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At least 181 records · Page 10

Transport anomalies in the layered compound BaPt 4 Se 6

We report a layered ternary selenide BaPt 4 Se 6 featuring sesqui-selenide Pt 2 Se 3 layers sandwiched by Ba atoms. The Pt 2 Se 3 layers in this compound can be derived from the Dirac-semimetal PtSe 2 phase with Se vacancies that form a honeycomb structure. This structure results in a Pt (VI) and Pt (II) mixed-valence compound with both PtSe 6 octahedra and PtSe 4 square net coordination configurations. Temperature-dependent electrical transport measurements suggest two distinct anomalies: a resistivity crossover, mimic to the metal-insulator (M-I) transition at ~150 K, and a resistivity plateau at temperatures below 10 K. The resistivity crossover is not associated with any structural, magnetic, or charge order modulated phase transitions. Magnetoresistivity, Hall, and heat capacity measurements concurrently suggest an existing hidden state below 5 K in this system. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal a metallic state and no dramatic reconstruction of the electronic structure up to 200 K.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Intercell moiré exciton complexes in electron lattices

Excitons, Coulomb-bound electron–hole pairs, play a crucial role in both optical excitation and correlated phenomena in solids. When excitons interact with other quasiparticles, few- and many-body excited states can appear. Here, in this work, we report an interaction between exciton and charges enabled by unusual quantum confinement in two-dimensional moiré superlattices, which results in many-body ground states composed of moiré excitons and correlated electron lattices. In an H-stacked (60 o -twisted) WS 2 /WSe 2 heterobilayer, we found an interlayer moiré exciton whose hole is surrounded by its partner electron’s wavefunction distributed among three adjacent moiré traps. This three-dimensional excitonic structure enables large in-plane electrical quadrupole moments in addition to the vertical dipole. Upon doping, the quadrupole facilitates the binding of interlayer moiré excitons to the charges in neighbouring moiré cells, forming intercell charged exciton complexes. Our work provides a framework for understanding and engineering emergent exciton many-body states in correlated moiré charge orders.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tunable spin and valley excitations of correlated insulators in Γ-valley moiré bands

Moiré superlattices formed from transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been shown to support a variety of quantum electronic phases that are highly tunable using applied electromagnetic fields. While the valley character of the low-energy states dramatically affects optoelectronic properties in the constituent TMDs, this degree of freedom has yet to be fully explored in moiré systems. Here, we establish twisted double bilayer WSe 2 as an experimental platform to study electronic correlations within Γ-valley moiré bands. Through a combination of local and global electronic compressibility measurements, we identify charge-ordered phases at multiple integer and fractional moiré band fillings ν. By measuring the magnetic field dependence of their energy gaps and the chemical potential upon doping, we reveal spin-polarized ground states with novel spin polaron quasiparticle excitations. In addition, an applied displacement field allows us to realize a new mechanism of metal-insulator transition at ν=–1 driven by tuning between Γ- and K-valley moiré bands. Together, our results demonstrate control over both the spin and valley character of the correlated ground and excited states in this system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Coherent correlation imaging for resolving fluctuating states of matter

Fluctuations and stochastic transitions are ubiquitous in nanometre-scale systems, especially in the presence of disorder. However, their direct observation has so far been impeded by a seemingly fundamental, signal-limited compromise between spatial and temporal resolution. Here we develop coherent correlation imaging (CCI) to overcome this dilemma. Our method begins by classifying recorded camera frames in Fourier space. Contrast and spatial resolution emerge by averaging selectively over same-state frames. Temporal resolution down to the acquisition time of a single frame arises independently from an exceptionally low misclassification rate, which we achieve by combining a correlation-based similarity metric with a modified, iterative hierarchical clustering algorithm. We apply CCI to study previously inaccessible magnetic fluctuations in a highly degenerate magnetic stripe domain state with nanometre-scale resolution. We uncover an intricate network of transitions between more than 30 discrete states. Our spatiotemporal data enable us to reconstruct the pinning energy landscape and to thereby explain the dynamics observed on a microscopic level. CCI massively expands the potential of emerging high-coherence X-ray sources and paves the way for addressing large fundamental questions such as the contribution of pinning and topology in phase transitions and the role of spin and charge order fluctuations in high-temperature superconductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Corrugation-driven symmetry breaking in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) supported the twist-angle-induced flat band structure predictions made a decade earlier. Numerous physical properties have since been linked to the interlayer twist angle using the flat band prediction as a guideline. However, some key observations like the nematic phase and striped charge order behind the superconductivity are missing in this initial model. Here we show that a thermodynamically stable large out-of-plane displacement, or corrugation of the bilayer, induced by the interlayer twist, demonstrates partially filled states of the flat band structure, accompanied by a broken symmetry, in the magic-angle regime and the presence of symmetry breaking associated with the superconductivity in tBLG. The distinction between low and high corrugation can also explain the observed evolution of the vibrational spectra of tBLG as a function of twist angle. Our observation that large out-of-plane deformation modes enable partial filling of states near the Fermi energy may lead to a strategy for offsetting the effects of disorder in the local twist angle, which suppresses unconventional superconductivity and correlated insulator behavior in magic-angle tBLG.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effects of the next-nearest-neighbor hopping on the low-dimensional Hubbard model: ferromagnetism, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity

