Fermion zero modes in symmetric vortices in superfluid He

Fermions localized within vortex cores are considered for the simplest most symmetric vortices in the superfluid phases of ³He. Axisymmetric vortices in the A, A₁ and planar phases contain the fermionic condensate with a completely flat band and zero energy. The o-vortex in the B-phase contains 1D Fermi liquids, formed by fermions occupying the branches which cross the zero level. The number of such Fermi liquids increases with increasing external magnetic field. The fermionic spectrum in this vortex is described by the “orbital” and spin momenta interacting with the effective internal magnetic field produced by the vortex and with the external field. Most of the information is obtained using the vortex symmetry which determines symmetry properties of the fermionic spectrum.     

Fermion zero modes in the presence of non-abelian vortices

The Dirac equation in the presence of non-abelian vortices is investigated . For isospinor fermions coupled to the vortex in the SU(2) Nielsen-Olesen model, there are normalisable well-behaved zero-energy solutions. When the fermions are in the adjoint representation there are no normalisable zero modes. The Z₂ vortex appearing in a SO(10) theory is explicitly constructed and it is shown that the heavy neutrino can be bound to it in a zero-energy state.     

Index theorem for the zero modes of Majorana fermion vortices in chiral p-wave superconductors

We show that the Majorana fermion zero modes in the cores of odd winding number vortices of a 2D (p(x)+ip(y))-paired superconductor is due to an index theorem. This theorem is analogous to that proven by Jackiw and Rebbi for the existence of localized Dirac fermion zero modes on the mass domain walls of a 1D Dirac theory. The important difference is that, in our case, the theorem is proven for a two component fermion field theory where the first and second components are related by parity reversal and Hermitian conjugation.     

Fermion zero modes and ‘hidden’ symmetry

The origin of the fermion zero modes in the soliton fields is investigated in 2- and 4-dimensional models and a connection is found with the existence of ‘hidden’ supersymmetry properties of the Lagrangians.     

Exploring Majorana zero modes in iron-based superconductors

Majorana zero modes (MZMs) are Majorana-fermion-like quasiparticles existing in crystals or hybrid platforms with topologically non-trivial electronic structures. They obey non-Abelian braiding statistics and are considered promising to realize topological quantum computing. Discovery of MZM in the vortices of the iron-based superconductors (IBSs) has recently fueled the Majorana research in a way which not only removes the material barrier requiring construction of complicated hybrid artificial structures, but also enables observation of pure MZMs under higher temperatures. So far, MZMs have been observed in iron-based superconductors including FeTe_0.55Se_0.45, (Li_0.84Fe_0.16)OHFeSe, CaKFe₄As₄, and LiFeAs. In this topical review, we present an overview of the recent STM studies on the MZMs in IBSs. We start with the observation of MZMs in the vortices in FeTe_0.55Se_0.45 and discuss the pros and cons of FeTe_0.55Se_0.45 compared with other platforms. We then review the following up discovery of MZMs in vortices of CaKFe₄As₄, impurity-assisted vortices of LiFeAs, and quantum anomalous vortices in FeTe_0.55Se_0.45, illustrating the pathway of the developments of MZM research in IBSs. Finally, we give perspective on future experimental works in this field.     

On n-quantum vortices in superconductors

Taking into account terms of a higher order than those usually included in the expansion of free energy close to $\kappa = 1/\sqrt 2$ in the Ginzburg-Landau theory can lead either to the transition from the mixed to the intermediate state, as is commonly supposed, or to a chain of sequential transitions from one-to n-quantum vortices (n=2, 3, ...).     

Fermionic zero modes for dyons and chiral symmetry breaking in QCD

Dyonic classical solutions of Yang-Mills theory are considered and the complete set of fermionic zero modes of these solutions are studied. Representing the QCD vacuum as a gas of dyons, one obtains chiral symmetry breaking due to zero modes similarly to the case of instantonic vacuum.     

Left chiral “zero modes” in a super-self-dual Yang-Mills background

A super-self-duality constraint can be imposed on the curvature two-form in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories formulated in euclidean superspace. If left covariantly chiral superfields are coupled to such a background, part of this space of superfields is annihilated by a superspace operator constructed from the quadratic part of the action. These are analogous to the zero modes of the Dirac equation which occur in the presence of a multi-instanton. Using the supersymmetric version of the ADHM formalism, this space of left covariantly chiral “zero mode” superfields is constructed in the fundamental representation of an SU(n) gauge group. It is shown to be spanned by a set of k superfields, where k is the instanton number of the bosonic component of the Yang-Mills background.     

Cosmic chiral vortices

The review is devoted to cosmic chiral vortices (strings) and their possible role in the evolution of the early Universe. An exact cylindrically-symmetric solution to Einstein equations was obtained within the SU(2) sigma model for a configuration with a topological charge of the degree type. The linearized stability of the solution with respect to radial perturbations is proven by Lyapunov’s direct method. The metric found corresponds to the conical type with an angular deficiency proportional to the topological charge or the linear mass density of the vortex. The ray deflection angle close to the angular deficiency (the gravitational lens effect) was determined by direct integration of geodesic equations for the light ray orthogonal to the vortex. A gauge generalization of the model was considered involving the axially symmetric Yang-Mills field. In the approximation of the large topological charge, a solution with proper longitudinal magnetic field was obtained and the effect of a decrease in the vortex energy was found. The effect of closing the string was also considered in the approximation of the large closure radius. To this end, the toroidal moment of a closed string was calculated and an energy correction caused by the Skyrme term.     

Fermion number exchange processes and dynamical supersymmetry effects in the interaction of fermionic zero modes with matter

The influence of fermionic zero modes and fractional charges caused by a topological soliton on the dynamics of the system is considered.     

Dynamics of quantum vortices in two-dimensional superconductors

The dynamics of rigid vortex translations in two-dimensional arrays of Josephson junctions is shown to be equivalent to the motion of a mass, proportional to the junction capacitance, in a periodic pinning potential. The quantum tunneling of the vortex through the potential barriers is predicted of importance in the existing Nb-arrays at very low temperatures. Above the vortex unbinding temperature there is a plasma resonance of the free vortices leading to an anomaly in the vortex frequency dependent dielectric constant, which could be observed via a radio frequency impedance measurement.     

Fluctuation-induced attraction of vortices in anisotropic superconductors

We study the fluctuation-induced attraction of vortices for continuous anisotropic superconductors by using quantum statistical physics. In the low temperature or quantum limit, only the low-lying modes are relevant, the induced short-range attractive potential is proportional to (k_BT)³K₁(ΓR/λ), while in high temperature or classical limit, the induced attractive potential reduced to long-range van der Waals type k_BT/R⁴ for two vortices separated by a distance R.