Search

In this thesis, I was mainly interested in the effects related to magnetic impurities in metals and superconductors.In the first chapter I will present the Kondo effect, this effect occurs when a magnetic impurity exhibits an antiferromagnetic coupling with the metal that it pollutes. The electrons then form, at a sufficiently low temperature, a cloud screening the magnetism of the impurity. The second chapter will focus on the states of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov products by magnetic impurities in a superconductor. In this case, the impurity locally breaks the superconducting order and a quantum state is created inside the gap.Some so-called topological materials may include quantum states protected at their edges against external perturbations. In the last two chapters, I will present the properties of topological superconductors and their edge states. In the third chapter I will present the different topological phases that can include a superconductor with a parameter of complex order mixing waves p and s in the presence of a Zeeman field.In the fourth and last chapter I will present a study of the states of edge that may include this type of superconductors., Dans cette thèse, je me suis principalement intéressé aux effets liés aux impuretés magnétiques dans les métaux et supraconducteurs. Dans le premier chapitre je présenterai l’effet Kondo, celui-ci se produit lorsqu’une impureté magnétique présente un couplage antiferromagnétique avec le métal qu’elle pollue. Les électrons forment alors, à suffisamment basse température, un nuage écrantant le magnétisme de l’impureté. Le deuxième chapitre portera sur les états de Yu-Shiba-Rusinov produits par des impuretés magnétiques dans un supraconducteur. Dans ce cas, l’impureté brise localement l’ordre supraconducteur et un état quantique est crée à l’intérieur du gap.Certains matériaux dits topologiques peuvent comporter des états quantiques protégés à leurs bords contre les perturbations extérieures. Dans les deux derniers chapitres, je présenterai les propriétés des supraconducteurs topologiques et leurs états de bords. Dans le troisième chapitre je présenterai les différentes phases topologiques que peut comporter un supraconducteur avec un paramètre d’ordre complexe mélangeant ondes p et s en présence d’un champ Zeeman. Dans le quatrième et dernier chapitre je présenterai une étude des états de bords que peut comporter ce type de supraconducteurs.

Just like insulators can host topological Dirac states at their edges, superconductors can also exhibit topological phases characterized by Majorana edge states. Remarkable zero-energy states have been recently observed at the two ends of proximity induced superconducting wires, and were interpreted as localized Majorana end states in one-dimensional (1D) topological superconductor. By contrast, propagating Majorana states should exist at the 1D edges of two-dimensional (2D) topological superconductors. Here we report the direct observation of dispersive in-gap states surrounding topological superconducting domains made of a single atomic layer of Pb covering magnetic islands of Co/Si(111). We interpret the observed continuous dispersion across the superconducting gap in terms of a spatial topological transition accompanied by a chiral edge mode and residual gaped helical edge states. Our experimental approach enables the engineering and control of a large variety of novel quantum phases. This opens new horizons in the field of quantum materials and quantum electronics where the magnetization of the domains could be used as a control parameter for the manipulation of topological states., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures

We use a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope to study the interplay between the Kondo effect of a single-atom contact and a spin current. To this end, a nickel tip is coated by a thick layer of copper and brought into contact with a single Co atom adsorbed on a Cu(100) surface. We show that upon contact the Kondo resonance of Co is spin split and attribute the splitting to the spin current produced by the nickel tip and flowing across the copper spacer. A quantitative line shape analysis indicates that the spin polarization of the junction amounts up to 18%, but decreases when a pristine nickel tip is directly contacted to the Co atom., Comment: This work is superseded by arXiv:1609.02363