Motivated by the recent experimental progress in the search for Majorana fermions, we identify signatures of topological superconductivity and propose realistic experiments to observe these signatures. In the first part of this thesis, we study charge transport through a topological superconductor with a pair of Majorana end states, coupled to leads via quantum dots with resonant levels. The nonlocality of the Majorana bound states opens the possibility of Cooper pair splitting with nonlocal shot noise. In the space of quantum dot energy levels, we find a characteristic four-peaked cloverlike pattern for the strength of noise due to Cooper pair splitting, distinct from the single ellipsoidal peak found in the absence of Majorana end states. Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid systems are promising candidates for the realiza- tion Majorana fermions and topological order in solid state devices. In the second part, we show that the topological order is mirrored in the excitation spectra and can be observed in nonlinear Coulomb blockade transport through a ring-shaped nanowire. Especially, the ex- citation spectrum is almost independent of magnetic flux in the topologically trivial phase but acquires a characteristic h/e magnetic flux periodicity in the nontrivial phase. The transition between the trivial and nontrivial phase is reflected in the closing and reopening of an excitation gap. In the third part, we investigate characteristic features in the spin response of doped three-dimensional topological insulators with odd-parity unequal-spin superconducting pairing, which are predicted to have gapless Majorana surface modes. These Majorana modes contribute to the spin response, giving rise to a characteristic temperature behavior of the Knight shift and the spin-lattice relaxation time in magnetic resonance experiments.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第20889号 / 理博第4341号 / 新制||理||1623(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)准教授 戸塚 圭介, 教授 川上 則雄, 教授 佐藤 昌利 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Majorana fermions promise potential applications in quantum computing, superconductivity, and related fields. In this thesis, an analysis of A. Y. Kitaev's “Kitaev Chain”, a quasi-one-dimensional quantum wire in contact with a p-wave superconductor, designed as a model exhibiting unpaired Majoranas, is performed. Described by tunneling of spinless fermions between quantum dots, and formation of Cooper pairs on neighboring dots, Kitaev's chain Hamiltonian serves as a basis for emergent Majorana Zero Modes (zero energy Majorana fermions localized at either end of the chain) and artificial gauges (phases) to appear. By exact diagonalization, energy spectra and wavefunctions of a chain of spinless fermions on discrete quantum dots described by Kitaev's Hamiltonian are generated. By transforming the system into a basis of Majorana fermions and "bond fermions", where Majoranas on neighboring dots are paired, emergent Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs) are found at the ends of the chain. These emergent MZMs are paired in a non-local, zero energy bond fermion, which is found to allow degenerate energy states of the system to occur. Joining the ends of the chain by allowing tunneling and pairing of fermions on end sites, a ring topology is considered, where an "artificial gauge" emerges. This artificial gauge, or phase, causes a phase change on tunneling and Cooper pairing Hamiltonian matrix elements as a result of operator ordering within the Hamiltonian's ring terms. These required operator orderings are derived by comparison of energy spectra of the Kitaev ring in the fermion and bond fermion bases. Matching of calculated energy spectra in the Majorana and fermionic bases is used to confirm the presence of the artificial gauge, where this phase is found to be necessary in order to maintain a consistent energy spectra across the transformation between bases. This analysis is performed in order to understand the concept of Majorana Zero Modes and the emergence of Majorana fermions in 1D chains. By doing so, it is determined what Majorana fermions are, where they come from, and why Majorana Zero Modes are considered to be zero energy. These results contribute to the understanding of Kitaev chains and rings, as well as serve as a starting point for discussions regarding physical implications of the artificial gauge's effect, fermion statistics, and the emergence of Majorana Zero Modes in quasi-one-dimensional systems.

Motivated by the recent experimental progress in the search for Majorana fermions, we identify signatures of topological superconductivity and propose realistic experiments to observe these signatures. In the first part of this thesis, we study charge transport through a topological superconductor with a pair of Majorana end states, coupled to leads via quantum dots with resonant levels. The nonlocality of the Majorana bound states opens the possibility of Cooper pair splitting with nonlocal shot noise. In the space of quantum dot energy levels, we find a characteristic four-peaked cloverlike pattern for the strength of noise due to Cooper pair splitting, distinct from the single ellipsoidal peak found in the absence of Majorana end states. Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid systems are promising candidates for the realiza- tion Majorana fermions and topological order in solid state devices. In the second part, we show that the topological order is mirrored in the excitation spectra and can be observed in nonlinear Coulomb blockade transport through a ring-shaped nanowire. Especially, the ex- citation spectrum is almost independent of magnetic flux in the topologically trivial phase but acquires a characteristic h/e magnetic flux periodicity in the nontrivial phase. The transition between the trivial and nontrivial phase is reflected in the closing and reopening of an excitation gap. In the third part, we investigate characteristic features in the spin response of doped three-dimensional topological insulators with odd-parity unequal-spin superconducting pairing, which are predicted to have gapless Majorana surface modes. These Majorana modes contribute to the spin response, giving rise to a characteristic temperature behavior of the Knight shift and the spin-lattice relaxation time in magnetic resonance experiments.

