190 research outputs found
Braiding Majorana corner modes in a second-order topological superconductor
We propose the concept of a device based on a square-shaped sample of a
two-dimensional second-order topological helical superconductor which hosts two
zero-dimensional Majorana quasiparticles at the corners. The two zero-energy
modes rely on particle-hole symmetry (PHS) and their spacial position can be
shifted by rotating an in-plane magnetic field and tuning proximity-induced
spin-singlet pairing. We consider an adiabatic cycle performed on the
degenerate ground-state manifold and show that it realizes the braiding of the
two modes whereby they accumulate a non-trivial statistical phase within
one cycle. Alongside with the PHS-ensured operator algebra, the fractional
statistics confirms the Majorana nature of the zero-energy excitations. A
schematic design for a possible experimental implementation of such a device is
presented, which could be a step towards realizing non-Abelian braiding.Comment: A different physical system is considered in this version
(topological superconductor), however, the topological and symmetry features
are closely related to those of the two-layer topological insulator of
version 2 (arXiv:1904.07822v2). A more accurate distinction is made between
the fractional statistics of the Majorana corner states and their potential
non-Abelian propertie
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