# Does time reversal symmetry hold for (kitaev model) 1D spinless $p-$ wave superconductor?

The hamiltonian 1D spinlesss p wave superconductor can be written as $$H=\sum_k \phi_k^\dagger \begin{pmatrix} \xi(k) & 2i\Delta \sin(k)\\ -2i\Delta \sin(k ) & -\xi(k)\end{pmatrix}\phi_k$$ and by using $h(-k)=h(k)^*$ we can show that it holds time reversal symmetry Where as in real it shouldn't hold this symmetry so what I am missing here?

• Since it has to be thought of a fully spin polarized system, it is not TR invariant. Time reversal operation will give the 'same' Hamiltonian but for the opposite spin polarization. – symanzik138 Jan 9 '15 at 16:28

But let us imagine that we just have spinless electrons to begin with, and time-reversal symmetry is just complex conjugation(since now electrons do not have any internal degrees of freedom). Assume that $\xi_k=-2t\cos k-\mu$, corresponding to a uniform nearest-neighbor hopping with strength $t$ and a chemical potential $\mu$. Then the Hamiltonian as written is time-reversal invariant and there is nothing wrong about it. So if one keeps this definition of time-reversal symmetry, the Hamiltonian belongs to the BDI class. However, one can add time-reversal breaking terms (the simplest thing is probably adding some imaginary next-nearest-neighbor hopping) to the Hamiltonian. The universal physics of the Hamiltonian (e.g. Majorana zero modes on the edge) is completely unaffected by the addition of such terms, provided one does not close the excitation gap. Then the Hamiltonian belongs to class D.