We perform microscopic mean-field studies of topological order in a two-dimensional topological superconductor in the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) formalism. By adopting a two-dimensional s-wave topological superconductivity (TSC) model on a minimal tight-binding system, we solve the BdG equations self-consistently to obtain not only the superconducting order parameter, but also the Hartree potential. By computing the Thouless, Kohmoto, Nightingale, and den Nijs (TKNN) number and investigating the bulk-boundary correspondence, we study the nature of Abelian and non-Abelian TSC in terms of self-consistent solutions to the BdG equations. In particular, we examine the effects of temperature and a single non-magnetic impurity deposited in the centre of the system and how they vary depending on topology. We find that the non-Abelian phase exhibits signs of unconventional superconductivity, and by examining the behaviour of this phase under both low and high Zeeman field conditions, we show that the magnitude of the Zeeman field largely dictates the susceptibility of the system to temperature. Furthermore, we investigate the possible interplay of charge density waves (CDW) and TSC. By self-consistently solving for the mean fields, we show that TSC and topological CDW are degenerate ground states---with the same excitation spectrum in the presence of surfaces---and thus can coexist in the Abelian phase. The effects of a non-magnetic impurity, which tends to pin the phase of charge density modulations, are examined in the context of topological CDW.

Recent developments in the study of Majorana fermions through braid theory have shown that there exists a set of interchanges that allow for the realization of true quantum computation. Alongside these developments there have been studies of topological superconductivity which show the existence of states that exhibit non-Abelian exchange statistics. Motivated by these developments we study the differences between Abelian and non-Abelian topological phase in the vortex state through the Bogoliubov de-Gennes (BdG) formalism. Due to our interests in low-energy states we first implement computationally efficient algorithms for calculating the mean fields and computing eigenpairs in an arbitrary energy window. We have shown that these algorithms adequately reproduce results obtained from a variety of other techniques and show that these algorithms retain spatial inhomogeneity information. Our results show topological superconductivity and vortex states can coexist; providing a means to realize zero-energy bound states, the number of which corresponds to the topological phase. With the use of our methods we present results contrasting the differences between Abelian and non-Abelian topological phase. Our calculations show that an increase in Zeeman field affects numerous parameters within topological superconductors. It causes the order parameter to become more sensitive to temperature variations in addition to a reduced rate of recovery to the bulk value from a vortex core. The increased field suppresses spin-up local density of states (LDOS) in close proximity to the vortex core for low-energy states. Further, it narrows the spectral gap at the lattice centre. Both energy spectrum and LDOS calculations confirm that trivial topological phase have no zero-energy bound states, Abelian phases have an even number, while non-Abelian phases have an odd number.

Thesis advisor: Ziqiang Wang / Exotic phases and associated phase transitions in low dimensions have been a fascinating frontier and a driving force in modern condensed matter physics since the 80s. Due to strong correlation effect, they are beyond the description of mean-field theory based on a single-particle picture and Landau's symmetry-breaking theory of phase transitions. These new phases of matter require new physical quantities to characterize them and new languages to describe them. This thesis is devoted to the study on exotic phases of correlated electrons in two spatial dimensions. We present the following efforts in understanding two-dimensional exotic phases: (1) Using Zn vertex algebra, we give a complete classification and characterization of different one-component fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, including their ground state properties and quasiparticles. (2) In terms of a non-unitary transformation, we obtain the exact form of statistical interactions between composite fermions in the lowest Landau level (LLL) with v=1/(2m), m=1,2... By studying the pairing instability of composite fermions we theoretically explains recently observed FQHE in LLL with v=1/2,1/4. (3) We classify different Z2 spin liquids (SLs) on kagome lattice in Schwinger-fermion representation using projective symmetry group (PSG). We propose one most promising candidate for the numerically discovered SL state in nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model on kagome lattice}. (4) By analyzing different Z2 spin liquids on honeycomb lattice within