title: Odd-parity pairing and topological superconductivity in a strongly spin-orbit coupled semiconductor.
abstract: The existence of topological superconductors preserving time-reversal symmetry was recently predicted, and they are expected to provide a solid-state realization of itinerant massless Majorana fermions and a route to topological quantum computation. Their first likely example, Cu(x)Bi(2)Se(3), was discovered last year, but the search for new materials has so far been hindered by the lack of a guiding principle. Here, we report point-contact spectroscopy experiments suggesting that the low-carrier-density superconductor Sn(1-x)In(x)Te is accompanied by surface Andreev bound states which, with the help of theoretical analysis, would give evidence for odd-parity pairing and topological superconductivity. The present and previous finding of possible topological superconductivity in Sn(1-x)In(x)Te and Cu(x)Bi(2)Se(3) suggests that odd-parity pairing favored by strong spin-orbit coupling is likely to be a common underlying mechanism for materializing topological superconductivity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Taskin
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Segawa
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando