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At least 523 records · Page 29

Solvable theory of a strange metal at the breakdown of a heavy Fermi liquid

In this work, we introduce an effective theory for quantum critical points (QCPs) in heavy-fermion systems, involving a change in carrier density without symmetry breaking. Our theory captures a strongly coupled metallic QCP, leading to robust marginal Fermi-liquid transport phenomenology, and associated linear in temperature (T) "strange metal" resistivity, all within a controlled large-N limit. In the parameter regime of strong damping of emergent bosonic excitations, the QCP also displays a near-universal "Planckian" transport lifetime τ tr ~ℏ/(k B T). This is contrasted with the conventional so-called "slave boson" theory of the Kondo breakdown, where the large-N limit describes a weak coupling fixed point and nontrivial transport behavior may only be obtained through uncontrolled 1/N corrections. We also compute the weak-field Hall coefficient within the effective model as the system is tuned across the transition. We then find that, between the two plateaus reflecting the different carrier densities in the two Fermi-liquid phases, the Hall coefficient can develop a peak in the critical crossover regime, like in recent experimental findings, in the parameter regime of weak boson damping.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Wigner Crystallization in Spin-Polarized Coupled Electron Quantum Layers: Finite Width Effects

We study the effect of finite width on Wigner crystallization in a spin-polarized coupled electron layers. Correlation among carriers are treated beyond the static mean-field theories by using the quantum version of Singwi, Tosi, Land and Sjoelander (qSTLS) theory over a wide range of layer parameters viz. density parameter r{sub sl} and interlayer spacing d. Interestingly we find that the inclusion of finite width of layers lowered the critical density for the onset of Wigner crystal (WC) as compared to the similar recent studies of spin-polarized coupled electron layers without finite width effects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetoplasmons bound to short-range impurities in graphene: Symmetries and optics

We consider a graphene sheet in the presence of a strong perpendicular magnetic field with a single short-range {delta} impurity situated at one of the carbon sites. We study the neutral inter-Landau level collective excitations, magnetoplasmons, which become localized on the impurity. Some of these excitations involve a pseudospin flip (intervalley transitions), since the impurity can scatter electrons between the two valleys. We propose a classification of states of the excitations in graphene and introduce the appropriate quantum numbers. The energies and optical strengths of collective excitations are calculated for a range of integer filling factors and impurity strengths. We establish a set of symmetries matching the energies and absorption strengths of collective excitations for different sublattice locations of the impurity, filling factors, circular light polarizations, and signs of the impurity potential.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Liouvillian dynamics of the open Schwinger model: String breaking and kinetic dissipation in a thermal medium

Understanding the dynamics of bound state formation is one of the fundamental questions in confining quantum field theories such as Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). One hadronization mechanism that has garnered significant attention is the breaking of a string initially connecting a fermion and an antifermion. Deepening our understanding of real-time string-breaking dynamics with simpler, lower dimensional models like the Schwinger model can improve our understanding of the hadronization process in QCD and other confining systems found in condensed matter and statistical systems. Here in this paper, we consider the string-breaking dynamics within the Schwinger model and investigate its modification inside a thermal medium, treating the Schwinger model as an open quantum system coupled to a thermal environment. Within the regime of weak coupling between the system and environment, the real-time evolution of the system can be described by a Lindblad evolution equation. We analyze the Liouvillian gaps of this Lindblad equation and the time dependence of the system’s von Neumann entropy. We observe that the late-time relaxation rate decreases as the environment correlation length increases. Moreover, when the environment correlation length is infinite, the system exhibits two steady states, one in each of the sectors with definite charge-conjugation-parity (CP) quantum numbers. For parameter regimes where an initial string breaks in vacuum, we observe a delay of the string breaking in the medium, due to kinetic dissipation effects. Conversely, in regimes where an initial string remains intact in vacuum time evolution, we observe string breaking (melting) in the thermal medium. We further discuss how the Liouvillian dynamics of the open Schwinger model can be simulated on quantum computers and provide an estimate of the associated Trotter errors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Rapid Quantum Ground State Preparation via Dissipative Dynamics

