Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor
Abstract
Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe1-xSex (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature Tc = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone-type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below Tc. Our study shows that the surface states of FeTe0.55Se0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- April 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.aan4596
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1706.05163
- Bibcode:
- 2018Sci...360..182Z
- Keywords:
-
- PHYSICS;
- Condensed Matter - Superconductivity;
- Condensed Matter - Materials Science;
- Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons
- E-Print:
- 10 pages, 5 figures. 1706.05163, 1803.00845 and 1803.00846 are a series of studies on topological superconductivity and topological states in iron-based superconductors