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Lee, Patrick A.

Publications and source records attributed to Lee, Patrick A..

25 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamic fingerprint of fractionalized excitations in single-crystalline Cu3Zn(OH)6FBr

Abstract Beyond the absence of long-range magnetic orders, the most prominent feature of the elusive quantum spin liquid (QSL) state is the existence of fractionalized spin excitations, i.e., spinons. When the system orders, the spin-wave excitation appears as the bound state of the spinon-antispinon pair. Although scarcely reported, a direct comparison between similar compounds illustrates the evolution from spinon to magnon. Here, we perform the Raman scattering on single crystals of two quantum kagome antiferromagnets, of which one is the kagome QSL candidate Cu 3 Zn(OH) 6 FBr, and another is an antiferromagnetically ordered compound EuCu 3 (OH) 6 Cl 3 . In Cu 3 Zn(OH) 6 FBr, we identify a unique one spinon-antispinon pair component in the E 2g magnetic Raman continuum, providing strong evidence for deconfined spinon excitations. In contrast, a sharp magnon peak emerges from the one-pair spinon continuum in the E g magnetic Raman response once EuCu 3 (OH) 6 Cl 3 undergoes the antiferromagnetic order transition. From the comparative Raman studies, we can regard the magnon mode as the spinon-antispinon bound state, and the spinon confinement drives the magnetic ordering.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

A continuous metal-insulator transition driven by spin correlations

While Mott insulators induced by Coulomb interactions are a well-recognized class of metal-insulator transitions, insulators purely driven by spin correlations are much less common, as the reduced energy scale often invites competition from other degrees of freedom. Here, we demonstrate a clean example of a spin-correlation-driven metal-insulator transition in the all-in-all-out pyrochlore antiferromagnet Cd 2 Os 2 O 7 , where the lattice symmetry is preserved by the antiferromagnetism. After the antisymmetric linear magnetoresistance from conductive, ferromagnetic domain walls is removed experimentally, the bulk Hall coefficient reveals four Fermi surfaces of both electron and hole types, sequentially departing the Fermi level with decreasing temperature below the Néel temperature, T N = 227 K. In Cd 2 Os 2 O 7 , the charge gap of a continuous metal-insulator transition opens only at T ~ 10 K << T N . The insulating mechanism parallels the Slater picture, but without a folded Brillouin zone, and contrasts sharply with Mott insulators and spin density waves, where the electronic gap opens above and at T N , respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum oscillations in the activated conductivity in excitonic insulators: Possible application to monolayer WTe 2

A recent paper on the insulating state of monolayer WTe 2 reported the observation of large oscillations in the conductivity that are periodic in 1/B, resembling quantum oscillations in metals. This remarkable observation has inspired suggestions of exotic physics such as spin-charge separation. Here, we show that a rather more conventional but still nontrivial explanation in terms of gap modulation may be possible in a model of an excitonic insulator subject to a magnetic field.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2020

Signature of a pair of Majorana zero modes in superconducting gold surface states

Under certain conditions, a fermion in a superconductor can separate in space into two parts known as Majorana zero modes, which are immune to decoherence from local noise sources and are attractive building blocks for quantum computers. Promising experimental progress has been made to demonstrate Majorana zero modes in materials with strong spin–orbit coupling proximity coupled to superconductors. Here we report signatures of Majorana zero modes in a material platform utilizing the surface states of gold. Using scanning tunneling microscope to probe EuS islands grown on top of gold nanowires, we observe two well-separated zero-bias tunneling conductance peaks aligned along the direction of the applied magnetic field, as expected for a pair of Majorana zero modes. This platform has the advantage of having a robust energy scale and the possibility of realizing complex designs using lithographic methods.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Physics of Pair-Density Waves: Cuprate Superconductors and Beyond

Herein we review the physics of pair-density wave (PDW) superconductors. We begin with a macroscopic description that emphasizes order induced by PDW states, such as charge-density wave, and discuss related vestigial states that emerge as a consequence of partial melting of the PDW order. We review and critically discuss the mounting experimental evidence for such PDW order in the cuprate superconductors, the status of the theoretical microscopic description of such order, and the current debate on whether the PDW is a mother order or another competing order in the cuprates. In addition, we give an overview of the weak coupling version of PDW order, Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov states, in the context of cold atom systems, unconventional superconductors, and noncentrosymmetric and Weyl materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling the pseudogap metallic state in cuprates: Quantum disordered pair density wave

We present a way to quantum-disorder a pair density wave and propose it to be a candidate of the effective low-energy description of the pseudogap metal which may reveal itself in a sufficiently high magnetic field that suppresses the d-wave pairing. The ground state we construct is a small-pocket Fermi liquid with a bosonic Mott insulator in the density-wave-enlarged unit cell. At low energy, the charge density is mainly carried by charge 2e bosons, which develop a small insulating gap. As an intermediate step, we discuss the quantum disordering of a fully gapped superconductor and its excitation spectrum. A simplified 1D model, which we solve numerically, is used to illustrate the introduced concepts. Here, we discuss a number of experimental consequences. The interplay between the electron and the small-gap boson results in a step-function background in the electron spectral function which may be consistent with existing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data. Optical excitation across the boson gap can explain the onset and the magnitude of the mid infrared absorption reported long ago.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