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Title: Single-electron charge transfer into putative Majorana and trivial modes in individual vortices

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
  2. Leiden Univ. (Netherlands); Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)
  3. Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
  4. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.
+ Show Author Affiliations

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.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); European Research Council (ERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1992857
Report Number(s):
BNL-224631-2023-JAAM; TRN: US2404251
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 14, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Figures / Tables (15)

Fig. 1(p. 19)figure Fig. 1
Fig. 2(p. 20)figure Fig. 2
Fig. 3(p. 21)figure Fig. 3
Fig. 4(p. 22)figure Fig. 4
Supplementary Table 1(p. 27)figure Supplementary Table 1
Supplementary Figure 1(p. 30)figure Supplementary Figure 1
Supplementary Figure 2(p. 31)figure Supplementary Figure 2
Supplementary Figure 3(p. 32)figure Supplementary Figure 3
Supplementary Figure 4(p. 33)figure Supplementary Figure 4
Supplementary Figure 5(p. 34)figure Supplementary Figure 5
Supplementary Figure 6(p. 35)figure Supplementary Figure 6
Supplementary Figure 7(p. 36)figure Supplementary Figure 7
Supplementary Figure 8(p. 37)figure Supplementary Figure 8
Supplementary Figure 9(p. 38)figure Supplementary Figure 9
Supplementary Figure 10(p. 39)figure Supplementary Figure 10

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Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
scanning probe microscopy
superconducting properties and materials
topological insulators