Occurrence of Topologically Nontrivial Phases, Cascade of Quantum Transitions, and Identification of Majorana Modes in Chiral Superconductors and Nanowires (Scientific Summary)

The problems of occurrence and experimental identification of topologically nontrivial phases in condensed matter have been reviewed. The results of the study of the effect of strong intra- and interatomic Coulomb interaction on a quantum phase transition with change in the topological index in an ensemble of Hubbard fermions on a triangular lattice have been reported. Nontrivial topology of the phase of coexistence of d + id chiral superconductivity and 120 degrees spin ordering in a system with the triangular lattice has been discussed and the formation of Majorana modes in such a phase has been demonstrated. A cascade of quantum transitions that occurs at the variation of the magnetic field or the electrochemical potential has been analyzed for an open nanowire with the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and the induced superconducting pairing potential. It has been shown that anomalies of magneto- and electrocaloric effects are manifested near such quantum transitions and can be used to experimentally test materials on the existence of topologically nontrivial phases in them. The switching of the spin-polarized current in the topological superconducting phase has been predicted for a semimetal/superconducting wire/semimetal structure in the weak nonequilibrium regime.