effect regime
• Transport in helical Luttinger liquids in the fractional quantum Hall regime
• Parafermions, induced edge states and domain walls in the fractional quantum Hall effect spin transitions
• Spin, orbital and topological order in models of strongly correlated electrons
• Unveiling the Chiral States in Multi-Weyl Semimetals through Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy
• From narrow-gap and semimagnetic semiconductors to spintronics and topological matter: a life with spins