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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 901 records · Page 50

Visualizing heavy fermion confinement and Pauli-limited superconductivity in layered CeCoIn 5

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5 . Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave order parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Duality and universal transport in mixed-dimension electrodynamics

In this work, we consider a theory of a two-component Dirac fermion localized on a (2+1) dimensional brane coupled to a (3+1) dimensional bulk. Using the fermionic particle-vortex duality, we show that the theory has a strong-weak duality that maps the coupling e to $\tilde{e}$=(8π)/e. We explore the theory at e 2 =8π where it is self-dual. The electrical conductivity of the theory is a constant independent of frequency. When the system is at finite density and magnetic field at filling factor ν=$\frac{1}{2}$, the longitudinal and Hall conductivity satisfies a semicircle law, and the ratio of the longitudinal and Hall thermal electric coefficients is completely determined by the Hall angle. Lastly, the thermal Hall conductivity is directly related to the thermal electric coefficients.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Entanglement entropy of a superflow

We consider the theory of N free Dirac fermions with a uniformly winding mass, me iqx , in two spacetime dimensions. This theory (which describes for instance a superconducting current in an N-channel wire) has been proposed to have a higher-spin gravity with scalar matter as the large-N dual. To order m 2 , however, thermodynamic quantities in it can be computed using standard general relativity instead. Here, we consider the question if the same is true for the entanglement entropy (EE). By comparing results obtained on two sides of the duality, we find that general relativity indeed accounts correctly for the EE of an interval to order m 2 (and all orders in q).

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Electronic structure and 4$f$-electron character in Ce 2 PdIn 8 studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The localized-to-itinerant transition of $f$ electrons lies at the heart of heavy-fermion physics, but has only been directly observed in single-layer Ce-based materials. Here, we report a comprehensive study on the electronic structure and nature of the Ce 4$f$ electrons in the heavy-fermion superconductor Ce 2 PdIn 8 , a typical n = 2 Ce n MmIn 3n+2m compound, using high-resolution and 4$d$–4$f$ resonant photoemission spectroscopies. The electronic structure of this material has been studied over a wide temperature range, and hybridization between f and conduction electrons can be clearly observed to form a Kondo resonance near the Fermi level at low temperatures. Here, the characteristic temperature of the localized-to-itinerant transition is around 120 K, which is much higher than its coherence temperature T coh ~ 30K.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Itinerancy enhanced quantum fluctuation of magnetic moments in iron-based superconductors

We investigate the influence of itinerant carriers on dynamics and fluctuation of local moments in Fe-based superconductors, via linear spin-wave analysis of a spin-fermion model containing both itinerant and local degrees of freedom. Surprisingly against the common lore, instead of enhancing the (π,0) order, itinerant carriers with well nested Fermi surfaces is found to induce significant amount of spatial and temporal quantum fluctuation that leads to the observed small ordered moment. Interestingly, the underlying mechanism is shown to be intra-pocket nesting-associated long-range coupling, rather than the previously believed ferromagnetic double-exchange effect. This challenges the validity of ferromagnetically compensated first-neighbor coupling reported from short-range fitting to the experimental dispersion, which turns out to result instead from the ferro-orbital order that is also found instrumental in stabilizing the magnetic order.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Sound in a System of Chiral One-Dimensional Fermions

In this paper, we consider a system of one-dimensional fermions moving in one direction, such as electrons at the edge of a quantum Hall system. At sufficiently long timescales the system is brought to equilibrium by weak interactions between the particles, which conserve their total number, energy, and momentum. The time evolution of the system near equilibrium is described by hydrodynamics based on the three conservation laws. We find that the system supports three sound modes. In the low-temperature limit one mode is a pure oscillation of particle density, analogous to the ordinary sound. The other two modes involve oscillations of both particle and entropy densities. In the presence of disorder, the first sound mode is strongly damped at frequencies below the momentum relaxation rate, whereas the other two modes remain weakly damped.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Dynamics of vacancy-induced modes in the non-Abelian Kitaev spin liquid

Here, we study the dynamical response of vacancy-induced quasiparticle excitations in the site-diluted Kitaev spin liquid with a magnetic field. Due to the flux-binding effect and the emergence of dangling Majorana fermions around each spin vacancy, the low-energy physics is governed by a set of vacancy-induced quasi-zero-energy modes. These localized modes result in unique characteristics of the dynamical spin correlation functions, which intriguingly mimic the single-quasiparticle density of states and further exhibit a quasi-zero-frequency peak. By recognizing the potential observability of these local correlation functions via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we show how the STM response is sensitive to the local flux configuration, the magnetic field strength, and the vacancy concentration. Constructing a simple model of the localized modes, we also elucidate how the local correlation functions can be interpreted in terms of the hybridization between these modes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Fast and scalable quantum Monte Carlo simulations of electron-phonon models

