Majorana quasiparticles and topological phases in 3D active nematics.

ABSTRACT: Quasiparticles are low-energy excitations with important roles in condensed matter physics. An intriguing example is provided by Majorana quasiparticles, which are equivalent to their antiparticles. Despite being implicated in neutrino oscillations and topological superconductivity, their experimental realizations remain very rare. Here, we propose a purely classical realization of Majorana fermions in terms of three-dimensional disclination lines in active nematics. The underlying reason is the well-known equivalence, in 3D, between a [Formula: see text] local defect profile and a [Formula: see text] profile, which acts as its antiparticle. The mapping also requires proving that defect profiles transform as spinors, and activity is needed to overcome the elastic cost associated with these

SUBMITTER: Head LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11670186 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature