arXiv subjects

A. Ron

Publications and source records attributed to A. Ron.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Direct visualization and control of antiferromagnetic domains and spin reorientation in a parent cuprate

We report magnetic optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) polarimetry and imaging on Sr$_2$Cu$_3$O$_4$Cl$_2$, which allows direct visualization of the mesoscopic antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure of a parent cuprate. Temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent SHG reveals large domains with 90$^{\circ}$ relative orientations that are stabilized by a combination of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and the Earth's magnetic field. Below a temperature $T_R$ $\sim$ 97 K, we observe an unusual 90$^{\circ}$ spin reorientation transition, possibly driven by competing magnetic anisotropies of the two copper sublattices, which swaps the AFM domain states while preserving the domain structure. This allows deterministic switching of the AFM states by thermal or laser heating. Near $T_R$, the domain walls become exceptionally responsive to an applied magnetic field, with the Earth's field sufficient to completely expel them from the crystal. Our findings unlock opportunities to study the mesoscopic AFM behavior of parent cuprates and explore their potential for AFM technologies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Evidence for a Parity Broken Monoclinic Ground State in the S = 1/2 Kagom\'{e} Antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite

Nearest-neighbor interacting S = 1/2 spins on the ideal Kagom\'{e} lattice are predicted to form a variety of novel quantum entangled states, including quantum spin-liquid (SL) and valence bond solid (VBS) phases. In real materials, the presence of additional perturbative spin interactions may further expand the variety of entangled states, which recent theoretical analyses show are identifiable through the spontaneous loss of particular discrete point group symmetries. Here we comprehensively resolve the ground state point group symmetries of the prototypical Kagom\'{e} SL candidate ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$ (Herbertsmithite) using a combination of optical ellipsometry and wavelength-dependent multi-harmonic optical polarimetry. We uncover a subtle parity breaking monoclinic structural distortion at a temperature above the nearest-neighbor exchange energy scale. Surprisingly, the parity-breaking order parameter is dramatically enhanced upon cooling and closely tracks the build-up of nearest-neighbor spin correlations, suggesting that it is energetically favored by the SL state. The refined low temperature symmetry group greatly restricts the number of viable ground states, and, in the perturbative limit, points toward the formation of a nematic $Z_2$ striped SL ground state - a SL analogue of a liquid crystal.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Ultrafast enhancement of ferromagnetic spin exchange induced by ligand-to-metal charge transfer

Directly modifying spin exchange energies in a magnetic material with light can enable ultrafast control of its magnetic states. Current approaches rely on tuning charge hopping amplitudes that mediate exchange by optically exciting either virtual or real charge-transfer transitions (CT) between magnetic sites. Here we show that when exchange is mediated by a non-magnetic ligand, it can be substantially enhanced by optically exciting a real CT transition from the ligand to magnetic site, introducing lower order virtual hopping contributions. We demonstrate sub-picosecond enhancement in a superexchange dominated ferromagnet CrSiTe3 through this mechanism using phase-resolved coherent phonon spectroscopy. This technique can also be applied in the paramagnetic phase to disentangle light induced exchange modification from other ultrafast effects that alter the magnetization. This protocol can potentially be broadly applied to engineer thermally inaccessible spin Hamiltonians in superexchange dominated magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Evidence for the weakly coupled electron mechanism in an Anderson-Blount polar metal

Over 50 years ago, Anderson and Blount proposed that ferroelectric-like structural phase transitions may occur in metals, despite the expected screening of the Coulomb interactions that often drive polar transitions. Recently, theoretical treatments have suggested that such transitions require the itinerant electrons be decoupled from the soft transverse optical phonons responsible for polar order. However, this decoupled electron mechanism (DEM) has yet to be experimentally observed. Here we utilize ultrafast spectroscopy to uncover evidence of the DEM in LiOsO$_3$, the first known band metal to undergo a thermally driven polar phase transition ($T_c$ =140 K). We demonstrate that intra-band photo-carriers relax by selectively coupling to only a subset of the phonon spectrum, leaving as much as 60 % of the lattice heat capacity decoupled. This decoupled heat capacity is shown to be consistent with a previously undetected and partially displacive TO polar mode, indicating the DEM in LiOsO$_3$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Dimensional crossover in a layered ferromagnet detected by spin correlation driven distortions

