  Superconductivity in Dirac electrons has recently been proposed as a new
platform between novel concepts in high-energy and condensed matter physics. It
has been proposed that supersymmetry and exotic quasiparticles, both of which
remain elusive in particle physics, may be realized as emergent particles in
superconducting Dirac electron systems. Using artificially fabricated
topological insulator-superconductor heterostructures, we present direct
spectroscopic evidence for the existence of Cooper pairing in a half Dirac gas
2D topological superconductor. Our studies reveal that superconductivity in a
helical Dirac gas is distinctly different from that of in an ordinary
two-dimensional superconductor while considering the spin degrees of freedom of
electrons. We further show that the pairing of Dirac electrons can be
suppressed by time-reversal symmetry breaking impurities removing the
distinction. Our demonstration and momentum-space imaging of Cooper pairing in
a half Dirac gas and its magnetic behavior taken together serve as a critically
important 2D topological superconductor platform for future testing of novel
fundamental physics predictions such as emergent supersymmetry and quantum
criticality in topological systems.
