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Millis, Andrew

Publications and source records attributed to Millis, Andrew.

16 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Engineering anisotropic electrodynamics at the graphene/CrSBr interface

Abstract Graphene is a privileged 2D platform for hosting confined light-matter excitations known as surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), as it possesses low intrinsic losses and a high degree of optical confinement. However, the isotropic nature of graphene limits its ability to guide and focus SPPs, making it less suitable than anisotropic elliptical and hyperbolic materials for polaritonic lensing and canalization. Here, we present graphene/CrSBr as an engineered 2D interface that hosts highly anisotropic SPP propagation across mid-infrared and terahertz energies. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, and first-principles calculations, we demonstrate mutual doping in excess of 10 13 cm –2 holes/electrons between the interfacial layers of graphene/CrSBr. SPPs in graphene activated by charge transfer interact with charge-induced electronic anisotropy in the interfacial doped CrSBr, leading to preferential SPP propagation along the quasi-1D chains that compose each CrSBr layer. This multifaceted proximity effect both creates SPPs and endows them with anisotropic propagation lengths that differ by an order-of-magnitude between the in-plane crystallographic axes of CrSBr.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Two-Dimensional Moiré Polaronic Electron Crystals

Two-dimensional moiré materials have emerged as the most versatile platform for realizing quantum phases of electrons. Here, we explore the stability origins of correlated states in WSe 2 /WS 2 moiré superlattices. We find that ultrafast electronic excitation leads to partial melting of the Mott states on timescales 5 times longer than predictions from the charge hopping integrals and that the melting rates are thermally activated, with activation energies of 1⁢8±3 and 1⁢3±2 meV for the one- and two-hole Mott states, respectively, suggesting significant electron-phonon coupling. A density functional theory calculation of the one-hole Mott state confirms polaron formation and yields a hole-polaron binding energy of 16 meV. These findings reveal a close interplay of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in stabilizing the polaronic Mott insulators at transition metal dichalcogenide moiré interfaces.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transient superconductivity at nano- and meso-scales

High-T c superconductivity is surpassed by few, if any, other unsolved problems in contemporary physics in terms of its richness, complexity, impact on other fields, and potential technological importance in energy applications. Recent discoveries reveal that the highest transition temperatures emerge under extraordinary experimental conditions such as the strong perturbation of a single atomic layer material by the underlying substrate, application of ~200 GPa pressure or ~MV/cm static electric fields, or irradiation by intense femtosecond optical fields. Research in superconductivity under extreme experimental conditions is challenging and requires the development of novel experimental methods and new theoretical tools suitable to tackle the problem. Our team has approached the challenges of transient superconductivity under intense optical fields by rethinking the types of experimental observables that are best suited to elucidate the physics of light-induced effects. This exercise has identified the need for: i) ultra-fast spatio-temporal probes enabling access to plasmonic properties and also nano-scale inhomogeneities that are ubiquitous in unconventional superconductors; ii) meso-scale structures and hybrid meta-surfaces imperative for strong enhancement of optical fields and iii) theoretical approaches suitable to explain and predict the response of superconductors under ultra-fast photo-excitation. Co-PIs have already made major advances with developing capabilities i)-iii). Therefore, our team is poised to make significant progress in transient superconductivity by exploring novel spatio-temporal effects that currently remain unattainable. Co-investigators will search for light-induced superconductivity in the high-T c cuprates to build upon spectacular recent results still lacking independent confirmations. Novel data acquisition methods combined with nano-plasmonic imaging will allow our team to test the hypothesis of photo-induced superconducting pairing. Spatio-temporal experiments will provide insights into the interplay between superconductivity and competing orders in the cuprates. Co-PIs will also investigate strong light-matter interaction and superconductivity in FeSe monolayers. Finally, we will study spatio-temporal electrodynamics of planar Josephson junctions. This latter direction will allow our team to thoroughly characterize one of the most fundamental examples of inhomogeneity in all of unconventional superconductivity. The proposed experiments in combination with theoretical analysis will provide information that is difficult to obtain using alternative methods. Basov and Averitt will carry out pump-probe spectroscopy and nano-imaging experiments. Averitt and Hone will design and fabricate state-of-the-art meta-surfaces. Theoretical and computational studies of ultrafast transient phenomena will be carried out by Millis and Fogler. Modeling of time-resolved nano-optical effects will be done by Fogler. The bulk of the requested budget will be used to support graduate students at Columbia & UCSD that will be co-supervised by co-PIs. The proposed program is transformative, since it will enable an entire suite of experiments previously either impossible or technically implausible. It will deliver critically important insights not only into mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity but also to many other correlated quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantum Matter: Computation Meets Experiments

The past few years have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of strongly interacting quantum systems. By combining progress in theoretical concepts and methods with algorithmic advances, computational methods have shed new light on key open questions in the physics of quantum matter, both for materials with strong electronic correlations and for interacting quantum gases. At the same time, new materials and new techniques have greatly increased the range of experimental information available. This Aspen Winter Conference will bring leading theorists with expertise in a broad range of computational methods together with experimentalists to discuss the potential of new methods, the accomplishments of existing methods and opportunities for future experiment/ theory collaboration. The meeting will focus on a broad set of physics questions of current interest in the field, for which computational methods and experiments have brought or have the potential to bring new insights.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Weyl rings and enhanced susceptibilities in pyrochlore iridates: k · p analysis of cluster dynamical mean-field theory results