Inspired by natural cooling processes, dissipation has become a promising approach for preparing low-energy states of quantum systems. However, the potential of dissipative protocols remains unclear beyond certain commuting Hamiltonians. This work provides significant analytical and numerical insights into the power of dissipation for preparing the ground state of noncommuting Hamiltonians. For quasi-free dissipative dynamics, including certain 1D spin systems with boundary dissipation, our results reveal a new connection between the mixing time in trace distance and the spectral properties of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, leading to an explicit and sharp bound on the mixing time that scales polynomially with system size. For more general spin systems, we develop a tensor network-based algorithm for constructing the Lindblad jump operator and for simulating the dynamics. Using this algorithm, we demonstrate numerically that dissipative ground state preparation protocols can achieve rapid mixing for certain 1D local Hamiltonians under bulk dissipation, with a mixing time that scales logarithmically with the system size. We then prove the rapid mixing result for certain weakly interacting spin and fermionic systems in arbitrary dimensions, extending recent results for high-temperature quantum Gibbs samplers to the zero-temperature regime. Together, these results show that dissipation can be a powerful tool for ground state preparation, with potential applications across condensed matter physics, quantum materials science, and beyond.

decoherence↗

Effective hopping in holographic Bose and Fermi-Hubbard models

In this paper, we analyze a proposed gravity dual to a SU(N) Bose-Hubbard model, as well as construct a holographic dual of a SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model from D-branes in string theory. In both cases, the SU(N) is dynamical, i.e. the hopping degrees of freedom are strongly coupled to SU(N) gauge bosons which themselves are strongly interacting. The vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the hopping term (i.e. the hopping energy) is analyzed in the gravity dual as a function of the bulk mass of the field dual to the hopping term, as well as of the coupling constants of the model. The bulk mass controls the anomalous dimension (i.e. the critical exponent) of the hopping term in the SU(N) Bose-Hubbard model. We compare the hopping energy to the corresponding result in a numerical simulation of the ungauged SU(N) Bose-Hubbard model. We find agreement when the hopping parameter is smaller than the other couplings. Our analysis shows that the kinetic energy increases as the bulk mass increases, due to increased contributions from the IR. The holographic Bose-Hubbard model is then compared with the string theory construction of a SU(N) Fermi-Hubbard model. The string theory construction makes it possible to describe fluctuations around a half-filled state in the supergravity limit, which map to O(1) occupation number fluctuations in the Fermi-Hubbard model at half filling. Finally, the VEV of the Bose-Hubbard model is shown to agree with the one of the fermionic Hubbard model with the help of a two-site version of the Jordan-Wigner transformation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Notes on the complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model

We describe numerous properties of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model for complex fermions with N $\gg$ 1 flavors and a global U(1) charge. We provide a general definition of the charge in the ( G, Σ) formalism, and compute its universal relation to the infrared asymmetry of the Green function. The same relation is obtained by a renormalization theory. The conserved charge contributes a compact scalar field to the effective action, from which we derive the many-body density of states and extract the charge compressibility. We compute the latter via three distinct numerical methods and obtain consistent results. Finally, we present a two dimensional bulk picture with free Dirac fermions for the zero temperature entropy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dirac node arcs in PtSn 4

In topological quantum materials 1,2,3 the conduction and valence bands are connected at points or along lines in the momentum space. A number of studies have demonstrated that several materials are indeed Dirac/Weyl semimetals 4,5,6,7,8 . However, there is still no experimental confirmation of materials with line nodes, in which the Dirac nodes form closed loops in the momentum space 2,3 . Here we report the discovery of a novel topological structure—Dirac node arcs—in the ultrahigh magnetoresistive material PtSn 4 using laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data and density functional theory calculations. Unlike the closed loops of line nodes, the Dirac node arc structure arises owing to the surface states and resembles the Dirac dispersion in graphene that is extended along a short line in the momentum space. Here, we propose that this reported Dirac node arc structure is a novel topological state that provides an exciting platform for studying the exotic properties of Dirac fermions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Dispersion kinks from electronic correlations in an unconventional iron-based superconductor

