IQIM Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Seminar

Abstract: I will discuss a topological superconducting phase which does not involve magnetism or external magnetic fields. This topological phase is protected by time-reversal symmetry, and is characterized by having a Kramers' pair of Majorana boundary modes. After reviewing the general properties of this phase of matter, I will discuss the possibility of realizing it in currently available experimental platforms, as well as its physical imprint. An emphasis will be placed on the important role played by repulsive e-e interactions. In particular, I will present a mechanism, based on the interplay between repulsive interactions and the superconducting proximity effect, which is predicted to drives the system into the topological phase. This prediction is corroborated by both analytical and numerical calculations.