Topological properties of the [110] SnTe nanowires
Phys. Rev. B 112, 035102 – Published 1 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/b14s-7fjm
Abstract
SnTe materials are know to be a platform for realization of various strong and symmetry protected topological phases in one, two, and three spatial dimensions. We study symmetry-protected topological states in [110] SnTe nanowires in the presence of various combinations of Zeeman field, superconductivity, inversion-symmetry-breaking field, and the thickness of the wire. In the normal state we find a Weyl semimetal phase protected by a twofold screw axis symmetry and a topological insulating phase characterized by a invariant protected by a mirror symmetry. In the presence of superconductivity, we find inversion-symmetry-protected gapless phase which becomes fully gapped and topologically nontrivial by introducing an inversion-symmetry-breaking field. Consequently, we find topologically protected localized Majorana zero modes appear at the ends of the wire. We find that this Majorana phase is much easier to achieve in a [110] SnTe nanowire than in a [001] one.