Optical Responses of Chiral Majorana Edge States in Two-Dimensional Topological Superconductors

Abstract

Majorana fermions exist on the boundaries of two-dimensional topological superconductors (TSCs) as charge-neutral quasi-particles. The neutrality makes the detection of such states challenging from both experimental and theoretical points of view. Current methods largely rely on transport measurements in which Majorana fermions manifest themselves by inducing electron-pair tunneling at the lead-contacting point. Here we show that chiral Majorana fermions in TSCs generate {enhanced} local optical response. The features of local optical conductivity distinguish them not only from trivial superconductors or insulators but also from normal fermion edge states such as those in quantum Hall systems. Our results provide a new applicable method to detect dispersive Majorana fermions and may lead to a novel direction of this research field.