Magneto-elastic distortions are commonly detected across magnetic long-range ordering (LRO) transitions. In principle, they are also induced by the magnetic short-range ordering (SRO) that precedes a LRO transition, which contains information about short-range correlations and energetics that are essential for understanding how LRO is established. However these distortions are difficult to resolve because the associated atomic displacements are exceedingly small and do not break symmetry. Here we demonstrate high-multipole nonlinear optical polarimetry as a sensitive and mode selective probe of SRO induced distortions using CrSiTe$_3$ as a testbed. This compound is composed of weakly bonded sheets of nearly isotropic ferromagnetically interacting spins that, in the Heisenberg limit, would individually be impeded from LRO by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. Our results show that CrSiTe$_3$ evades this law via a two-step crossover from two- to three-dimensional magnetic SRO, manifested through two successive and previously undetected totally symmetric distortions above its Curie temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Floquet Engineering in Quantum Chains

We consider a one-dimensional interacting spinless fermion model, which displays the well-known Luttinger liquid (LL) to charge density wave (CDW) transition as a function of the ratio between the strength of the interaction, $U$, and the hopping, $J$. We subject this system to a spatially uniform drive which is ramped up over a finite time interval and becomes time-periodic in the long time limit. We show that by using a density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach formulated for infinite system sizes, we can access the large-time limit even when the drive induces finite heating. When both the initial and long-time states are in the gapless (LL) phase, the final state has power law correlations for all ramp speeds. However, when the initial and final state are gapped (CDW phase), we find a pseudothermal state with an effective temperature that depends on the ramp rate, both for the Magnus regime in which the drive frequency is very large compared to other scales in the system and in the opposite limit where the drive frequency is less than the gap. Remarkably, quantum defects (instantons) appear when the drive tunes the system through the quantum critical point, in a realization of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Solution Monolayer Epitaxy for Tunable Atomically Sharp Oxide Interfaces

Epitaxial growth of atomically-sharp interfaces serves as one of the main building blocks of nanofabrication. Such interfaces are crucial for the operation of various devices including transistors, photo-voltaic cells, and memory components. In order to avoid charge traps that may hamper the operation of such devices, it is critical for the layers to be atomically-sharp. Fabrication of atomically sharp interfaces normally requires ultra-high vacuum techniques and high substrate temperatures. We present here a new self-limiting wet chemical process for deposition of epitaxial layers from alkoxide precursors. This method is fast, cheap, and yields perfect interfaces as we validate by various analysis techniques. It allows the design of heterostructures with half-unit cell resolution. We demonstrate our method by designing hole-type oxide interfaces SrTiO3/BaO/LaAlO3. We show that transport through this interface exhibits properties of mixed electron-hole contributions with hole mobility exceeding that of electrons. Our method and results are an important step forward towards a controllable design of a p-type oxide interface.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Tunneling into a quantum confinement created by a single-step nano-lithography of conducting oxide interfaces

A new nano-lithography technique compatible with conducting oxide interfaces, which requires a single lithographic step with no additional amorphous layer deposition or etching, is presented. It is demonstrated on SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface where a constriction is patterned in the electron liquid. We find that an additional back-gating can further confine the electron liquid into an isolated island. Conductance and differential conductance measurements show resonant tunneling through the island. The data at various temperatures and magnetic fields are analyzed and the effective island size is found to be of the order of 10nm. The magnetic field dependence suggests absence of spin degeneracy in the island. Our method is suitable for creating superconducting and oxide-interface based electronic devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Strong correlations elucidate the electronic structure and phase-diagram of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

The interface between the two band insulators SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 unexpectedly has the properties of a two dimensional electron gas. It is even superconducting with a transition temperature, Tc, that can be tuned using gate bias Vg, which controls the number of electrons added or removed from the interface. The gate bias - temperature (Vg, T) phase diagram is characterized by a dome-shaped region where superconductivity occurs, i.e., Tc has a non-monotonic dependence on Vg, similar to many unconventional superconductors. In this communication the frequency of the quantum resistance-oscillations versus inverse magnetic field is reported for various Vg. This frequency follows the same nonmonotonic behavior as Tc; similar trend is seen in the low field limit of the Hall coefficient. We theoretically show that electronic correlations result in a non-monotonic population of the mobile band, which can account for the experimental behavior of the normal transport properties and the superconducting dome.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Anomalous magnetic ground state in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface probed by transport through nanowires

Resistance as a function of temperature down to 20mK and magnetic fields up to 18T for various carrier concentrations is measured for nanowires made from the SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface using a hard mask shadow deposition technique. The narrow width of the wires (of the order of 50nm) allows us to separate out the magnetic effects from the dominant superconducting ones at low magnetic fields. At this regime hysteresis loops are observed along with the superconducting transition. From our data analysis we find that the magnetic order probed by the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect vanishes at TCurie = 954 mK. This order is not a simple ferromagnetic state but consists of domains with opposite magnetization having a preferred in-plane orientation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

