Study gathers evidence of topological superconductivity in the transition metal 4Hb-TaS2
+ Researchers at Weizmann Institute of Science and Technion in Israel have recently gathered evidence of topological superconductivity in 4Hb-TaS2, a new material realized by one of their colleagues. Their paper, published in Nature Physics, could have important implications for the future development of various quantum devices.
“In early 2019, Amit Kanigel at Technion institute of technology gave a seminar at the Weizmann institute of science on 4Hb-TaS2, an intriguing compound that he had recently grown and measured,” Nurit Avraham, Abhay Kumar Nayak and Haim Beidenkopf, three of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. “One exciting observation he presented was an onset of increased muon spin relaxation, possibly signifying time reversal symmetry breaking, concurrently with superconductivity, which alluded towards the existence of topological superconductivity in this compound.”
+ A key hallmark of topological superconductivity is the presence of Majorana edge modes on a material’s edges, which can be directly observed and characterized using STM techniques. Kanigel’s seminar at Technion thus inspired the researchers to seek for experimental evidence of topological superconductivity in 4Hb-TaS2.
+ “We have preliminary indications of an exotic state that forms on the 1T layer. Its evolution with superconductivity is also unresolved.” Avraham, Nayak and Beidenkopf added. “Perhaps these additional insights will bring us closer to a wholesome comprehension of 4Hb-TaS2, in which topological superconductivity on the 1H terminations is one exciting aspect.”
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