Topological Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase and Majorana zero mode chain in bilayer superconducting topological insulator films

Abstract

Topological superconductors possess a bulk superconducting gap and boundary gapless excitations, known as “Majorana fermion”. Search for new systems with topological superconductivity is of fundamental and application importance due to the potential application of Majorana fermions in topological quantum computation. Here we show that the Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconducting phase with a finite momentum pairing can emerge in a model of bilayer superconducting topological insulator films, in which superconductivity appears for both the top and bottom surface states, and can be topologically non-trivial. This “topological Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase” is induced by an in-plane magnetic field and possesses a Majorana mode chain along the edge perpendicular to the in-plane magnetic field direction due to its non-trivial Z2 topological nature. Our theoretical model can be naturally realized in superconductor/topological insulator sandwich structure or in Fe(Te, Se) film, a topological material with superconductivity, and thus provides a route to explore unconventional superconductivity in existing systems.