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Results for “L-S COUPLING”

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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Phase-Slip Lines in Wide Superconducting Strips: Charge and Spin Relaxation Lengths

Penetration of spin-polarized charges from a nearby ferromagnetic metallic layer into 100-μm-wide superconducting films of Pb and Mo–Re alloy with similar critical parameters but quite different spin-orbit coupling strengths is studied. It is shown that the diffusion of magnetic properties into a nearby superconductor can be employed as an electrically tunable source of phase-slip events manifesting itself by a staircase response in current-voltage characteristics of the superconductor with discrete metastable resistivity states. Unlike for normal metals, the spin injection into an adjoining quasi-two-dimensional superconducting strip creates not only spin but also charge imbalance in the quasiparticle population which are not necessarily relaxing over the same time scale. Interplay of the two intrinsic length scales sets the width of a phase-slip line in superconducting strips under the injection which may change from nano- to micro-scales. Its experimental determination can be used for estimating the longest relaxation length in a superconductor. Our observations show that spin-orbit coupling in superconductors may lead to novel non-trivial effects linking spin and charge degrees of freedom.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Skyrmions and composite vortex states in three-component Bose–Einstein condensates with spin–orbit coupling

Stable and metastable vortex states in two-dimensional three-component Bose–Einstein condensates are studied in the presence of spin–orbit coupling. The ground states exhibit two skyrmion structures which respectively correspond to the d-skyrmion in antiferromagnetic or the F-skyrmion in ferromagnetic condensates. The half skyrmion and full skyrmion can be controlled by changing the strength of the spin–orbit coupling. We also find a stable composite vortex state which is associated to mixing of the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic manifolds.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

On the pseudospin description of the electron Bloch bands

We study the transformation properties of the electron states in crystals with spin–orbit coupling, focusing primarily on the limitations of the frequently used pseudospin-1∕2 description of twofold degenerate Bloch bands. Using the language of corepresentations of magnetic point groups, we construct the Bloch bases across the Brillouin zone in a way which is consistent with all symmetry requirements. This construction is applied to derive the effective spin–orbit Hamiltonians in noncentrosymmetric crystals, known as the generalized Rashba models, in both single-band and multiband cases.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Anharmonicity of Lattice Vibrations in Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} Single Crystals

The temperature dependences of the Raman-active frequencies E{sub g}{sup 2}, A{sub 1g}{sup 2} in layered Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} single crystals are studied. The contribution of the thermal expansion to a temperature variation in the frequencies is determined. The decay of the anisotropy of the elastic properties in layered Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} single crystals due to strong spin–orbit coupling is shown. The Gruneisen-mode parameters for phonons E{sub g}{sup 2} and A{sub 1g}{sup 2} are calculated. Systematic features in the dependences of vibrational frequencies on the atomic masses in layered Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}, Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}, and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} single crystals are determined.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Gauge-potential-induced vortices in spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates with spin–orbit coupling

Highlights: •Effectively rotate the so-coupled condensate by an external magnetic field. •New effects of the Aharonov–Bohm geometric phase in ultracold atomic gases. •Many novel vortex structures have been studied. •A new stabilization mechanism for multiquantum vortices in spinor BECs. -- Abstract: We investigate the vortex states generated by the gauge-potential-induced rotation in spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates with spin–orbit coupling. An external magnetic field coupling with spin equivalently imprints a non-zero gauge angular momentum, which induces an equivalent canonical angular momentum in the opposite direction, accompanied by the generation of quantized vortices. The competition between interatomic interactions, spin–orbit coupling and magnetic field leads to a variety of vortex structures. In the weakly interatomic interacting regime, as the increase of SO coupling strength, the condensate with a weak magnetic field gradient experiences the transition from polar-core vortex to Mermin–Ho vortex then to vortex cluster , and the three-vortex structures are found in the vortex cluster. As the SO coupling increases further, the condensate presents symmetrical density domains separated by radial vortex arrays. With the increase of magnetic field gradient, the number of density domains increases, and the condensate eventually turns into a giant vortex. In the relatively strong interatomic interacting regime, vortex sheets are formed when the magnetic field gradient is weak, and the increasing of magnetic field gradient makes the vortex arrangement orderly. Compared with the cases of weak interatomic interacting regime, density domain structures are broken because of the strong interatomic interactions, and the vortices are arranged in coaxial annular arrays.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Magnetic Behavior of Superconductor 2H-NbSe{sub 2} Intercalated with Iron: First Principle Study

