Majorana Zero Modes in Magnetic Texture Vortices*

We propose a novel route to engineer Majorana zero modes (MZMs), which relies on inducing shift or spin vortex defects in magnetic textures which microscopically coexist or are in proximity to a superconductor. The underlying superconducting host is required to contain robust point nodes in its bulk energy spectrum, which become all gapped by the magnetic texture. Our mechanism is generic and it applies to nodal superconductors of spin-singlet, -triplet, or mixed type of pairing. Moreover, it provides a new framework to understand the recent observations of pairs of MZMs in superconductor - magnetic adatom systems, and it can further inspire the experimental development of new platforms which consist of nanowires in proximity to conventional superconductors with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling.