Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Quantum spin models”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14

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)↗

Complex orders and chirality in the classical Kitaev-Γ model

It is well recognized that the low-energy physics of many Kitaev materials is governed by two dominant energy scales, the Ising-type Kitaev coupling 𝐾 and the symmetric off-diagonal Γ coupling. An understanding of the interplay between these two scales is therefore the natural starting point toward a quantitative description that includes subdominant perturbations that are inevitably present in real materials. This study focuses on the classical 𝐾−Γ model on the honeycomb lattice, with a specific emphasis on the region 𝐾< 0 and Γ > 0 , which is the most relevant for the available materials and which remains enigmatic in both quantum and classical limits, despite much effort. We employ large-scale Monte Carlo simulations on specially designed finite-size clusters and unravel the presence of a complex multisublattice magnetic order in a wide region of the phase diagram, whose structure is characterized in detail. We show that this order can be quantified in terms of a coarse-grained scalar-chirality order, featuring a counterrotating modulation on the two spin sublattices. Here, we also provide a comparison to previous studies and discuss the impact of quantum fluctuations on the phase diagram.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Mechanical Resonant Sensing of Spin Texture Dynamics in a 2D Antiferromagnet

Abstract The coupling between the spin degrees of freedom and macroscopic mechanical motions, including striction, shearing, and rotation, has attracted wide interest with applications in actuation, transduction, and information processing. Experiments so far have established the mechanical responses to the long‐range ordered or isolated single spin states. However, it remains elusive whether mechanical motions can couple to a different type of magnetic structure, the non‐collinear spin textures, which exhibit nanoscale spatial variations of spin (domain walls, skyrmions,etc.) and are promising candidates to realize high‐speed computing devices. Here, collective spin texture dynamics is detected with nanoelectromechanical resonators fabricated from 2D antiferromagnetic (AFM) MnPS 3 with 10 −9 strain sensitivity. By examining radio frequency mechanical oscillations under magnetic fields, new magnetic transitions are identified with sharp dips in resonant frequency. They are attributed to collective AFM domain wall motions as supported by the analytical modeling of magnetostriction and large‐scale spin‐dynamics simulations. Additionally, an abnormally large modulation in the mechanical nonlinearity at the transition field infers a fluid‐like response due to ultrafast domain motion. The work establishes a strong coupling between spin texture and mechanical dynamics, laying the foundation for electromechanical manipulation of spin texture and developing quantum hybrid devices.

Chemistry↗

Study of phase decoherence in GeSn (8%) through measurements of the weak antilocalization effect

Alloying germanium with tin offers a means to modulate germanium's electronic structure, enabling a greater degree of control over quantum properties such as the retention of the phase or spin of the electron wave. However, the extent to which the presence of high dopant concentrations in GeSn alters these quantum behaviors is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the role of dopant concentrations on phase coherence through measurements of the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect at temperatures between 30 mK and 10 K in p-GeSn (8%) thin films, which were doped to a series of carrier densities on the order of 10 12 cm –2 . Phase coherence and spin–orbit lengths were extracted from the magnetoconductivities using the 2D Hikami–Larkin–Nagaoka model. Phase coherence lengths peaked at 577, 593, and 737 nm for the low-, mid-, and high-density samples, while upper limits on the spin–orbit lengths of less than 25 nm were relatively independent of carrier density and temperature. The phase coherence lengths increased as the temperature decreased but changed only minimally with carrier density, contrary to common models of temperature-dependent inelastic scattering. Saturation of the phase coherence lengths occurred below 600 mK. Based on these findings, intrinsically generated inelastic scattering mechanisms such as two-level systems or impurity band scattering likely contribute to phase decoherence in these alloys. Our results provide insight into the inelastic scattering mechanisms of GeSn, while suggesting a need for further investigation into phase decoherence mechanisms in doped group-IV alloys.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Persistence of Spin Coherence in a Crystalline Environment

