2013/07/31 by Bernd Braunecker, Pascal Simon · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.111.147202
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 147202 (2013) · 7 pages, 2 figures, final version
arxiv created 2013/10/06 · arxiv updated 2013/10/08
We study a one-dimensional (1D) interacting electronic liquid coupled to a 1D array of classical magnetic moments and to a superconductor. We show that at low energy and temperature the magnetic moments and the electrons become strongly entangled and that a magnetic spiral structure emerges without any adjustable parameters. For strong enough coupling between the two, the 1D electronic liquid is driven into a topological superconducting phase supporting Majorana fermions without any fine-tuning of external parameters. Our analysis applies at low enough temperature to a quantum wire in proximity of a superconductor when the hyperfine interaction between electrons and nuclear spins is taken into account or to a chain of magnetic adatoms adsorbed on a superconducting surface.