Majorana corner modes in transition metal dichalcogenides

The material search for topological superconductors is fueled by the prediction of Majorana zero modes (MZM), which are exotic boundary excitations that are promising candidates for topological qubits. Yet, materials hosting topological superconductivity with MZMs are still rare to date. In this talk, I will show that MZM can occur at the corners of two- or three-dimensional inversion-symmetric superconductors without utilizing proximity effect. Using monolayer WTe₂ and bulk MoTe₂ as case studies, I will present how to obtain comprehensive recipes for realizing such ‘higher-order’ topological superconductors from mathematically derived topological invariants. Then by combining ab initio band structure calculations and pairing symmetry analyses, I will show that WTe₂ and MoTe₂ are promising candidates that satisfy the recipes and could host Majorana corner modes.