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Chiral topological superconductivity arising from the interplay of geometric phase and electron correlation

Nature Physics volume 15, pages 796–802 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

In modern theory of solids, many-electron correlations can give rise to superconductivity, while the Berry or geometric phase is responsible for non-trivial topology. So far, these two physical ingredients have been taken into account only in a simple additive manner. Here, we carry out a systematic study of the interplay between geometric phase and electron correlation as well as their combined effects on topological and superconducting properties. Based on first-principles studies of Pb3Bi/Ge(111) as a prototypical system, we develop a generic two-dimensional effective formalism that respects hexagonal symmetry with Rashba spin–orbit coupling, displays a van Hove singularity and includes geometric phase-decorated electron correlations. Our functional renormalization group analysis shows that superconductivity dominates the competing orders in the weak interaction regime, with two consequences. First, the renormalized geometric phase flows to three stable fixed points, favouring chiral (px ± ipy)-wave and f-wave superconducting states. Second, the corresponding superconductivity can be substantially enhanced. We construct the phase diagram of the topological quantum states, and identify hole-doped Pb3Bi/Ge(111) as an appealing platform for realizing chiral topological superconductivity in two-dimensional systems that are highly desirable for detecting and braiding Majorana fermions.

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Fig. 1: Crystal and electronic structures of Pb3Bi/Ge(111).
Fig. 2: Geometric phase induced by a monopole.
Fig. 3: RG flows of the coupling strengths and geometric phase.
Fig. 4: Phase diagram of the superconducting states.

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The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants nos 11634011 and 61434002), the National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2017YFA0303500), Anhui Initiative in Quantum Information Technologies (grant no. AHY170000) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDB30000000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Center for Quantum Design of Functional Materials (ICQD), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale (HFNL) and Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China

    Wei Qin, Leiqiang Li & Zhenyu Zhang

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  1. Wei Qin
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  2. Leiqiang Li
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Z.Y.Z. initiated and directed the project. W.Q. carried out the theoretical studies and analyses. L.Q.L. performed the first-principles calculations. W.Q. wrote the manuscript and Z.Y.Z. edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhenyu Zhang.

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Supplementary Information

Additional mathematical details; Supplementary Figures 1 to 6; Supplementary Tables 1 and 2; Supplementary references 1 to 12.

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Qin, W., Li, L. & Zhang, Z. Chiral topological superconductivity arising from the interplay of geometric phase and electron correlation. Nat. Phys. 15, 796–802 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-019-0517-5

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