Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Abstract: Control and detection of antiferromagnetic topological materials are challenging since the total magnetization vanishes. Here we investigate the magneto-optical Kerr and Faraday effects in bilayer antiferromagnetic insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. We find that by breaking the combined mirror symmetries with either perpendicular electric field or external magnetic moment, Kerr and Faraday effects occur. Under perpendicular electric field, antiferromagnetic topological insulators (AFMTI) show sharp peaks at the interband transition threshold, whereas trivial insulators show small adjacent positive and negative peaks. Gate voltage and Fermi energy can be tuned to reveal the differences between AFMTI and trivial insulators. We find that AFMTI with large antiferromagnetic order can be proposed as a pure magneto-optical rotator due to sizable Kerr (Faraday) angles and vanishing ellipticity. Under external magnetic moment, AFMTI and trivial insulators are significantly different in the magnitude of Kerr and Faraday angles and ellipticity. For the qualitative behaviors, AFMTI shows distinct features of Kerr and Faraday angles when the spin configurations of the system change. These phenomena provide new possibilities to optically detect and manipulate the layered topological antiferromagnets.

Abstract: We present a symmetrization routine that optimizes and eases the analysis of data featuring the anomalous Hall effect. This technique can be transferred to any hysteresis with (point-)symmetric behaviour. The implementation of the method is demonstrated exemplarily using intermixed longitudinal and transversal data obtained from a chromium-doped ternary topological insulator revealing a clear hysteresis. Furthermore, by introducing a mathematical description of the anomalous Hall hysteresis based on the error function precise values of the height and coercive field are determined.

Abstract: The investigation of twist engineering in easy-axis magnetic systems has revealed the remarkable potential for generating topological spin textures, such as magnetic skyrmions. Here, by implementing twist engineering in easy-plane magnets, we introduce a novel approach to achieve fractional topological spin textures such as merons. Through atomistic spin simulations on twisted bilayer magnets, we demonstrate the formation of a stable double meron pair in two magnetic layers, which we refer to as the "Meron Quartet" (MQ). Unlike merons in a single pair, which is unstable against pair annihilation, the merons within the MQ exhibit exceptional stability against pair annihilation due to the protective localization mechanism induced by the twist that prevents the collision of the meron cores. Furthermore, we showcase that the stability of the MQ can be enhanced by adjusting the twist angle, resulting in increased resistance to external perturbations such as external magnetic fields. Our findings highlight the twisted magnet as a promising platform for investigating the intriguing properties of merons, enabling their realization as stable magnetic quasiparticles in van der Waals magnets.

Abstract: In isolated nonlinear optical waveguide arrays with bounded energy spectrum, simultaneous conservation of energy and power of the optical modes enables study of coupled thermal and particle transport in the negative temperature regime. Here, based on exact numerical simulation and rationale from Landauer formalism, we predict generic violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in such systems. This is rooted in the spectral decoupling of thermal and power current of optical modes, and their different temperature dependence. Our work extends the study of coupled thermal and particle transport into unprecedented regimes, not reachable in natural condensed matter and atomic gas systems.

Abstract: Surpassing the individual buildings of the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) and the scale-free localization (SFL) observed lately, we systematically exploit the exponential decay behavior of bulk eigenstates via the transfer matrix approach in non-Hermitian systems. We concentrate on the one-dimensional (1D) finite-size non-Hermitian systems with 2*2 transfer matrices in the participation of boundary impurity. We analytically unveil that the unidirectional pure scale-free (UPSF) effect emerges with the singular transfer matrices, while the hybrid skin-scale-free (HSSF) effect emerges with the nonsingular transfer matrices even though impose open boundary condition (OBC). The UPSF effect exceeds the scope of the SFL in previous works, while the HSSF effect is a charming interplay between the finite-size NHSE and SFL. Our results reveal that the NHSE under OBC prevails in the blend with the SFL as the system tends to the thermodynamic limit. Our approach paves an avenue to rigorously explore the finite-size display of the NHSE and SFL in both Hermitian and non-Hermitian systems with generic boundary conditions.

