Kitaev Chain — Topological Superconductor

1D p-wave superconductor: Majorana zero modes appear at chain ends when |μ| < 2t. Watch the topological gap and edge state wavefunctions.

TOPOLOGICAL PHASE
Majorana zero modes present
Bulk states
Zero-mode edge states
γ₁ Majorana (left)
γ₂ Majorana (right)
The Kitaev chain is a 1D model that realizes the Majorana bound states proposed for topological quantum computation. The topological phase (|μ|<2t) is protected by particle-hole symmetry.

Hamiltonian: H = Σ[−t(c†ᵢcᵢ₊₁+h.c.) − μcᵢ†cᵢ + Δcᵢcᵢ₊₁+h.c.]