SEARCH · Search NASA

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

At least 1,045 records · Page 58

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2023

Robust analytic continuation of Green's functions via projection, pole estimation, and semidefinite relaxation

Green's functions of fermions are described by matrix-valued Herglotz-Nevanlinna functions. Since analytic continuation is fundamentally an ill-posed problem, the causal space described by the matrix-valued Herglotz-Nevanlinna structure can be instrumental in improving the accuracy and in enhancing the robustness with respect to noise. We demonstrate a three-pronged procedure for robust analytic continuation called PES: (1) projection of data to the causal space; (2) estimation of pole locations; and (3) semidefinite relaxation within the causal space. We compare the performance of PES with the recently developed Nevanlinna and Carathéodory continuation methods and find that PES is more robust in the presence of noise and does not require the usage of extended precision arithmetics. We also demonstrate that a causal projection improves the performance of the Nevanlinna and Carathéodory methods. The PES method is generalized to bosonic response functions, for which the Nevanlinna and Carathéodory continuation methods have not yet been developed. Furthermore, it is particularly useful for studying spectra with sharp features, as they occur in the study of molecules and band structures in solids.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2016

Dependence of the critical temperature in overdoped copper oxides on superfluid density

The physics of underdoped copper-oxide superconductors, including the pseudogap, spin and charge ordering, and their relation to superconductivity 1-3 , is intensely debated. The overdoped side is perceived as simpler, with strongly-correlated fermion physics evolving smoothly into the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) behavior. Pioneering studies on a few overdoped samples 4-11 indicated that the superfluid density was much smaller than expected, but this was attributed to pair-breaking, disorder, and phase separation. Here, we test this conjecture by studying how the magnetic penetration depth λ and the phase stiffness ρs depend on temperature and doping, scanning densely the entire overdoped side of the La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 (LSCO) phase diagram. We have measured the absolute values of λ and ρs to the accuracy of ±1% in thousands of cuprate samples; the large statistics reveals clear trends and intrinsic properties. The films are quite homogeneous; variations in the critical temperature (T c ) within a film are very small (< 1 K). At every doping, ρs(T) decreases linearly with temperature. The T c (ρ s0) dependence is linear but with an offset, (T c - T 0 ) ∝ ρs0 where T0 ≈ 7 K, except very close to the origin where Tc ∝ √ρ s0. This scaling law defies the standard BCS description, posing a challenge to theory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2023

Location and thermal evolution of the pseudogap due to spin fluctuations

We study pseudogap behavior in a metal near a spin density wave (SDW) instability due to thermal magnetic fluctuations. We consider the t–t' Hubbard model on a square lattice at a finite doping, at intermediate coupling strength, and analyze the thermal evolution of the electron spectral function between a SDW ordered state at low temperatures and a normal Fermi liquid at high temperatures. We argue that for proper description of the pseudogap one needs to sum up infinite series of diagrams for both the fermionic self-energy and the SDW order parameter in the SDW state or the magnetic correlation length in the paramagnetic state. We use the eikonal approach to sum up an infinite series of diagrammatic contributions from thermal fluctuations. Earlier studies found that in the SDW state the spectral function A k (ω) of a hot fermion at a finite T is exponentially small below the energy scale Δ(T), which scales with SDW order and vanishes at the ordering temperature T N , and has a hump at a larger frequency Δ PG , comparable to the zero-temperature SDW gap Δ(T = 0). We argue that the hump, which we associate with the pseudogap, survives in some T range above T N . We show that this range is split by regions of strong and weak pseudogap behavior. In the first region, Δ PG is weakly temperature dependent, despite the fact that it comes from thermal fluctuations. Such a behavior has been seen in numerical studies of the Hubbard model. We show that to obtain it one needs to go beyond the one-loop approximation and sum up the infinite series of diagrams. In the second regime, Δ PG decreases with increasing T and eventually vanishes. Here, we further argue that a magnetic pseudogap at a finite T emerges only if the ground state is magnetically ordered. We present the phase diagram and apply the results to high-T c cuprates.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2016

Observation of Fermi arc and its connection with bulk states in the candidate type-II Weyl semimetal WTe2

