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

Abstract: Higher-dimensional topological meta-materials have more flexible than one-dimensional topological materials, which are more convenient to apply and solve practical problems. However, in diffusion systems, higher-dimensional topological states have not been well studied. In this work, we experimentally realized the 2D topological structure based on a kagome lattice of thermal metamaterial. Due to the anti-Hermitian properties of the diffusion Hamiltonian, it has purely imaginary eigenvalues corresponding to the decay rate. By theoretical analysis and directly observing the decay rate of temperature through experiments, we present the various corner states in 2D topological diffusive system. Our work constitutes the first realization of multiple corner states with high decay rates in a pure diffusion system, which provides a new idea for the design of topological protected thermal metamaterial in the future.

Abstract: We consider superconductor-normal-superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNSNS) planar Josephson junctions in hole systems with spin-orbit interaction that is cubic in momentum (CSOI). Utilizing only the superconducting phase difference, we find parameter `sweet spots' for reasonable junction transparencies that result in a topological region of phase space, within which Majorana bound states (MBSs) appear at the ends of the junction. In planar germanium hetereostructures CSOI can be the dominant form of SOI and extremely strong. We show analytically and numerically that, within experimental regimes, our results provide an achievable roadmap for a new MBS platform with low disorder, minimal magnetic fields, and very strong spin-orbit interaction, overcoming many of the key deficiencies that have so far prevented the conclusive observation of MBSs.

Abstract: For 2D Hubbard model with spin-orbit Rashba coupling in external magnetic field the structure of effective spin interactions is studied in the regime of strong electron correlations and at half-filling. It is shown that in the third order of perturbation theory, the scalar and vector chiral spin-spin interactions of the same order arise. The emergence of the latter is due to orbital effects of magnetic field. It is shown that for nonuniform fields, scalar chiral interaction can lead to stabilization of axially symmetric skyrmion states with arbitrary topological charges. Taking into account the hierarchy of effective spin interactions, an analytical theory on the optimal sizes of such states -- the higher-order magnetic skyrmions -- is developed for axially symmetric magnetic fields of the form $h(r) \sim r^{\beta}$ with $\beta \in \mathbb{R}$.

Abstract: Transistors realized on multilayers of 2D antiferromagnetic semiconductor CrPS$_4$ exhibit large, gate-tunable low-temperature magnetoconductance, due to changes in magnetic state induced by the applied magnetic field. The microscopic mechanism coupling the conductance to the magnetic state is however not understood. We identify this mechanism by analyzing the evolution with temperature and magnetic field of the parameters determining the transistor behavior, the carrier mobility and threshold voltage. We find that for temperatures $T$ close to the n\'eel temperature $T_N$, the magnetoconductance originates from the increase in mobility due to cooling or the applied magnetic field, which reduce disorder originating from spin fluctuations. For $T<<T_N$, the mechanism is entirely different: the mobility is field and temperature independent, and what changes is the threshold voltage, so that increasing the field at fixed gate voltage increases the density of accumulated electrons. The change in threshold voltage is due to a shift in the conduction band-edge as confirmed by \emph{ab-initio} calculations that capture the magnitude of the effect. Our results demonstrate that the bandstructure of CrPS$_4$ depends on its magnetic state and reveal a mechanism for magnetoconductance in transistors that had not been identified earlier and that is of general validity for magnetic semiconductors.

