Physics (Internal)

Interacting Majoranas

This event is part of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.

Majorana fermions are the real (in a mathematical sense) counterparts of complex fermions like ordinary electrons. The promise of topological quantum computing with these non-Abelian anyons has lead to substantial experimental progress in realizing these particles in various synthetic platforms. The realization of Majorana fermions motivates a separate fundamental question: What phases of matter can emerge if many Majorana fermions are allowed to interact? The early progress thus far suggests that strongly correlated phases of matter with Majorana building blocks can exhibit many novel phenomena, such as emergent spacetime supersymmetry, as well as providing alternative avenues for universal topological quantum computing. Here we discuss the rich phase diagrams of one- and quasi-one-dimensional systems of interacting Majoranas, namely the Majorana-Hubbard chain and two- and four-leg Majorana-Hubbard ladders.