arXiv subjects

A. O. Zlotnikov

Publications and source records attributed to A. O. Zlotnikov.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fluctuation Mechanism of Single-Ion Anisotropy of Topological Insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$

We demonstrate that charge fluctuations induced by electron hopping, combined with spin-orbit coupling, lift the sixfold degeneracy of the orbital singlet $^{6}S$ of Mn ions in the topological insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$, resulting in single-ion anisotropy. To solve the problem, a multiplet representation is introduced for the creation operators of atomic-state fermions in terms of the operators describing transitions between many-body wavefunctions. Using the operator form of perturbation theory up to the second order, we derive expressions for the populations $n_M$ of Mn ion states with spin projections $M$ of the $^{6}S$ term and determine the single ion anisotropy constants. The calculations reveal that the fluctuation mechanism ensures the possibility of implementing the easy-axis anisotropy observed in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. Notably, the range of anisotropy constants $D_2$ obtained by varying the model parameters includes the value $D_2 = -0.0095$ meV, required to reproduce the critical field of the spin-flop transition $H_{\text{sf}}$, known from the experiment. The proposed mechanism has a wide range of applicability for describing the anisotropy in compounds where the ground state of a magnetic ion in a weak crystal field is described by an orbital singlet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Coexistence of gapless and gapped vortex modes with Majorana corner states in a 2D second-order topological superconductor

Although the appearance of vortex-localized states with zero energy in first-order topological superconductors is well known, their possibility to form in the higher-order topological phase of 2D systems has not been completely uncovered yet. Here we demonstrate the coexistence of zero-energy vortex modes and Majorana corner modes in the model of a 2D second-order topological superconductor. The model describes an interface between a normal layer supporting the topological insulating phase and a superconducting layer, for which different symmetries of the spin-singlet superconducting order parameter are considered. We show that the gapless vortex modes can appear under certain conditions in the superconducting state with a vortex if the bulk energy spectrum of the normal (non-superconducting) state is gapless and has Dirac cones. The number of pairs of such vortex modes corresponds to the number of Dirac cones. It is essential that if the normal bulk spectrum becomes gapped and the system is in the state of a topological insulator, then the zero-energy vortex modes can not be realized, while Majorana corner modes hold in the superconducting state. The interaction of the vortex modes with the edge and topological corner modes is studied when the vortex appears near the boundaries.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Effects at a Spin-Flop Transition in the Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$

It is shown that the experimentally detected features in the low-temperature behavior of the magnetization in an external magnetic field perpendicular to the layers of manganese ions of the topological antiferromagnet MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ are due to quantum effects induced by the off-diagonal nature of the trigonal component of the crystal field. In this case, the anomalous increase in the magnetization of the material before the spin-flop transition, as well as after it in the phase of "collapsed" sublattices, is explained by the suppression of contributions from quantum effects. The comparison of the results of the theoretical analysis with experimental data has made it possible to refine the parameters of the effective spin model of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ and to establish the important role of the noted trigonal component.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Majorana vortex modes in spin-singlet chiral superconductors with noncollinear spin ordering: Local density of states study

In the present study topologically nontrivial edge and vortex bound states are described in the coexistence phase of chiral spin-singlet superconductivity and noncollinear spin ordering on a triangular lattice in the presence of few (up to four) vortices. We consider the topological phase transition induced by the magnetic order between the phase hosting Majorana modes and the initial phase of the chiral d-wave superconductivity supporting non-Majorana modes which is also topologically nontrivial. The change of the excitation spectrum at the critical point is obtained in both cases of open and periodic boundary conditions in the presence of vortices. It is proved that zero energy Majorana modes localized at vortex cores are caused by noncollinear long-range magnetic ordering. Even though nearby excitation energies of subgap states including the edge-localized and vortex-localized states are very close to each other, the energy difference between different vortex bound states is an order of magnitude higher. This difference determines the energy gap for Majorana vortex modes separating them from other vortex bound states. It is found that even in the presence of noncollinear spin ordering its value can be estimated from the excitation energy of vortex bound states in the pure chiral d-wave state for the nonmagnetic case. By studying local density of states near the vortex cores the possibility to experimentally detect the described Majorana vortex modes by scanning tunneling microscopy is discussed. It is demonstrated that Majorana vortex modes and Majorana antivortex modes induced by noncollinear magnetism have different features in energy and spatially resolved density of states due to the chiral symmetry on the superconducting order parameter.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Effect of local Coulomb interaction on Majorana corner modes: weak and strong correlation limits