The Hubbard model has attracted considerable interest due to its prototypical role in describing strongly interacting electronic systems, such as high-critical-temperature superconductors as well as many novel quantum materials. By introducing next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) hoppings to the Hubbard model, the phase diagram becomes richer, and fascinating phenomena arise in both, one-dimensional chains and square lattices, such as: antiferromagnetism, ferromagnetism, superconductivity (SC), as well as charge orders, among others. Moreover, NNN hoppings play a fundamental role in understanding effects of doping on magnetism and pairing orders in strongly interacting regimes. In this article, we review the recent progress in understanding the different competing phases of this model in one and two dimensions from a computational perspective. In conclusion, we comment on the pressing technical challenges, illustrate the controversial results concerning the emergence of the SC phase, and conclude with our perspectives on future explorations.

Hubbard model↗

Magnetic field effects and transverse ratchets in charge lattices coupled to asymmetric substrates

We examine a charge lattice coupled to a one-dimensional asymmetric potential in the presence of an applied magnetic field, which induces gyrotropic effects in the charge motion. This system could be realized for Wigner crystals in nanostructured samples, dusty plasmas, or other classical charge-ordered states where gyrotropic motion and damping can arise. For zero magnetic field, an applied external ac drive can produce a ratchet effect in which the particles move along the easy flow direction of the substrate asymmetry. The zero field ratchet effect can only occur when the ac drive is aligned with the substrate asymmetry direction; however, when a magnetic field is added, the gyrotropic forces generate a Hall effect that leads to a variety of new behaviors, including a transverse ratchet motion that occurs when the ac drive is perpendicular to the substrate asymmetry direction. We show that this system exhibits commensuration effects as well as reversals in the ratchet effect and the Hall angle of the motion. The magnetic field also produces a nonmonotonic ratchet efficiency when the particles become localized at high fields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Electronic Origin of Delicate Antiferromagnetism in Fe 𝑥 ⁢NbS 2

Among the family of intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), Fe 𝑥 ⁢NbS 2 is found to possess unique current-induced resistive switching behaviors, tunable antiferromagnetic states, and a commensurate charge order, all of which are tied to a critical Fe doping of 𝑥 𝑐 = 1/3. However, the electronic origin of such extreme stoichiometry sensitivities remains unclear. Combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we identify and characterize a dramatic eV-scale electronic restructuring that occurs across the 𝑥𝑐. Moment-carrying Fe 3⁢𝑑 𝑧 2 electrons manifest as narrow bands within 200 meV of the Fermi level, distinct from other transition metal intercalated TMD magnets. These states strongly hybridize with itinerant electrons in the TMD layer and rapidly lose coherence above 𝑥 𝑐 due to correlation-driven effects. This sudden quasiparticle decoherence collapses the Fe-Nb hybridization, which explicitly suppresses the out-of-plane effective Fe-Fe exchange interaction, driving the transformation of the magnetic ground state from an antiferromagnetic stripe phase to a zigzag phase. Furthermore, these observations resemble the exceptional electronic and magnetic sensitivity of strongly correlated systems, and demonstrate that quantifying orbital-specific hybridization via ARPES offers an alternative pathway to evaluate effective magnetic exchange in metallic magnets, complementing inelastic neutron and resonant x-ray scattering probes.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy↗

Entropy of Strongly Correlated Electrons in a Partially Filled Landau Level

We use high-resolution chemical potential measurements to extract the entropy of monolayer and bilayer graphene in the quantum Hall regime via the Maxwell relation [(𝑑⁢𝜇)/(𝑑⁢𝑇)]| 𝑁 =−[(𝑑⁢𝑆)/(𝑑⁢𝑁)]| 𝑇 . Measuring the entropy from 𝑇 = 300 K down to 𝑇 = 200 mK, we identify the sequential emergence of quantum Hall ferromagnetism, fractional quantum Hall states, and various charge orders by comparing the measured entropy in different temperature regimes with theoretical models. At the lowest temperature of 𝑇 ≈ 200 mK we perform a detailed study of the entropy near even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states in bilayer graphene, and comment on the possible topological origin of the observed excess entropy.

