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Results for “topological quantum materials”

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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Edge mode percolation and equilibration in the topological insulator cadmium arsenide

Two-dimensional topological insulators can feature one-dimensional charge transport via edge modes, which offer a rich ground for studying exotic quasi-particles and for quantum materials applications. In this work, we use lateral junction devices, defined by nanoscale finger gates, to study edge mode transport in the two-dimensional topological insulator Cd 3 As 2 . The finger gate can be tuned to transmit an integer number of quantum Hall edge modes and exhibits full equilibration in the bipolar regime. When the Fermi level of the channel crosses a Landau level, reflected modes percolate through the channel, resulting in an anomalous conductance peak. The device does not fully pinch off when the channel is tuned into the topological gap, which is a sign of remnant modes in the channel. These modes are expected from band inversion, while residual bulk conduction associated with the disorder potential may also play a role.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Diabatic error and propagation of Majorana zero modes in interacting quantum dots systems

Motivated by recent experimental progress in realizing Majorana zero modes (MZMs) using quantum dot systems, we investigate the diabatic errors associated with the movement of those MZMs. The movement is achieved by tuning time-dependent gate potentials applied to individual quantum dots, effectively creating a moving potential wall. To probe the optimized movement of MZMs, we calculate the experimentally accessible time-dependent fidelity and local density-of-states using many-body time-dependent numerical methods. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that an optimal potential wall height is crucial to preserve the well-localized nature of the MZM during its movement. Moreover, we analyze diabatic errors in realistic quantum-dot systems, incorporating the effects of repulsive Coulomb interactions and disorder in both hopping and pairing terms. Additionally, we provide a comparative study of diabatic errors arising from the simultaneous versus sequential tuning of multiple gates during the MZMs movement. Finally, we estimate the timescale required for MZM transfer in a six-quantum-dot system, demonstrating that MZM movement is feasible and can be completed well within the qubit's operational lifetime in practical quantum-dot setups.

Density of states↗
DOE OSTI2020

Subtle metastability of the layered magnetic topological insulator MnBi 2 Te 4 from weak interactions

Abstract Layered quantum materials can host interesting properties, including magnetic and topological, for which enormous computational predictions have been done. Their thermodynamic stability is much less visited computationally, which however determines the existence of materials and can be used to guide experimental synthesis. MnBi 2 Te 4 is one of such layered quantum materials that was predicted to be an intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator, and later experimentally realized but in a thermodynamically metastable state. Here, using a combined first-principles-based approach that considers lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom, we investigate the metastability of MnBi 2 Te 4 by calculating the Helmholtz free energy for the reaction Bi 2 Te 3 + MnTe → MnBi 2 Te 4 . We identify a temperature range (~500–873 K) in which the compound is stable with respect to the competing binary phases, consistent with experimental observation. We validate the predictions by comparing the calculated specific heats contributed from different degrees of freedom with experimental results. Our findings indicate that the degrees of freedom responsible for the van der Waals interaction, lattice vibration, magnetic coupling, and nontrivial band topology in MnBi 2 Te 4 not only enable emergent phenomena but also play a crucial role in determining its thermodynamic stability. This conclusion lays the foundation for the future computational material synthesis of novel layered systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Imaging the electronic and magnetic structure of topological-superconductor proximity systems (Final Report)

The primary goals of the projects supported by this grant involved developing methods to detect and control electronic states that can aid in the construction of quantum-information devices, including quantum computers. Two types of materials are needed to create these electronic states: superconductors and topological insulators. The interplay of the quantum mechanics of these materials can give rise to elusive states known as Majorana fermions. Majorana Fermions have incredible potential for quantum technology; they can in principle encode quantum information non-locally, and can thus form the basis of especially robust qubits – the basic building blocks of quantum computers. A centerpiece goal of this work was to develop a Majorana detection tool called a Scanning Majorana Microscope. This tool was successfully developed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Theory of glide symmetry protected helical edge states in a WTe 2 monolayer