Abstract: Semiconductor quantum dots operated dynamically are the basis of many quantum technologies such as quantum sensors and computers. Hence, modelling their electrical properties at microwave frequencies becomes essential to simulate their performance in larger electronic circuits. Here, we develop a self-consistent quantum master equation formalism to obtain the admittance of a quantum dot tunnel-coupled to a charge reservoir under the effect of a coherent photon bath. We find a general expression for the admittance that captures the well-known semiclassical (thermal) limit, along with the transition to lifetime and power broadening regimes due to the increased coupling to the reservoir and amplitude of the photonic drive, respectively. Furthermore, we describe two new photon-mediated regimes Floquet broadening, determined by the dressing of the QD states, and broadening determined by photon loss in the system. Our results provide a method to simulate the high-frequency behaviour of QDs in a wide range of limits, describe past experiments, and propose novel explorations of QD-photon interactions.

Abstract: As first demonstrated by the characterization of the quantum Hall effect by the Chern number, topology provides a guiding principle to realize robust properties of condensed matter systems immune to the existence of disorder. The bulk-boundary correspondence guarantees the emergence of gapless boundary modes in a topological system whose bulk exhibits nonzero topological invariants. Although some recent studies have suggested a possible extension of the notion of topology to nonlinear systems such as photonics and electrical circuits, the nonlinear counterpart of topological invariant has not yet been understood. Here, we propose the nonlinear extension of the Chern number based on the nonlinear eigenvalue problems in two-dimensional systems and reveal the bulk-boundary correspondence beyond the weakly nonlinear regime. Specifically, we find the nonlinearity-induced topological phase transitions, where the existence of topological edge modes depends on the amplitude of oscillatory modes. We propose and analyze a minimal model of a nonlinear Chern insulator whose exact bulk solutions are analytically obtained and indicate the amplitude dependence of the nonlinear Chern number, for which we confirm the nonlinear counterpart of the bulk-boundary correspondence in the continuum limit. Thus, our result reveals the existence of genuinely nonlinear topological phases that are adiabatically disconnected from the linear regime, showing the promise for expanding the scope of topological classification of matter towards the nonlinear regime.

Abstract: The spin-orbit interaction is frequently the mechanism by which spin and charge are coupled for spintronic applications. The discovery of spin, a century ago, relied on spin-charge coupling by a magnetic field gradient; this mechanism has received scant attention as a means for generating spin and charge currents in semiconductors. Through the derivation of a set of coupled spin-charge drift-diffusion equations, our work shows that magnetic field gradients can be used to generate charge currents from non-equilibrium spin polarization, in solid state systems. We predict, in GaAs, an ``Stern-Gerlach" voltage comparable to what is measured by the inverse spin Hall effect. Non-intuitively, we find the spin diffusion length is reduced by the magnetic gradient. This is understood by invoking the idea of co-current and counter-current exchange which is a concept frequently invoked in fields as disparate as animal physiology and thermal engineering.

Abstract: Polymeric materials are widely used in industries ranging from automotive to biomedical. Their mechanical properties play a crucial role in their application and function and arise from the nanoscale structures and interactions of their constitutive polymer molecules. Polymeric materials behave viscoelastically, i.e. their mechanical responses depend on the time scale of the measurements; quantifying these time-dependent rheological properties at the nanoscale is relevant to develop, for example, accurate models and simulations of those materials, which are needed for advanced industrial applications. In this paper, an atomic force microscopy (AFM) method based on the photothermal actuation of an AFM cantilever is developed to quantify the nanoscale loss tangent, storage modulus, and loss modulus of polymeric materials. The method is then validated on a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), demonstrating the method's ability to quantify nanoscale viscoelasticity over a continuous frequency range up to five orders of magnitude (0.2 Hz to 20,200 Hz). Furthermore, this method is combined with AFM viscoelastic mapping obtained with amplitude-modulation frequency-modulation (AM-FM) AFM, enabling the extension of viscoelastic quantification over an even broader frequency range, and demonstrating that the novel technique synergizes with preexisting AFM techniques for quantitative measurement of viscoelastic properties. The method presented here introduces a way to characterize the viscoelasticity of polymeric materials, and soft matter in general at the nanoscale, for any application.

Abstract: We introduce a novel gauge-invariant, quantized interband index in two-dimensional (2D) multiband systems. It provides a bulk topological classification of a submanifold of parameter space (e.g., an electron valley in a Brillouin zone), and therefore overcomes difficulties in characterizing topology of submanifolds. We confirm its topological nature by numerically demonstrating a one-to-one correspondence to the valley Chern number in $k\cdot p$ models (e.g., gapped Dirac fermion model), and the first Chern number in lattice models (e.g., Haldane model). Furthermore, we derive a band-resolved topological charge and demonstrate that it can be used to investigate the nature of edge states due to band inversion in valley systems like multilayer graphene.