Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices
Abstract Majorana bound states are putative collective excitations in solids that exhibit the self-conjugate property of Majorana fermions—they are their own antiparticles. In iron-based superconductors, zero-energy states in vortices have been reported as potential Majorana bound states, but the ev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39109-w |
| _version_ | 1797806628108500992 |
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| author | Jian-Feng Ge Koen M. Bastiaans Damianos Chatzopoulos Doohee Cho Willem O. Tromp Tjerk Benschop Jiasen Niu Genda Gu Milan P. Allan |
| author_facet | Jian-Feng Ge Koen M. Bastiaans Damianos Chatzopoulos Doohee Cho Willem O. Tromp Tjerk Benschop Jiasen Niu Genda Gu Milan P. Allan |
| author_sort | Jian-Feng Ge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Majorana bound states are putative collective excitations in solids that exhibit the self-conjugate property of Majorana fermions—they are their own antiparticles. In iron-based superconductors, zero-energy states in vortices have been reported as potential Majorana bound states, but the evidence remains controversial. Here, we use scanning tunneling noise spectroscopy to study the tunneling process into vortex bound states in the conventional superconductor NbSe2, and in the putative Majorana platform FeTe0.55Se0.45. We find that tunneling into vortex bound states in both cases exhibits charge transfer of a single electron charge. Our data for the zero-energy bound states in FeTe0.55Se0.45 exclude the possibility of Yu–Shiba–Rusinov states and are consistent with both Majorana bound states and trivial vortex bound states. Our results open an avenue for investigating the exotic states in vortex cores and for future Majorana devices, although further theoretical investigations involving charge dynamics and superconducting tips are necessary. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:10:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-256bd70ecbdf4e44b5699072d9ee17d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:10:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-256bd70ecbdf4e44b5699072d9ee17d92023-06-11T11:19:12ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-06-011411810.1038/s41467-023-39109-wSingle-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vorticesJian-Feng Ge0Koen M. Bastiaans1Damianos Chatzopoulos2Doohee Cho3Willem O. Tromp4Tjerk Benschop5Jiasen Niu6Genda Gu7Milan P. Allan8Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityDepartment of Physics, Yonsei UniversityLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityCondensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National LaboratoryLeiden Institute of Physics, Leiden UniversityAbstract Majorana bound states are putative collective excitations in solids that exhibit the self-conjugate property of Majorana fermions—they are their own antiparticles. In iron-based superconductors, zero-energy states in vortices have been reported as potential Majorana bound states, but the evidence remains controversial. Here, we use scanning tunneling noise spectroscopy to study the tunneling process into vortex bound states in the conventional superconductor NbSe2, and in the putative Majorana platform FeTe0.55Se0.45. We find that tunneling into vortex bound states in both cases exhibits charge transfer of a single electron charge. Our data for the zero-energy bound states in FeTe0.55Se0.45 exclude the possibility of Yu–Shiba–Rusinov states and are consistent with both Majorana bound states and trivial vortex bound states. Our results open an avenue for investigating the exotic states in vortex cores and for future Majorana devices, although further theoretical investigations involving charge dynamics and superconducting tips are necessary.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39109-w |
| spellingShingle | Jian-Feng Ge Koen M. Bastiaans Damianos Chatzopoulos Doohee Cho Willem O. Tromp Tjerk Benschop Jiasen Niu Genda Gu Milan P. Allan Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices Nature Communications |
| title | Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| title_full | Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| title_fullStr | Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| title_short | Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| title_sort | single electron charge transfer into putative majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39109-w |
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