Higher-Order Topology and Nodal Topological Superconductivity in Fe(Se,Te) Heterostructures

Abstract

We show, theoretically, that a heterostructure of monolayer FeTe_{1-x}Se_{x}-a superconducting quantum spin Hall material-with a monolayer of FeTe-a bicollinear antiferromagnet-realizes a higher order topological superconductor phase characterized by emergent Majorana zero modes pinned to the sample corners. We provide a minimal effective model for this system, analyze the origin of higher order topology, and fully characterize the topological phase diagram. Despite the conventional s-wave pairing, we find a rather surprising emergence of a novel topological nodal superconductor in the phase diagram. Featured by edge-dependent Majorana flat bands, the topological nodal phase is protected by an antiferromagnetic chiral symmetry. We also discuss the experimental feasibility, the estimation of realistic model parameters, and the robustness of the Majorana corner modes against magnetic and potential disorder. Our work provides a new experimentally feasible high-temperature platform for both higher order topology and non-Abelian Majorana physics.