title: Topological Majorana and Dirac zero modes in superconducting vortex cores.
abstract: We provide an argument based on flux insertion to show that certain superconductors with a nontrivial topological invariant have protected zero modes in their vortex cores. This argument has the flavor of a two-dimensional index theorem and applies to disordered systems as well. It also provides a new way of understanding the zero modes in the vortex cores of a spinless px+ipy superconductor. Applying this approach to superconductors with and without time-reversal and spin-rotational symmetry, we predict the necessary and sufficient conditions for protected zero modes to exist in their vortices.
authors.affiliation: Rudolph Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, 1 Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3NP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roy