Z4 parafermions in one-dimensional fermionic lattices

Abstract

Parafermions are emergent excitations which generalize Majorana fermions and are potentially relevant to topological quantum computation. Using the concept of Fock parafermions, we present a mapping between lattice Z4 parafermions and lattice spin-1/2 fermions which preserves the locality of operators with Z4 symmetry. Based on this mapping, we construct an exactly solvable, local, and interacting one-dimensional fermionic Hamiltonian which hosts zero-energy modes obeying parafermionic algebra. We numerically show that this parafermionic phase remains stable in a wide range of parameters, and discuss its signatures in the fermionic spectral function.