We introduce methodologies for highly scalable quantum Monte Carlo simulations of electron-phonon models, and report benchmark results for the Holstein model on the square lattice. The determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) method is a widely used tool for simulating simple electron-phonon models at finite temperatures, but incurs a computational cost that scales cubically with system size. Alternatively, near-linear scaling with system size can be achieved with the hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method and an integral representation of the Fermion determinant. Here, we introduce a collection of methodologies that make such simulations even faster. To combat "stiffness" arising from the bosonic action, we review how Fourier acceleration can be combined with time-step splitting. To overcome phonon sampling barriers associated with strongly-bound bipolaron formation, we design global Monte Carlo updates that approximately respect particle-hole symmetry. To accelerate the iterative linear solver, we introduce a preconditioner that becomes exact in the adiabatic limit of infinite atomic mass. Finally, we demonstrate how stochastic measurements can be accelerated using fast Fourier transforms. Here, these methods are all complementary and, combined, may produce multiple orders of magnitude speedup, depending on model details.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Distinct effect of Kondo physics on crystal field splitting in electron and spin spectroscopies

Magnetic anisotropy is a key feature of rare earth materials from permanent magnets to heavy fermions. Here we explore the complex interplay of Kondo physics and anisotropy, and their effect on different experimental probes of magnetic anisotropy in a minimal 𝐽=3/2 Anderson impurity model using the numerical renormalization group. While anisotropy suppresses Kondo screening, virtual valence fluctuations enhance the anisotropy. We find distinct renormalization of the magnetic anisotropy measured via dynamical spin response (inelastic neutron scattering) versus electronic excitations in the impurity spectral function (resonant inelastic x-ray and scanning tunneling spectroscopy). The two measurement types have different responses and dependencies on the temperature and Kondo scales.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Local observation of linear-T superfluid density and anomalous vortex dynamics in URu2Si2

The heavy fermion superconductor URu2Si2 is a candidate for chiral, time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity with a nodal gap structure. Here, we microscopically visualized superconductivity and spatially inhomogeneous ferromagnetism in URu2Si2. We observed linear-T superfluid density, consistent with d-wave pairing symmetries including chiral d wave, but did not observe the spontaneous magnetization expected for chiral d wave. Local vortex pinning potentials had either four- or twofold rotational symmetries with various orientations at different locations. Taken together, these data support a nodal gap structure in URu2Si2 and suggest that chirality either is not present or does not lead to detectable spontaneous magnetization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anomaly-induced edge currents in hydrodynamics with parity anomaly

Here in this paper, we discuss relativistic hydrodynamics for a massless Dirac fermion in (2 + 1) dimensions, which has the parity anomaly—a global ’t Hooft anomaly between U(1) and parity symmetries. We investigate how hydrodynamics implements the party anomaly, particularly focusing on the transport phenomena at the boundary. Based on the parity anomaly matching and the second law of local thermodynamics, we find U(1) and entropy currents localized at the boundary, as well as the bulk anomalous current with vanishing divergence. These edge currents are similar to the ( 1 + 1)-dimensional chiral transports, but the coefficients are given by half of theirs. We also generalize our discussion to more general anomalies among multiple U(1) symmetries and single $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Bilayer Hubbard model: Analysis based on the fermionic sign problem

The bilayer Hubbard model describes the antiferromagnet to spin singlet transition and, potentially, aspects of the physics of unconventional superconductors. Despite these important applications, significant aspects of its phase diagram in the interplane hopping t ⊥ versus on-site interaction U parameter space, at half filling, are largely in disagreement. Here we provide an analysis making use of the average sign of weights over the course of the importance sampling in quantum Monte Carlo simulations to resolve several central open questions. Specifically, this metric of the weights clarifies the finite-sized metallic regimes at small U. Furthermore, at strong interactions, it points to the existence of a crossover from a correlated to uncorrelated band insulator not yet explored in a variety of existing, unbiased numerical methods. Our paper demonstrates the versatility of using properties of the weights in quantum Monte Carlo simulations to reveal important physical characteristics of the models under study.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Anomalous Hall effect at the Lifshitz transition in ZrTe 5

Zirconium pentatelluride ZrTe 5 is a topological semimetal. The presence of a temperature-induced Lifshitz transition, in which the Fermi level goes from the conduction band to the valence band with increasing temperature, provides unique opportunities to study the interplay between Fermi-surface topology, dynamics of Dirac fermions, and Berry curvature in one system. Here we present a combined experimental and theoretical study and show that a low-energy model can be used to understand the complicated Hall response and large anomalous Hall effect observed in ZrTe 5 over a wide range of temperature and magnetic field. We found that the anomalous Hall contribution dominates the Hall response in a narrow temperature window around the Lifshitz transition, away from which the orbital contribution dominates. Moreover, our results indicate that a topological phase transition coexists with the Lifshitz transition. To conclude, our model provides a unifying framework to understand the Hall effect in semimetals with large Zeeman splitting and nontrivial topology.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Scrambling via braiding of nonabelions