Helical edge states in quantum spin Hall (QSH) materials are central building blocks of topological matter design and engineering. Despite their principal topological protection against elastic backscattering, the level of operational stability depends on manifold parameters such as the band gap of the given semiconductor system in the “inverted” regime, temperature, disorder, and crystal orientation. Here, we theoretically investigate electronic and transport properties of QSH edge states in large gap 1-T' WTe 2 monolayers. We explore the impact of edge termination, disorder, temperature, and interactions on experimentally addressable edge state observables, such as local density of states and conductance. We show that conductance quantization can remain surprisingly robust even for heavily disordered samples because of an anomalously small edge state decay length and additional protection related to the large direct gap allowed by glide symmetry. From the simulation of temperature-dependent resistance, we find that moderate disorder enhances the stability of conductance by localizing bulk states. We evaluate the edge state velocity and Luttinger liquid parameter as functions of the chemical potential, finding prospects for physics beyond linear helical Luttinger liquids in samples with ultraclean and well-defined edges.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spin-valley locking and bulk quantum Hall effect in a noncentrosymmetric Dirac semimetal BaMnSb 2

Spin-valley locking in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides has attracted enormous interest, since it offers potential for valleytronic and optoelectronic applications. Such an exotic electronic state has sparsely been seen in bulk materials. Here, we report spin-valley locking in a Dirac semimetal BaMnSb 2 . This is revealed by comprehensive studies using first principles calculations, tight-binding and effective model analyses, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. Moreover, this material also exhibits a stacked quantum Hall effect (QHE). The spin-valley degeneracy extracted from the QHE is close to 2. This result, together with the Landau level spin splitting, further confirms the spin-valley locking picture. In the extreme quantum limit, we also observed a plateau in the z-axis resistance, suggestive of a two-dimensional chiral surface state present in the quantum Hall state. These findings establish BaMnSb 2 as a rare platform for exploring coupled spin and valley physics in bulk single crystals and accessing 3D interacting topological states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Controllable strain-driven topological phase transition and dominant surface-state transport in HfTe5

Abstract The fine-tuning of topologically protected states in quantum materials holds great promise for novel electronic devices. However, there are limited methods that allow for the controlled and efficient modulation of the crystal lattice while simultaneously monitoring the changes in the electronic structure within a single sample. Here, we apply significant and controllable strain to high-quality HfTe 5 samples and perform electrical transport measurements to reveal the topological phase transition from a weak topological insulator phase to a strong topological insulator phase. After applying high strain to HfTe 5 and converting it into a strong topological insulator, we found that the resistivity of the sample increased by 190,500% and that the electronic transport was dominated by the topological surface states at cryogenic temperatures. Our results demonstrate the suitability of HfTe 5 as a material for engineering topological properties, with the potential to generalize this approach to study topological phase transitions in van der Waals materials and heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nernst and Ettingshausen effects in gapped quantum materials

Here, we investigate whether there could exist topological invariants of gapped two-dimensional materials related to dissipationless thermoelectric transport at low temperatures. We give both macroscopic and microscopic arguments showing that thermoelectric transport coefficients vanish in the limit of zero temperature, and thus topological invariants arise only from the electric Hall conductance and the thermal Hall conductance. Our arguments apply to systems with arbitrarily strong interactions. We also show that there is no analog of the Thouless pump for entropy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantum geometry in quantum materials

Quantum geometry, characterized by the quantum geometric tensor, plays a central role in diverse physical phenomena in quantum materials. This pedagogical review introduces the concept and highlights its implications across multiple domains, including optical responses, Landau levels, fractional Chern insulators, superfluid weight, spin stiffness, exciton condensates, and electronphonon coupling. By integrating these topics, we emphasize the broad significance of quantum geometry in understanding emergent behaviors in quantum systems and conclude with an outlook on open questions and future directions.

Condensed-matter physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetic order in nanogranular iron germanium (Fe 0.53 Ge 0.47 ) films

We study the effect of strain on the magnetic properties and magnetization configurations in nanogranular Fe x Ge 1-x films (x = 0.53 ± 0.05) with and without B20 FeGe nanocrystals surrounded by an amorphous structure. Relaxed films on amorphous silicon nitride membranes reveal a disordered skyrmion phase while films near and on top of a rigid substrate favor ferromagnetism and an anisotropic hybridization of Fe d levels and spin-polarized Ge sp band states. The weakly coupled topological states emerge at room temperature and become more abundant at cryogenic temperatures without showing indications of pinning at defects or confinement to individual grains. These results demonstrate the possibility to control magnetic exchange and topological magnetism by strain and inform magnetoelasticity-mediated voltage control of topological phases in amorphous quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

