2018/12/31 by Xiaoyu Zhu · 2 citations
Materials Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Coupling (piping) #Graphene research and applications #MAJORANA #Mathematics #Order (exchange) #Pairing #Parity (physics) #Phase (matter) #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Semiconductor #Superconductivity #Symmetry (geometry) #T-symmetry #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological order #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.122.236401
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 236401 (2019) · 6+2 pages, 3 figures
openalex publication_date 2019/06/14 · arxiv created 2019/06/15 · arxiv updated 2019/06/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We show that a two-dimensional semiconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling could be driven into the second-order topological superconducting phase when a mixed-pairing state is introduced. The superconducting order we consider involves only even-parity components and meanwhile breaks time-reversal symmetry. As a result, each corner of a square-shaped Rashba semiconductor would host one single Majorana zero mode in the second-order nontrivial phase. Starting from edge physics, we are able to determine the phase boundaries accurately. A simple criterion for the second-order phase is further established, which concerns the relative position between Fermi surfaces and nodal points of the superconducting order parameter. In the end, we propose two setups that may bring this mixed-pairing state into the Rashba semiconductor, followed by a brief discussion on the experimental feasibility of the two platforms.