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Results for “Fermionic condensates”

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.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Charge density wave and superconductivity competition in Lu 5 Ir 4 Si 10 : A proton irradiation study

Real-space modulated charge density waves (CDW) are a ubiquitous feature in many families of superconductors. In particular, how CDW relates to superconductivity is an active and open question that has recently gathered much interest since CDWs have been discovered in many cuprates superconductors. Here we show that disorder induced by proton irradiation is a full-fledged tuning parameter that can bring essential information to answer this question as it affects CDW and superconductivity with different and unequivocal mechanisms. Specifically, in the model CDW superconductor Lu 5 Ir 4 Si 10 that develops a 1D CDW below 77 K and s-wave superconductivity below 4 K, we show that disorder enhances the superconducting critical temperature T c and H c2 while it suppresses the CDW. Discussing how disorder affects both superconductivity and the CDW, we make a compelling case that superconductivity and CDW are competing for electronic density of states at the Fermi level in Lu 5 Ir 4 Si 10 , and we reconcile the results obtained via the more common tuning parameters of pressure and doping. Owing to its prototypical, 1D, Peierls type CDW and the s-wave, weak-coupling nature of its superconductivity, this irradiation study of Lu 5 Ir 4 Si 10 provides the basis to understand and extend such studies to the more complex cases of density waves and superconductivity coexistence in heavy fermions, Fe-based, or cuprates superconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Antiferromagnetic transitions of Dirac fermions in three dimensions

We use determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study the role of electron-electron interactions on three-dimensional (3D) Dirac fermions based on the π-flux model on a cubic lattice. We show that the Hubbard interaction drives the 3D Dirac semimetal to an antiferromagnetic (AF) insulator only above a finite critical interaction strength and the long-range AF order persists up to a finite temperature. We evaluate the critical interaction strength and temperatures using finite-size scaling of the spin structure factor. The critical behaviors are consistent with the (3+1)-dimensional Gross-Neveu universality class for the quantum critical point and 3D Heisenberg universality class for the thermal phase transitions. We further investigate correlation effects in the birefringent Dirac fermion system. It is found that the critical interaction strength U c is decreased by reducing the velocity of the Dirac cone, quantifying the effect of velocity on the critical interaction strength in 3D Dirac fermion systems. Our findings unambiguously uncover correlation effects in 3D Dirac fermions and may be observed using ultracold atoms in an optical lattice.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tunneling topological vacua via extended operators: (Spin-)TQFT spectra and boundary deconfinement in various dimensions

Distinct quantum vacua of topologically ordered states can be tunneled into each other via extended operators. The possible applications include condensed matter and quantum cosmology. We present a straightforward approach to calculate the partition function on various manifolds and ground state degeneracy (GSD), mainly based on continuum/cochain topological quantum field theories (TQFTs), in any dimension. This information can be related to the counting of extended operators of bosonic/fermionic TQFTs. On the lattice scale, anyonic particles/strings live at the ends of line/surface operators. Certain systems in different dimensions are related to each other through dimensional reduction schemes, analogous to (de)categorification. Examples include spin TQFTs derived from gauging the interacting fermionic symmetry-protected topological states (with fermion $\mathbb Z$$f\atop{2}$) of parity symmetry groups $\mathbb Z{_4}$×$\mathbb Z{_2}$ and ($\mathbb Z{_4}$) 2 in 3+1D, also $\mathbb Z{_2}$ and ($\mathbb Z{_2}$) 2 in 2+1D. Gauging the last three cases begets non-Abelian spin TQFTs (fermionic topological order). We consider situations where a TQFT lives on (1) a closed spacetime or (2) a spacetime with a boundary, such that the bulk and boundary are fully gapped and short- or long-range entangled (SRE/LRE). Anyonic excitations can be deconfined on the boundary. We introduce new exotic topological interfaces on which neither particle nor string excitations alone condense, but only fuzzy-composite objects of extended operators can end (e.g., a string-like composite object formed by a set of particles can end on a special 2+1D boundary of 3+1D bulk). We explore the relations between group extension constructions and partially breaking constructions (e.g., 0-form/higher-form/“composite” breaking) of topological boundaries, after gauging. We comment on the implications of entanglement entropy for some such LRE systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Unusual high-field metal in a Kondo insulator

