Topological Superconductivity in Dirac Semimetals

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Oct 30;115(18):187001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.187001. Epub 2015 Oct 29.

Abstract

Dirac semimetals host bulk band-touching Dirac points and a surface Fermi loop. We develop a theory of superconducting Dirac semimetals. Establishing a relation between the Dirac points and the surface Fermi loop, we clarify how the nontrivial topology of Dirac semimetals affects their superconducting state. We note that the unique orbital texture of Dirac points and a structural phase transition of the crystal favor symmetry-protected topological superconductivity with a quartet of surface Majorana fermions. We suggest the possible application of our theory to recently discovered superconducting states in Cd_{3}As_{2}.