PSG classification, we find out the nature of the gapped SL phase in honeycomb lattice Hubbard model, labeled sublattice pairing state (SPS) in Schwinger-fermion representation. We also identify the neighboring magnetic phase of SPS as a chiral-antiferromagnetic (CAF) phase and analyze the continuous phase transition between SPS and CAF phase. For the first time we identify a SL called 0-flux state in Schwinger-boson representation with one (SPS) in Schwinger-fermion representation by a duality transformation. (5) We show that when certain non-collinear magnetic order coexists in a singlet nodal superconductor, there will be Majorana bound states in vortex cores/on the edges of the superconductor. This proposal opens a window for discovering Majorana fermions in strongly correlated electrons. (6) Motivated by recent numerical discovery of fractionalized phases in topological flat bands, we construct wavefunctions for spin-polarized fractional Chern insulators (FCI) and time reversal symmetric fractional topological insulators (FTI) by parton approach. We show that lattice symmetries give rise to different FCI/FTI states even with the same filling fraction. For the first time we construct FTI wavefunctions in the absence of spin conservation which preserve all lattice symmetries. The constructed wavefunctions also set up the framework for future variational Monte Carlo simulations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions d’un point de vue théorique les propriétés physiques de nanostructures couplées à des cavités micro-ondes. L’électrodynamique quantique (QED) en cavité en présence d’une boîte quantique s’est révélée être une technique expérimentale puissante, permettant d'étudier cette dernière par des mesures photoniques en plus des mesures de transport électronique conventionnelles. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons d'utiliser le champ micro-ondes de la cavité afin d’extraire des informations supplémentaires sur les propriétés des conducteurs quantiques : le coefficient de transmission optique est directement lié à la susceptibilité électronique de ces conducteurs quantiques. Nous appliquons ce cadre général à différents systèmes mésoscopiques couplés à une cavité supraconductrice micro-ondes comme  une jonction tunnel, une boîte quantique couplée à des réservoirs, un fil topologique et un anneau supraconducteur. La QED en cavité peut être utilisée pour sonder, par l'intermédiaire de mesures photoniques, la dépendance en fréquence de l’admittance du puits quantique couplé à la cavité micro-ondes. En ce qui concerne le fil topologique, nous avons montré que la cavité permet de caractériser la transition de phase topologique, l'émergence de fermions de Majorana, ainsi que la parité de l'état fondamental. Pour l'anneau supraconducteur, nous étudions par l'intermédiaire de la réponse optique de la cavité l’effet Josephson et le passage à l'effet Josephson fractionnaire, qui est associé à l'apparition de fermions de Majorana dans le système. Le cadre théorique proposé dans cette permet de sonder de manière non-invasive un large éventail de nanostructures, des boîtes quantiques aux supraconducteurs topologiques. En outre, il donne de nouvelles informations sur les propriétés de ces conducteurs quantiques, informations non accessibles via des expériences de transport. / In this thesis, we study theoretically various physical properties of nanostructures that are coupledto microwave cavities. Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) with a quantum dot has been proven to be a powerful experimental technique that allows to study the latter by photonic measurements in addition to electronic transport measurements. In this thesis, we propose to use the cavity microwave field to extract additional information on the properties of quantum conductors: optical transmission coefficient gives direct access to electronic susceptibilities of these quantum conductors. We apply this general framework to different mesoscopic systems coupled to a superconducting microwave cavity, such as a tunnel junction, a quantum dot coupled to the leads, a topological wire and a superconducting ring. Cavity QED can be used to probe the finite frequency admittance of the quantum dot coupled to the microwave cavity via photonic measurements. Concerning the topological wire, we found that the cavity allows for determining the topological phase transition, the emergence of Majorana fermions, and also the parity of the ground state. For the superconducting ring, we propose to study the Josephson effect and the transition from the latter to the fractional Josephson effect, which is associated with the emergence of the Majorana fermions in the system, via the optical response of the cavity. The proposed framework allows to probe a broad range of nanostructures, including quantum dots and topological superconductors, in a non-invasive manner. Furthermore, it gives new information on the properties of these quantum conductors, which was not available in transport experiments.

