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At least 919 records · Page 51

Electrodynamics on Fermi Cyclides in Nodal Line Semimetals

We study the frequency-dependent conductivity of nodal line semimetals (NLSMs), focusing on the effects of carrier density and energy dispersion on the nodal line. Here, we find that the low-frequency conductivity has a rich spectral structure which can be understood using scaling rules derived from the geometry of their Dupin cyclide Fermi surfaces. We identify different frequency regimes, find scaling rules for the optical conductivity in each, and demonstrate them with numerical calculations of the inter- and intraband contributions to the optical conductivity using a low-energy model for a generic NLSM.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Color Superconductivity and Charge Neutrality in Yukawa Theory

It is generally believed that when Cooper pairing occurs between two different species of fermions, their Fermi surfaces become locked together so that the resultant state remains “neutral,” with equal number densities of the two species, even when subjected to a chemical potential that couples to the difference in number densities. This belief is based on mean-field calculations in models with a zero-range interaction, where the anomalous self-energy is independent of energy and momentum. Following up on an early report of a deviation from neutrality in a Dyson-Schwinger calculation of color-flavor-locked quark matter, we investigate the neutrality of a two-species condensate using a Yukawa model which has a finite-range interaction. In a mean field calculation we obtain the full energy-momentum dependence of the self-energy and find that the energy dependence leads to a population imbalance in the Cooper-paired phase when it is stressed by a species-dependent chemical potential. This gives some support to the suggestion that the color-flavor-locked phase of quark matter might not be an insulator.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tunable Lifshitz Transitions and Multiband Transport in Tetralayer Graphene

To begin, as the Fermi level and band structure of two-dimensional materials are readily tunable, they constitute an ideal platform for exploring the Lifshitz transition, a change in the topology of a material’s Fermi surface. Using tetralayer graphene that host two intersecting massive Dirac bands, we demonstrate multiple Lifshitz transitions and multiband transport, which manifest as a nonmonotonic dependence of conductivity on the charge density $n$ and out-of-plane electric field $D$, anomalous quantum Hall sequences and Landau level crossings that evolve with $n, D$ and $B$.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Quantum Oscillation from In-Gap States and a Non-Hermitian Landau Level Problem

Motivated by recent experiments on Kondo insulators, we theoretically study quantum oscillations from disorder-induced in-gap states in small-gap insulators. By solving a non-Hermitian Landau level problem that incorporates the imaginary part of electron’s self-energy, we show that the oscillation period is determined by the Fermi surface area in the absence of the hybridization gap, and we derive an analytical formula for the oscillation amplitude as a function of the indirect band gap, scattering rates, and temperature. Over a wide parameter range, we find that the effective mass is controlled by scattering rates, while the Dingle factor is controlled by the indirect band gap. We also show the important effect of scattering rates in reshaping the quasiparticle dispersion in connection with angle-resolved photoemission measurements on heavy fermion materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A highly asymmetric nodal semimetal in bulk SmB 6

In this work, we show that novel low temperature properties of bulk SmB 6 , including the sudden growth of the de Haas–van Alphen (dHvA) amplitude (and heat capacity) at millikelvin temperatures and a previously unreported linear-in-temperature bulk electrical conductivity at liquid helium temperatures, signal the presence of a highly asymmetric nodal semimetal. We show that a highly asymmetric nodal semimetal is also a predicted property of the Kondo lattice model (with dispersionless f -electron levels) in the presence of Sm vacancies or other defects. Lastly, we show it can result from a topological transformation of the type recently considered by Shen and Fu and eliminates the necessity of a neutral Fermi surface for explaining bulk dHvA oscillations in SmB 6

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetoresistance Scaling Reveals Symmetries of the Strongly Correlated Dynamics in BaFe 2 ( As 1 - x P x ) 2

The phenomenon of T-linear resistivity commonly observed in a number of strange metals has been widely seen as evidence for the breakdown of the quasiparticle picture of metals. This study shows that a recently discovered H/T scaling relationship in the magnetoresistance of the strange metal BaFe 2 (As 1- x P x ) 2 is independent of the relative orientations of current and magnetic field. Rather, its magnitude and form depend only on the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to a single crystallographic axis: the direction perpendicular to the magnetic iron layers. In this work, this finding suggests that the magnetotransport scaling does not originate from the conventional averaging or orbital velocity of quasiparticles as they traverse a Fermi surface, but rather from dissipation arising from two-dimensional correlations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nodeless High- T c Superconductivity in the Highly Overdoped CuO 2 Monolayer