One-dimensional Quantum Wire Formed at the Boundary Between Two Insulating LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Interfaces

We grow a tiled structure of insulating two dimensional LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interfaces composed of alternating one and three LaAlO3 unit cells. The boundary between two tiles is conducting. At low temperatures this conductance exhibits quantized steps as a function of gate voltage indicative of a one dimensional channel. The step size of half the quantum of conductance is an evidence for absence of spin degeneracy.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Probing the surface states in Bi2Se3 using the Shubnikov-de Haas effect

Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations are observed in Bi2Se3 flakes with high carrier concentration and low bulk mobility. These oscillations probe the protected surface states and enable us to extract their carrier concentration, effective mass and Dingle temperature. The Fermi momentum obtained is in agreement with angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements performed on crystals from the same batch. We study the behavior of the Berry phase as a function of magnetic field. The standard theoretical considerations fail to explain the observed behavior.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in SrTiO3\LaAlO3 interface

Quantum magnetic oscillations in SrTiO3/\LaAlO3 interface are observed. The evolution of their frequency and amplitude at various gate voltages and temperatures is studied. The data are consistent with the Shubnikov de-Haas theory. The Hall resistivity rho exhibits nonlinearity at low magnetic field. It is fitted assuming multiple carrier contributions. The comparison between the mobile carrier density inferred from the Hall data and the oscillation frequency suggests multiple valley and spin degeneracy. The small amplitude of the oscillations is discussed in the framework of the multiple band scenario.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

All-optical reconstruction of atomic ground-state population

The population distribution within the ground-state of an atomic ensemble is of large significance in a variety of quantum optics processes. We present a method to reconstruct the detailed population distribution from a set of absorption measurements with various frequencies and polarizations, by utilizing the differences between the dipole matrix elements of the probed transitions. The technique is experimentally implemented on a thermal rubidium vapor, demonstrating a population-based analysis in two optical pumping examples. The results are used to verify and calibrate an elaborated numerical model, and the limitations of the reconstruction scheme which result from the symmetry properties of the dipole matrix elements are discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Elimination, reversal, and directional bias of optical diffraction

We experimentally demonstrate the manipulation of optical diffraction, utilizing the atomic thermal motion in a hot vapor medium of electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT). By properly tuning the EIT parameters, the refraction induced by the atomic motion may completely counterbalance the paraxial free-space diffraction and by that eliminates the effect of diffraction for arbitrary images. By further manipulation, the diffraction can be doubled, biased asymmetrically to induced deflection, or even reversed. The latter allows an experimental implementation of an analogy to a negative-index lens.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Elimination of the Diffraction of Arbitrary Images Imprinted on Slow Light

We present a scheme for eliminating the optical diffraction of slow-light in a thermal atomic medium of electromagnetically induced transparency. Nondiffraction is achieved for an arbitrary paraxial image by manipulating the susceptibility in momentum space, in contrast to the common approach, which employs guidance of specific modes by manipulating the susceptibility in real space. For negative two-photon detuning, the moving atoms drag the transverse momentum components unequally, resulting in a Doppler trapping of light by atoms in two dimensions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2008

Ramsey-like measurement of the decoherence rate between Zeeman sub-levels

Two-photon processes that involve different sub-levels of the ground state of an atom, are highly sensitive to depopulation and decoherence within the ground state. For example, the spectral width of electromagnetically induced transparency resonances in $Λ-$type system, are strongly affected by the ground state depopulation and decoherence rates. We present a direct measurement of decay rates between hyperfine and Zeeman sub-levels in the ground state of $^{87}$Rb vapor. Similar to the relaxation-in-the-dark technique, pumping lasers are used to pre-align the atomic vapor in a well defined quantum state. The free propagation of the atomic state is monitored using a Ramsey-like method. Coherence times in the range 1-10 ms were measured for room temperature atomic vapor. In the range of the experimental parameters used in this study, the dominant process inducing Zeeman decoherence is the spin-exchange collisions between rubidium atoms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2008

Storing images in warm atomic vapor

Reversible and coherent storage of light in atomic medium is a key-stone of future quantum information applications. In this work, arbitrary two-dimensional images are slowed and stored in warm atomic vapor for up to 30 $μ$s, utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency. Both the intensity and the phase patterns of the optical field are maintained. The main limitation on the storage resolution and duration is found to be the diffusion of atoms. A techniqueanalogous to phase-shift lithography is employed to diminish the effect of diffusion on the visibility of the reconstructed image.

quant-ph↗