2021/06/09 by James Jun He, Yukio Tanaka, Naoto Nagaosa · 1 citation
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Fermion #Graphene research and applications #MAJORANA #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Superconductivity #Theoretical physics #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological insulator #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.126.237002
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 237002 (2021) · 5 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2021/06/09 · openalex publication_date 2021/06/09 · arxiv updated 2021/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Majorana fermions exist on the boundaries of two-dimensional topological superconductors (TSCs) as charge-neutral quasiparticles. The neutrality makes the detection of such states challenging from both experimental and theoretical points of view. Current methods largely rely on transport measurements in which Majorana fermions manifest themselves by inducing electron-pair tunneling at the lead-contacting point. Here we show that chiral Majorana fermions in TSCs generate enhanced local optical response. The features of local optical conductivity distinguish them not only from trivial superconductors or insulators but also from normal fermion edge states such as those in quantum Hall systems. Our results provide a new applicable method to detect dispersive Majorana fermions and may lead to a novel direction of this research field.