We investigated the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of iron-intercalated niobium selinium, Fe{sub x}NbSe{sub 2} for x=0 and 0.25, from first principle calculations. The tendency towards the localization in superconductors criterion which has been extracted from our results placed the NbSe{sub 2} compound in vicinity of Fe-based superconductors. The DFT plus on-site coulomb repulsion U (DFT+U) and the exact exchange for correlated electrons (DFT+EECE)-based hybrid functional were used including the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) to understand the role of correlation and SOC effects in this type of systems. The calculation predicts the correct antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state, from both the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U. A shift up in the Fermi energy was observed after the intercalation of 2H-NbSe{sub 2} with iron, indicating a charge transfer from Fe to the host compound. The obtained magnetic moment of Fe is enhanced by a correlation effect in both DFT+U and DFT+EECE over the small value from GGA-only. Moreover, a large unquenched orbital magnetic moment is saturated to m{sub orb}∼0.6μ{sub B} under a moderate correlation effect of U{sub eff}∼2.0eV. We also show that the correlation effect is important along side with SOC in order to get a true picture for the band filling consistent with that of the crystal field splitting and a large unquenched m{sub orb} which has been found experimentally in such systems. Therefore, the combination of correlation and SOC effects is a decisive choice for further studies of such systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Current-Induced Spin Polarization in Nonmagnetic Semiconductors

The use of spontaneous electron spin polarization in nonmagnetic semiconductors avoids the transport challenges of electron spin injection from magnetic materials as well as packing constraints of small magnets in a dense array. Although the focus of rearch on the spontaneous spin polarization of electrical current has been on spin-orbit fields and their effects, in principle a moving electron gas can be unstable to forming spin-polarized distributions via carrier scattering processes that are independent of the carrier spin. The two required elements for such current-induced spin polarization without spin-orbit interactions are (1) the presence of built-in spatially-varying electric fields, either naturally forming (as in the Gunn effect) or extrinsic (as in a junction with spatially dependent doping) and (2) energy-dependent carrier scattering processes. As spin-orbit interactions are not required for this effect, it should occur in inversion-symmetric materials like silicon that lack zero-field spin splittings and materials like zinc oxide and gallium nitride that lack significant spin-orbit interactions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Supercurrent Generation by Spin-Twisting Itinerant Motion of Electrons

Superconductivity is a phenomenon where an external feeding current flows through the system without voltage drop. This is explained if an energy minimum exists under the current feeding boundary condition. We have found such minima in the system exhibiting spin-twisting itinerant motion of electrons with the Rashba spin–orbit interaction due to constraints of the charge conservation and single-valued requirement of the wave function. The supercurrent is shown to have the London equation form that exhibits the flux quantum h/2e.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Photophysical Constants of the Tetraoxa[8]Circulene Molecule

The rate constants of photophysical processes (radiation rate constant, internal conversion rate constant, and quantum fluorescence yield) have been calculated for the tetraoxa[8]circulene molecule by the INDO/S, TDDFT, and CC2 methods. It is confirmed that the doubly degenerate triplet level Т{sub 2} and the level Т{sub 1} are located below the first singlet excited level S{sub 1}. According to the selection rules for the angular momentum, the spin-orbit interaction between the levels S{sub 1} and T{sub 1} (S{sub 1} and T{sub 2}) is equal to zero. Therefore, the internal conversion is the only nonradiative channel in this molecule. The results of calculations also demonstrate that values of the internal conversion rate constant and the quantum fluorescence yield obtained by the INDO/S method are incorrect.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Size Effects on the Conditions of Edge State Formation in 1D Systems

A criterion for revealing edge states in the case when the size of a system is comparable with the localization length of these states has been proposed. The application of the algorithm for determining edge states in short systems has been demonstrated on examples of the Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang (BHZ) model in the cylindrical geometry, the Kitaev model, and a chain with the spin–orbit interaction and induced superconductivity. It has been shown that for finite-length 1D systems, there exist ranges of parameters in which the edge states are not formed, although the topological index is nontrivial; conversely, the emergence of the Majorana modes in regions with a trivial topological index has been demonstrated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ground-State Fermion Parity and Caloric Properties of a Superconducting Nanowire

