Athena
52 papers
2024 arxiv Superfluid Optomechanics

Dynamic interaction between chiral currents and surface waves in topological superfluids: a pathway to detect Majorana fermions? S. Forstner1,2a, H. Choi3,4b, G.I. Harris1, A. Sawadsky1, W.P. Bowen1, and C.G. Baker1c

Forstner et al.

Abstract

Despite extensive experimental efforts over the past two decades, the quest for Majorana fermions in superconductors remains inconclusive. We propose an experimental method that can con- clusively confirm, or rule out, the existence of these quasiparticles: Firstly, we shift focus from superconductors, whose very topological nature is disputed, to the unambiguous topological su- perfluid 3He. Secondly, we identify the interaction between surface waves and the chiral Majorana current in the bulk of a topological superfluid of varying density. The proposed experiment pro- vides a path towards the detection of the Majorana fermion, an 80-year-old theoretical prediction. It is realistically achievable based on the advent of microscopic superfluid resonators coupled to optical cavities. The proposal may open the door to experiments ranging from simulations of exotic cosmological particles to topological acoustics and fault tolerant quantum computing.

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