High harmonic generation in Haldane model quantum dots

We study theoretically the nonlinear electron dynamics of Haldane model quantum dots placed in the field of an ultrashort optical pulse. One of the tuning parameters of the Haldane model is the phase accumulated by an electron during its transfer between the next nearest neighbor sites. We study how this parameter affect the nonlinear electron dynamics and the generation of high optical harmonics. With increasing the phase from its zero value to 90°, the low-energy electron states in the conduction and valence bands become more localized near the edges of the quantum dot resulting in suppression of the band gap, enhancement of the dipole inter-band coupling, and strong suppression of the average low-energy electron density of the states. As a result, the nonlinear response of the electron system of a Haldane model quantum dot is the strongest at intermediate values of the phase, ≈ 30− 40°. At these values of the phase, the electron dynamics is irreversible and a few first high-order harmonics have the largest intensities. Here, when the phase approaches 90° value the generation of high harmonics is strongly suppressed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multipartite entanglement in two-dimensional chiral topological liquids

The multipartite entanglement structure for the ground states of two-dimensional (2D) topological phases is an interesting albeit not well-understood question. Utilizing the bulk-boundary correspondence, the calculation of tripartite entanglement in 2D topological phases can be reduced to that of the vertex state, defined by the boundary conditions at the interfaces between spatial regions. In this paper, we use the conformal interface technique to calculate entanglement measures in the vertex state, which include area-law terms, corner contributions, and topological pieces, and a possible additional order-one contribution. Furthermore, this explains our previous observation of the Markov gap ℎ = $\frac{c}{3}$ ⁢ln⁡2 in the three-vertex state, and generalizes this result to the p-vertex state, general rational conformal field theories, and more choices of subsystems. Finally, we support our prediction by numerical evidence, finding precise agreement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Network construction of non-Abelian chiral spin liquids

We use a network of chiral junctions to construct a family of topological chiral spin liquids in two spatial dimensions. The chiral spin liquid phase harbors SU(2) _k k anyons, which stem from the underlying SU(2) _k k WZW models that describe the constituent spin chains of the network. The network exhibits quantized spin and thermal Hall conductances. We illustrate our construction by inspecting the topological properties of the SU(2) _2 2 model. We find that this model has emergent Ising anyons, with spinons acting as vortex excitations that bind Majorana zero modes. We also show that the ground state of this network is threefold degenerate on the torus, asserting its non-Abelian character. Our results shed new light on the stability of non-Abelian topological phases in artificial quantum materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Gate-defined wires in twisted bilayer graphene: From electrical detection of intervalley coherence to internally engineered Majorana modes

Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) realizes a highly tunable, strongly interacting system featuring superconductivity and various correlated insulating states. We establish gate-defined wires in TBG with proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling as (i) a tool for revealing the nature of correlated insulators and (ii) a platform for Majorana-based topological qubits. We show that the band structure of a gate-defined wire immersed in an intervalley coherent correlated insulator inherits electrically detectable fingerprints of symmetry breaking native to the latter. Surrounding the wire by a superconducting TBG region on one side and an intervalley coherent correlated insulator on the other further enables the formation of Majorana zero modes—possibly even at zero magnetic field depending on the precise symmetry-breaking order present. Our proposal not only introduces a highly gate-tunable topological qubit medium relying on internally generated proximity effects but can also shed light on the Cooper-pairing mechanism in TBG.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accelerating Quantum Materials Development with Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy

Quantum materials are driving a technology revolution in sensing, communication, and computing, while simultaneously testing many core theories of the past century. Materials such as topological insulators, complex oxides, superconductors, quantum dots, color center-hosting semiconductors, and other types of strongly correlated materials can exhibit exotic properties such as edge conductivity, multiferroicity, magnetoresistance, superconductivity, single photon emission, and optical-spin locking. These emergent properties arise and depend strongly on the material’s detailed atomic-scale structure, including atomic defects, dopants, and lattice stacking. In this review, we describe how progress in the field of electron microscopy (EM), including in situ and in operando EM, can accelerate advances in quantum materials and quantum excitations. We begin by describing fundamental EM principles and operation modes. We then discuss various EM methods such as (i) EM spectroscopies, including electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), cathodoluminescence (CL), and electron energy gain spectroscopy (EEGS); (ii) four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM); (iii) dynamic and ultrafast EM (UEM); (iv) complementary ultrafast spectroscopies (UED, XFEL); and (v) atomic electron tomography (AET). We describe how these methods could inform structure–function relations in quantum materials down to the picometer scale and femtosecond time resolution, and how they enable precision positioning of atomic defects and high-resolution manipulation of quantum materials. For each method, we also describe existing limitations to solve open quantum mechanical questions, and how they might be addressed to accelerate progress. Among numerous notable results, our review highlights how EM is enabling identification of the 3D structure of quantum defects; measuring reversible and metastable dynamics of quantum excitations; mapping exciton states and single photon emission; measuring nanoscale thermal transport and coupled excitation dynamics; and measuring the internal electric field and charge density distribution of quantum heterointerfaces- all at the quantum materials’ intrinsic atomic and near atomic-length scale. Finally, we conclude by describing open challenges for the future, including achieving stable sample holders for ultralow temperature (below 10K) atomic-scale spatial resolution, stable spectrometers that enable meV energy resolution, and high-resolution, dynamic mapping of magnetic and spin fields. With atomic manipulation and ultrafast characterization enabled by EM, quantum materials will be poised to integrate into many of the sustainable and energy-efficient technologies needed for the 21st century.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transport studies in a gate-tunable three-terminal Josephson junction

