A Model for Topological p-wave Superconducting Wires with Disorder and Interactions

Abstract: We present a comprehensive theoretical study of interacting and disordered topological phases of coupled Kitaev wires, which may support further realistic applications of Majorana fermions. We develop a variety of analytical, mathematical and numerical methods for one and two-coupled wires, associated with a topological marker accessible from real-space correlation functions on the wire(s). We verify the stability of the topological superconducting phase and quantify disorder effects close to the quantum phase transitions, e.g. through two-point correlation functions or using a renormalization group (RG) analysis of disorder. We show for the first time that the double critical Ising (DCI) phase -- a fractional Majorana liquid characterized by a pair of half central charges and topological numbers -- is stabilized by strong interactions against disorder which respects the inversion symmetry between the wires (ie. parity conservation on each wire). In the presence of an inter-wire hopping term, the DCI phase turns into a protected topological phase with a bulk gap. We study the localization physics developing along the critical line for weaker interactions.