Multiplicative Majorana zero-modes

TL;DR

This paper introduces multiplicative Majorana zero-modes as boundary states of multiplicative topological phases, revealing a minimal four unpaired Majorana zero-modes needed for topological qubits and proposing an alternative to braiding-based quantum computation.

Contribution

It defines and characterizes multiplicative Majorana zero-modes and phases, expanding the understanding of topological qubits and proposing new quantum gate operation methods.

Findings

Minimum four unpaired Majorana zero-modes for topological qubits.

Construction of Hamiltonians for multiplicative topological phases.

Potential for topological phase transition-based quantum gates.

Abstract

Topological qubits composed of unpaired Majorana zero-modes are under intense experimental and theoretical scrutiny in efforts to realize practical quantum computation schemes. In this work, we show the minimum four \textit{unpaired} Majorana zero-modes required for a topological qubit according to braiding schemes and control of entanglement for gate operations are inherent to multiplicative topological phases, which realize symmetry-protected tensor products -- and maximally-entangled Bell states -- of unpaired Majorana zero-modes known as multiplicative Majorana zero-modes. We introduce multiplicative Majorana zero-modes as topologically-protected boundary states of both one and two-dimensional multiplicative topological phases, using methods reliant on multiplicative topology to construct relevant Hamiltonians from the Kitaev chain model. We furthermore characterize topology in the bulk and on the boundary with established methods while also introducing techniques to overcome challenges in characterizing multiplicative topology. In the process, we explore the potential of these multiplicative topological phases for an alternative to braiding-based topological quantum computation schemes, in which gate operations are performed through topological phase transitions.