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SYTI: Symposium Topological Insulators: Influence of Superconductivity, Magnetism and Extrinsic Spin-Orbit Interaction

SYTI 1: Topological Insulators: Influence of Superconductivity, Magnetism and Extrinsic Spin-Orbit Interaction

SYTI 1.1: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 09:30–10:00, H 0105

Search for Majorana fermions in topological insulators — •Carlo Beenakker — Instituut-Lorentz, Leiden University, The Netherlands

Majorana fermions (particles which are their own antiparticle) may or may not exist in Nature as elementary building blocks, but in condensed matter they can be constructed out of electron and hole excitations. What is needed is a superconductor to hide the charge difference, and a topological (Berry) phase to eliminate the energy difference from zero-point motion. We discuss strategies to detect Majorana fermions at the edge of a 2D topological insulator and on the surface of a 3D topological insulator.