Here, we analyze quantum interference in the triplet-exciton pair generated by singlet exciton fission in a molecular crystal and introduce transport-induced dephasing (TID) as a key effect that can suppress the expected fluorescence quantum beats when the triplet-exciton wave function can localize on inequivalent sites. TID depends on the triplet-exciton hopping rate between inequivalent sites and on the energy shifts among the stationary states of the entangled triplet pair in different spatial configurations. The theoretical model is confirmed by experiments in rubrene single crystals, where triplet pairs remain entangled for more than 50 ns but quantum beats are suppressed by TID within a few nanoseconds when the magnetic field is misaligned by just a few degrees from specific symmetric directions. Our experiments deliver the zero-field parameters for the rubrene molecule in its orthorhombic lattice and information on triplet-exciton transport, in particular, the triplet-exciton hopping rate between inequivalent sites, which we evaluate to be of the order of 150 ps in rubrene.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Reconstructing the Wave Function of Magnetic Topological Insulators MnBi 2 ⁢Te 4 and MnBi 4 ⁢Te 7 Using Spin-Resolved Photoemission

Despite their importance for exotic quantum effects, the surface electronic structure of magnetic topological insulators MnBi 2 ⁢Te 4 and MnBi 4 ⁢Te 7 remains poorly understood. Using high-efficiency spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we directly image the spin-polarization and orbital character of the surface states in both compounds and map our observations onto a model wave function to describe the complex spin-orbital texture, which solidifies our understanding of the surface band structure by establishing the single-band nature of the most prominent states. Most importantly, our analysis reveals a new mechanism for reducing the magnetic gap of the topological surface states based on the orbital composition of the wave function.

Han, Xue [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SL↗

Search for heavy pseudoscalar and scalar bosons decaying to a top quark pair in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A search for pseudoscalar or scalar bosons decaying to a top quark pair ($\textrm{t}$$\bar{\textrm{t}}$) in final states with one or two charged leptons is presented. The analyzed proton–proton collision data was recorded at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb -1 . The invariant mass $m_{{\textrm{t}}{\bar{\textrm{t}}}}$ of the reconstructed $\textrm{t}$$\bar{\textrm{t}}$ system and variables sensitive to its spin and parity are used to discriminate against the standard model background. Interference between pseudoscalar or scalar boson production and the standard model $\textrm{t}$$\bar{\textrm{t}}$ continuum is included, leading to peak-dip structures in the $m_{{\textrm{t}}{\bar{\textrm{t}}}}$ distribution. An excess of the data above the background prediction, based on perturbative quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations, is observed near the kinematic $\textrm{t}$$\bar{\textrm{t}}$ production threshold, while good agreement is found for high $m_{{\textrm{t}}{\bar{\textrm{t}}}}$. The data are consistent with the background prediction if the contribution from a simplified model of a color-singlet $^1\textrm{S}^{|1|}_0$ ${{\textrm{t}}{\bar{\textrm{t}}}}$ quasi-bound state $η_{\textrm{t}}$, inspired by nonrelativistic QCD, is added. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the coupling between the pseudoscalar or scalar bosons and the top quark for boson masses in the range 365–1000 GeV, relative widths between 0.5% and 25%, and two background scenarios with or without $η_{\textrm{t}}$ contribution.

CMS↗

Renormalized classical theory of quantum magnets

Here, we derive a renormalized classical spin (RCS) theory for 𝑆 >1/2 quantum magnets by constraining a generalized classical theory that includes all multipolar fluctuations to a reduced CP 1 phase space of dipolar SU(2) coherent states. When the spin Hamiltonian $\hat{ℋ}$(𝑆) is linear in the spin operators $\hat{𝑺}$ 𝑗 for each lattice site 𝑗, the RCS Hamiltonian $\tilde{ℋ}$ cl coincides with the usual classical model ℋ cl = lim 𝑆→∞⁡ $\hat{ℋ}$(𝑆). In the presence of nonlinear terms, however, the RCS theory is more accurate than ℋ cl . For the many materials modeled by spin Hamiltonians with (nonlinear) single-ion anisotropy terms, the use of the RCS theory is essential to accurately model phase diagrams and to extract the correct Hamiltonian parameters from neutron-scattering data.