We match analytic results to numerical calculations to provide a detailed picture of the metal-insulator and topological transitions found in density functional plus cluster dynamical mean-field calculations of pyrochlore iridates. We discuss the transition from Weyl metal to Weyl semimetal regimes, and then analyze in detail the properties of the Weyl semimetal phase and its evolution into the topologically trivial insulator. The energy scales in the Weyl semimetal phase are found to be very small, as are the anisotropy parameters. The electronic structure can, to a good approximation, be described as “Weyl rings” and one of the two branches that contributes to the Weyl bands is essentially flat, leading to enhanced susceptibilities. The optical longitudinal and Hall conductivities are determined; the frequency dependence includes pronounced features that reveal the basic energy scales of the Weyl semimetal phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Design of new Mott multiferroics via complete charge transfer: promising candidates for bulk photovoltaics

Optimal materials to induce bulk photovoltaic effects should lack inversion symmetry and have an optical gap matching the energies of visible radiation. Ferroelectric perovskite oxides such as BaTiO 3 and PbTiO 3 exhibit substantial polarization and stability, but have the disadvantage of excessively large band gaps. We use both density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory calculations to design a new class of Mott multiferroics–double perovskite oxides A 2 VFeO 6 (A = Ba, Pb, etc). While neither perovskite AVO 3 nor AFeO 3 is ferroelectric, in the double perovskite A 2 VFeO 6 a ‘complete’ charge transfer from V to Fe leads to a non-bulk-like charge configuration–an empty V-d shell and a half-filled Fe-d shell, giving rise to a polarization comparable to that of ferroelectric ATiO 3 . Different from nonmagnetic ATiO 3 , the new double perovskite oxides have an antiferromagnetic ground state and around room temperatures, are paramagnetic Mott insulators. Most importantly, the V d 0 state significantly reduces the band gap of A 2 VFeO 6 , making it smaller than that of ATiO 3 and BiFeO 3 and rendering the new multiferroics a promising candidate to induce bulk photovoltaic effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Charge transfer driven emergent phenomena in oxide heterostructures

Complex oxides exhibit many intriguing phenomena, including metal-insulator transition, ferroelectricity/multiferroicity, colossal magnetoresistance and high transition temperature superconductivity. Advances in epitaxial thin film growth techniques enable us to combine different complex oxides with atomic precision and form an oxide heterostructure. Recent theoretical and experimental work has shown that charge transfer across oxide interfaces generally occurs and leads to a great diversity of emergent interfacial properties which are not exhibited by bulk constituents. In this report, we review mechanisms and physical consequence of charge transfer across interfaces in oxide heterostructures. Both theoretical proposals and experimental measurements of various oxide heterostructures are discussed and compared. We also review the theoretical methods that are used to calculate charge transfer across oxide interfaces and discuss the success and challenges in theory. Finally, we present a summary and perspectives for future research.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Basic Energy Sciences Exascale Requirements Review. An Office of Science review sponsored jointly by Advanced Scientific Computing Research and Basic Energy Sciences, November 3-5, 2015, Rockville, Maryland

Computers have revolutionized every aspect of our lives. Yet in science, the most tantalizing applications of computing lie just beyond our reach. The current quest to build an exascale computer with one thousand times the capability of today’s fastest machines (and more than a million times that of a laptop) will take researchers over the next horizon. The field of materials, chemical reactions, and compounds is inherently complex. Imagine millions of new materials with new functionalities waiting to be discovered — while researchers also seek to extend those materials that are known to a dizzying number of new forms. We could translate massive amounts of data from high precision experiments into new understanding through data mining and analysis. We could have at our disposal the ability to predict the properties of these materials, to follow their transformations during reactions on an atom-by-atom basis, and to discover completely new chemical pathways or physical states of matter. Extending these predictions from the nanoscale to the mesoscale, from the ultrafast world of reactions to long-time simulations to predict the lifetime performance of materials, and to the discovery of new materials and processes will have a profound impact on energy technology. In addition, discovery of new materials is vital to move computing beyond Moore’s law. To realize this vision, more than hardware is needed. New algorithms to take advantage of the increase in computing power, new programming paradigms, and new ways of mining massive data sets are needed as well. This report summarizes the opportunities and the requisite computing ecosystem needed to realize the potential before us. In addition to pursuing new and more complete physical models and theoretical frameworks, this review found that the following broadly grouped areas relevant to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) would directly affect the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) mission need. Simulation, visualization, and data analysis are crucial for advances in energy science and technology. Revolutionary mathematical, software, and algorithm developments are required in all areas of BES science to take advantage of exascale computing architectures and to meet data analysis, management, and workflow needs. In partnership with ASCR, BES has an emerging and pressing need to develop new and disruptive capabilities in data science. More capable and larger high-performance computing (HPC) and data ecosystems are required to support priority research in BES. Continued success in BES research requires developing the next-generation workforce through education and training and by providing sustained career opportunities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Many Body Methods from Chemistry to Physics: Novel Computational Techniques for Materials-Specific Modelling: A Computational Materials Science and Chemistry Network

Understanding the behavior of interacting electrons in molecules and solids so that one can predict new superconductors, catalysts, light harvesters, energy and battery materials and optimize existing ones is the ``quantum many-body problem’’. This is one of the scientific grand challenges of the 21 st century. A complete solution to the problem has been proven to be exponentially hard, meaning that straightforward numerical approaches fail. New insights and new methods are needed to provide accurate yet feasible approximate solutions. This CMSCN project brought together chemists and physicists to combine insights from the two disciplines to develop innovative new approaches. Outcomes included the Density Matrix Embedding method, a new, computationally inexpensive and extremely accurate approach that may enable first principles treatment of superconducting and magnetic properties of strongly correlated materials, new techniques for existing methods including an Adaptively Truncated Hilbert Space approach that will vastly expand the capabilities of the dynamical mean field method, a self-energy embedding theory and a new memory-function based approach to the calculations of the behavior of driven systems. The methods developed under this project are now being applied to improve our understanding of superconductivity, to calculate novel topological properties of materials and to characterize and improve the properties of nanoscale devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