Quasi-1D Topological Nodal Vortex Line Phase in Doped Superconducting 3D Dirac Semimetals

Abstract

We study vortex bound states in three-dimensional (3D) superconducting Dirac semimetals with time reversal symmetry. We find that there exist robust gapless vortex bound states propagating along the vortex line in the s-wave superconducting state. We refer to this newly found phase as the quasi-1D nodal vortex line phase. According to the Altland-Zirnbauer classification, the phase is characterized by a topological index (ν;N) at k_{z}=0 and k_{z}=π, where ν is the Z_{2} topological invariant for a 0D class-D system and N is the Z topological invariant for a 0D class-A system. Furthermore, we show that the vortex end Majorana zero mode can coexist with the quasi-1D nodal phase in certain types of Dirac semimetals. The possible experimental observations and material realization of such nodal vortex line states are discussed.