Exploring Superconductivity: The Interplay of Electronic Orders in Topological Quantum Materials

TL;DR

This review explores the complex relationship between superconductivity and various electronic orders in topological quantum materials, emphasizing their potential for future technological applications and the need for deeper understanding.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive conceptual overview of the interplay between superconductivity and topological electronic states, focusing on topological superconductors and related materials.

Findings

Superconductivity can coexist or compete with topological electronic orders.

Theoretical models predict novel states arising from the interplay of topology and superconductivity.

Experimental evidence is growing but the fundamental nature of their relationship remains complex.

Abstract

Topological quantum materials hold great promise for future technological applications. Their unique electronic properties, such as protected surface states and exotic quasiparticles, offer opportunities for designing novel electronic devices, spintronics, and quantum information processing. The origin of the interplay between various electronic orders in topological quantum materials, such as superconductivity and magnetism, remains unclear, particularly whether these electronic orders cooperate, compete, or simply coexist. Since the 2000s, the combination of topology and matter has sparked a tremendous surge of interest among theoreticians and experimentalists alike. Novel theoretical descriptions and predictions, as well as complex experimental setups confirming or refuting these theories, continuously appear in renowned journals. This review aims to provide conceptual tools to understand the fundamental concepts of this ever-growing field. Superconductivity and its historical development will serve as a second pillar alongside topological materials. While the primary focus will be on topological superconductors, other topological materials, such as topological insulators and topological semimetals, will also be explained phenomenologically.