Multi-orbital Dirac superconductors and their realization of higher-order topology

Abstract

Topological nodal superconductors (SCs) have attracted considerable interest due to their gapless bulk excitations and exotic surface states. In this paper, by establishing a general framework of the effective theory for multi-orbital SCs, we realize a class of three-dimensional (3D) time-reversal (T )-invariant Dirac SCs, with their topologically protected gapless Dirac nodes being located at general positions in the Brillouin zone. By introducing T -breaking pairing perturbations, we demonstrate the existence of Majorana hinge modes in these Dirac SCs as evidence of their realization of higher-order topology. We also propose a new kind of T -breaking Dirac SCs, whose Dirac nodes possess nonzero even chiralities and so are characterized by surface Majorana arcs.