Abstract: We perform a thorough analysis of a non-Hermitian (NH) version of a tight binding chain comprising of two orbitals per unit cell. The non-Hermiticity is further bifurcated into PT symmetric and non-PT symmetric cases, respectively, characterized by non-reciprocal nearest neighbour hopping amplitudes and purely imaginary onsite potential energies. The studies on the localization and the topological properties of our models reveal several intriguing results. For example, they have complex energy gaps with distinct features, that is, a line gap for the non-PT symmetric case and a point gap for the PT symmetric case. Further, the NH skin effect, a distinctive feature of the NH system, is non-existent here and is confirmed via computing the local density of states. The bulk-boundary correspondence for both the NH variants obeys a bi-orthogonal condition. Moreover, the localization of the edge modes obtained via the inverse participation ratio shows diverse dependencies on the parameters of the Hamiltonian. Also, the topological properties are discernible from the behaviour of the topological invariant, namely, the complex Berry phase, which shows a sharp transition from a finite value to zero. Interestingly, the PT symmetric system is found to split between a PT broken and an unbroken phase depending on the values of the parameters. Finally, the results are benchmarked with the Hermitian model to compare and contrast those obtained for the NH variants.

Abstract: Recently, higher-order topological phases have endowed materials many exotic topological phases. For three-dimensional (3D) higher-order topologies, it hosts topologically protected 1D hinge states or 0D corner states, which extend the bulk-boundary correspondence of 3D topological phases. Meanwhile, the enrichment of group symmetries with exploration of projective symmetry algebras redefined the fundamentals of nontrivial topological matter with artificial gauge fields, leading to the discovery of new topological phases in classical wave systems. In this Letter, we construct an acoustic topological semimetal characterized by both the first and the second Stiefel-Whitney (SW) topological charges by utilizing the projective symmetry. Different from conventional high-order topologies with multiple bulk-boundary correspondences protected by different class topological invariants, acoustic high-order Stiefel-Whitney semimetal (HOSWS) has two different bulk-edge correspondences protected by only one class (SW class) topological invariant. Two types of topological hinge and surface states are embedded in bulk bands at the same frequency, featuring similar characteristics of bound states in the continuum (BICs). In experiments, we demonstrate the existence of high-quality surface state and hinge state at the interested frequency window with polarized intensity field distributions.

Abstract: In topological phase transitions involving a change in topological invariants such as the Chern number and the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological invariant, the gap closes, and the electric polarization becomes undefined at the transition. In this paper, we show that the jump of polarization across such topological phase transitions in two dimensions is described in terms of positions and monopole charges of Weyl points in the intermediate Weyl semimetal phase. We find that the jump of polarization is described by the Weyl dipole at $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological phase transitions and at phase transitions without any change in the value of the Chern number. Meanwhile, when the Chern number changes at the phase transition, the jump is expressed in terms of the relative positions of Weyl points measured from a reference point in the reciprocal space.

Abstract: Bottom-up grown nanomaterials play an integral role in the development of quantum technologies. Among these, semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are widely used in proof-of-principle experiments, however, difficulties in parallel processing of conventionally-grown NWs makes scalability unfeasible. Here, we harness selective area growth (SAG) to remove this road-block. We demonstrate large scale integrated SAG NW circuits consisting of 512 channel multiplexer/demultiplexer pairs, incorporating thousands of interconnected SAG NWs operating under deep cryogenic conditions. Multiplexers enable a range of new strategies in quantum device research and scaling by increase the device count while limiting the number of connections between room-temperature control electronics and the cryogenic samples. As an example of this potential we perform a statistical characterization of large arrays of identical SAG quantum dots thus establishing the feasibility of applying cross-bar gating strategies for efficient scaling of future SAG quantum circuits.

Abstract: We have demonstrated the fabrication of both armchair and zigzag epitaxial graphene nanoribbon (GNR) devices on 4H-SiC using a polymer-assisted sublimation growth method. The phenomenon of terrace step formation has traditionally introduced the risk of GNR deformation along sidewalls, but a polymer-assisted sublimation method helps mitigate this risk. Each type of 50 nm wide GNR is examined electrically and optically (armchair and zigzag), with the latter method being a check on the quality of the GNR devices and the former using alternating current to investigate resistance attenuation from frequencies above 100 Hz. Rates of attenuation are determined for each type of GNR device, revealing subtle suggested differences between armchair and zigzag GNRs.

