CAREER: Realization, Manipulation, and Interaction of Majorana Kramers Pairs

非技术总结这个职业奖项支持在电子物质拓扑态的快速发展领域的理论研究和教育。在过去的十年里，拓扑绝缘体的发现彻底改变了我们对量子世界的理解。拓扑绝缘体的主体是绝缘的，但表面和边缘是金属的。拓扑绝缘体是坚固的；它即使在材料变形的情况下也能保持不变。在数学中，拓扑学涉及对象在连续变形下保持不变的性质。超导体是目前研究最广泛的宏观量子现象之一。在特定的临界温度以下，超导体的电阻降至零，磁场从其内部排出。像它们的拓扑绝缘体近亲一样，拓扑超导体表现出表面态；然而，据预测，这些超导体具有奇怪的马约拉纳费米子，这些电子以一种相互关联的方式相互关联，就像具有不寻常性质的粒子一样；因此，它们可能会用作量子计算机中计算和存储的构建块。作为基本粒子首次被提出，Majorana费米子从根本上来说也很有趣；Majorana费米子是它自己的反粒子。事实证明，发现具有拓扑性质的超导体是很困难的。为此，PI将利用人们熟知的拓扑和超导材料来设计实现拓扑超导的新材料体系。PI计划研究可能出现的新现象，包括马约拉纳费米子及其与拓扑超导体中晶体对称性、拓扑和相互作用的相互作用。这项研究的目的是刺激实现可以出现在材料中的电子物质的新相。PI旨在探索实现拓扑量子计算和基于Majorana费米子的电子学的新途径。这项研究将激发和联系实验。教育部分涉及实施一项多层次的推广计划，其中包括：1)指导和培训参与这项研究的研究生、本科生和高中生，2)开发关于拓扑量子物质的非传统双层课程，以及3)为普通公众的全球物理教育创建动画在线视频课程。在这些活动中，国际和平协会致力于促进科学界代表性不足的群体成员更广泛地参与。这一职业奖项将有助于培养未来的科学家和工程师，使他们能够发现、发明和创新。该职业奖支持实现对称保护的拓扑超导电性的基础研究和Majorana Kramers对的操纵，以加深对对称、拓扑和相互作用之间相互作用的理解。过去的十年对于凝聚态物理来说是一个激动人心的时代。拓扑绝缘体的发现导致了一场正在进行的革命，加深了人们对量子物质的理解。铁基超导体的临界温度在原子薄层中出人意料地高。精致的双通道近藤效应作为一种非费米液体的范例，已经在复杂设计的设备中实现。这些在不同领域的看似无关的进展可以在拥有Majorana Kramers对的时间反转不变拓扑超导体中深度关联。这个项目的中心目标是：1)通过设计涉及铁基超导体的新材料系统来实现这种拓扑超导体，以及2)通过研究约瑟夫森效应和由其介导的多体相互作用来研究Majorana Kramers对的后果。这项研究将使用一系列不同的技术进行：唯象建模、拓扑带理论、第一性原理计算、多体模拟和对称性分析。PI旨在为实现时间反转不变的拓扑超导体和操纵Majorana Kramers对建立材料平台。特别是，他的目标是识别具有高临界温度的铁基拓扑超导体，并为Majorana Kramers对的编织和相互作用提出想法。这些结果直接适用于正在进行的实验，可以促进对物质拓扑相及其与对称性和相互作用的相互作用的当前知识。除了这项研究，PI还将实施一项多层次的推广计划，涉及：1)指导和培训参与研究的研究生、本科生和高中生，2)开发关于拓扑量子物质的非传统双层课程，3)为普通公众的全球物理教育创建动画在线视频课程。在这些活动中，国际和平协会致力于促进科学界代表性不足的群体成员更广泛地参与。这一职业奖项将有助于培养未来的科学家和工程师发现、发明和创新。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY This CAREER award supports theoretical research and education in the rapidly developing area of topological states of electronic matter. Over the past decade, the discovery of topological insulators has revolutionized our understanding of the quantum world. The bulk of a topological insulator is insulating, but the surfaces and edges are metallic. A topological insulator is robust; it persists even under deformations of the material. In mathematics, topology is concerned with the properties of an object that are preserved under continuous deformations. Superconductors embody one of the most well studied macroscopic quantum phenomenon. Below a characteristic critical temperature, the electrical resistance of a superconductor drops to zero and magnetic fields are expelled from their interior. Like their topological insulator cousins, topological superconductors exhibit surface states; however, these are predicted to have curious Majorana Fermions, electrons that are correlated in such a way that they behave like a particle that has unusual properties; as a consequence, they may be useful as building blocks for computing and memory in a quantum computer. First proposed as an elementary particle, Majorana Fermions are also fundamentally interesting; a Majorana Fermion is its own antiparticle. The discovery of superconductors that exhibit topological properties has proved difficult. To this end, the PI will leverage well-understood topological and superconducting materials to design new materials systems for realizing topological superconductivity. The PI plans to investigate new phenomena that can arise involving Majorana Fermions and their interplay with crystal symmetry, topology, and interactions in topological superconductors. This research is aimed to stimulate the realization of new phases of electronic matter that can appear in materials. The PI aims to investigate new avenues for realizing topological quantum computing and Majorana Fermion based electronics. The research will stimulate and connect with experiments. The education component involves the implementation of a multi-layered outreach plan that includes: 1) mentoring and training graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students participating in this research, 2) developing an unconventional dual-level course on topological quantum matter, and 3) creating animated online video lessons for global physics education of the general public. In these activities, the PI is committed to promote broadening participation from members of groups underrepresented in science. This CAREER award will contribute to the preparation of future scientists and engineers to discover, invent, and innovate. TECHNICAL SUMMARY This CAREER award supports fundamental research into the realization of symmetry protected topological superconductivity and manipulation of Majorana Kramers pairs in order to develop a deeper understanding of the interplay between symmetry, topology, and interaction. The past decade was an exciting era for condensed matter physics. The discovery of topological insulators has led to an ongoing revolution deepening understanding of quantum matter. The critical temperature of iron-based superconductors has been made unexpectedly high in atomically thin layers. The delicate two-channel Kondo effect as a non-Fermi-liquid paradigm has been achieved in sophisticatedly designed devices. These seemingly unrelated advances in distinct areas can be deeply correlated in a time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor hosting Majorana Kramers pairs. The central goals of this project are: 1) to realize such topological superconductors by designing new material systems involving iron-based superconductors, and 2) to investigate the consequences of Majorana Kramers pairs by studying Josephson effects and many-body interactions mediated by them. The research will be carried out using a diverse set of techniques: phenomenological modeling, topological band theory, first-principles calculations, many-body simulations, and symmetry analysis. The PI aims to establish materials platforms for realizing time-reversal-invariant topological superconductors and manipulating Majorana Kramers pairs. In particular, he aims to identify iron-based topological superconductors with high critical temperatures and advance ideas for the braiding and interaction of Majorana Kramers pairs. Directly applicable to ongoing experiments, these results could advance current knowledge of topological phases of matter and their interplay with symmetry and interaction. Alongside the research, the PI will implement a multi-layered outreach plan that involves: 1) mentoring and training graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students participating in the research, 2) developing an unconventional dual-level course on topological quantum matter, and 3) creating animated online video lessons for global physics education of the general public. In these activities, the PI is committed to promote broadening participation from members of groups underrepresented in science. This CAREER award will contribute to the preparation of future scientists and engineers to discover, invent, and innovate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.