Fractionally Charged Vortices at Superconductor-Chern Insulator Interfaces
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866911547550334976 |
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| author | Yakaboylu, Enderalp Schmidt, Thomas L. |
| author_facet | Yakaboylu, Enderalp Schmidt, Thomas L. |
| contents | We investigate the interfacial vortex physics of a heterostructure composed of a type-II $s$-wave superconductor (SC) and a $C=1$ Chern insulator (CI). By deriving an effective $(2+1)$-dimensional theory, we show that the interfacial Cooper-pair degrees of freedom are described by two coupled Abelian-Higgs fields interacting via a Chern-Simons term inherited from the CI. This interaction endows the photon field with a topological mass and induces a \emph{fractional} electric charge of $e/2$ on the vortices. The topological mass fundamentally reshapes the interfacial vortex lattice, while the fractional charge leads to the formation of unique four-vortex bound clusters. We thus predict a \emph{topological Abrikosov lattice}, establishing a novel phase of matter at the SC-CI interface. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_12908 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Fractionally Charged Vortices at Superconductor-Chern Insulator Interfaces Yakaboylu, Enderalp Schmidt, Thomas L. Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Superconductivity High Energy Physics - Theory We investigate the interfacial vortex physics of a heterostructure composed of a type-II $s$-wave superconductor (SC) and a $C=1$ Chern insulator (CI). By deriving an effective $(2+1)$-dimensional theory, we show that the interfacial Cooper-pair degrees of freedom are described by two coupled Abelian-Higgs fields interacting via a Chern-Simons term inherited from the CI. This interaction endows the photon field with a topological mass and induces a \emph{fractional} electric charge of $e/2$ on the vortices. The topological mass fundamentally reshapes the interfacial vortex lattice, while the fractional charge leads to the formation of unique four-vortex bound clusters. We thus predict a \emph{topological Abrikosov lattice}, establishing a novel phase of matter at the SC-CI interface. |
| title | Fractionally Charged Vortices at Superconductor-Chern Insulator Interfaces |
| topic | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Superconductivity High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12908 |