Optical Manipulation of Domains in Chiral Topological Superconductors

Abstract

Optical control of chirality in chiral superconductors bears potential for future topological quantum computing applications. When a chiral domain is written and erased by a laser spot, the Majorana modes around the domain can be manipulated on ultrafast time scales. Here we study topological superconductors with two chiral order parameters coupled via light fields by a time-dependent real-space Ginzburg-Landau approach. Continuous optical driving, or the application of supercurrent, hybridizes the two chiral order parameters, allowing one to induce and control the superconducting state beyond what is possible in equilibrium. We show that superconductivity can even be enhanced if the mutual coupling between two order parameters is sufficiently strong. Furthermore, we demonstrate that short optical pulses with spot size larger than a critical one can overcome a counteracting diffusion effect and write, erase, or move chiral domains. Surprisingly, these domains are found to be stable, which might enable optically programmable quantum computers in the future.

6 pages, 3 figures; updated version with discussion of substrate/phonon effects

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Nonthermal pathways to ultrafast control in quantum materials
• Light-induced switching between singlet and triplet superconducting states
• Optical control of topological memory based on orbital magnetization
• Dynamic spin-triplet order induced by alternating electric fields in superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson junctions
• Nematicity Arising from a Chiral Superconducting Ground State in Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene under In-Plane Magnetic Fields
• Fate of transient order parameter domain walls in ultrafast experiments
• Light Control of Triplet Pairing in Correlated Electrons with Mixed-Sign Interactions