Design of Majorana excitations in topological isolator/superconductor heterostructures
Topological superconducting (TSC) surfaces and fractional quantum Hall states in 2D materials are expected to host non-abelian anyons as bound states or edge modes; and, as noted earlier, initial but not necessarily sufficient evidence of their existence has been reported. How do we definitively confirm their existence, and realize reliable, robust, and rapid screening of materials for topological properties and Majorana modes? How do we manipulate anyon states in topological electronic materials to induce their interaction and drive them toward braiding? Can we identify new topological material systems that host anyons? Our hypotheses are that topological superconductors with larger gaps can be realized through the theoretically guided synthesis and fabrication of new bulk materials and heterostructures that incorporate topological surface states, large spin-orbit coupling, and superconductivity, and that novel quantum probes and nanopatterning will allow us to manipulate of anyons in TSC and fractional quantum Hall states toward fusion and braiding.
Project lead
Dr. Olga Maximovain collaboration with the group of Prof. Yong Chen as a part of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Quantum Science Center effort to create and study novel quantum matter.