Josephson junctions with three or more superconducting leads have been predicted to exhibit topological effects in the presence of few conducting modes within the interstitial normal material. Such behavior, of relevance for topologically protected quantum bits, would lead to specific transport features measured between terminals, with topological phase transitions occurring as a function of phase and voltage bias. Although conventional, two-terminal Josephson junctions have been studied extensively, multiterminal devices have received relatively little attention to date. Motivated in part by the possibility to ultimately observe topological phenomena in multiterminal Josephson devices, as well as their potential for coupling gatemon qubits, here we describe the superconducting features of a top-gated mesoscopic three-terminal Josephson device. The device is based on an InAs two-dimensional electron gas proximitized by epitaxial aluminum. We map out the transport properties of the device as a function of bias currents, top gate voltage, and magnetic field. Finally, we find a very good agreement between the zero-field experimental phase diagram and a resistively and capacitively shunted junction computational model.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Correlation between complex spin textures and the magnetocaloric and Hall effects in Eu⁢(Ga 1−𝑥 ⁢Al 𝑥 ) 4 (𝑥=0.9, 1)

Determining the electronic phase diagram of a quantum material as a function of temperature (𝑇) and applied magnetic field (𝐻) forms the basis for understanding the microscopic origin of transport properties, such as the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and topological Hall effect (THE). For many magnetic quantum materials, including Eu⁢Al 4 , a THE arises from a topologically protected magnetic skyrmion lattice with a nonzero scalar spin chirality. We identified a square skyrmion lattice (sSkL) peak in Eu⁢(Ga 1−𝑥 ⁢Al 𝑥 ) 4 (𝑥=0.9) identical to the peak previously observed in Eu⁢Al 4 by performing neutron-scattering measurements throughout the phase diagram. Here, comparing these neutron results with transport measurements, we found that in both compounds the maximal THE does not correspond to the sSkL area. Instead of the maximal THE, the maximal magnetocaloric-effect boundaries better identify the sSkL lattice phase observed by neutron-scattering measurements. The maximal THE therefore arises from interactions of itinerant electrons with frustrated spin fluctuations in a topologically trivial magnetic state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Skyrmion-like Spin Textures Emerging in the Material Derived from Structural Frustration

Magnetic materials with complex spin textures present both fundamental and practical appeal. The complex patterns of magnetic moments emerging on underlying crystal lattices hold potential for robust information storage and processing, including the promise of topological quantum computing. The scope of materials that host such patterns, however, remains rather limited. Here, in this study, we report a discovery of a complex spin texture in a noncentrosymmetric material that emerges from the structural frustration at the boundary between centrosymmetric parent structures MnCoGe (the hexagonal Ni 2 In or the orthorhombic TiNiSi structure type) and MnCoAs (the TiNiSi structure type). Our findings demonstrate that such structural frustration provides a powerful handle for identifying compositional spaces where complex magnetic behavior and associated nontrivial magnetic structures are likely to emerge. Thus, the new phase MnCoGe 1/3 As 2/3 exhibits a modulated cycloidal antiferromagnetic arrangement of electron spins on a noncentrosymmetric lattice (of the hexagonal ZrNiAl type) that materializes in the space between centrosymmetric collinear ferromagnets. This work provides a pathway for discovering novel materials with exotic spin textures for next-generation spintronics and quantum technologies.

Wang, YiXu [Florida State University, Tallahassee,↗