Physical Review B · 2011 · 277 citations · 20 references
Natural SciencesPhysicsCondensed Matter PhysicsSolid State PhysicsTopologyElectronic Band StructurePhase TransitionsQuantum TunnelingSuperconducting MaterialsSurface PhysicsTopological Phases Of MatterBulk-boundary CorrespondenceMajorana Zero ModesSurface StatesSymmetry-protected Topological PhasesTime Reversal SymmetryTopological InvariantsTopological SuperconductorsTopological Surface States
A nonzero topological number predicts zero‑energy Andreev surface states by bulk–boundary correspondence. The authors study 3D noncentrosymmetric superconductors with time‑reversal symmetry using three topological invariants, locating zero‑energy flat bands in the surface Brillouin zone by projecting bulk nodal lines onto the surface. The study reveals dispersionless Andreev surface states forming topologically protected flat bands that produce zero‑bias conductance peaks, and identifies Majorana surface modes at time‑reversal invariant momenta in the gapless phase protected by a Z₂ invariant.
We examine different topological phases in three-dimensional noncentrosymmetric superconductors with time-reversal symmetry by using three different types of topological invariants. Due to the bulk boundary correspondence, a nonzero value of any of these topological numbers indicates the appearance of zero-energy Andreev surface states. We find that some of these boundary modes in nodal superconducting phases are dispersionless, i.e., they form a topologically protected flat band. The region where the zero-energy flat band appears in the surface Brillouin zone is determined by the projection of the nodal lines in the bulk onto the surface. These dispersionless Andreev surface bound states have many observable consequences, in particular, a zero-bias conductance peak in tunneling measurements. We also find that in the gapless phase there appear Majorana surface modes at time-reversal invariant momenta which are protected by a ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ topological invariant.
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