magnetic anisotropy↗

Possible Observation of Quadrupole Waves in Spin Nematics

Discovery of new states of matter is a key objective in modern condensed matter physics, which often leads to revolutionary technological advancements such as superconductivity. Quantum spin nematic, a “hidden order” that evades conventional magnetic probes, is one such state. Na 2 ⁢BaNi⁢(PO 4 ) 2 is a potential spin nematic material, suggested by the observation of a two-magnon Bose-Einstein condensation from above the saturation field. However, direct confirmation of the spin nematicity remains elusive. Here, this Letter presents inelastic neutron scattering spectra from the putative spin nematic phases of Na 2⁢ BaNi⁢(PO 4 ) 2 , revealing low-energy quadrupole waves that are absent in the neighboring conventional magnetic phases. A spin-one model quantitatively captures the full details of the spin excitation spectra across all low-temperature phases, providing direct evidence of the spin nematic orders. Additionally, we show evidence of the three-magnon continuum and two-magnon bound states in the 1/3-magnetization plateau, revealing condensation of the two-magnon bound state as the origin of the low-field spin nematic supersolid phase.

Sheng, Jieming [Southern University of Science and↗

Noncollinear spin order, field-induced transitions, and short-range correlations in Cu 4 ⁢SO 4 ⁢(OH) 6

We report a comprehensive study of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ quantum magnet brochantite, Cu 4 ⁢SO 4 ⁢(OH) 6 , combining high-field thermodynamic measurements, polarized neutron diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using bulk magnetization and specific heat measurements we construct the magnetic 𝐻−𝑇 phase diagram for magnetic fields applied along main crystallographic directions up to 24.1 T. Polarized neutron diffraction reveals a noncollinear magnetic ground state confined to the 𝑎⁢𝑏 plane. A field-induced transition is observed for magnetic fields in the 𝑎⁢𝑏 plane whose critical field and character evolve continuously with field direction in the 𝑎⁢𝑏 plane. While the transition for 𝐻 ∥ 𝑏 might be a spin-flop-like transition, the one for 𝐻 ∥ 𝑎 resembles the short-range correlated state above 𝑇 N , suggesting a magnetic configuration related to the quasi-two-dimensional correlations in the 𝑏⁢𝑐 planes. The experimental results demonstrate that the ground-state and field-induced phases cannot be explained by a simple XXZ model with a single dominant exchange interaction and that weaker interchain and anisotropic interactions have to be taken into account. Our work establishes brochantite as a low-symmetry Cu-based quantum magnet with noncollinear order and complex field-induced behavior.

Prokhnenko, Oleksandr [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (H↗

Long-lived oscillations of metastable states in neutral atom systems

Metastable states arise in a range of quantum systems and can be observed in various dynamical scenarios, including decay, bubble nucleation, and long-lived oscillations. The phenomenology of metastable states has been examined in quantum many-body systems, notably in one-dimensional (1D) ferromagnetic Ising spin systems and superfluids. Here, in this paper, we study long-lived oscillations of metastable and ground states in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with long-range Rydberg interactions. We use a staggered local detuning field to achieve confinement. Using theoretical and numerical models, we identify novel spectral signatures of quasiparticle oscillations distinct to antiferromagnetic neutral atom systems and interpret them using a classical energy model of short-range meson repulsion. Finally, we evaluate the experimental accessibility of our proposed setup on current neutral-Atom platforms and discuss experimental feasibility and constraints.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Relevance of anisotropy in the Kondo effect: Lessons from the symplectic case

A Kondo model with symplectic symmetry was recently put forward as the effective low-energy theory of a superconducting-island device coupled to multiple leads. This model, which possesses non-Fermi liquid physics and effective anyons, was argued to belong to the class of topological Kondo effects. Here, we clarify the extent of stability of its exotic fixed point using perturbative and numerical renormalization group in conjunction with bosonization and conformal field theory. In contrast to previous claims, we show that asymmetry in the coupling to the leads destabilizes the non-Fermi liquid. Other destabilizing perturbations include asymmetry in the superconducting pairing or internal energy of the individual quantum dots in the island. Nevertheless, these perturbations all generate the same relevant operators. Thus, only a small number of couplings need to be tuned individually, and these can be selected according to experimental convenience. Our results highlight a common misconception that anisotropy in single-channel Kondo couplings is always irrelevant. As demonstrated, relevant terms will emerge whenever the group generators do not span the full space of impurity operators. This calls for a more detailed inspection of models that exhibit this property, such as large-spin impurities and SO⁡( M ) Kondo models.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Giant spin transport anisotropy in magnetic topological insulators