Strong electronic interactions in condensed-matter systems often lead to unusual quantum phases. One such phase occurs in the Kondo insulator YbB12, the insulating state of which exhibits phenomena that are characteristic of metals, such as magnetic quantum oscillations, a gapless fermionic contribution to heat capacity and itinerant-fermion thermal transport. To understand these phenomena, it is informative to study their evolution as the energy gap of the Kondo insulator state is closed by a large magnetic field. Here we show that clear quantum oscillations are observed in the resulting high-field metallic state in YbB12; this is despite it possessing relatively high resistivity, large effective masses and huge Kadowaki–Woods ratio, a combination that normally precludes quantum oscillations. Both quantum oscillation frequency and cyclotron mass display a strong field dependence. By tracking the Fermi surface area, we conclude that the same quasiparticle band gives rise to quantum oscillations in both insulating and metallic states. These data are understood most simply by using a two-fluid picture in which neutral quasiparticles—contributing little or nothing to charge transport—coexist with charged fermions. Overall, our observations of the complex field-dependent behaviour of the fermion ensemble inhabiting YbB 12 provide strong constraints for existing theoretical models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in quasi one dimension

Electronic charge and spin separation leading to charge density wave and spin density wave is well established in one dimension in the presence and absence of Coulomb interaction. We start from quasi one dimension and show the possibility of such a transition in quasi one dimension as well as in two dimensions by going to a regime where it can be shown for electrons that just interact via Fermi statistics. Such density waves arise due to internal symmetry breaking in a many fermion quantum system. We can extend this result to very wide rings with infinitely many electrons including Coulomb interaction.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Excess heat capacity in magnetically ordered Ce heavy-fermion metals

Herein we study the magnetic heat capacity of a series of magnetically ordered Ce-based heavy-fermion materials, which show an anomalous T 3 heat capacity in excess of the phonon contribution in many materials. For compounds for which magnon models have been worked out, we show that the local-moment magnon heat capacity derived from the measured magnon spectra underestimates the experimental specific heat. The excess heat capacity reveals increasing density of states with increasing energy, akin to a pseudogap. We show that this anomalous temperature-dependent term is not associated with proximity to a quantum critical point, but is strongly correlated with T N , indicating the anomalous excitations are governed by the magnetic exchange interaction. This insight may hold key information for understanding magnetically ordered heavy fermions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quasi-Lindblad pseudomode theory for open quantum systems

Here, we introduce a new framework to study the dynamics of open quantum systems with linearly coupled Gaussian baths. Our approach replaces the continuous bath with an auxiliary discrete set of pseudomodes with dissipative dynamics, but we further relax the complete positivity requirement in the Lindblad master equation and formulate a quasi-Lindblad pseudomode theory. We show that this quasi-Lindblad pseudomode formulation directly leads to a representation of the bath correlation function in terms of a complex weighted sum of complex exponentials, an expansion that is known to be rapidly convergent in practice and thus leads to a compact set of pseudomodes. The pseudomode representation is not unique and can differ by a gauge choice. When the global dynamics can be simulated exactly, the system dynamics is unique and independent of the specific pseudomode representation. However, the gauge choice may affect the stability of the global dynamics, and we provide an analysis of why and when the global dynamics can retain stability despite losing positivity. We showcase the performance of this formulation across various spectral densities in both bosonic and fermionic problems, finding significant improvements over conventional pseudomode formulations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ferromagnetism beyond Lieb's theorem

The noninteracting electronic structures of tight-binding models on bipartite lattices with unequal numbers of sites in the two sublattices have a number of unique features, including the presence of spatially localized eigenstates and flat bands. When a uniform on-site Hubbard interaction U is turned on, Lieb proved rigorously that at half-filling (ρ = 1) the ground state has a nonzero spin. In this paper we consider a “CuO 2 lattice” (also known as “Lieb lattice,” or as a decorated square lattice), in which “d orbitals” occupy the vertices of the squares, while “ p orbitals” lie halfway between two d orbitals; both d and p orbitals can accommodate only up to two electrons. We use exact determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) simulations to quantify the nature of magnetic order through the behavior of correlation functions and sublattice magnetizations in the different orbitals as a function of U and temperature; we have also calculated the projected density of states, and the compressibility. Here, we study both the homogeneous (H) case, U d = U p , originally considered by Lieb, and the inhomogeneous (IH) case, U d ≠ U p . For the H case at half-filling, we found that the global magnetization rises sharply at weak coupling, and then stabilizes towards the strong-coupling (Heisenberg) value, as a result of the interplay between the ferromagnetism of like sites and the antiferromagnetism between unlike sites; we verified that the system is an insulator for all U. For the IH system at half-filling, we argue that the case U p ≠ U d falls under Lieb's theorem, provided they are positive definite, so we used DQMC to probe the cases U p = 0, U d = U and Up = U, U d = 0. We found that the different environments of d and p sites lead to a ferromagnetic insulator when U d = 0; by contrast, U p = 0 leads to to a metal without any magnetic ordering. In addition, we have also established that at density ρ = 1/3, strong antiferromagnetic correlations set in, caused by the presence of one fermion on each d site.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Fermions and bosons in nonsymmorphic PdSb 2 with sixfold degeneracy