A kind of topological material, the type-II Weyl semimetal, was proposed recently where the Weyl points emerge at the contact points of the electron and hole pockets, resulting in a highly tilted Weyl cone. In type-II Weyl semimetals, the Lorentz invariance is violated and a different type of Weyl fermion is generated that leads to intriguing physical properties. WTe 2 is interesting because it is predicted to be a good candidate for realizing type-II Weyl semimetals. By utilizing laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with high energy and momentum resolutions, we have revealed a full picture of the electronic structure of WTe 2 . A clear surface state has been identified and its connection with the bulk electronic states in the momentum and energy space shows good agreement with band structure calculations. Our results provide electronic signatures that are consistent with type-II Weyl states in WTe 2 . They lay a foundation for further investigations on the topological nature of WTe 2 and the exploration of unique phenomena and physical properties in type-II Weyl semimetals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Evolution of the propagation vector of antiferroquadrupolar phases in Ce 3 Pd 20 Si 6 under magnetic field

Hidden-order phases that occur in a number of correlated $f$-electron systems are among the most elusive states of electronic matter. Their investigations are hindered by the insensitivity of standard physical probes, such as neutron diffraction, to the order parameter that is usually associated with higher-order multipoles of the $f$ orbitals. The heavy-fermion compound Ce 3 Pd 20 Si 6 exhibits magnetically hidden order at subkelvin temperatures, known as phase II. Additionally, for magnetic field applied along the [001] cubic axis, another phase II′ was detected, but the nature of the transition from phase II to phase II′ remained unclear. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to argue that this transition is most likely associated with a change in the propagation vector of the antiferroquadrupolar order from (111) to (100). Despite the absence of magnetic Bragg scattering in phase II′ , its ordering vector is revealed by the location of an intense magnetic soft mode at the (100) wave vector, that is orthogonal to the applied field. At the II - II′ transition, this mode softens and transforms into quasielastic and nearly Q-independent incoherent scattering, which is likely related to the non-Fermi-liquid behavior recently observed at this transition. Our experiment also reveals sharp collective excitations in the field-polarized paramagnetic phase, after phase II′ is suppressed in fields above 4 T.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Robustness of entropy plateaus: A case study of triangular Ising antiferromagnets

We present that residual entropy is a key feature associated with emergence in many-body systems. From a variety of frustrated magnets to the onset of spin-charge separation in Hubbard models and fermion-Z 2 -flux variables in Kitaev models, the freezing of one set of degrees of freedom and the establishment of local constraints are marked by a plateau in entropy as a function of temperature. Yet, with the exception of the rare-earth pyrochlore family of spin-ice materials, evidence for such plateaus is rarely seen in real materials, raising questions about their robustness. Following recent experimental findings of the absence of such plateaus in the triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnet (TIAF) TmMgGaO 4 by Li et al., we explore in detail the existence and rounding of entropy plateaus in TIAF. We use a transfer-matrix method to numerically calculate the properties of the system at different temperatures and magnetic fields, with further neighbor interactions and disorder. In conclusion, we find that temperature windows of entropy plateaus exist only when second-neighbor interactions are no more than a couple of percent of the nearest-neighbor ones, and they are also easily destroyed by disorder in the nearest-neighbor exchange variable, thereby explaining the challenge in observing such effects.

2-dimensional systems↗

DOE OSTI2022

Topological kagome magnets and superconductors

A kagome lattice naturally features Dirac fermions, flat bands and van Hove singularities in its electronic structure. The Dirac fermions encode topology, flat bands favour correlated phenomena such as magnetism, and van Hove singularities can lead to instabilities towards long-range many-body orders, altogether allowing for the realization and discovery of a series of topological kagome magnets and superconductors with exotic properties. Recent progress in exploring kagome materials has revealed rich emergent phenomena resulting from the quantum interactions between geometry, topology, spin and correlation. Here we review these key developments in this field, starting from the fundamental concepts of a kagome lattice, to the realizations of Chern and Weyl topological magnetism, to various flat-band many-body correlations, and then to the puzzles of unconventional charge-density waves and superconductivity. We highlight the connection between theoretical ideas and experimental observations, and the bond between quantum interactions within kagome magnets and kagome superconductors, as well as their relation to the concepts in topological insulators, topological superconductors, Weyl semimetals and high-temperature superconductors. In conclusion, these developments broadly bridge topological quantum physics and correlated many-body physics in a wide range of bulk materials and substantially advance the frontier of topological quantum matter.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2021

