Tunable vortex Majorana zero modes in LiFeAs superconductor

Abstract

The recent realization of pristine Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in vortices of iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) provides a promising platform for long-sought-after fault-tolerant quantum computation. A large topological gap between the MZMs and the lowest excitations enabled detailed characterization of vortex MZMs in those materials. Despite those achievements, a practical implementation of topological quantum computation based on MZM braiding remains elusive in this new Majorana platform. Among the most pressing issues are the lack of controllable tuning methods for vortex MZMs and inhomogeneity of the FeSC Majorana compounds that destroys MZMs during the braiding process. Thus, the realization of tunable vortex MZMs in a truly homogeneous compound of stoichiometric composition and with a charge neutral cleavage surface is highly desirable. Here we demonstrate experimentally that the stoichiometric superconductor LiFeAs is a good candidate to overcome these two obstacles. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we discover that the MZMs, which are absent on the natural surface, can appear in vortices influenced by native impurities. Our detailed analysis and model calculations clarify the mechanism of emergence of MZMs in this material, paving a way towards MZMs tunable by controllable methods such as electrostatic gating. The tunability of MZMs in this homogeneous material offers an unprecedented platform to manipulate and braid MZMs, the essential ingredients for topological quantum computation.

arXiv comment21 pages, 10 figures. Suggestions and comments are welcome

References in corpus (51)

• 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
• Paired states of fermions in two dimensions with breaking of parity and time-reversal symmetries, and the fractional quantum Hall effect
• Observation of Majorana Fermions in Ferromagnetic Atomic Chains on a Superconductor
• Non-abelian statistics of half-quantum vortices in p-wave superconductors
• Non-Abelian statistics and topological quantum information processing in 1D wire networks
• Realizing Majorana zero modes in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures
• The superconductivity at 18 K in LiFeAs system
• Evidence for Majorana bound state in an iron-based superconductor
• Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor
• Scalable Designs for Quasiparticle-Poisoning-Protected Topological Quantum Computation with Majorana Zero Modes
• Observation of Majorana fermions with spin selective Andreev reflection in the vortex of topological superconductor
• Fermion zero modes on vortices in chiral superconductors
• Coulomb-assisted braiding of Majorana fermions in a Josephson junction array
• A precise method for visualizing dispersive features in image plots
• Topological nature of FeSe${}_{0.5}$Te${}_{0.5}$ superconductor
• Zero-energy vortex bound state in the superconducting topological surface state of Fe(Se,Te)
• Topological superconductivity on the surface of Fe-based superconductors
• Multiple topological states in iron-based superconductors
• Nearly quantized conductance plateau of vortex zero mode in an iron-based superconductor
• Controlling non-Abelian statistics of Majorana fermions on Majorana dimer lattices
• Observation of half-integer level shift of vortex bound states in an iron-based superconductor
• Low-lying Quasiparticle Excitations around a Vortex Core in Quantum Limit
• Piezoelectric-based apparatus for strain tuning
• Unconventional Anisotropic s-Wave Superconducting Gaps of LiFeAs Iron-Pnictide Superconductor
• Braiding without Braiding: Teleportation-Based Quantum Information Processing with Majorana Zero Modes
• Topological Characters in Fe(Te${}_{1-x}$Se${}_x$) thin films
• Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy of Vortices in LiFeAs
• Search for non-Abelian Majorana braiding statistics in superconductors
• A new Majorana platform in an Fe-As bilayer superconductor
• Scalable Majorana vortex modes in iron-based superconductors
• Quantized conductance of Majorana zero mode in the vortex of the topological superconductor (Li0.84Fe0.16)OHFeSe
• Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting LiFeAs single crystals: Evidence for two nodeless energy gaps and coupling to a bosonic mode
• Effects of gap anisotropy upon the electronic structure around a superconducting vortex
• Bound States of Defects in Superconducting LiFeAs Studied by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy
• Topological phase transitions in multi-component superconductors
• Quasi 1D topological nodal vortex line phase in doped superconducting 3D Dirac Semimetals
• Crystalline symmetry protected helical Majorana modes in the iron pnictides
• Discovery of a strain-stabilised smectic electronic order in LiFeAs
• Vortex Core States in Superconducting Graphene
• Imaging the Real Space Structure of the Spin Fluctuations in an Iron-based superconductor
• Field-free platform for topological zero-energy mode in superconductors LiFeAs and PbTaSe${}_2$
• Towards a quantitative description of tunneling conductance of superconductors: application to LiFeAs
• Quantum phase transition of correlated iron-based superconductivity in LiFe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$As
• Anisotropic vortices on superconducting Nb(110)
• Emergent vortex Majorana zero mode in iron-based superconductors
• Electronic vortex structure of Fe-based superconductors: application to LiFeAs
• Defect states in LiFeAs as seen by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy
• Quantitative characterization of the nanoscale local lattice strain induced by Sr dopants in La${}_{1.92}$Sr${}_{0.08}$CuO${}_4$

