Correlation-driven topological Kondo superconductors

• Published in: Communications physics 2024-07, Vol.7 (1), p.253-11, Article 253
• Main Authors: Chang, Yung-Yeh, Van Nguyen, Khoe, Chen, Kuang-Lung, Lu, Yen-Wen, Mou, Chung-Yu, Chung, Chung-Hou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/766/119/1003; 639/766/119/2792/4128; Correlation; Ferromagnetic materials; Heterostructures; Hybridization; Kondo effect; Lattice vibration; Parity; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Spin-spin coupling; Superconductivity; Topological superconductors
• ISSN: 2399-3650; 2399-3650
• DOI: 10.1038/s42005-024-01749-9

Searching for topological superconductors that host topological charge-neutral Majorana zero-modes at edges has become a central problem in condensed matter research due to their potential applications for quantum computations. Meanwhile, electron correlations in solid-state materials enhance quantum fluctuations and give rise to various quantum many-body phases. Whether these electron correlations alone would lead to topological superconductivity is a fundamentally important open problem. Here, we theoretically find the correlation-driven topological superconductivity in a class of Kondo lattice materials. Therein, the odd-parity Kondo hybridization mediates ferromagnetic spin-spin coupling and leads to spin-triplet pairing between local moments. Triplet p ± i p ′ -wave topological superconductivity with Majorana zero modes at edges is reached when Kondo hybridization co-exists with the triplet pairings. Our results offer a detailed understanding of the experimental observations on UTe 2 , a ferromagnetic heavy-electron triplet superconductor. Our approach to topological superconductivity shows advantages over the heterostructure approach by proximity effect. The authors find theoretically topological superconductivity in a class of Kondo lattice materials driven by strongly correlated Kondo effects with odd-parity Kondo hybridization. Their results offer a detailed understanding of UTe 2 , a ferromagnetic heavy-electron triplet superconductor, as well as a guiding principle in the search for topological superconductors.