"What are Majoranas and where to find them"
Prof. Yuval Oreg Department
of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann
Institute
Topological quantum computation provides an elegant way
around decoherence, as one encodes quantum information in a nonlocal
fashion that the environment finds difficult to corrupt. Zero energy
Majorana Fermion states (Majoranas for short) emerges as a key concept
for a realization of nonlocal encoding. In this talk we will discuss
what Majoranas are, what makes them nonlocal, and how one may create
and manipulate them. In particular we will discuss recipes for driving
semiconducting wires into a topological phase supporting Majoranas. In
this setting Majoarans can be transported, created, and fused by
applying locally tunable gates to the wire. More importantly, we will
show that networks of such wires allow braiding of Majorana fermions
and that they exhibit non-Abelian statistics. If time permits we will discuss
possible ways to experimentally detect Majoranas.
Host:
Prof. Ron Lifshitz, x5145
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