Speaker: Smitha Vishveshwara , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Abstract: In the hunt for Majorana particles, originally proposed in the context of particle physics, recent explorations have led to exciting prospects in superconducting wires, including potential experimental detection. Here, an introduction to topological properties of superconductors that result in Majorana modes will first be presented. It will then be argued that superconducting wires subject to various potential landscapes can exhibit rich topological behavior. As an example, it will be shown that the presence of quasiperiodic potentials can give rise to beautiful phase diagrams that mimic complex Hofstadter butterfly patterns. Finally, connections to localization physics will be made in the context of disordered topological superconductors.