Search for Non-Abelian Majorana Particles as a Route to Topological Quantum Computation

Jay Sau, University of Maryland

Abstract: Majorana zero modes are fermion-like excitations that were originally proposed in particle physics by Ettore Majorana and are characterized as being their own anti-particle. In condensed matter systems, Majorana zero modes occur as fractionalized excitations with topologically protected degeneracy associated with such excitations. For over a decade, the only candidate systems for observing Majorana zero modes were the non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall state and chiral p-wave superconductors. In this colloquium, I will start by explaining the basic ideas of topological quantum computation using Majorana zero modes. This will be followed by a status update on transport experiments on potential Majorana systems including the recent experiments on Microsoft as well as those in iron superconductors. I will then provide a more detailed explanation of braiding, Majorana operators, and the associated topological degeneracy. I will end with my outlook on the challenges and future directions.