Observation of Majorana fermions in ferromagnetic atomic chains on a superconductor
Observation of Majorana fermions in ferromagnetic atomic chains on a superconductor
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1259327
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发表时间：
2014-10-31
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Yazdani, Ali
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Nadj-Perge, Stevan;Drozdov, Ilya K.;Yazdani, Ali
马约拉纳费米子被预测定位于拓扑超导体的边缘，当铁磁系统被放置在具有强自旋轨道相互作用的传统超导体附近时，可以形成一种物质状态。为了实现一维拓扑超导体，我们在超导铅（Pb）表面制备了铁磁性铁（Fe）原子链。利用高分辨率光谱成像技术，我们发现超导性的开始，即铁链中大部分状态的电子密度的间隙，伴随着零能量末端状态的出现。这种空间分辨的特征提供了强有力的证据，并得到了其他观测结果的证实，证明在我们的原子链中存在拓扑相位和边缘约束的马约拉纳费米子。
Majorana fermions are predicted to localize at the edge of a topological superconductor, a state of matter that can form when a ferromagnetic system is placed in proximity to a conventional superconductor with strong spin-orbit interaction. With the goal of realizing a one-dimensional topological superconductor, we have fabricated ferromagnetic iron (Fe) atomic chains on the surface of superconducting lead (Pb). Using high-resolution spectroscopic imaging techniques, we show that the onset of superconductivity, which gaps the electronic density of states in the bulk of the Fe chains, is accompanied by the appearance of zero-energy end-states. This spatially resolved signature provides strong evidence, corroborated by other observations, for the formation of a topological phase and edge-bound Majorana fermions in our atomic chains.