The attractive interaction in conventional BCS superconductors is provided by a bosonic mode. However, the pairing glue of most unconventional superconductors is unknown. The effect of electron-boson coupling is therefore extensively studied in these materials. A key signature are dispersion kinks that can be observed in the spectral function as abrupt changes in velocity and lifetime of quasiparticles. Here, we show the existence of two kinks in the unconventional iron-based superconductor RbFe 2 As 2 using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and dynami- cal mean field theory (DMFT). In addition, we observe the formation of a Hubbard band multiplet due to the combination of Coulomb interaction and Hund’s rule coupling in this multiorbital systems. We demonstrate that the two dispersion kinks are a consequence of these strong many-body interactions. This interpretation is in line with a growing number of theoretical predictions for kinks in various general models of correlated materials. Our results provide a unifying link between iron-based superconductors and different classes of correlated, unconventional superconductors such as cuprates and heavy-fermion materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Free and interacting short-range entangled phases of fermions: Beyond the tenfold way

Here, we extend the periodic table of phases of free fermions in the tenfold way symmetry classes to a classification of free fermionic phases protected by an arbitrary on-site unitary symmetry $\hat{G}$ in an arbitrary dimension. The classification is described as a function of the real representation theory of $\hat{G}$ and the data of the original periodic table. We also systematically study in low dimensions the relationship between the free invariants and the invariants of short-range entangled interacting phases of fermions. Namely we determine whether a given symmetry protected phase of free fermions is destabilized by sufficiently strong interactions or it remains stable even in the presence of interactions. Finally, we also determine which interacting fermionic phases cannot be realized by free fermions. Examples of both destabilized free phases and intrinsically interacting phases are common in all dimensions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Phonon dynamics in the chiral Kitaev spin liquid

Here, we investigate the effect of a magnetic field on the extended Kitaev spin-liquid state through phonon dynamics. Using a constrained fermionic self-consistent mean field method, we analyze the quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground state for the extended Kitaev model with both the Zeeman term and the perturbative three-spin interaction term 𝜅. Our results demonstrate the dependence of the stability of the Kitaev QSL state on the field direction, consistent with findings in the literature. Additionally, we calculate the phonon dynamics for acoustic phonons coupled to the Majorana fermion excitations of the Kitaev spin-liquid state, discussing the temperature and field evolution of these quantities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Collective Excitations at Filling Factor 5/2: The View from Superspace

Herein, we present a microscopic theory of the neutral collective modes supported by the non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states at filling factor 5/2. The theory is formulated in terms of the trial states describing the Girvin–MacDonald–Platzman mode and its fermionic counterpart. These modes are superpartners of each other in a concrete sense, which we elucidate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Linear resistivity and Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) spin liquid behavior in a quantum critical metal with spin-1/2 fermions

Significance In “Planckian metals,” electrons dissipate energy at the fastest possible rate allowed by the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, resulting in a linear temperature dependence of their electrical resistivity. Although observed for a number of quantum materials, this phenomenon lacks a general theoretical understanding and is often considered as one of the prominent fundamental questions in condensed matter physics. Here, we show that Planckian dissipation and a behavior consistent with the “marginal Fermi liquid” phenomenology emerge in the quantum critical regime separating a Mott insulating spin glass and a Fermi liquid. By establishing this behavior in an explicit model solvable by state-of-the-art computational methods, our theory paves the way toward a deeper understanding of Planckian or “strange” metals.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Replica symmetry breaking for the integrable two-site Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model