The ground-state structure and fermion parity have been determined for a semiconductor nano-wire with a strong Rashba spin–orbit interaction and proximity-induced superconductivity placed in an external magnetic field under periodic boundary conditions. Allowance for the open boundaries is shown to cause the topologically nontrivial parameter region to be partitioned into a set of subregions with a different ground-state fermionic parity. This peculiarity is related to the emergence of edge modes with nonmonotonically changing excitation energies in the system as its parameters change. At the quantum transition point, at which the ground-state fermionic parity changes, the edge-mode energy is zero. The magneto- and electrocaloric effects are shown to be effective characteristics that allow the series of quantum transitions in an open nanowire to be identified experimentally. These effects at low temperatures exhibit an anomalous behavior in the parameter region for which topologically stable Majorana modes are realized in long nanowires.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quantum Rings Dressed by a High-Frequency Electromagnetic Field

We demonstrate theoretically that the interaction of quantum rings with a high-frequency off-resonant electromagnetic field (dressing field) substantially renormalizes their electronic properties. Particularly, it is shown that a linearly polarized dressing field decreases the spin splitting arisen from the Rashba spin-orbit interaction, whereas a circularly polarized field splits electron states corresponding to mutually opposite directions of angular momentum. As a consequence, the dressing field can serve as an effective tool to control spin and transport characteristics of the quantum rings and be potentially exploited in optoelectronic applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Carrier Lifetime in Semiconductors with Band-Gap Widths Close to the Spin-Orbit Splitting Energies

Expressions for the Auger- and radiative-recombination rates are derived in terms of Kane’s model for materials with a band-gap width close to the spin-orbit splitting energy, which is the case for InAs, InAsSb solid solutions, etc. Our results are compared with simplified expressions for recombination rates, frequently used in publications. It is shown that the nonparabolicity of the electronic structure should be taken into account in calculations of the recombination rates. As an example, the temperature dependences of the charge-carrier lifetimes governed by radiative and non-radiative processes are calculated for InAsSb solid solutions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spin–Orbit Interaction and Carrier Mobility in a Longitudinal InSb Autosoliton under a Magnetic Field

A version of the spin–orbit interaction of orbitally moving and spin-oriented electrons in a longitudinal autosoliton in indium antimonide under a longitudinal magnetic field is proposed and considered. The additional energy gained by spin–orbit electrons due to this interaction is determined. Expressions for the change in the mobility during the orbital motion of electrons under a magnetic field and the additive mobility of spin-oriented electrons are derived and calculated. The coefficients of the mutual influence of changing electron mobility in the case of orbital motion and the additive mobility of spin-oriented electrons are calculated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

On the Spin States of Electrons in a Double Quantum Dot in a Two-Dimensional Topological Insulator with Spin-Orbit Interaction

The spectra and spin structure of the states of two interacting electrons localized in a double quantum dot in a two-dimensional topological insulator with spin-orbit interaction are investigated. It is found that, in such a system, a singlet-triplet transition in the ground state without a magnetic field can be implemented. Spin-orbit interaction leads to the splitting of polarized triplet levels and to anticrossing, when one of them crosses the singlet.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Photonic Crystals Based on Media with Arbitrary Anisotropy of Permittivity and Permeability

A general approach to analyzing eigenmodes in anisotropic and gyrotropic 3D photonic crystals based on dielectric and magnetic media is proposed. This approach is based on the representation of stationary macroscopic Maxwell equations in the operator form corresponding to the quantum-mechanical equation for a photon with spin s = 1. In these equations, the strengths of electric and magnetic fields are put into correspondence with state vectors in the complex Hilbert space. The permittivity and permeability serve as operators acting on these vectors. It is shown that the problem of determining the eigenmodes of a photonic crystal is reduced to searching for eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the Hermitian operator characterizing the spin–orbit interaction of a photon in the periodic anisotropic medium under study. It is proposed to use photon states with a certain wave vector (certain momentum) and a certain linear or circular spin polarization as a basis for the representation operator equations. One-dimensional photonic crystals are considered as an example. The influence of anisotropy and gyrotropy on the dispersion of eigenmodes in these crystals is investigated. The group velocity of the eigenmodes, momentum transferred by them, and spin angular momentum are analyzed for the case of gyrotropic media.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Intraband Radiation Absorption by Free Holes in GaAs/InGaAs Quantum Wells with Allowance for Nonsphericity of the kP Hamiltonian

A system of Kane’s equations has been derived and solved with allowance for elastic stresses and nonsphericity of the kP Hamiltonian. On this basis, analytic expressions for the energy spectra of charge carriers have been obtained and calculations of the optical absorption coefficient for heavy holes with transition to a spin-orbit-split hole band in GaAs/InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) have been performed for various polarization directions of the incident radiation. It is established that the maximum absorption in GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure takes place at a QW width of 4–6 nm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