Here, we report on exceptionally long spin transport and giant spin lifetime anisotropy in the gapped surface states of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic topological insulators (MTIs). We examine the properties of these states using the three-dimensional Fu-Kane-Mele Hamiltonian model in the presence of a magnetic exchange field. The corresponding spin textures of surface states, which are well reproduced by an effective two-band model, hint at a considerable enhancement of the lifetime of out-of-plane spins compared to in-plane spins. This is confirmed by large-scale spin transport simulations for 3D MTIs with disorder. The energy dependence of the spin lifetime anisotropy arises directly from the nontrivial spin texture of the surface states, and is correlated with the onset of the quantum anomalous Hall phase. Our findings suggest different spin filtering capabilities of the gapped surface MTI states, which could be explored by nonlocal spin valve measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Trapped-ion quantum simulation of electron transfer models with tunable dissipation

Electron transfer is at the heart of many fundamental physical, chemical, and biochemical processes essential for life. The exact simulation of these reactions is often hindered by the large number of degrees of freedom and by the essential role of quantum effects. Here, we experimentally simulate a paradigmatic model of molecular electron transfer using a multispecies trapped-ion crystal, where the donor-acceptor gap, the electronic and vibronic couplings, and the bath relaxation dynamics can all be controlled independently. By manipulating both the ground-state and optical qubits, we observe the real-time dynamics of the spin excitation, measuring the transfer rate in several regimes of adiabaticity and relaxation dynamics. Our results provide a testing ground for increasingly rich models of molecular excitation transfer processes that are relevant for molecular electronics and light-harvesting systems.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

A supersymmetric SYK model with a curious low energy behavior

We consider N = 2,4 supersymmetric SYK models that have a peculiar low energy behavior, with the entropy going like S = S 0 + (constant)T a , where a ≠ 1. The large N equations for these models are a generalization of equations that have been previously studied as an unjustified truncation of the planar diagrams describing the BFSS matrix quantum mechanics or other related matrix models. Here we reanalyze these equations in order to better understand the low energy physics of these models. We find that the scalar fields develop large expectation values which explore the low energy valleys in the potential. The low energy physics is dominated by quadratic fluctuations around these values. These models were previously conjectured to have a spin glass phase. We did not find any evidence for this phase by using the usual diagnostics, such as searching for replica symmetry breaking solutions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Scalar Atomic Defect-Based Solid-State Self-calibrating Magnetometer (3SM) for Space Plasma Analysis