Twisted symmetric trilayer graphene: Single-particle and many-body Hamiltonians and hidden nonlocal symmetries of trilayer moiré systems with and without displacement field

Here, we derive the Hamiltonian for trilayer moiré systems with the Coulomb interaction projected onto the bands near the charge neutrality point. Motivated by the latest experimental results, we focus on the twisted symmetric trilayer graphene (TSTG) with a mirror symmetry with respect to the middle layer. We provide a full symmetry analysis of the noninteracting Hamiltonian with a perpendicular displacement field coupling the band structure made otherwise of the twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) and the high-velocity Dirac fermions, and we identify a hidden nonlocal symmetry of the problem. In the presence of this displacement field, we construct an approximate single-particle model, akin to the tripod model for TBG, capturing the essence of noninteracting TSTG. We also derive more quantitative perturbation schemes for the low-energy physics of TSTG with displacement field, obtaining the corresponding eigenstates. This allows us to obtain the Coulomb interaction Hamiltonian projected in the active band TSTG wave functions and derive the full many-body Hamiltonian of the system. We also provide an efficient parametrization of the interacting Hamiltonian. Finally, we show that the discrete symmetries at the single-particle level promote the U (2) × U (2) spin-valley symmetry to enlarged symmetry groups of the interacting problem under different limits. The interacting part of the Hamiltonian exhibits a large U (4) × U (4) × U (4) × U (4) symmetry in the chiral limit. Moreover, by identifying a symmetry which we dub spatial many-body charge conjugation, we show that the physics of TSTG is symmetric around charge neutrality.

2-dimensional systems↗

DOE OSTI2020

Anisotropic Fano resonance in the Weyl semimetal candidate LaAlSi

Topological Weyl semimetal (WSM) is a solid-state realization of chiral Weyl fermions, whose phonon behaviors provide in-depth knowledge of their electronic properties. In this work, anisotropic Fano resonance is observed in a type-II WSM candidate LaAlSi by polarized Raman spectroscopy. The asymmetric line shape occurs for the $B^2_1$ phonon mode of LaAlSi only for 488- and 532-nm laser excitations but not for 364-, 633-, and 785-nm excitations, suggesting the excitation selectivity. The asymmetry, frequency, and linewidth of the $B^2_1$ phonon mode, along with the spectral background, all show fourfold rotational symmetry as a function of the polarization angle in the polarized Raman spectra. While the shift of Raman frequency in a metal or semimetal is typically attributed to Kohn anomaly, here we show that the anisotropic frequency shift in LaAlSi cannot be explained by the effect of Kohn anomaly, but potentially by the anisotropic scattering background of Fano resonance. Origins of the excitation-energy dependence and anisotropic behavior of the Fano resonance are discussed by the first-principles calculated electronic band structure and phonon dispersion.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2017

Effects of an additional conduction band on the singlet-antiferromagnet competition in the periodic Anderson model

The competition between antiferromagnetic (AF) order and singlet formation is a central phenomenon of the Kondo and periodic Anderson Hamiltonians and of the heavy fermion materials they describe. In this paper, we explore the effects of an additional conduction band on magnetism in these models, and, specifically, on changes in the AF-singlet quantum critical point (QCP) and the one particle and spin spectral functions. To understand the magnetic phase transition qualitatively, we first carry out a self-consistent mean field theory (MFT). The basic conclusion is that, at half filling, the coupling to the additional band stabilizes the AF phase to larger f d hybridization V in the PAM. We also explore the possibility of competing ferromagnetic phases when this conduction band is doped away from half filling. Here, we next employ quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) which, in combination with finite size scaling, allows us to evaluate the position of the QCP using an exact treatment of the interactions. This approach confirms the stabilization of AF order, which occurs through an enhancement of the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction. QMC results for the spectral function A (q,ω) and dynamic spin structure factor χ (q,ω) yield additional insight into the AF-singlet competition and the low temperature phases.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2025

