Majorana zero modes: a new kind of ‘particle’, and where it can be found

Physics Colloquium

Title: Majorana zero modes: a new kind of ‘particle’, and where it can be found

Abstract: This colloquium will present the idea of particles with non-abelian statistics and give an example that seems to occur in nature, the Majorana zero mode. “In nature” as used here means in man-made one-dimensional hybrid material structures near absolute zero, as natural an environment as any! The relevance of Majorana modes to quantum computing will be addressed, and plans for a topological quantum computer based on Majorana zero modes, now under development at Microsoft, will be presented.