Shedding light on topological superconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optical method to probe topological superconductors by enhancing light-matter interactions in a hybrid system, enabling detection of Majorana fermions through a giant resonance.

Contribution

It presents a novel hybrid optical approach to monitor topological superconductors and reveal Majorana fermions via enhanced electromagnetic absorption.

Findings

Enhanced light absorption in hybrid superconductor-metal systems.

Detection of a giant Fanolike resonance indicating elementary excitations.

Potential to control Majorana fermions with light.

Abstract

We propose an optical approach to monitor superconductors in conjunction with a normal metal layer. Effectively such a hybrid system represents a resonator, where electrons are strongly coupled with light. We show that the interaction of light with the superconductor turns out strongly boosted in the presence of the neighboring metal and as a result, the electromagnetic power absorption of the system is dramatically enhanced. It manifests itself in a giant Fanolike resonance which can uniquely characterize the elementary excitations of the system. Our approach is especially promising for topological superconductors, where the Majorana fermions can be revealed and controlled by light.