Search for Majorana Fermions in Superconductors

@article{Beenakker2011SearchFM,
  title={Search for Majorana Fermions in Superconductors},
  author={C. W. J. Beenakker},
  journal={Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics},
  year={2011},
  volume={4},
  pages={113-136}
}
  • C. Beenakker
  • Published 2011
  • Physics
  • Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics
Majorana fermions (particles that are their own antiparticle) may or may not exist in nature as elementary building blocks, but in condensed matter they can be constructed out of electron and hole excitations. What is needed is a superconductor to hide the charge difference and a topological (Berry) phase to eliminate the energy difference from zero-point motion. A pair of widely separated Majorana fermions, bound to magnetic or electrostatic defects, has non-Abelian exchange statistics. A… Expand
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