In this work, we perform a systematic investigation of the correlated topological superconductors (TSCs), especially their non-trivial Majorana zero modes (MZMs). Compared to the non-interacting MZMs, the emerged correlated MZMs become projected MZMs. To prove this, we study the topological superconducting nanowire under the Hubbard and Hatsugai-Kohmoto interactions. Both of them become correlated TSCs under a magnetic field. Their topological properties are numerically computed by the Wilson loop and entanglement spectrum. We successfully extract the projected MZMs connecting the ground state and excited state through exact diagonalization. We also extend our results to the spinful Kitaev chain. Our results can provide a new perspective and understanding of the correlated MZMs.
In this work, we perform a systematic investigation of the correlated topological superconductors (TSCs), especially their non-trivial Majorana zero modes (MZMs). Compared to the non-interacting MZMs, the emerged correlated MZMs become projected MZMs. To prove this, we study the topological superconducting nanowire under the Hubbard and Hatsugai-Kohmoto interactions. Both of them become correlated TSCs under a magnetic field. Their topological properties are numerically computed by the Wilson loop and entanglement spectrum. We successfully extract the projected MZMs connecting the ground state and excited state through exact diagonalization. We also extend our results to the spinful Kitaev chain. Our results can provide a new perspective and understanding of the correlated MZMs.
Topological superconductors are believed to host exotic quasiparticle excitations known as Majorana zero modes (MZMs), with much of the evidence based on BCS mean-field theory. The direct application of mean-field arguments is tenuous in finite, isolated systems relevant in some experiments. Here, we develop a new correlation-based method for identifying MZMs in interacting, number-conserving systems. Using the density matrix renormalization group, we study fermion number-conserving models with long-range interactions, which under periodic boundary conditions exhibit robust topological and nontopological superconductivity, tuned by the strength of interaction [Ortiz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 267002 (2014)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.113.267002]. We find evidence that, on the topological side, Majorana edge modes appear in open chains, manifesting as the vanishing of the energy splitting between odd- and even-parity ground states with increasing system size. Additionally, off-diagonal two-point correlation functions show nonlocal, parity-dependent edge effects. These correlations reveal the spatial structure of Majorana modes in the many-body wave function. We show that the correlation diagnostic applies broadly, including to short-range interacting models, where topological superconductivity is more fragile due to the absence of a bulk excitation gap.
We study the decoherence dynamics of Majorana qubit braiding operations in a T-junction topological superconducting chain (TSC) system, in which the braiding is performed by controlling the electron-chemical potentials of the TSCs and the couplings between them. By solving rigorously the Majorana qubit dynamics, we show how the Majorana qubit coherence is generated through Bogoliubon correlations formed by exchanging Majorana zero modes (MZMs) between two TSCs in braiding operations. We also demonstrate with the exact master equation how MZMs and also the Bogoliubon correlations dissipate due to charge fluctuations of the controlling gates at both the zero and finite temperatures. As a result, Majorana qubit coherence and also the fermion parity conservation cannot be immune from local perturbations during braiding operations.
We investigate the spectral and topological properties of a zigzag Kitaev chain constructed from two diagonally coupled one dimensional Kitaev chains with a zero and finite superconducting pairing phase difference. Using a Bogoliubov-de Gennes formulation, we analyze the energy spectrum, distribution of Majorana zero modes (MZMs), the quasi-particle dispersion, and the winding number, respectively. For a zero phase difference, the resulting energy spectrum shows topological phases with two, four MZMs, and trivial regions. The phases of gap closure determine the topological phase boundaries. In particular, for the phase difference between φ=π, the degeneracy of MZMs is partially lifted, leading to modified topological phases compared to the case φ=0. The topological and trivial phase boundaries are further confirmed by evaluating the quasi-particle dispersion and the topological invariant, namely the winding number. We show that the zigzag Kitaev chain contributes independently to the total winding number ν=1 and 2, giving rise to distinct topological phases that support two and four MZMs. The ν=0 gives rise to a trivial region. The energy spectrum of systems corroborates the analytical phase boundaries and reveals characteristics associated with hybridization, enabling us to obtain the complete phase diagram of the zigzag model. Our results establish the zigzag Kitaev chain as a minimal platform for engineering MZM quantum computations, with potential applications in the study of topological phases and Majorana based qubit physics.
This thesis is devoted to the topic of one- and two-dimensional models of topological superconductivity. We study the Kitaev chain subject to closed and open boundary conditions. In the closed chain, we derive the energy spectrum, the ground state, and the topological invariant viewed as a certain Berry phase. We study two-point correlation functions and find enlarged values close to the topological phase transitions. The open chain is studied with focus on describing the degenerate ground states for a simple parameter choice in the topological phase. Then, the open system Hamiltonian is diagonalized numerically, and we model the order parameter with a spatial dependency. Additional Majorana zero modes appear if the order parameter changes sign. We also consider the p+ip model. The localization of a Majorana zero mode, bound to a vortex that is described by Ginzburg-Landau theory, is found numerically. We propose an argument that results in a non-Abelian exchange transformation for a system of several vortices. The p+ip model is also studied on an annulus; we approximate the ground state as a combination of boundary states and calculate its energy. The results are compared to a numerical implementation, and the agreement is convincing as the boundary separation becomes large compared to other length scales.
Many topological or critical aspects of the Kitaev chain are well known, with several classic results. In contrast, the study of the critical behavior of the strong Majorana zero modes (MZM) has been overlooked. Here we introduce two topological markers which, surprisingly, exhibit non-trivial signatures over the entire (1+1) Ising critical line. We first analytically compute the MZM fidelity FMZM--a measure of the MZM mapping between parity sectors. It takes a universal value along the (1+1) Ising critical line, FMZM=8/π, independent of the energy. We also obtain an exact analytical result for the critical MZM occupation number NMZM which depends on the Catalan's constant G≈0.91596559, for both the ground-state (NMZM=1/2−4G/π2≈0.12877) and the first excited state (NMZM=1/2+(8−4G)/π2≈0.93934). We further compute finite-size corrections which identically vanish for the special ratio Δ/t=2−1 between pairing and hopping in the critical Kitaev chain.
We study the possibility to realize a Majorana zero mode that is robust and may be easily manipulated for braiding in quantum computing in the ground state of the Kitaev model in this work. To achieve this we first apply a uniform [111] magnetic field to the gapless Kitaev model and turn the Kitaev model to an effective p + ip topological superconductor of spinons. We then study possible vortex binding in such system to a topologically trivial spot in the ground state. We consider two cases in the system: one is a vacancy and the other is a fully polarized spin. We show that in both cases, the system binds a vortex with the defect and a robust Majorana zero mode in the ground state at a weak uniform [111] magnetic field. The distribution and asymptotic behavior of these Majorana zero modes are studied. The Majorana zero modes in both cases decay exponentially in space, and are robust against local perturbations and other Majorana zero modes far away, which makes them promising candidates for braiding in topological quantum computing.