We study the electronic structure and superconductivity in a CuO 2 monolayer grown recently on the d-wave cuprate superconductor Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ . Density functional theory calculations indicate a significant charge transfer across the interface such that the CuO 2 monolayer is heavily overdoped into the hole-rich regime yet inaccessible in bulk cuprates. We show that both the Cu d x 2 –y 2 and d 3z 2 –r 2 orbitals become important and the Fermi surface contains one electron and one hole pocket associated with the two orbitals, respectively. Constructing a minimal correlated two-orbital model for the e g complex, we show that the spin-orbital exchange interactions produce a nodeless superconductor with extended s-wave pairing symmetry and a pairing energy gap comparable to the bulk d-wave gap, in agreement with recent experiments. Here, the findings point to a direction of realizing new high-T c superconductors in ozone grown transition-metal-oxide monolayer heterostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Unconventional Charge Density Wave Order in the Pnictide Superconductor Ba ( Ni 1 – x Co x ) 2 As 2

Ba(Ni 1–x Co x ) 2 As 2 is a structural homologue of the pnictide high temperature superconductor, Ba(Fe 1–x Co x ) 2 As 2 , in which the Fe atoms are replaced by Ni. Superconductivity is highly suppressed in this system, reaching a maximum T c = 2.3 K, compared to 24 K in its iron-based cousin, and the origin of this T c suppression is not known. Using x-ray scattering, we show that Ba(Ni 1–x Co x ) 2 As 2 exhibits a unidirectional charge density wave (CDW) at its triclinic phase transition. The CDW is incommensurate, exhibits a sizable lattice distortion, and is accompanied by the appearance of α Fermi surface pockets in photoemission [B. Zhou et al., Phys. Rev. B 83, 035110 (2011)], suggesting it forms by an unconventional mechanism. Co doping suppresses the CDW, paralleling the behavior of antiferromagnetism in iron-based superconductors. Our study demonstrates that pnictide superconductors can exhibit competing CDW order, which may be the origin of T c suppression in this system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electron-Phonon Coupling from Ab Initio Linear-Response Theory within the G W Method: Correlation-Enhanced Interactions and Superconductivity in Ba 1 - x K x BiO 3

We present a new first-principles linear-response theory of changes due to perturbations in the quasiparticle self-energy operator within the GW method. This approach, named GW perturbation theory ( GW PT), is applied to calculate the electron-phonon ( e -ph) interactions with the full inclusion of the GW nonlocal, energy-dependent self-energy effects, going beyond density-functional perturbation theory. Avoiding limitations of the frozen-phonon technique, GW PT gives access to e -ph matrix elements at the GW level for all phonons and scattering processes, and the computational cost scales linearly with the number of phonon modes (wave vectors and branches) investigated. We demonstrate the capabilities of GW PT by studying the e -ph coupling and superconductivity in Ba 0.6 K 0.4 BiO 3 . We show that many-electron correlations significantly enhance the e -ph interactions for states near the Fermi surface, and explain the observed high superconductivity transition temperature of Ba 0.6 K 0.4 BiO 3 as well as its doping dependence.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Giant Anisotropic Magnetoresistance due to Purely Orbital Rearrangement in the Quadrupolar Heavy Fermion Superconductor PrV 2 Al 20

In this report, we discuss the discovery of giant and anisotropic magnetoresistance due to the orbital rearrangement in a non magnetic correlated metal. In particular, we measured the magnetoresistance under fields up to 31.4 T in the cubic Pr-based heavy fermion superconductor PrV 2 Al 20 with a non magnetic Γ 3 doublet ground state, exhibiting antiferro quadrupole ordering below 0.7 K. For the [100] direction, we find that the high field phase appears between 12 and 25 T, accompanied by a large jump at 12 T in the magnetoresistance (ΔMR ~ 100%) and in the anisotropic magnetoresistivity ratio by ~20%. These observations suggest that the strong hybridization between the conduction electrons and anisotropic quadrupole moments leads to the Fermi surface reconstruction upon crossing the field-induced antiferroquadrupole (orbital) rearrangement.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnus Hall Effect

A new type of a linear response Hall effect is predicted in time-reversal-invariant systems with a built-in electric field at zero magnetic field. The Hall response results from a quantum Magnus effect where a self-rotating Bloch electron wave packet moving under an electric field develops an anomalous velocity in the transverse direction. In this paper we show that in the ballistic limit the Magnus Hall conductance measures the distribution of the Berry curvature on the Fermi surface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Spin-Canting-Induced Band Reconstruction in the Dirac Material Ca 1 – x Na x MnBi 2