Driven Majorana modes: A route to synthetic $p_x +ip_y$ superconductivity

We propose a protocol to realize synthetic $p_x +ip_y$ superconductors in one-dimensional topological systems that host Majorana fermions. By periodically driving a localized Majorana mode across the system, our protocol realizes a topological pumping of Majorana fermions, analogous to the adiabatic Thouless pumping of electrical charges. Importantly, similar to the realization of a Chern insulator through Thouless pumping, we show that pumping of Majorana zero modes could lead to a $p_x +ip_y$ superconductor in the two dimensions of space and synthetic time. The Floquet theory is employed to map the driven one-dimensional system to a two-dimensional synthetic system by considering frequency as a new dimension. We demonstrate such Floquet $p_x +ip_y$ superconductors using the Kitaev $p$-wave superconductor chain, a prototypical 1D topological system, as well as its more realistic realization in the 1D Kondo lattice model as examples. We further show the appearance of Majorana $π$ mode at the Floquet zone boundary in an intermediate drive frequency region. Our work suggests a driven magnetic spiral coupled to a superconductor as a promising platform for the realization of novel topological superconductors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Anisotropy-driven quantum criticality in an intermediate valence system

Intermetallic compounds containing f-electron elements have been prototypical materials for investigating strong electron correlations and quantum criticality (QC). Their heavy fermion ground state evoked by the magnetic f-electrons is susceptible to the onset of quantum phases, such as magnetism or superconductivity, due to the enhanced effective mass (m*) and a corresponding decrease of the Fermi temperature. However, the presence of f-electron valence fluctuations to a non-magnetic state is regarded an anathema to QC, as it usually generates a paramagnetic Fermi-liquid state with quasiparticles of moderate m*. Such systems are typically isotropic, with a characteristic energy scale T 0 of the order of hundreds of kelvins that require large magnetic fields or pressures to promote a valence or magnetic instability. Here we show the discovery of a quantum critical behaviour and a Lifshitz transition under low magnetic field in an intermediate valence compound α-YbAlB 4 . The QC origin is attributed to the anisotropic hybridization between the conduction and localized f-electrons. These findings suggest a new route to bypass the large valence energy scale in developing the QC.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2022

Spin-density-wave order controlled by uniaxial stress in CeAuSb 2

We report the tetragonal heavy-fermion compound CeAuSb 2 (space group P4/nmm ) exhibits incommensurate spin-density wave (SDW) order below T N ≈ 6.5 K with the propagation vector q A = (δ A , δ A , 1/2 ). The application of uniaxial stress along the [010] direction induces a sudden change in the resistivity ratio ρ a /ρ b at a compressive strain of ε ≈ - 0.5 %. Here we use neutron scattering to show that the uniaxial stress induces a first-order transition to a SDW state with a different propagation vector (0, δ B ,1/2) with δ B = 0.25.The magnetic structure of the new (B) phase consists of Ce layers with ordered moments alternating with layers with zero moment stacked along the c axis. The ordered layers have an up-up-down-down configuration along the b axis. This is an unusual situation in which the loss of spatial inversion in a metallic system is driven by the magnetic order. We argue that the change in SDW wave vector leads to Fermi-surface reconstruction and a concomitant change in the transport properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2021

Topological and nematic superconductivity mediated by ferro-SU(4) fluctuations in twisted bilayer graphene

We propose an SU(4) spin-valley-fermion model to investigate the superconducting instabilities of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). In this approach, bosonic fluctuations associated with an emergent SU(4) symmetry, corresponding to combined rotations in valley and spin spaces, couple to the low-energy fermions that comprise the flat bands. These fluctuations are peaked at zero wave vector, reflecting the “ferromagnetic-like” SU(4) ground state recently found in strong-coupling solutions of microscopic models for TBG. Focusing on electronic states related to symmetry-imposed points of the Fermi surface, dubbed here “valley hot-spots” and “van Hove hot-spots,” we find that the coupling to the itinerant electrons partially lifts the huge degeneracy of the ferro-SU(4) ground state manifold, favoring intervalley order, spin-valley coupled order, ferromagnetic order, spin-current order, and valley-polarized order, depending on details of the band structure. Here, these fluctuations, in turn, promote attractive pairing interactions in a variety of closely competing channels, including a nodeless f-wave state, a nodal i-wave state, and topological d+id and p+ip states with unusual Chern numbers 2 and 4, respectively. Nematic superconductivity, although not realized as a primary instability of the system, appears as a consequence of the near-degeneracy of superconducting order parameters that transform as one-dimensional and two-dimensional irreducible representations of the point group D 6 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2020

