Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Wang, Yao (ORCID:0000000317360187)

Publications and source records attributed to Wang, Yao (ORCID:0000000317360187).

Entanglement Witness for Indistinguishable Electrons Using Solid-State Spectroscopy

Characterizing entanglement in quantum materials is crucial for advancing next-generation quantum technologies. Despite recent strides in witnessing entanglement in magnetic materials with distinguishable spin modes, quantifying entanglement in systems formed by indistinguishable electrons remains a formidable challenge. To solve this problem, we introduce a method to extract various four-fermion correlations by analyzing the nonlinearity in resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra. These correlations constitute the primary components of the cumulant two-particle reduced density matrix. We further derive bounds for its eigenvalues and demonstrate the linear scaling with fermionic entanglement depth, providing a reliable witness for entanglement. Using the material-relevant strongly correlated models as examples, we show how this entanglement witness can efficiently quantify multipartite entanglement across different phase regions, highlighting its advantage over quantum Fisher information. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Liu, Tongtong (ORCID:0000000295324061)↗

Signatures of the attractive interaction in spin spectra of one-dimensional cuprate chains

Identifying the minimal model for cuprates is crucial for explaining the high- T c pairing mechanism. Recent photoemission experiments have suggested a significant near-neighbor attractive interaction V in cuprate chains, favoring pairing instability. To determine its strength, we systematically investigate the dynamical spin structure factors S ( q , ω ) using the density matrix renormalization group. Our analysis quantitatively reveals a notable softening in the two-spinon continuum, particularly evident in the intense spectrum at large momentum. This softening is primarily driven by the renormalization of the superexchange interaction, as determined by a comparison with the slave-boson theory. We also demonstrate the feasibility of detecting this spectral shift in thin-film samples using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Therefore, this provides a distinctive fingerprint for the attractive interaction, motivating future experiments to unveil essential ingredients in cuprates. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Shen, Zecheng↗

Anomalous excitonic phase diagram in band-gap-tuned Ta2Ni(Se,S)5

Abstract During a band-gap-tuned semimetal-to-semiconductor transition, Coulomb attraction between electrons and holes can cause spontaneously formed excitons near the zero-band-gap point, or the Lifshitz transition point. This has become an important route to realize bulk excitonic insulators – an insulating ground state distinct from single-particle band insulators. How this route manifests from weak to strong coupling is not clear. In this work, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD), we investigate the broken symmetry state across the semimetal-to-semiconductor transition in a leading bulk excitonic insulator candidate system Ta 2 Ni(Se,S) 5 . A broken symmetry phase is found to be continuously suppressed from the semimetal side to the semiconductor side, contradicting the anticipated maximal excitonic instability around the Lifshitz transition. Bolstered by first-principles and model calculations, we find strong interband electron-phonon coupling to play a crucial role in the enhanced symmetry breaking on the semimetal side of the phase diagram. Our results not only provide insight into the longstanding debate of the nature of intertwined orders in Ta 2 NiSe 5 , but also establish a basis for exploring band-gap-tuned structural and electronic instabilities in strongly coupled systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Witnessing light-driven entanglement using time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

Abstract Characterizing and controlling entanglement in quantum materials is crucial for the development of next-generation quantum technologies. However, defining a quantifiable figure of merit for entanglement in macroscopic solids is theoretically and experimentally challenging. At equilibrium the presence of entanglement can be diagnosed by extracting entanglement witnesses from spectroscopic observables and a nonequilibrium extension of this method could lead to the discovery of novel dynamical phenomena. Here, we propose a systematic approach to quantify the time-dependent quantum Fisher information and entanglement depth of transient states of quantum materials with time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Using a quarter-filled extended Hubbard model as an example, we benchmark the efficiency of this approach and predict a light-enhanced many-body entanglement due to the proximity to a phase boundary. Our work sets the stage for experimentally witnessing and controlling entanglement in light-driven quantum materials via ultrafast spectroscopic measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin-triplet pairing induced by near-neighbor attraction in the extended Hubbard model for cuprate chain

Abstract In quantum materials, the electronic interaction and the electron-phonon coupling are, in general, two essential ingredients, the combined impact of which may drive exotic phases. Recently, an anomalously strong electron-electron attraction, likely mediated by phonons, has been proposed in one-dimensional copper-oxide chain Ba 2− x Sr x CuO 3+ δ . Yet, it is unclear how this strong near-neighbor attraction V influences the superconductivity pairing in the system. Here we perform accurate many-body calculations to study the extended Hubbard model with on-site Coulomb repulsion U > 0 and near-neighbor attraction V < 0 that could well describe the cuprate chain and likely other similar transition-metal materials with both strong correlations and lattice effects. We find a rich quantum phase diagram containing an intriguing Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase — besides the spin density wave and various phase separation phases — that can host dominant spin-triplet pairing correlations and divergent superconductive susceptibility. Upon doping, the spin-triplet superconducting regime can be further broadened, offering a feasible mechanism to realize p -wave superconductivity in realistic cuprate chains.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Machine learning on neutron and x-ray scattering and spectroscopies

Neutron and x-ray scattering represent two classes of state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques that measure materials structural and dynamical properties with high precision. These techniques play critical roles in understanding a wide variety of materials systems from catalysts to polymers, nanomaterials to macromolecules, and energy materials to quantum materials. In recent years, neutron and x-ray scattering have received a significant boost due to the development and increased application of machine learning to materials problems. This article reviews the recent progress in applying machine learning techniques to augment various neutron and x-ray techniques, including neutron scattering, x-ray absorption, x-ray scattering, and photoemission. We highlight the integration of machine learning methods into the typical workflow of scattering experiments, focusing on problems that challenge traditional analysis approaches but are addressable through machine learning, including leveraging the knowledge of simple materials to model more complicated systems, learning with limited data or incomplete labels, identifying meaningful spectra and materials representations, mitigating spectral noise, and others. We present an outlook on a few emerging roles machine learning may play in broad types of scattering and spectroscopic problems in the foreseeable future.

Chen, Zhantao↗

Probing light-driven quantum materials with ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

Abstract Ultrafast optical pulses are an increasingly important tool for controlling quantum materials and triggering novel photo-induced phase transitions. Understanding these dynamic phenomena requires a probe sensitive to spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom. Time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (trRIXS) is an emerging spectroscopic method, which responds to this need by providing unprecedented access to the finite-momentum fluctuation spectrum of photoexcited solids. In this Perspective, we briefly review state-of-the-art trRIXS experiments on condensed matter systems, as well as recent theoretical advances. We then describe future research opportunities in the context of light control of quantum matter.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