Novel Probes of Topological Superconductivity for Next-Generation Quantum Systems

Susanne Stemmer, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Materials Department, (Principal Investigator)
Stephen Wilson, UCSB, Materials Department (Co-Investigator)
Leon Balents, UCSB, Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (Co-Investigator)
Andrea Young, UCSB, Department of Physics (Co-Investigator)

Topological superconductors are capable of hosting electronic states that are protected from rapid decoherence.  The discovery of materials that belong to this class of superconductors would therefore present a major advance in the development of robust, next generation quantum information systems.  Although several promising candidates have been identified, experimental techniques that unequivocally diagnose topological superconductivity are currently lacking.  This renewal proposal builds on topological superconductor candidate systems developed in this project to advance, test, and refine new techniques for probing the physics of topological superconductors.  Our proposed methods include advancing local detection via their influence on observables like vortices, currents, or temperature as well as more global measurements, such as neutron scattering and transport.  Of particular relevance to this project is local heat transport.  Going beyond the detection of signatures of topological superconductivity, the methods developed in this project also lend themselves to their control, such as via the manipulation of the movement of vortices, a prerequisite for braiding operations.  To achieve these goals, our team is comprised of four experts in theory, high-purity materials synthesis and characterization and novel in-situ imaging methods.  Ultimately, the project looks to demonstrate new topological superconductors as components for next-generation quantum devices.