PdSb 2 is a candidate for hosting sixfold-degenerate exotic fermions (beyond Dirac and Weyl fermions). The nontrivial band crossing protected by the nonsymmorphic symmetry plays a crucial role in physical properties. We have grown high-quality single crystals of PdSb 2 and characterized their physical properties under several stimuli (temperature, magnetic field, and pressure). While it is a diamagnetic Fermi-liquid metal under ambient pressure, PdSb 2 exhibits a large magnetoresistance with continuous increase up to 14 T, which follows Kohler's scaling law at all temperatures. This implies one-band electrical transport, although multiple bands are predicted by first-principles calculations. By applying magnetic field along the [111] direction, de Haas–van Alphen oscillations are observed with frequency of 102 T. The effective mass is nearly zero (0.045m 0 ) with the Berry phase close to π, confirming that the band close to the R point has a nontrivial character. Under quasihydrostatic pressure (p), evidence for superconductivity is observed in the resistivity below the critical temperature T c . The dome-shaped T c versus p is obtained with maximum $T$$^{max}_{c}$ ~ 2.9K. Furthermore, we argue that the formation of Cooper pairs (bosons) is the consequence of the redistribution of the sixfold-degenerate fermions under pressure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Even-Denominator Fractional Quantum Hall State at Filling Factor ν = 3 / 4

Fractional quantum Hall states (FQHSs) exemplify exotic phases of low-disorder two-dimensional (2D) electron systems when electron-electron interaction dominates over the thermal and kinetic energies. Particularly intriguing among the FQHSs are those observed at even-denominator Landau level filling factors, as their quasiparticles are generally believed to obey non-Abelian statistics and be of potential use in topological quantum computing. Such states, however, are very rare and fragile, and are typically observed in the excited Landau level of 2D electron systems with the lowest amount of disorder. Here we report the observation of a new and unexpected even-denominator FQHS at filling factor ν = 3/4 in a GaAs 2D hole system with an exceptionally high quality (mobility). Furthermore, our magnetotransport measurements reveal a strong minimum in the longitudinal resistance at ν = 3/4, accompanied by a developing Hall plateau centered at (h/e 2 )/(3/4). This even-denominator FQHS is very unusual as it is observed in the lowest Landau level and in a 2D hole system. While its origin is unclear, it is likely a non-Abelian state, emerging from the residual interaction between composite fermions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Superfluidity and collective modes in Rashba spin–orbit coupled Fermi gases

We present a theoretical study of the superfluidity and the corresponding collective modes in two-component atomic Fermi gases with s-wave attraction and synthetic Rashba spin–orbit coupling. The general effective action for the collective modes is derived from the functional path integral formalism. By tuning the spin–orbit coupling from weak to strong, the system undergoes a crossover from an ordinary BCS/BEC superfluid to a Bose–Einstein condensate of rashbons. We show that the properties of the superfluid density and the Anderson–Bogoliubov mode manifest this crossover. At large spin–orbit coupling, the superfluid density and the sound velocity become independent of the strength of the s-wave attraction. The two-body interaction among the rashbons is also determined. When a Zeeman field is turned on, the system undergoes quantum phase transitions to some exotic superfluid phases which are topologically nontrivial. For the two-dimensional system, the nonanalyticities of the thermodynamic functions and the sound velocity across the phase transition are related to the bulk gapless fermionic excitation which causes infrared singularities. The superfluid density and the sound velocity behave nonmonotonically: they are suppressed by the Zeeman field in the normal superfluid phase, but get enhanced in the topological superfluid phase. The three-dimensional system is also studied. -- Highlights: •The general effective action for Rashba spin–orbit coupled Fermi superfluids is derived. •The evolution of the collective modes manifests the BCS/BEC-rashbon crossover. •The superfluid properties are universal at large spin–orbit coupling. •The sound velocity behaves nonanalytically across the quantum phase transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Resolution of the discrepancy between the variation of the physical properties of Ce 1- x Yb x CoIn 5 single crystals and thin films with Yb composition

