Journal
NATURE PHYSICS
Volume 6, Issue 11, Pages 855-859Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS1762
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Basic Energy Sciences of the US DOE [DE-FG-02-05ER46200, AC03-76SF00098, DE-FG02-07ER46352]
- NSF [NSF/DMR-0819860]
- A.P. Sloan Foundation
- Division Of Materials Research
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [819860] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Experimental observation of topological order in three-dimensional bulk solids has recently led to a flurry of research activity(1-21). Unlike the two-dimensional electron gas or quantum Hall systems, three-dimensional topological insulators can harbour superconductivity and magnetism, making it possible to study the interplay between topologically ordered phases and broken-symmetry states. One outcome of this interplay is the possible realization of Majorana fermions-quasiparticles that are their own antiparticles-on topological surfaces, which is of great interest in fundamental physics(9-13,22-24). Here we present measurements of the bulk and surface electron dynamics in Bi2Se3 doped with copper with a transition temperature T-c up to 3.8 K, observing its topological character for the first time. Our data show that superconductivity occurs in a bulk relativistic quasiparticle regime where an unusual doping mechanism causes the spin-polarized topological surface states to remain well preserved at the Fermi level of the superconductor where Cooper pairing takes place. These results suggest that the electron dynamics in superconducting Bi2Se3 are suitable for trapping non-Abelian Majorana fermions. Details of our observations constitute important clues for developing a general theory of topological superconductivity in doped topological insulators.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available