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

Abstract: Molecular crystals are a flexible platform to induce novel electronic phases. Due to the weak forces between molecules, intermolecular distances can be varied over relatively larger ranges than interatomic distances in atomic crystals. On the other hand, the hopping terms are generally small, which results in narrow bands, strong correlations and heavy electrons. Here, by growing K$_x$C$_{60}$ fullerides on hexagonal layered Bi$_2$Se$_3$, we show that upon doping the series undergoes a Mott transition from a molecular insulator to a correlated metal, and an in-gap state evolves into highly dispersive Dirac-like fermions at half filling, where superconductivity occurs. This picture challenges the commonly accepted description of the low energy quasiparticles as appearing from a gradual electron doping of the conduction states, and suggests an intriguing parallel with the more famous family of the cuprate superconductors. More in general, it indicates that molecular crystals offer a viable route to engineer electron-electron interactions.

Abstract: We present a systematic study of the nonlinear thermal Hall responses in bosonic systems using the quantum kinetic theory framework. We demonstrate the existence of an intrinsic nonlinear boson thermal current, arising from the quantum metric which is a wavefunction dependent band geometric quantity. In contrast to the nonlinear Drude and nonlinear anomalous Hall contributions, the intrinsic nonlinear thermal conductivity is independent of the scattering timescale. We demonstrate the dominance of this intrinsic thermal Hall response in topological magnons in a two-dimensional ferromagnetic honeycomb lattice without Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Our findings highlight the significance of band geometry induced nonlinear thermal transport and motivate experimental probe of the intrinsic nonlinear thermal Hall response with implications for quantum magnonics.

Abstract: The effect of inclusion of the planar phonon anisotropy on thermo-electrical behavior of graphene is analyzed. Charge transport is simulated by means of Direct Simulation Monte Carlo technique coupled with numerical solution of the phonon Boltzmann equations based on deterministic methods. The definition of the crystal lattice local equilibrium temperature is investigated as well and the results furnish possible alternative approaches to identify it starting from measurements of electric current density, with relevant experimental advantages, which could help to overcome the present difficulties regarding thermal investigation of graphene. Positive implications are expected for many applications, as the field of electronic devices, which needs a coherent tool for simulation of charge and hot phonon transport; the correct definition of the local equilibrium temperature is in turn fundamental for the study, design and prototyping of cooling mechanisms for graphene-based devices.

Abstract: Herein, the dynamics of excitons coupled with optical phonons in a triangular system is numerically studied. By representing the excitons by quasi-spin states, the similarity between the chiral spin states and the exciton chiral states is discussed. In particular, the optical control of excitons is discussed, where photoirradiation causes the switching of the exciton states on the ultrafast time scale by Raman scattering. A phase diagram is obtained based on the ground-state properties of the system determined by the magnitudes of the exciton-phonon interactions and exciton transfer energy. By varying the frequency and/or intensity of light, a transition between exciton-phonon composite states is induced, which suggests the possibility of the coherent control of the chiral properties of excitonic systems via phonon excitation.

Abstract: The realization of quantum gates in topological quantum computation still confronts significant challenges in both fundamental and practical aspects. Here, we propose a deterministic and fully topologically protected measurement-based scheme to realize the issue of implementing Clifford quantum gates on the Majorana qubits. Our scheme is based on rigorous proof that the single-qubit gate can be performed by leveraging the neighboring Majorana qubit but not disturbing its carried quantum information, eliminating the need for ancillary Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in topological quantum computing. Benefiting from the ancilla-free construction, we show the minimum measurement sequences with four steps to achieve two-qubit Clifford gates by constructing their geometric visualization. To avoid the uncertainty of the measurement-only strategy, we propose manipulating the MZMs in their parameter space to correct the undesired measurement outcomes while maintaining complete topological protection, as demonstrated in a concrete Majorana platform. Our scheme identifies the minimal operations of measurement-based topological and deterministic Clifford gates and offers an ancilla-free design of topological quantum computation.

Abstract: When a spin-splitting field is introduced to a thin film superconductor, the spin currents polarized along the field couples to energy currents that can only decay via inelastic scattering. We study spin and energy injection into such a superconductor where spin-orbit impurity scattering yields inverse spin-Hall and spin-swapping currents. We show that the combined presence of a spin-splitting field, superconductivity, and inelastic scattering gives rise to a renormalization of the spin-Hall and spin-swap angles. In addition to an enhancement of the ordinary inverse spin-Hall effect, spin-splitting gives rise to unique inverse spin-Hall and spin-swapping signals five orders of magnitude stronger than the ordinary inverse spin-Hall signal. These can be completely controlled by the orientation of the spin-splitting field, resulting in a long-range charge and spin accumulations detectable much further from the injector than in the normal-state. Our results demonstrate that superconductors provide tunable inverse spin-Hall and spin-swapping signals with high detection sensitivity.

Abstract: We consider nontrivial topological phases in Floquet systems using unitary loops and stroboscopic evolutions under a static Floquet Hamiltonian $H_F$ in the presence of dynamical space-time symmetries $G$. While the latter has been subject of out-of-equilibrium classifications that extend the ten-fold way and systems with additional crystalline symmetries to periodically driven systems, we explore the anomalous topological zero modes that arise in $H_F$ from the coexistence of a dynamical space-time symmetry $M$ and antisymmetry $A$ of $G$, and classify them using a frequency-domain formulation. Moreover, we provide an interpretation of the resulting Floquet topological phases using a frequency lattice with a decoration represented by color degrees of freedom on the lattice vertices. These colors correspond to the coefficient $N$ of the group extension $\tilde{G}$ of $G$ along the frequency lattice, given by $N=Z\rtimes H^1[A,M]$. The distinct topological classifications that arise at different energy gaps in its quasi-energy spectrum are described by the torsion product of the cohomology group $H^{2}[G,N]$ classifying the group extension.

Abstract: We compute the spin-Hall conductance in a multiband model describing the two-dimensional electron gas formed at a LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3 interface in the presence of a finite concentration of impurities. Combining linear response theory with a systematic calculation of the impurity contributions to the self-energy, as well as to the vertex corrections of the relevant diagrams, we recover the full spin-Hall vs. sheet conductance dependence of LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3 as reported in [Nano Lett. 20, 395 (2020)], finding a very good agreement with the experimental data below and above the Lifshitz transition. In particular, we demonstrate that the multiband electronic structure leads to only a partial, instead of a complete, screening of the spin-Hall conductance, which decreases with increasing the carrier density. Our method can be generalized to other two-dimensional systems characterized by a broken inversion symmetry and multiband physics.

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the interplay between chiral-induced spin-orbit coupling along the screw axis and antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling (ASOC) in the normal plane within a chiral crystal, using both general model analysis and first-principles simulations of InSeI, a chiral van der Waals crystal. While chiral molecules of light atoms typically exhibit spin selectivity only along the screw axis, chiral crystals with heavier atoms can have strong ASOC effects that influence spin-momentum locking in all directions. The resulting phase diagram of spin texture shows the potential for controlling phase transition and flipping spin by reducing symmetry through surface cleavage, thickness reduction or strain. We also experimentally synthesized high-quality InSeI crystals of the thermodynamically stable achiral analogue which showed exposed (110) facets corresponding to single-handed helices to demonstrate the potential of material realization for higher-dimensional spin selectivity in the development of spintronic devices.