Edge Modes in One Dimensional Topological Charge Conserving Spin-Triplet Superconductors: Exact Results from Bethe Ansatz

TL;DR

This paper provides an exact Bethe Ansatz solution for one-dimensional charge conserving spin-triplet superconductors, revealing edge-bound states with fractional spin and ground state degeneracy.

Contribution

It offers an exact analytical solution for edge modes in 1D topological superconductors with Bethe Ansatz, connecting boundary states to fractionalized spins.

Findings

Ground state has fourfold degeneracy in the spin triplet phase.

Zero energy boundary bound states are localized at edges.

Boundary states correspond to fractional spin ±1/4.

Abstract

Charge conserving spin singlet and spin triplet superconductors in one dimension are described by the $U(1)$ symmetric Thirring Hamiltonian. We solve the model with open boundary conditions on the a finite line segment by means of the Bethe Ansatz. We show that the ground state displays a fourfold degeneracy when the bulk is in the spin triplet superconducting phase. This degeneracy corresponds to the existence of zero energy boundary bound states localized at the edges which may be interpreted, in the light of the previous semi-classical analysis due to Kesselman and Berg \cite{Keselman2015}, as resulting from the existence of fractional spin $\pm 1/4$ localized at the two edges of the system.