Assouline, Alexandre [University of California, Sa↗

Compressing Hamiltonians with ab initio downfolding for simulating strongly-correlated materials on quantum computers

The accurate first-principles description of strongly correlated materials is an important and challenging problem in condensed matter physics. Ab initio downfolding has emerged as a way of deriving compressed many-body Hamiltonians that maintain the essential physics of strongly correlated materials. The solution of these material-specific models is still exponentially difficult to generate on classical computers, but quantum algorithms allow for a significant speed-up in obtaining the ground states of these compressed Hamiltonians. Here, we demonstrate that using quantum algorithms to obtain the properties of downfolded Hamiltonians can indeed yield high-fidelity solutions. By combining ab initio downfolding and variational quantum eigensolvers, we correctly predict the antiferromagnetic state of one-dimensional cuprate Ca 2 Cu O 3 , the excitonic ground state of monolayer W Te 2 , and the charge-ordered state of correlated metal Sr VO 3 . Numerical simulations using a classical tensor network implementation of variational quantum eigensolvers allow us to simulate large models with up to 54 qubits and encompassing up to four bands in the correlated subspace, which is indicative of the complexity that our framework can address. Through these methods we demonstrate the potential of classical preoptimization and downfolding techniques for enabling efficient materials simulation using quantum algorithms.

Alvertis, Antonios M. [NASA, Ames; LBNL, Berkeley]↗

DFT Plus DMFT Study of Spin-Charge-Lattice Coupling in Covalnt LaCoO{siub 3}.

We study energetics and the nature of both homogeneous and mixed spin (MS) states in LaCoO3 incorporating structural changes of the crystal volume expansion and the Co-O bond disproportionation (BD) during the spin-state transition using the density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory (DFT + DMFT) method. DFT + DMFT predicts that energetics of both excited spin states are almost the same while DFT + U calculations of the same structures energetically favor the MS states and produce various metastable solutions whose energetics depend sensitively on final spin states. Within DFT + DMFT, the homogeneous spin state in the expanded crystal volume shows the multiconfigurational nature with non-negligible occupancy probabilities of both high spin (HS) and low spin (LS) states along with d(6) and d(7) charge configurations indicating the dynamically fluctuating nature of spin and charge states due to the Co-O covalency. The nature of the MS state under the BD structure reveals that Co sites with the long Co-O bonds develop a Mott insulating state and favor HS with a d(6) configuration, while more covalent Co sites with the short Co-O bonds occupy more LS states with a d(7) configuration and behave as a band insulator, as a result, charge ordering is induced in the BD structure from the spin-state ordering. We also find that both energetics and electronic structure sensitively depend on the Co-O covalency effect, which can be tuned by changing the double counting potential and the resulting d occupancy (N-d), and N-d close to 6.7 is consistent with the nature of the spin-state transition. Our results show that structural changes during the spin-state transition can play an important role in understanding energetics and electronic structure of LaCoO3.

Park, Hyowon↗

Nonmonotonic crossover in electronic phase separated manganite superlattices driven by the superlattice period

Studying manganite superlattices [(LCMO) 2n / (PCMO) n ] t made of La 0.625 Ca 0.375 MnO 3 (LCMO) and Pr 0.625 Ca 0.375 MnO 3 (PCMO), we found an unexpected behavior varying the period n. At small n, the ensemble is a three-dimensional ferromagnetic metal due to interfacial charge transfer. At large n , the LCMO layers dominate transport. However, rather than a smooth interpolation between these limits a sharp transport and magnetic anomaly is found at an intermediate critical PCMO thickness n*. Magnetic force microscopy reveals that the phase-separation length scale also maximizes at n* where, unexpectedly, it becomes comparable to that of the (La 1-y Pr y ) 0.625 Ca 0.375 MnO 3 (LPCMO) alloy. Finally, we conjecture the phenomenon originates in a disorder-related length scale: Large charge-ordered clusters as in LPCMO can only nucleate when Pr-rich regions reach a critical size related to n*.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nematic antiferromagnetism and deconfined criticality from the interplay between electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions

Systems with strong electron-phonon couplings typically exhibit various forms of charge order, while strong electron-electron interactions lead to magnetism. In this work, we use determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations to solve a model on a square lattice with a caricature of these interactions. In the limit where electron-electron interactions dominate it has antiferromagnetic order, while where electron-phonon coupling dominates there is columnar valence-bond-solid (VBS) order. We find an intervening phase that hosts coexisting nematic and antiferromagnetic orders. We have also found evidence of a Landau-forbidden continuous quantum phase transition with an emergent O(4) symmetry between the VBS and the nematic antiferromagnetic phases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Designed metal-insulator transition in low-symmetry magnetic intermetallics