We study how quantum states are scrambled via braiding in systems of non-Abelian anyons through the lens of entanglement spectrum statistics. In particular, we focus on the degree of scrambling, defined as the randomness produced by braiding, at the same amount of entanglement entropy. To quantify the degree of randomness, we define a distance between the entanglement spectrum level spacing distribution of a state evolved under random braids and that of a Haar-random state, using the Kullback-Leibler divergence D KL . We study D KL numerically for random braids of Majorana fermions (supplemented with random local four-body interactions) and Fibonacci anyons. For comparison, we also obtain D KL for the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model of Majorana fermions with all-to-all interactions, random unitary circuits built out of (a) Hadamard (H), π/8 (T), and CNOT gates, and (b) random unitary circuits built out of two-qubit Haar random unitaries. To compare the degree of randomness that different systems produce beyond entanglement entropy, we look at D KL as a function of the Page limit-normalized entanglement entropy S/S max . Furthermore, our results reveal a hierarchy of scrambling among various models—even for the same amount of entanglement entropy—at intermediate times, whereas all models exhibit the same late-time behavior. In particular, we find that braiding of Fibonacci anyons randomizes initial product states more efficiently than the universal H+T+CNOT set.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Topologically trivial gap-filling in superconducting Fe(Se,Te) by one-dimensional defects

Abstract Structural distortions and imperfections are a crucial aspect of materials science, on the macroscopic scale providing strength, but also enhancing corrosion and reducing electrical and thermal conductivity. At the nanometre scale, multi-atom imperfections, such as atomic chains and crystalline domain walls have conversely been proposed as a route to topological superconductivity, whose most prominent characteristic is the emergence of Majorana Fermions that can be used for error-free quantum computing. Here, we shed more light on the nature of purported domain walls in Fe(Se,Te) that may host 1D dispersing Majorana modes. We show that the displacement shift of the atomic lattice at these line-defects results from sub-surface impurities that warp the topmost layer(s). Using the electric field between the tip and sample, we manage to reposition the sub-surface impurities, directly visualizing the displacement shift and the underlying defect-free lattice. These results, combined with observations of a completely different type of 1D defect where superconductivity remains fully gapped, highlight the topologically trivial nature of 1D defects in Fe(Se,Te).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Anomalous connection between antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in the pressurized noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion compound CeRhG e 3

Unconventional superconductivity frequently emerges as the transition temperature of a magnetic phase, typically antiferromagnetic (AFM), is suppressed continuously toward zero temperature. Here in this paper, we report contrary behavior in pressurized CeRhGe 3 , a noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion compound. We find that its pressure-tuned AFM transition temperature (T N ) appears to avoid a continuous decrease to zero temperature by terminating abruptly above a dome of pressure-induced superconductivity. Near 21.5 GPa, evidence for T N suddenly vanishes, the electrical resistance becomes linear in temperature, and the superconducting transition reaches a maximum. Analysis of high-pressure resistance and x-ray-absorption spectroscopy measurements suggest that the anomalous connection between antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in pressurized CeRhGe 3 is associated with proximity to a critical valence instability.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Interaction-Driven Spontaneous Quantum Hall Effect on a Kagome Lattice

Topological states of matter have been widely studied as being driven by an external magnetic field, intrinsic spin-orbital coupling, or magnetic doping. With this work, we unveil an interaction-driven spontaneous quantum Hall effect (a Chern insulator) emerging in an extended fermion-Hubbard model on a kagome lattice, based on a state-of-the-art density-matrix renormalization group on cylinder geometry and an exact diagonalization in torus geometry.We first demonstrate that the proposed model exhibits an incompressible liquid phase with doublet degenerate ground states as time-reversal partners. The explicit spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking is determined by emergent uniform circulating loop currents between nearest neighbors. Moreover, the fingerprint topological nature of the ground state is characterized by quantized Hall conductance. Hence, we identify the liquid phase as a quantum Hall phase, which provides a “proof-of-principle” demonstration of the interaction-driven topological phase in a topologically trivial noninteracting band.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Pomeranchuk Instability of Composite Fermi Liquids

Nematicity in quantum Hall systems has been experimentally well established at excited Landau levels. The mechanism of the symmetry breaking, however, is still unknown. Pomeranchuk instability of Fermi liquid parameter F ℓ ≤ –1 in the angular momentum ℓ = 2 channel has been argued to be the relevant mechanism, yet there are no definitive theoretical proofs. Here we calculate, using the variational Monte Carlo technique, Fermi liquid parameters F ℓ of the composite fermion Fermi liquid with a finite layer width. We consider F ℓ in different Landau levels n = 0, 1, 2 as a function of layer width parameter η. We find that unlike the lowest Landau level, which shows no sign of Pomeranchuk instability, higher Landau levels show nematic instability below critical values of η. Furthermore, the critical value η c is higher for the n = 2 Landau level, which is consistent with observation of nematic order in ambient conditions only in the n = 2 Landau levels. As a result, the picture emerging from our work is that approaching the true 2D limit brings half-filled higher Landau-level systems to the brink of nematic Pomeranchuk instability.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