Corner states, hinge states and Majorana modes in SnTe nanowires

Abstract

SnTe materials are one of the most flexible material platforms for exploring the interplay of topology and different types of symmetry breaking. We study symmetry-protected topological states in SnTe nanowires in the presence of various combinations of Zeeman field, s−wave superconductivity and inversion-symmetry-breaking field. We uncover the origin of robust corner states and hinge states in the normal state. In the presence of superconductivity, we find inversion-symmetryprotected gapless bulk Majorana modes, which give rise to quantized thermal conductance in ballistic wires. By introducing an inversion-symmetry-breaking field, the bulk Majorana modes become gapped and topologically protected localized Majorana zero modes appear at the ends of the wire.