Magnetoresistance effects in a spin-fermion model for multilayers

Here, we consider a spin-fermion model consisting of free electrons coupled to classical spins where the latter are embedded in a quasi-one-dimensional superlattice structure consisting of spin blocks separated by spinless buffers. Using a spiral ansatz for the spins, we study the effect of the electron mediated Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction on the $\textit{T}$ = 0 ground state of the system. We find that the RKKY interaction can lead to ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or intermediate spiral phases for different system parameters. When the width is much larger than the length of the individual blocks, the spiral phases are suppressed, and the ground state oscillates between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orders as the size of the buffer regions is varied. This is accompanied by a corresponding oscillation in the Drude weight reflecting an increased conductivity in the ferromagnetic state compared to the antiferromagnetic one. These results are reminiscent of classic giant magnetoresistance phenomena observed in a similar geometry of thin sandwiched magnetic and nonmagnetic layers. Our analysis provides a robust framework for understanding the role of the RKKY interaction on the ground-state order and corresponding transport properties of such systems, extending beyond the conventional perturbative regime.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2023

Dirac-fermion-assisted interfacial superconductivity in epitaxial topological-insulator/iron-chalcogenide heterostructures

Abstract Over the last decade, the possibility of realizing topological superconductivity (TSC) has generated much excitement. TSC can be created in electronic systems where the topological and superconducting orders coexist, motivating the continued exploration of candidate material platforms to this end. Here, we use molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to synthesize heterostructures that host emergent interfacial superconductivity when a non-superconducting antiferromagnet (FeTe) is interfaced with a topological insulator (TI) (Bi, Sb) 2 Te 3 . By performing in-vacuo angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and ex-situ electrical transport measurements, we find that the superconducting transition temperature and the upper critical magnetic field are suppressed when the chemical potential approaches the Dirac point. We provide evidence to show that the observed interfacial superconductivity and its chemical potential dependence is the result of the competition between the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida-type ferromagnetic coupling mediated by Dirac surface states and antiferromagnetic exchange couplings that generate the bicollinear antiferromagnetic order in the FeTe layer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Magnetic and noncentrosymmetric Weyl fermion semimetals in the R AlGe family of compounds ( R = rare earth )

Weyl semimetals are novel topological conductors that host Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles. In this Rapid Communication, we propose a new type of Weyl semimetal state that breaks both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry in the RAlGe (R = rare - earth) family. Compared to previous predictions of magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates, the prediction of Weyl nodes in RAlGe is more robust and less dependent on the details of the magnetism because the Weyl nodes are generated already by the inversion breaking and the ferromagnetism acts as a simple Zeeman coupling that shifts the Weyl nodes in k space. Moreover, RAlGe offers remarkable tunability, which covers all varieties of Weyl semimetals including type I, type II, inversion breaking, and time-reversal breaking, depending on a suitable choice of the rare-earth elements. As such, the unique noncentrosymmetric and ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal state in RAlGe enables the generation of spin currents.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

Nonsymmorphic cubic Dirac point and crossed nodal rings across the ferroelectric phase transition in LiOsO 3

Crystalline symmetries can generate exotic band-crossing features, which can lead to unconventional fermionic excitations with interesting physical properties. We show how a cubic Dirac point—a fourfold-degenerate band-crossing point with cubic dispersion in a plane and a linear dispersion in the third direction—can be stabilized through the presence of a nonsymmorphic glide mirror symmetry in the space group of the crystal. Notably, the cubic Dirac point in our case appears on a threefold axis, even though it has been believed previously that such a point can only appear on a sixfold axis. We show that a cubic Dirac point involving a threefold axis can be realized close to the Fermi level in the nonferroelectric phase of LiOsO 3 . Upon lowering temperature, LiOsO 3 has been shown experimentally to undergo a structural phase transition from the nonferroelectric phase to the ferroelectric phase with spontaneously broken inversion symmetry. Here we find that the broken symmetry transforms the cubic Dirac point into three mutually crossed nodal rings. There also exist several linear Dirac points in the low-energy band structure of LiOsO 3 , each of which is transformed into a single nodal ring across the phase transition.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