Compounds exhibiting half-metallic character and metal-insulator transitions draw considerable attention in condensed-matter and materials physics due to their potential use in spintronics. Here we show that specific electron doping plays a crucial role in tailoring thermodynamic, structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of materials derived from low-symmetry magnetic intermetallics, exemplified on triclinic Mn 4 Al 11 . Upon chemical doping of Al by Ge, we predict improved phase stability and adherence to a generalized “18-n rule” governing closed-shell configurations in intermetallic with narrow bandgaps. Validating experiments include measurements of phase stability and electronic transport properties of electron-doped Mn 4 Al 10 Ge that crystallizes in the Mn 4 Al 11 -type structure, confirming the bandgap opening as predicted by chemical analysis and density-functional theory. Here we also demonstrate theoretically that hydrostatic pressure enhances the predicted half-metallic gap in the up-spin channel, which leads to a ferrimagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition driven by Mn-Mn charge ordering in the Mn 4 Al 11 parent. We have also discussed the generality of our approach in predicting the design of other classes of intermetallics including half and full Heusler compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Anomalous Nematic States in High Half-Filled Landau Levels

It is well established that the ground states of a two-dimensional electron gas with half-filled high ( N ≥ 2 ) Landau levels are compressible charge-ordered states, known as quantum Hall stripe (QHS) phases. The generic features of QHSs are a maximum (minimum) in a longitudinal resistance R x x ( R y y ) and a nonquantized Hall resistance R H . In this letter, we report on emergent minima (maxima) in R x x ( R y y ) and plateaulike features in R H in half-filled N ≥ 3 Landau levels. Remarkably, these unexpected features develop at temperatures considerably lower than the onset temperature of QHSs, suggestive of a new ground state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Quantum Phases of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Moiré Systems

Moiré systems provide a rich platform for studies of strong correlation physics. Recent experiments on heterobilayer transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré systems are exciting in that they manifest a relatively simple model system of an extended Hubbard model on a triangular lattice. Inspired by the prospect of the hetero-transition metal dichalcogenide Moiré system’s potential as a solid-state-based quantum simulator, we explore the extended Hubbard model on the triangular lattice using the density matrix renormalization group. Specifically, we explore the two-dimensional phase space spanned by the key tuning parameters in the extended Hubbard model, namely, the kinetic energy strength and the further-range Coulomb interaction strengths. We find competition between Fermi fluid, chiral spin liquid, spin density wave, and charge order. In particular, our finding of the optimal further-range interaction for the chiral correlation presents a tantalizing possibility.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Quantum Anomalous Hall Crystal at Fractional Filling of Moiré Superlattices

We predict the emergence of a state of matter with intertwined ferromagnetism, charge order, and topology in fractionally filled moiré superlattice bands. Remarkably, these quantum anomalous Hall crystals exhibit a quantized integer Hall conductance that is different than expected from the filling and Chern number of the band. Microscopic calculations show that this phase is robustly favored at half-filling (𝜈 =1/2) at larger twist angles of the twisted semiconductor bilayer 𝑡⁢MoTe 2 .

Exact diagonalization↗

Engineering 2D Square Lattice Hubbard Models in 90° Twisted GeX/SnX (X =S, Se) Moiré Superlattices

Because of the large-period superlattices emerging in moiré two-dimensional (2D) materials, electronic states in such systems exhibit low energy flat bands that can be used to simulate strongly correlated physics in a highly tunable setup. While many investigations have thus far focused on moiré flat bands and emergent correlated electron physics in triangular, honeycomb, and quasi-one-dimensional lattices, tunable moiré realizations of square lattices subject to strong correlations remain elusive. Here, in this work, we propose a feasible scheme to construct moiré square lattice systems by twisting two or more layers of 2D materials in a rectangular lattice by 90°. We demonstrate the concept with twisted GeX/SnX (X =S, Se) moiré superlattices and calculate their electronic structures from first principles. We show that the lowest conduction flat band in these systems can be described by a square lattice Hubbard model with parameters which can be controlled by varying the choice of host materials, number of layers, and external electric fields. In particular, twisted double bilayer GeSe realizes a square lattice Hubbard model with strong frustration due to the next-nearest-neighbor hopping that could host unconventional superconductivity, in close analogy to the Hubbard model for copper-oxygen planes of cuprate high-temperature superconductors. The presented scheme uses 90° twisted 2D materials with rectangular unit cells as a promising platform for realizing the physical phenomena of square lattice Hubbard models, establishing a new route for studying its rich phase diagram of magnetism, charge order, and unconventional superconductivity in a highly tunable setting.

2-dimensional systems↗