Here we present an analysis of the evolution of Majorana corner modes realizing in a higher-order topological superconductor (HOTSC) on a square lattice under the influence of local Coulomb repulsion. The HOTSC spectral properties were considered in two regimes: when the intensities of many-body interactions are either weak or strong. The weak regime was studied using the mean-field approximation with self-consistent solutions carried out both in the uniform case and taking into account of the boundary of the finite square-shaped system. It is shown that in the uniform case the topologically nontrivial phase on the phase diagram is widened by the Coulomb repulsion. The boundary effect, resulting in an inhomogeneous spatial distribution of the correlators, leads to the appearance of the crossover from the symmetric spin-independent solution to the spin-dependent one characterized by a spontaneously broken symmetry. In the former the corner states have energies that are determined by the overlap of the excitation wave functions localized at the different corners. In the latter the corner excitation energy is defined by the Coulomb repulsion intensity with a quadratic law. The crossover is a finite size effect, i.e. the larger the system the lesser the critical value of the Coulomb repulsion. In the strong repulsion regime we derive the effective HOTSC Hamiltonian in the atomic representation and found a rich variety of interactions induced by virtual processes between the lower and upper Hubbard subbands. It is shown that Majorana corner modes still can be realized in the limit of the infinite repulsion. Although the boundaries of the topologically nontrivial phase are strongly renormalized by Hubbard corrections.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Topological superconductivity and Majorana states in low-dimensional systems

We discuss the properties of topologically nontrivial superconducting phases and the conditions for their realization in condensed matter, and the principles for identifying Majorana bound states (MBSs). Along with the well-known Kitaev chain and superconducting nanowire (SW) models with spin-orbit coupling in an external magnetic field, we discuss models of quasi-2D materials in which MBSs are realized in the presence of noncollinear spin ordering. For finite-length SWs, we demonstrate a cascade of quantum transitions occurring with a change in the magnetic field, accompanied by a change in the fermion parity of the ground state. The corresponding anomalous behavior of the magnetocaloric effect can be used as a tool for identifying MBSs. We devote considerable attention to the analysis of the transport characteristics of devices that contain topologically nontrivial materials. The results of studying the conductance of an Aharonov-Bohm ring whose arms are connected by an SW are discussed in detail. An important feature of this device is the appearance of Fano resonances in the dependence of conductance on the magnetic field when the SW is in a topologically nontrivial phase. We establish a relation between the characteristics of such resonances and the spatial structure of the lowest-energy SW state. The conditions for the occurrence of an MBS in the phase of the coexistence of chiral $d+id$ superconductivity and 120-degree spin ordering are determined in the framework of the $t-J-V$ model on a triangular lattice. We take electron-electron interactions into account in discussing the topological invariants of low-dimensional superconducting materials with noncollinear spin ordering. The formation of Majorana modes in regions with an odd value of a topological $\mathbb{Z}$ invariant is demonstrated. The spatial structure of these excitations in the Hubbard fermion ensemble is determined.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Aspects of topological superconductivity in 2D systems: noncollinear magnetism, skyrmions, and higher-order topology

The review is aimed at highlighting the aspects of topological superconductivity in the absence of spin-orbit interaction in two-dimensional systems with long-range non-collinear spin ordering or magnetic skyrmions. Another purpose is to give a brief introduction to the new concept of topological superconductivity, i.e. higher-order topology in two-dimensional systems including spin-orbit coupled structures. The formation of Majorana modes due to magnetic textures is discussed. The role of effective triplet pairings and odd fermion parity of the ground state wave function in different systems is emphasized. We describe the peculiarities of the magnetic skyrmions, leading to the formation of the Majorana modes and defects on which the modes are localized. The problem of braiding in the two-dimensional systems, especially in higher-order topological superconductors, is considered.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Strong Coulomb interactions in the problem of Majorana modes in a wire of the nontrivial topological class BDI

In this study, the problem of strong Coulomb interactions in topological superconducting wire is analyzed by means of the density-matrix-renormalization-group (DMRG) approach. To analyze properties of edge states in the BDI-class structure a quantity called Majorana polarization is used. From its dependence on wire length and an entanglement-spectrum degeneracy topological phase diagrams are obtained. The DMRG calculations for the Shubin-Vonsovsky-type model of the wire show the transformation of phases with Majorana single and double modes (MSMs and MDMs, respectively) under the increase of on- and inter-site correlations. In particular, we demonstrate different scenarios including the possibilities of both induction and suppression of the MSMs and MDMs. It is shown that in the strongly correlated regime the contributions of single-particle excitations to the Majorana-type states significantly decrease at low magnetic fields. Moreover, the $t-J^{*}-V$-model is derived allowing to study the effective interactions and improve the DMRG numerics. It is found out that in the limiting case of the effective Hamiltonian with infinitely strong on-site repulsion, $t$-model, the topological phases are destroyed. Finally, the ways to probe the MSMs and MDMs via the features of caloric functions are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