High-temperature superconducting Majorana fermions platforms in the layered Kitaev Materials: Case study of $Li_2IrO_3$

TL;DR

This work investigates Majorana fermions in the layered Kitaev material Li2IrO3 by employing a Kitaev–Heisenberg model on a hyperhoneycomb lattice. Through spin-fractionalization concepts and Green's function-based analyses, it identifies edge-localized Majorana zero modes in a spin-liquid–like regime without superconductivity and links their presence to distinctive spectral features. The study also proposes an industrially relevant device concept, highlighting potential applications in quantum spintronics, magnetic sensing, and topological memory, driven by non-superconducting Majorana platforms. Overall, the paper argues for Li2IrO3 as a realistic, high-temperature platform for Majorana-based topological phenomena with practical technological implications.

Abstract

Recent advances in Kitaev materials have highlighted their potential to host Majorana fermions without or high-temperature of superconductivity. In this research, we propose $Li_2IrO_3$ as a promising High-temperature superconducting platform supporting Majorana edge modes due to its strong spin-orbit coupling, honeycomb lattice structure, and proximity to a quantum spin liquid (QSL) phase. A theoretical and numerical framework based on the Kitaev-Heisenberg Hamiltonian is developed to model spin interactions in $Li_2IrO_3$. Here, the existence of topological zero-energy states is demonstrated, and their signatures in the edge-localized spectral weight are identified. A device concept based on this material is also proposed with potential industrial applications in spintronics, magnetic field sensing, and topological quantum memory.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: Crystal structure of $Li_2IrO_3$. Navy blue spheres: Ir, red spheres: O, purple spheres: Li. Dashed lines indicate bonds behind the plane.
• Figure 2: (a) Kitaev-Heisenberg interactions in Li2IrO3's hyperhoneycomb lattice. (b) Bond-dependent spin components ($S^\gamma$) are shown for different nearest-neighbor links.
• Figure 3: (Color online) Panel(a), imaginary of the polarization of the $Li_2IrO_3$ as a function of $\omega$ at T=10 K and for $q=0.2 nm^{-1}$ . Panel (b) the corresponding real part at the same conditions.
• Figure 4: (Color online) Panel(a), real part of the polarization of the $Li_2IrO_3$ as a function of $k$ at T=10 K and for $q=0.2nm^{-1}$ . Panel (b) the corresponding imaginary part at the same conditions.
• Figure 5: (Color online) The spectral function of $Li_2IrO_3$. The contour on the spectral function as a function of (a) $\omega$, (b) $k$, and (c) the contour along $k$ .