Majorana liquids: the complete fractionalization of the electron

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive framework for electron fractionalization into Majorana fermions and spin/charge quasiparticles, unifying various fractionalized states in correlated electron systems.

Contribution

It presents a unified theory describing electron fractionalization into Majorana fermions and spin/charge quasiparticles, covering both insulating and conducting states.

Findings

Majorana fermions carry Fermi statistics in fractionalized states.

The theory unifies descriptions of insulating and conducting fractionalized phases.

Phase transitions between these states are characterized by specific field theories.

Abstract

We describe ground states of correlated electron systems in which the electron fractionalizes into separate quasiparticles which carry its spin and its charge, and into real Majorana fermions which carry its Fermi statistics. Such parent states provide a unified theory of previously studied fractionalized states: their descendants include insulating and conducting states with neutral spin S=1/2 fermionic spinons, and states with spinless fermionic charge carriers. We illustrate these ideas on the honeycomb lattice, with field theories of such states and their phase transitions.