Abstract: Spin or valley degrees of freedom in condensed matter have been proposed as efficient information carriers towards next generation spintronics. It is therefore crucial to develop effective strategies to generate and control spin or valley-locked spin currents, e.g., by exploiting the spin Hall or valley Hall effects. However, the scattering, and rapid dephasing of electrons pose major challenges to achieve macroscopic coherent spin currents and realistic spintronic or valleytronic devices, specifically at room temperature, where strong thermal fluctuations could further obscure the spin flow. Exciton polaritons in semiconductor microcavities being the quantum superposition of excitons and photons, are believed to be promising platforms for spin-dependent optoelectronic or, in short, spin-optronic devices. Long-range spin current flows of exciton polaritons may be controlled through the optical spin Hall effect. However, this effect could neither be unequivocally observed at room temperature nor be exploited for realistic polariton spintronic devices due to the presence of strong thermal fluctuations or large linear spin splittings. Here, we report the observation of room temperature optical spin Hall effect of exciton polaritons with the spin current flow over a distance as large as 60 um in a hybrid organic-inorganic FAPbBr3 perovskite microcavity. We show direct evidence of the long-range coherence at room temperature in the flow of exciton polaritons, and the spin current carried by them. By harnessing the long-range spin-Hall transport of exciton polaritons, we have demonstrated two novel room temperature polaritonic devices, namely the NOT gate and the spin-polarized beam splitter, advancing the frontier of room-temperature polaritonics in perovskite microcavities.

Abstract: We show that rhombohedral four-layer graphene (4LG) nearly aligned with a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrate often develops nearly flat isolated low energy bands with non-zero valley Chern numbers. The bandwidths of the isolated flatbands are controllable through an electric field and twist angle, becoming as narrow as $\sim10~$meV for interlayer potential differences between top and bottom layers of $|\Delta|\approx 10\sim15~$meV and $\theta \sim 0.5^{\circ}$ at the graphene and boron nitride interface. The local density of states (LDOS) analysis shows that the nearly flat band states are associated to the non-dimer low energy sublattice sites at the top or bottom graphene layers and their degree of localization in the moire superlattice is strongly gate tunable, exhibiting at times large delocalization despite of the narrow bandwidth. We verified that the first valence bands' valley Chern numbers are $C^{\nu=\pm1}_{V1} = \pm n$, proportional to layer number for $n$LG/BN systems up to $n = 8$ rhombohedral multilayers.

Abstract: We construct a general theoretical framework for describing curvature-induced spin-orbit interactions on the basis of group theory. Our theory can systematically determine the emergence of spin splitting in the band structure according to symmetry in the wavenumber space and the bending direction of the material. As illustrative examples, we derive the curvature-induced spin-orbit coupling for carbon and silicon nanotubes. Our theory offers a strategy for designing valley-contrasting spin-orbit coupled materials by tuning their curvatures.

Abstract: As spin-based quantum processors grow in size and complexity, maintaining high fidelities and minimizing crosstalk will be essential for the successful implementation of quantum algorithms and error-correction protocols. In particular, recent experiments have highlighted pernicious transient qubit frequency shifts associated with microwave qubit driving. Workarounds for small devices, including prepulsing with an off-resonant microwave burst to bring a device to a steady-state, wait times prior to measurement, and qubit-specific calibrations all bode ill for device scalability. Here, we make substantial progress in understanding and overcoming this effect. We report a surprising non-monotonic relation between mixing chamber temperature and spin Larmor frequency which is consistent with observed frequency shifts induced by microwave and baseband control signals. We find that purposefully operating the device at 200 mK greatly suppresses the adverse heating effect while not compromising qubit coherence or single-qubit fidelity benchmarks. Furthermore, systematic non-Markovian crosstalk is greatly reduced. Our results provide a straightforward means of improving the quality of multi-spin control while simplifying calibration procedures for future spin-based quantum processors.