title: Experimental detection of a Majorana mode in the core of a magnetic vortex inside a topological insulator-superconductor Bi(2)Te(3)/NbSe(2) heterostructure.
abstract: Majorana fermions have been intensively studied in recent years for their importance to both fundamental science and potential applications in topological quantum computing. They are predicted to exist in a vortex core of superconducting topological insulators. However, it is extremely difficult to distinguish them experimentally from other quasiparticle states for the tiny energy difference between Majorana fermions and these states, which is beyond the energy resolution of most available techniques. Here, we circumvent the problem by systematically investigating the spatial profile of the Majorana mode and the bound quasiparticle states within a vortex in Bi(2)Te(3) films grown on a superconductor NbSe(2). While the zero bias peak in local conductance splits right off the vortex center in conventional superconductors, it splits off at a finite distance ∼20  nm away from the vortex center in Bi(2)Te(3). This unusual splitting behavior has never been observed before and could be possibly due to the Majorana fermion zero mode. While the Majorana mode is destroyed by the interaction between vortices, the zero bias peak splits as a conventional superconductor again. This work provides self-consistent evidences of Majorana fermions and also suggests a possible route to manipulating them.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Peng
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Xiao
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Zhi Long
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Canhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Zhu An
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Chun Lei
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China and Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Qiang-Hua
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Fu-Chun
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Kun
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Jia