The ternary A MnBi 2 ( A is alkaline as well as rare-earth atom) materials provide an arena for investigating the interplay between low-dimensional magnetism of the antiferromagnetic MnBi layers and the electronic states in the intercalated Bi layers, which harbor relativistic fermions. We report on a comprehensive study of the optical properties and magnetic torque response of Ca 1–x Na x MnBi 2 . Our findings give evidence for a spin canting occurring at T s ~50–100 K. Thus, with the support of first-principles calculations we establish a direct link between the spin canting and the reconstruction of the electronic band structure, having immediate implications for the spectral weight reshuffling in the optical response, signaling a partial gapping of the Fermi surface, and the dc transport properties below T s .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Impurity-Induced Anomalous Thermal Hall Effect in Chiral Superconductors

Chiral superconductors exhibit novel transport properties that rely on the topology of the order parameter, topology of the Fermi surface, the spectrum of bulk and edge Fermionic excitations, and the structure of the impurity potential. In the case of electronic heat transport, impurities induce an anomalous (zero-field) thermal Hall conductivity that is easily orders of magnitude larger than the quantized edge contribution. The effect originates from branch-conversion scattering of Bogoliubov quasiparticles by the chiral order parameter, induced by potential scattering. The former transfers angular momentum between the condensate and the excitations that transport heat. The anomalous thermal Hall conductivity is shown to depend to the structure of the electron-impurity potential, as well as the winding number ν of the chiral order parameter $Δ(p)=|Δ(p)|e^{iν\phi_p}$. The results provide quantitative formulas for interpreting heat transport experiments seeking to identify broken T and P symmetries, as well as the topology of the order parameter for chiral superconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fractionalized Excitations Revealed by Entanglement Entropy

Fractionalized excitations develop in many unusual many-body states such as quantum spin liquids, disordered phases that cannot be described using any local order parameter. Also, because these exotic excitations correspond to emergent degrees of freedom, how to probe them and establish their existence is a long-standing challenge. We present a general procedure to reveal the fractionalized excitations using real-space entanglement entropy in critical spin liquids that are particularly relevant to experiments. Furthermore, we show how to use the entanglement entropy to construct the corresponding spinon Fermi surface. Our work defines a new pathway to establish and characterize exotic excitations in novel quantum phases of matter.

2-dimensional systems↗

Triplet Resonating Valence Bond State and Superconductivity in Hund’s Metals

A central idea in strongly correlated systems is that doping a Mott insulator leads to a superconductor by transforming the resonating valence bonds (RVBs) into spin-singlet Cooper pairs. Here, we argue that a spin-triplet RVB (tRVB) state, driven by spatially, or orbitally anisotropic ferromagnetic interactions can provide the parent state for triplet superconductivity. We apply this idea to the iron-based superconductors, arguing that strong on site Hund’s interactions develop intra-atomic tRVBs between the $t_{2_g}$ orbitals. On doping, the presence of two iron atoms per unit cell allows these interorbital triplets to coherently delocalize onto the Fermi surface, forming a fully gapped triplet superconductor. In this work, this mechanism gives rise to a unique staggered structure of on site pair correlations, detectable as an alternating π phase shift in a scanning Josephson tunneling microscope.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Local Berry Phase Signatures of Bilayer Graphene in Intervalley Quantum Interference

Chiral quasiparticles in Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene have valley-contrasting Berry phases of ±2π. This nontrivial topological structure, associated with the pseudospin winding along a closed Fermi surface, is responsible for various novel electronic properties. In this work, we show that the quantum interference due to intervalley scattering induced by single-atom vacancies or impurities provides insights into the topological nature of the bilayer graphene. The scattered chiral quasiparticles between distinct valleys with opposite chirality undergo a rotation of pseudospin that results in the Friedel oscillation with wavefront dislocations. The number of dislocations reflects the information about pseudospin texture and hence can be used to measure the Berry phase. As demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically, the Friedel oscillation, depending on the single-atom vacancy or impurity at different sublattices, can exhibit N = 4, 2, or 0 additional wavefronts, characterizing the 2π Berry phase of the bilayer graphene. Our results provide a comprehensive study of the intervalley quantum interference in bilayer graphene and can be extended to multilayer graphene, shedding light on the pseudospin physics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Topological Charge Pumping in Excitonic Insulators

Here, we show that in excitonic insulators with s-wave electron-hole pairing, an applied electric field (either pulsed or static) can induce a p-wave component to the order parameter, and further drive it to rotate in the s + ip plane, realizing a Thouless charge pump. In one dimension, each cycle of rotation pumps exactly two electrons across the sample. Higher dimensional systems can be viewed as a stack of one-dimensional chains in momentum space in which each chain crossing the Fermi surface contributes a channel of charge pumping. Physics beyond the adiabatic limit, including in particular dissipative effects is discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