Majoranas in Atomic Spin Chains
Abstract
Title: Majoranas in Atomic Spin ChainsObjective:To take the next steps in advancing the field of Majorana electronics by proposing a program that takes an atomistic approach in constructing Majorana nanostructures that enables addressing fundamental questions in this nascent area of research.Approach:PI s atomic scale approach provides unique opportunities for precise experiments on the emergence of Majorana fermions in structures that are constructed atom-by-atom and for creating complex structures in which Majoran"a fermions can be manipulated with a magnetic field. Coupling the Majorana fermions in atomic chains with individual spins, we propo"se experiments to test the non-local properties of these exotic quasiparticles that have the potential in demonstrating long distance quantum entanglement between individual spins.SOW (Project Milestones):Year 1:Probe how the electronic structure evolves from one magnetic atom to a chain on the surface of Bi/Nb.Goal: Fabricate various types of linear chains of magnetic atoms on Bi/Nb platform.Use spectroscopic measurements and spin polarized measurements with the STM to probe the properties of these chains .Use theory model calculations to understand the data.Year 2:Examine interaction between an isolated spin and pair of spins near the end of a chain hosting pairs of MZMs.Fabricate T-junction and rings of magnetic atoms and characterize their properties with STM techn"iques.Use parallel field to tune the properties of the magnetic chains, rings, and T-junctions and probe changes in situ with the S"TM.Year 3:Probe whether rotation of the magnetic field can be used to manipulate MZMs.Spin-flip spectroscopy of single spins on" a superconductor.If successful in measuring spin relaxation for a single spin on a superconductor, determine how this changes when" spin interacts with a MZM at the end of the chain.Goal: Fabricate atomic chains on FeSe or Bi/FeSe structure and determine if MZMs can be stabilized at higher temperatures.Future Navy Relevance:Development of powerful new technologies for computation is critical to the future of the Navy. During the last two decades it has become clear that the current limitations in nanofabrication on the atomic scale will constrain future development of computing technologies. It has become evident that advanced computing technologi"es will be required to harness quantum phenomena in solids in fundamental new ways. Therefore, there has been much focus on developi"ng experimental technologies and theoretical approaches that will make the development of a computer that uses the power of quantum" superposition. Parallel to these efforts in quantum computing, there is also the realization that quantum phenomena can lead to mor""e secure modes of communication, which makes theinvestigation of such phenomena of even broader interest with regard to future mili"tary capabilities. At the heart of the quest to develop quantum computers is therequirement to revolutionize the concept of a bit in a computer. There is a critical need to develop quantum bits (qubits) with long coherence times that will usequantum entanglement to perform massively parallel computations. The difficulty with current traditionalapproaches in developing qubits is the difficult task of isolating these bits from their environment while still being able to control them and perform computations. To overcome t"hese difficulties, a new concept of topological quantum bits has emerged, which theoretically relies on topological qubits that are" robust to environmental noise. One powerful approach to realize a topological qubit is to create electronic excitations in a solid-state device called Majorana fermions that will be manipulated for computation purposes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712784
Entities
People
- Ali Yazdani
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Trustees of Princeton University
- United States Navy