Submitted by LUCIANO HENRIQUE SILIANO RICCO null (luciano.silianoricco@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T12:32:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_LucianoRicco.pdf: 7937141 bytes, checksum: 4631857aac8f308808dda1e44b0c0f03 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-03-04T16:21:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ricco_lhs_me_ilha.pdf: 7937141 bytes, checksum: 4631857aac8f308808dda1e44b0c0f03 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-04T16:21:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ricco_lhs_me_ilha.pdf: 7937141 bytes, checksum: 4631857aac8f308808dda1e44b0c0f03 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-29 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Investigou-se teoricamente um sistema composto por um interferômetro do tipo Aharonov- Bohm com dois pontos quânticos, onde um deles encontra-se acoplado à um fio de Kitaev na fase topológica, nos casos em que se desconsidera a interação de Coulomb entre os pontos quânticos (caso não interagente) e quando a mesma é levada em conta (caso interagente). Na primeira situação, verificou-se a presença robusta da anomalia de voltagem zero para ambos os regimes de interferência Fano adotados. Além do mais, constatou-se que o estado de Majorana isolado possui uma maneira singular de quebrar a simetria dos perfis de densidade de transmitância em função da diferença simétrica de energia dos pontos quânticos e da energia de Fermi dos terminais metálicos. Tais perfis podem ser obtidos experimentalmente por medidas de condutância. Na situação de pontos quânticos interagentes em ressonância, verificou-se que a razão entre a magnitude da repulsão de Coulomb e o acoplamento fio-ponto quântico altera a largura da anomalia de voltagem zero em ambos os regimes Fano analisados. Esse fato sugere que a correlação eletrônica influencia o tempo de vida do estado de Majorana no ponto quântico hibridizado diretamente com o fio. Ademais, para a situação de pontos quânticos não ressonantes, a inversão dos valores de energia dos mesmos também modifica a largura da anomalia de voltagem zero, fenômeno que não ocorre para o caso não interagente. Acredita-se que o dispositivo proposto neste trabalho constitui um mecanismo experimental alternativo para detectar excitações de Majorana. / We investigate theoretically a setup composed by an Aharonov-Bohm-like interferometer with two quantum dots, where one of them is coupled to a Kitaev wire within the topological phase, which is explored in two cases: (i) the interdot Coulomb correlation is disregarded (noninteracting case) and (ii) the same is taken into account (interacting case). In the situation (i), we verify the presence of the zero-bias anomaly for the both Fano regimes of interference adopted. Furthermore, we found that an isolated Majorana state has a particular way of breaking the symmetry in transmittance profiles, which can be accessed experimentally by performing electrical conductance measurements. In the situation (ii), for interacting quantum dots in resonance, we notice that the ratio between the Coulomb repulsion strength and the wire-dot coupling changes the width of the zero-bias peak for both Fano regimes analyzed. This feature suggests that the electronic correlation modifies the Majorana state lifetime in the dot directly coupled to the wire. Moreover, for the off-resonance situation, the swap between the energy levels of the dots also changes the width of the Majorana peak, which is not observed in the noninteracting case. The results obtained here can guide experimentalists that pursuit a way of revealing Majorana signatures. / FAPESP: 2014/14143-0

Submitted by GEOVANE MODENA PEREIRA null (geovanemodena@hotmail.com) on 2018-02-10T03:04:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Geovane - Criptografia de Qubits de Férmions de Majorana por meio de Estados Ligados no Contínuo.pdf: 7524654 bytes, checksum: 0bd9409e8fa9c0c2da9190e44f4cfa33 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Santulo Custódio de Medeiros null (asantulo@rc.unesp.br) on 2018-02-14T16:11:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pereira_gm_me_rcla.pdf: 7420427 bytes, checksum: 0a0aec5beec2ecdd26883e0f4524844f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-14T16:11:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pereira_gm_me_rcla.pdf: 7420427 bytes, checksum: 0a0aec5beec2ecdd26883e0f4524844f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-01 / Nós investigamos teoricamente uma cadeia topológica de Kitaev conectada a dois pontos quânticos (QDs) hibridizados a terminais metálicos. Neste sistema, observamos o surgimento de dois fenômenos marcantes: (i) uma decriptografia do Férmion de Majorana (MF), que é detectado por meio de medições de condutância devido ao estado de vazamento assimétrico do qubit de MFs nos QDs; (ii) criptografia desse qubit em ambos os QDs quando o vazamento é simétrico. Em tal regime, temos portanto a criptografia proposta, uma vez que o qubit de MFs separa-se nos QDs como estados ligados no contínuo (BICs), os quais não são detectáveis em experimentos de condutância. / We theoretically investigate a topological Kitaev chain connected to a double quantum-dot (QD) setup hybridized with metallic leads. In this system, we observe the emergence of two striking phenomena: i) a decrypted Majorana Fermion (MF) - qubit recorded over a single QD, which is detectable by means of conductance measurements due to the asymmetrical MF-leaked state into the QDs; ii) an encrypted qubit recorded in both QDs when the leakage is symmetrical. In such a regime, we have a cryptography-like manifestation, since the MF-qubit becomes bound states in the continuum, which is not detectable in conductance experiments.