We analyze a two-body non-Hermitian two-site Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model with the couplings of one site complex conjugated to the other site. This model, with no explicit coupling between the sites, shows an infinite number of second-order phase transitions, which is a consequence of the factorization of the partition function into a product over Matsubara frequencies. We calculate the quenched free energy in two different ways: first in terms of the single-particle energies and second by solving the Schwinger–Dyson equations of the two-site model. The first calculation can be done entirely in terms of a one-site model. The conjugate replica enters due to non-analyticities when Matsubara frequencies enter the spectral support of the coupling matrix. The second calculation is based on the replica trick of the two-site partition function. Both methods give the same result. The free-fermion partition function can also be rephrased as a matrix model for the coupling matrix. Up to minor details, this model is the random matrix model that describes the chiral phase transition of QCD, and the order parameter of the two-body model corresponds to the chiral condensate of QCD. Comparing to the corresponding four-body model, we are able to determine which features of the free energy are due to the chaotic nature of the four-body model. The high-temperature phase of both models is entropy dominated, and in both cases, the free energy is determined by the spectral density. The chaotic four-body SYK model has a low-temperature phase whose free energy is almost temperature-independent, signaling an effective gap of the theory even though the actual spectrum does not exhibit a gap. On the other hand, the low-temperature free energy of the two-body SYK model is not flat; in fact, it oscillates to arbitrarily low temperature. This indicates a less desirable feature that the entropy of the two-body model is not always positive in the low-temperature phase, which most likely is a consequence of the non-hermiticity.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Final Technical Report for Quantum Embedding for Correlated Electronic Structure in Large Systems and the Condensed Phase

This is the final technical report. We briefly describe some selected results below. Developments in density matrix embedding. DMET is a quantum embedding theory that we introduced at the beginning of the last funding period, around 2012-2013. Since the first DMET papers, which demonstrated proof-of- principle calculations on the Hubbard model and hydrogen rings, we have carried out a number of different developments, including: Extending the DMET technology to compute broken symmetry phases, including magnetic phases and super- conductivity (Pub. 13); Calibrating the accuracy of DMET and its cluster size convergence against other methods, and formulation of a dynamical cluster analog (Pubs. 4, 10) (see Fig. 1); Implementing DMET for ab-initio molecular calculations, and exploring different self-consistency criteria (Pubs. 9, 14); Using embedding to defi ne quantum classical interfaces Pub. 2; Formulating DMET for spectral functions (Pub. 7) (see Fig. 1); Extending DMET to coupled fermion-boson problems (Pub. 12). Together with these embedding developments, we have also implemented a wide variety of impurity solvers within our DMET framework, including DMRG (Pub. 3), AFQMC (Pub. 10), and coupled cluster theory (CC) (Pub. 9).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Pseudogap formation and quantum phase transition in strongly-correlated electron systems

Pseudogap formation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in strongly-correlated superconductors, for example cuprates, heavy-fermion superconductors, and iron pnictides. As the system is cooled, an energy gap opens in the excitation spectrum before entering the superconducting phase. The origin of formation and the relevancy to the superconductivity remain unclear, which is the most challenging problem in condensed matter physics. Here, using the cuprate as a model, we demonstrate that the formation of pseudogap is due to a massive gauge interaction between electrons, where the mass of the gauge boson, determining the interaction length scale, is the consequence of the remnant antiferromagnetic fluctuation inherited from the parent compounds. Extracting from experimental data, we predict that there is a quantum phase transition belonging to the 2D XY universality class at the critical doping where pseudogap transition vanishes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

High-energy magnetic excitations from heavy quasiparticles in CeCu 2 Si 2

Magnetic fluctuations is the leading candidate for pairing in cuprate, iron-based, and heavy fermion superconductors. This view is challenged by the recent discovery of nodeless superconductivity in CeCu 2 Si 2 , and calls for a detailed understanding of the corresponding magnetic fluctuations. Here, we mapped out the magnetic excitations in superconducting (S-type) CeCu 2 Si 2 using inelastic neutron scattering, finding a strongly asymmetric dispersion for E ≲ 1.5 meV, which at higher energies evolves into broad columnar magnetic excitations that extend to E ≳ 5 meV. While low-energy magnetic excitations exhibit marked three-dimensional characteristics, the high-energy magnetic excitations in CeCu 2 Si 2 are almost two-dimensional, reminiscent of paramagnons found in cuprate and iron-based superconductors. By comparing our experimental findings with calculations in the random-phase approximation, we find that the magnetic excitations in CeCu 2 Si 2 arise from quasiparticles associated with its heavy electron band, which are also responsible for superconductivity. Our results provide a basis for understanding magnetism and superconductivity in CeCu 2 Si 2 , and demonstrate the utility of neutron scattering in probing band renormalization in heavy fermion metals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