Majorana fermions in three dimensions and realization in critical Weyl semimetals

TL;DR

This paper introduces models of Majorana fermions in three dimensions, explores their topological phases, and proposes real material candidates like Weyl semimetals to realize these exotic states.

Contribution

It develops new three-dimensional Majorana fermion models with distinct topological phases and links them to critical Weyl semimetals, suggesting experimental realizations in specific materials.

Findings

Identification of gapless Majorana FFLO states in critical Weyl semimetals

Classification of topological phases with and without time reversal symmetry

Proposal of candidate materials for realizing these Majorana states

Abstract

We present two band models for free fermion with charge conjugation symmetry in three dimensions. Without time reversal symmetry (TRS), the weak pairing gapless $A$-phase is a Majorana fermion $p_x+ip_y$ wave FFLO state while the strong pairing gapped $B$-phase belongs to topologically trivial Class $D$. With TRS, there is a Majorana fermion $B$-phase belonging to Class $DIII$ with a non-zero Hopf invariant. The TRS $A$-phase is also a Majorana fermion FFLO state with TRS. The surface states of the TRS $B$-phase are either a valley-momentum locked Majorana-Dirac cone or a linear-quadratic mixed cone for a specific surface. The surface states of the $A$-phase on one surface are topologically nontrivial, either having $\mathbb{Z}$ or $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant depending on whether the system is TRS or not. The edge states of that surface are gapless Majorana modes. The Majorana fermion gapless FFLO states can be realized in critical Weyl semimetals (WSM) in which dual single Weyl nodes form dipoles and are nearly annihilated. The gapped $B$-phase emerges when Weyl node dipoles are about to be created. The WSM TaAs-family, a type-II WSM series Mo$_x$W$_{1-x}$Te$_2$-family, possible WSM La/LuBi$_{1-x}$ Sb$_x$Te$_3$ and topological crystalline insulators Sn$_{1-x}$Pb$_x$(Te,Se) are candidates to be manipulated into these critical states based on Majorana fermion models.