Strain manipulation of Majorana fermions in graphene armchair nanoribbons

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons with armchair edges are studied for externally enhanced, but realistic parameter values: enhanced Rashba spin-orbit coupling due to proximity to a transition metal dichalcogenide like WS${}_2$, and enhanced Zeeman field due to exchange coupling with a magnetic insulator like EuS under applied magnetic field. The presence of s--wave superconductivity, induced either by proximity or by decoration with alkali metal atoms like Ca or Li, leads to a topological superconducting phase with Majorana end modes. The topological phase is highly sensitive to the application of uniaxial strain, with a transition to the trivial state above a critical strain well below $0.1\%$. This sensitivity allows for real space manipulation of Majorana fermions by applying non-uniform strain profiles. Similar manipulation is also possible by applying inhomogeneous Zeeman field or chemical potential.

5 pages, 5 figures; references added

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Tunable Majorana corner states driven by superconducting phase bias in a vertical Josephson junction
• Majorana modes in graphene strips: polarization, wavefunctions, disorder, and Andreev states
• Magnetically tuned topological phase in graphene nanoribbon heterojunctions
• Chiral Majorana Fermions in two dimensional square lattice antiferromagnet with proximity-induced superconductivity