Accessing topological superconductivity via a combined STM and renormalization group analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a combined experimental and theoretical approach using STM analysis and renormalization group techniques to identify topological superconductivity in specific materials, aiding the search for Majorana states.

Contribution

It develops a microscopic, material-specific method linking STM data to topological superconductivity using multi-orbital renormalization group analysis.

Findings

Identifies conditions favoring chiral singlet topological superconductivity in hexagonal systems.

Demonstrates the necessity of microscopic analysis for confirming topological states.

Provides a framework for experimental and theoretical collaboration in superconductor research.

Abstract

The search for topological superconductors has recently become a key issue in condensed matter physics, because of their possible relevance to provide a platform for Majorana bound states, non-Abelian statistics, and fault-tolerant quantum computing. We propose a new scheme which links as directly as possible the experimental search to a material-based microscopic theory for topological superconductivity. For this, the analysis of scanning tunneling microscopy, which typically uses a phenomenological ansatz for the superconductor gap functions, is elevated to a theory, where a multi-orbital functional renormalization group analysis allows for an unbiased microscopic determination of the material-dependent pairing potentials. The combined approach is highlighted for paradigmatic hexagonal systems, such as doped graphene and water-intercalated sodium cobaltates, where lattice symmetry and electronic correlations yield a propensity for a chiral singlet topological superconductor state. We demonstrate that our microscopic material-oriented procedure is necessary to uniquely resolve a topological superconductor state.