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Title: Topological Phase Transitions in Multicomponent Superconductors

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
 [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Inst. for Condensed Matter Theory, Dept. of Physics
  2. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics

We study the phase transition between a trivial and a time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor in a single-band system. By analyzing the interplay of symmetry, topology, and energetics, we show that for a generic normal state band structure, the phase transition occurs via extended intermediate phases in which even- and odd-parity pairing components coexist. For inversion-symmetric systems, the coexistence phase spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry. For noncentrosymmetric superconductors, the low-temperature intermediate phase is time-reversal breaking, while the high-temperature phase preserves time-reversal symmetry and has topologically protected line nodes. Furthermore, with approximate rotational invariance, the system has an emergent U (1) × U (1) symmetry, and novel topological defects, such as half vortex lines binding Majorana fermions, can exist. We analytically solve for the dispersion of the Majorana fermion and show that it exhibits small and large velocities at low and high energies. Finally, relevance of our theory to superconducting pyrochlore oxide Cd2Re2O7 and half-Heusler materials is discussed.

Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0010526
OSTI ID:
1505746
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1408182
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 119, Issue 18; ISSN 0031-9007
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 30 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (6)

Time-reversal symmetry-breaking in noncentrosymmetric superconductors journal September 2018
Detection of topological phase transitions through entropy measurements: The case of germanene journal May 2018
Time-reversal symmetry breaking in topological superconductor Sr 0.1 Bi 2 Se 3 journal July 2019
Evidence for Majorana bound states in an iron-based superconductor journal August 2018
Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals text January 2017
Weak-Pairing Higher Order Topological Superconductors text January 2018

Figures / Tables (3)