The extraordinary electronic phenomena including an Yb valence transition, a change in Fermi surface topology, and suppression of the heavy fermion quantum critical field at a nominal concentration x≈0.2 have been found in the Ce 1- x Yb x CoIn 5 system. These phenomena have no discernable effect on the unconventional superconductivity and normal-state non-Fermi liquid behaviour that occur over a broad range of x up to ~0.8. However, the variation of the coherence temperature T* and the superconducting critical temperature T c with nominal Yb concentration x for bulk single crystals is much weaker than that of thin films. To determine whether differences in the actual Yb concentration of bulk single crystals and thin film samples might be responsible for these discrepancies, we employed Vegard’s law and the spectroscopically determined values of the valences of Ce and Yb as a function of x to determine the actual composition x act of bulk single crystals. This analysis is supported by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission X-ray absorption edge spectroscopy measurements. The actual composition x act is found to be about one-third of the nominal concentration x up to x~0.5, and resolves the discrepancy between the variation of the physical properties of Ce 1- x Yb x CoIn 5 single crystals and thin films with Yb concentration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Annealed Si/SiGeC Superlattices Studied by Dark-Field Electron Holography, ToF-SIMS and Infrared Spectroscopy

Si/SiGeC superlattices are used in the construction of new generation devices such as multichannel transistors. The incorporation of C in the SiGe layers allows for a better control of the strain and the Ge content. However the formation of {beta}-SiC clusters during annealing at high temperature limits the thermal stability of the alloy. It leads to a strong modification of the strain due to the reduction of the substitutional carbon content. Here, we investigated the behavior of Si/SiGeC superlattices that have been annealed using different characterization techniques: dark-field electron holography for the evaluation of strain; infrared spectroscopy and ToF-SIMS for the determination of the composition. It was found that after annealing at 1050 deg. C, the reduction of the substitutional C proportion leads to a recovery of the perpendicular strain in the superlattice. It was also proposed that the local arrangement of C atoms in a third nearest neighbor configuration is an intermediary step during the formation of the SiC clusters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

THE NON-UNIFORM, DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE OF BETELGEUSE OBSERVED AT MID-INFRARED WAVELENGTHS

We present an interferometric study of the continuum surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse at 11.15 {mu}m wavelength, using data obtained with the Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer each year between 2006 and 2010. These data allow an investigation of an optically thick layer within 1.4 stellar radii of the photosphere. The layer has an optical depth of {approx}1 at 11.15 {mu}m, and varies in temperature between 1900 K and 2800 K and in outer radius between 1.16 and 1.36 stellar radii. Electron-hydrogen-atom collisions contribute significantly to the opacity of the layer. The layer has a non-uniform intensity distribution that changes between observing epochs. These results indicate that large-scale surface convective activity strongly influences the dynamics of the inner atmosphere of Betelgeuse and mass-loss processes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Imaging electronic states on topological semimetals using scanning tunneling microscopy

Following the intense studies on topological insulators, significant efforts have recently been devoted to the search for gapless topological systems. These materials not only broaden the topological classification of matter but also provide a condensed matter realization of various relativistic particles and phenomena previously discussed mainly in high energy physics. Weyl semimetals host massless, chiral, low-energy excitations in the bulk electronic band structure, whereas a symmetry protected pair of Weyl fermions gives rise to massless Dirac fermions. We employed scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy to explore the behavior of electronic states both on the surface and in the bulk of topological semimetal phases. By mapping the quasiparticle interference (QPI) and emerging Landau levels at high magnetic field in Dirac semimetals Cd 3 As 2 and Na 3 Bi, we observed extended Dirac-like bulk electronic bands. QPI imaged on Weyl semimetal TaAs demonstrated the predicted momentum dependent delocalization of Fermi arc surface states in the vicinity of the surface projected Weyl nodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Infrared fixed points of higher-spin fermions in topological semimetals

We determine the fate of interacting fermions described by the Hamiltonian H = p ∙ J in three-dimensional topological semimetals with linear band crossing, where p is momentum and J are the spin- j matrices for half-integer pseudospin j ≥ 3/2. While weak short-range interactions are irrelevant at the crossing point due to the vanishing density of states, weak long-range Coulomb interactions lead to a renormalization of the band structure. Using a self-consistent perturbative renormalization group approach, we show that band crossings of the type p ∙ J are unstable for j ≤ 7/2. Instead, through an intriguing interplay between cubic crystal symmetry, band topology, and interaction effects, the system is attracted to a variety of infrared fixed points. We also unravel several other properties of higher-spin fermions for general j , such as the relation between fermion self-energy and free energy, or the vanishing of the renormalized charge. An O(3) symmetric fixed point composed of equal chirality Weyl fermions is stable for j ≤ 7/2 and very likely so for all j. We then explore the rich fixed point structure for j = 5/2 in detail. We find additional attractive fixed points with enhanced O ( 3 ) symmetry that host both emergent Weyl or massless Dirac fermions, and identify a puzzling, infrared stable, anisotropic fixed point without enhanced symmetry in close analogy to the known case of j = 3/2.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