Cited by in corpus (41)

• Ironing out the details of unconventional superconductivity
• Ordered and tunable Majorana-zero-mode lattice in naturally strained LiFeAs
• Large kagome family candidates with topological superconductivity and charge density waves
• Topological Superconductivity in an s-wave Superconductor and Its Implication to Iron-based Superconductors
• Two distinct superconducting states controlled by orientation of local wrinkles in LiFeAs
• Tunable vortex Majorana modes controlled by strain in homogeneous LiFeAs
• Correlation-corrected band topology and topological surface states in iron-based superconductors
• Near zero-energy Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon vortex states in the presence of impurities
• Topological Superconductivity from Unconventional Band Degeneracy with Conventional Pairing
• Family of binary transition metal pnictide superconductors
• Topological superconductivity and large spin Hall effect in the kagome family Ti6X4 (X = Bi, Sb, Pb, Tl, In)
• Vortex entropy and superconducting fluctuations in ultrathin underdoped Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+x}$ superconductor
• Differential current noise as an identifier of Andreev bound states that induce nearly quantized conductance plateaus
• Topological classification of intrinsic 3D superconductors using anomalous surface construction
• Inhomogeneous Knight shift in vortex cores of superconducting FeSe
• Prediction of Double-Weyl Points in the Iron-Based Superconductor CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Unveiling non-Abelian statistics of vortex Majorana bound states in iron-based superconductors using fermionic modes
• Identifying Majorana vortex modes via non-local transport
• Majorana zero modes in a magnetic and superconducting hybrid vortex
• Picosecond Trajectory of Two-dimensional Vortex Motion in FeSe${}_{0.5}$Te${}_{0.5}$ Visualized by Terahertz Second Harmonic Generation
• Stoichiometric FeTe is a Superconductor
• Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states in a superconductor with topological Z2 bands
• Crystal-symmetry-protected gapless vortex-line phases in superconducting Dirac semimetals
• Anomalous Coherence Length of Majorana Zero Modes at Vortices in Superconducting Topological Insulators
• Nonlocal correlations transmitted between quantum dots via short topological superconductor
• Absence of hexagonal to square structural transition in LiFeAs vortex matter
• Visualization of Unconventional Rashba Band and Vortex Zero Mode in Topopogical Superconductor Candidate AuSn${}_4$
• Theoretical proposal to obtain strong Majorana evidence from scanning tunneling spectroscopy of a vortex with a dissipative environment
• Superconducting topological Dirac semimetals: $P6/m$-Si${}_6$ and $P6/m$-NaSi${}_6$
• Superconductor Vortex Spectrum Including Fermi Arc States in Time-Reversal Symmetric Weyl Semimetals
• Fe${}_{1+y}$Te${}_x$Se${}_{1-x}$: a delicate and tunable Majorana material
• Cubic Dirac Semimetals: General Theory and Application to Rare-Earth Magnets
• Embedded Majorana Islands
• Theory of Topological Superconductivity in Doped IV-VI Semiconductors
• Nontrivial topological states in BaSn5 superconductor probed by de Haas-van Alphen quantum oscillations
• Inversion-symmetric Electron Gases as New Platforms for Topological Planar Josephson Junctions
• Binary kagome superconducting candidates hosting topological electronic states
• Majorana vortex phases in time-reversal invariant higher-order topological insulators and topologically trivial insulators
• Scheme for braiding Majorana zero modes in vortices using an STT-matrix
• Unveiling In-Gap States and Majorana Zero Modes in Superconductor-Topological Insulator Bilayer model
• Quantum interference among vortex bound states in superconductors