Suhas Gangadharaiah

Majorana edge states in interacting one-dimensional systems.

We show that one-dimensional electron systems in the proximity of a superconductor that support Majorana edge states are extremely susceptible to electron-electron interactions. Strong interactions generically destroy the induced superconducting gap that stabilizes the Majorana edge states. For weak interactions, the renormalization of the gap is nonuniversal and allows for a regime in which the Majorana edge states persist. We present strategies of how this regime can be reached.

Electric-field-induced Majorana fermions in armchair carbon nanotubes.

We consider theoretically an armchair carbon nanotube (CNT) in the presence of an electric field and in contact with an s-wave superconductor. We show that the proximity effect opens up superconducting gaps in the CNT of different strengths for the exterior and interior branches of the two Dirac points. For strong proximity induced superconductivity the interior gap can be of the p-wave type, while the exterior gap can be tuned by the electric field to be of the s-wave type. Such a setup supports a single Majorana bound state at each end of the CNT. In the case of a weak proximity induced superconductivity, the gaps in both branches are of the p-wave type. However, the temperature can be chosen in such a way that the smallest gap is effectively closed. Using renormalization group techniques we show that the Majorana bound states exist even after taking into account electron-electron interactions.

Localized end states in density modulated quantum wires and rings

We study finite quantum wires and rings in the presence of a charge-density wave gap induced by a periodic modulation of the chemical potential. We show that the Tamm-Shockley bound states emerging at the ends of the wire are stable against weak disorder and interactions, for discrete open chains and for continuum systems. The low-energy physics can be mapped onto the Jackiw-Rebbi equations describing massive Dirac fermions and bound end states. We treat interactions via the continuum model and show that they increase the charge gap and further localize the end states. The electrons placed in the two localized states on the opposite ends of the wire can interact via exchange interactions and this setup can be used as a double quantum dot hosting spin qubits. The existence of these states could be experimentally detected through the presence of an unusual 4π Aharonov-Bohm periodicity in the spectrum and persistent current as a function of the external flux.

SINGULAR PERTURBATION THEORY FOR INTERACTING FERMIONS IN TWO DIMENSIONS

We consider a system of interacting fermions in two dimensions beyond the second-order perturbation theory in the interaction. It is shown that the mass-shell singularities in the self-energy, arising already at the second order of the perturbation theory, manifest a nonperturbative effect: an interaction with the zero-sound mode. Resumming the perturbation theory for a weak, short-range interaction and accounting for a finite curvature of the fermion spectrum, we eliminate the singularities and obtain the results for the quasiparticle self-energy and the spectral function to all orders in the interaction with the zero-sound mode. A threshold for emission of zero-sound waves leads a nonmonotonic variation of the self-energy with energy (or momentum) near the mass shell. Consequently, the spectral function has a kinklike feature. We also study in detail a nonanalytic temperature dependence of the specific heat

Thermodynamics of a Fermi liquid beyond the low-energy limit.

C(T)\ensuremath{\propto}{T}^{2}

Majorana states in inhomogeneous spin ladders

. It turns out that although the interaction with the collective mode results in an enhancement of the fermion self-energy, this interaction does not affect the nonanalytic term in

Spin-orbital effects in magnetized quantum wires and spin chains

C(T)

Spin-orbit induced spin-density wave in a quantum wire

due to a subtle cancellation between the contributions from the real and imaginary parts of the self-energy. For a short-range and weak interaction, this implies that the second-order perturbation theory suffices to determine the nonanalytic part of

Interacting fermions in two dimensions: beyond the perturbation theory.

C(T)

Spin-independent effective mass in a valley-degenerate electron system.

. We also obtain a general form of the nonanalytic term in