Majorana Bound States Induced by Antiferromagnetic Skyrmion Textures

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel platform using antiferromagnetic skyrmion chains coupled to conventional superconductors to realize robust Majorana bound states, offering a new approach to observe topological superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces a new system where antiferromagnetic textures induce topological superconductivity without suppressing superconductivity or requiring local tuning.

Findings

Majorana bound states can be supported by antiferromagnetic skyrmion chains.

The proposed system is robust against disorder.

It enables observation of Majorana states without altering superconductivity.

Abstract

Majorana bound states are zero-energy states predicted to emerge in topological superconductors and intense efforts seeking a definitive proof of their observation are still ongoing. A standard route to realize them involves antagonistic orders: a superconductor in proximity to a ferromagnet. Here we show this issue can be resolved using antiferromagnetic rather than ferromagnetic order. We propose to use a chain of antiferromagnetic skyrmions, in an otherwise collinear antiferromagnet, coupled to a bulk conventional superconductor as a novel platform capable of supporting Majorana bound states that are robust against disorder. Crucially, the collinear antiferromagnetic region neither suppresses superconductivity nor induces topological superconductivity, thus allowing for Majorana bound states localized at the ends of the chain. Our model introduces a new class of systems where topological superconductivity can be induced by editing antiferromagnetic textures rather than locally tuning material parameters, opening avenues for the conclusive observation of Majorana bound states.