The Earth’s magnetosphere is a system of multiple, co-located particle populations interacting via plasma waves. Things to understand are driving processes, radiation belt and ring current issues, auroral physics, internal plasma processes, and magnetosphere-ionosphere mapping issues. These plasma-physics processes enable the Earth’s magnetosphere to evolve in response to temporal changes in the solar wind and they underlie the phenomena of space weather, which impacts spacecraft systems, astronauts, radio communications, and ground based electric-power grids. The objective of 3SM is to measure magnetic field strength and to calibrate the Vector Magnetometer (VM) device to maintain absolute accuracy during a mission. The 3SM features make the instrument preferably suited not only for the traditional role of scalar magnetometers as absolute references for the calibration of the on-board vector instruments, but also for extended operational capacities, such as higher frequency scalar measurements (of potential interest for magnetosphere studies for the low frequency part of the spectrum) or autonomous scalar / vector operations. Diamond has been the solid-state platform of choice for quantum device technologies for some time, however, it suffers from difficulties such as scalability, integration, and cost. While the diamond platform is very useful for quantum technologies, further development is needed to make it viable. The material platform of choice for NASA Glenn’s Quantum Sensing And Spin Physics (Q-SASP) is silicon carbide (SiC). This is due to the much higher industry development of the SiC material platform for high-power and high-temperature electronics. It leverages both the decades-long SiC development expertise and infrastructure at NASA Glenn and its growing capabilities in quantum metrology. To make SiC devices usable for quantum technologies such as quantum sources, a much deeper understanding of defects is needed. Q-SASP is developing quantum metrology capabilities to evaluate the energy structure, defect formation energy, band structure augmentation, generation/recombination rates, and limits of dipole-dipole coupling in non-metal implanted SiC devices. This can be achieved by analysis of zero-field splitting, low-field resonance, and singlet-triplet mixing through various forms of Electrically Detectable Magnetic Resonance (EDMR) and Near-Zero Field Magnetic Resonance (NZFMR) spectroscopy. This work will discuss recent system developments, device developments, computational modeling, and spectroscopy results and analysis of defects created by non-metal implantations in SiC devices. The defect formation energies of V Si ,V C , V C V Si , N C V Si , N Si , N C in 4H-SiC are previously reported values in other research [2]-[3]. The defect formation energies of PSi and PC were calculated in GPAW [fig 1A]. The basic underlying mechanism of the zero-field phenomenon is the mixing of singlet and triplet states [4]-[5]. In most spin-dependent transport, two electron spins are involved, and thus one must consider each of their interactions with the field. We investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC. The defect formation energy helps us determine what types of defects we are observing in the SiC EDMR experiment. They have very low formation energy (it is negative). The phosphorus substitution in 4H-SiC is a very stable defect. The band diagrams provide us with vital information about how the electronic properties of SiC (such as band gap) change as we add non-metal defects. The zero-field splitting parameters allow us to study the inflection point in the NZFMR [fig 1B]. We clearly observed zero-field splitting. We also noted that the zero-field splitting remained constant with changing bias. We aspect it zero-field splitting to remain constant while the hyperfine and exchange interaction perturbations shift under the influence of an external magnetic field. This is the essence of quantum magnetometry and self-calibration.

space plasma↗

Observation of a pseudoscalar excess at the top quark pair production threshold

A search for resonances in top quark pair ($t\overline{t}$) production in final states with two charged leptons and multiple jets is presented, based on proton–proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV , corresponding to 138 fb −1 . The analysis explores the invariant mass of the $t\overline{t}$ system and two angular observables that provide direct access to the correlation of top quark and antiquark spins. A significant excess of events is observed near the kinematic $t\overline{t}$ threshold compared to the non-resonant production predicted by fixed-order perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD). The observed enhancement is consistent with the production of a color-singlet pseudoscalar ($^1S^{[1]}_{0}$) quasi-bound toponium state, as predicted by non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics. Using a simplified model for $^1S^{[1]}_{0}$ toponium, the cross section of the excess above the pQCD prediction is measured to be $8.8^{+1.2}_{-1.4}$ pb.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations reaching the quantum limit in two-dimensional electron systems at SrTi⁢O 3 (111) interfaces

Transition metal oxides in the (111) orientation have been predicted to harbor topological phases and unconventional quantum states because of their hexagonal crystal symmetry and strong interactions between charge, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom. We report Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations into the quantum limit at magnetic fields up to 35 T in high-mobility (>20 000 c⁢m 2 V −1 s −1 ) two-dimensional electron liquids at (111)-oriented SrTi⁢O 3 interfaces with controllable carrier densities. Spin splitting is observed at low Landau levels, which is attributed to the interplay between the Zeeman splitting and Rashba spin-orbit coupling according to our theoretical modeling, yielding Landé factor 𝑔 = 0.29 and Rashba coefficient 𝛼 = 0.6 meV nm. Furthermore, at high magnetic field after the system reaches the lowest Landau level, the temperature dependence of the resistance shows a metallic to insulating state transition with the magnetoresistance changing significantly from a primarily quadratic to a large linear field dependence.

Magnetoresistance↗