arXiv subjects

Andreas P. Schnyder

Publications and source records attributed to Andreas P. Schnyder.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Helical spin texture of surface states in topological superconductors

Surface states of topological noncentrosymmetric superconductors exhibit intricate helical spin textures, i.e., the spin orientation of the surface quasiparticles is coupled to their momentum. Using quasiclassical theory, we study the spin polarization of the surface states as a function of the spin-orbit interaction and superconducting pairing symmetry. We focus on two- and three-dimensional fully gapped and nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors. For the case of nodal systems, we show that the spin polarization of the topological flat bands is controlled by the spin polarization of the bulk normal states at the bounding gap nodes. We demonstrate that the zero-bias conductance in a magnetic tunnel junction can be used as an experimental test of the surface-state spin polarization.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Stability of flat-band edge states in topological superconductors without inversion center

Nodal superconductors without inversion symmetry exhibit nontrivial topological properties, manifested by topologically protected flat-band edge states. Here we study the effects of breaking translational symmetry, crucial to the definition of the topological invariant. We show using large-scale numerical simulations that bulk-edge correspondence remains valid in the presence of edge roughness and strong edge disorder. Moderately strong nonmagnetic disorder shifts some of the edge states away from zero energy, but does not change their total number. Strong spin-independent edge disorder, on the other hand, leads to the appearance of new weakly disordered midgap states in the layers adjacent to the disordered edge, i.e., at the interface between the bulk topological superconductor and the one-dimensional Anderson insulator formed by the strongly disordered edge layers. Furthermore, we show that magnetic impurities, which lift the time-reversal symmetry protection of the flat-band states, lead to a rapid decrease of the number of edge states with increasing disorder strength.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Theory of quasiparticle scattering interference on the surface of topological superconductors

Topological superconductors, such as noncentrosymmetric superconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling, exhibit protected zero-energy surface states, which possess an intricate helical spin structure. We show that this nontrival spin character of the surface states can be tested experimentally from the absence of certain backscattering processes in Fourier-transform scanning tunneling measurements. A detailed theoretical analysis is given of the quasiparticle scattering interference on the surface of both nodal and fully gapped topological superconductors with different crystal point-group symmetries. We determine the universal features in the interference patterns resulting from magnetic and nonmagnetic scattering processes of the surface quasiparticles. It is shown that Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy allows us to uniquely distinguish among different types of topological surface states, such as zero-energy flat bands, arc surface states, and helical Majorana modes, which in turn provides valuable information on the spin and orbital pairing symmetry of the bulk superconducting state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Interface currents in topological superconductor-ferromagnet heterostructures

We propose the existence of a substantial charge current parallel to the interface between a noncentrosymmetric superconductor and a metallic ferromagnet. Our analysis focuses upon two complementary orbital-angular-momentum pairing states of the superconductor, exemplifying topologically nontrivial states which are gapped and gapless in the bulk, respectively. Utilizing a quasiclassical scattering theory, we derive an expression for the interface current in terms of Andreev reflection coefficients. Performing a systematic study of the current, we find stark qualitative differences between the gapped and gapless superconductors, which reflect the very different underlying topological properties. For the fully gapped superconductor, there is a sharp drop in the zero-temperature current as the system is tuned from a topologically nontrivial to a trivial phase. We explain this in terms of the sudden disappearance of the contribution to the current from the subgap edge states at the topological transition. The current in the gapless superconductor is characterized by a dramatic enhancement at low temperatures, and exhibits a singular dependence on the exchange-field strength in the ferromagnetic metal at zero temperature. This is caused by the energy shift of the strongly spin-polarized nondegenerate zero-energy flat bands due to their coupling to the exchange field. We argue that the interface current provides a novel test of the topology of the superconductor, and discuss prospects for the experimental verification of our predictions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Edge currents as a signature of flat bands in topological superconductors

We study nondegenerate flat bands at the surfaces of noncentrosymmetric topological superconductors by exact diagonalization of Bogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonians. We show that these states are strongly spin polarized, and acquire a chiral dispersion when placed in contact with a ferromagnetic insulator. This chiral mode carries a large edge current which displays a singular dependence on the exchange-field strength. The contribution of other edge states to the current is comparably weak. We hence propose that the observation of the edge current can serve as a test of the presence of nondegenerate flat bands.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Protected boundary states in gapless topological phases

We systematically study gapless topological phases of (semi-)metals and nodal superconductors described by Bloch and Bogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonians. Using K-theory, a classification of topologically stable Fermi surfaces in (semi-)metals and nodal lines in superconductors is derived. We discuss a generalized bulk-boundary correspondence that relates the topological features of the Fermi surfaces and superconducting nodal lines to the presence of protected zero-energy states at the boundary of the system. Depending on the case, the boundary states are either linearly dispersing (i.e., Dirac or Majorana states) or are dispersionless, forming two-dimensional surface flat bands or one-dimensional arc surface states. We study examples of gapless topological phases in symmetry class AIII and DIII, focusing in particular on nodal superconductors, such as nodal non-centrosymmetric superconductors. For some cases we explicitly compute the surface spectrum and examine the signatures of the topological boundary states in the surface density of states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Theory of nonequilibrium dynamics of multiband superconductors

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of multiband BCS superconductors subjected to ultrashort pump pulses. Using density-matrix theory, the time evolution of the Bogoliubov quasiparticle densities and the superconducting order parameters are computed as a function of pump pulse frequency, duration, and intensity. Focusing on two-band superconductors, we consider two different model systems. The first one, relevant for iron-based superconductors, describes two-band superconductors with a repulsive interband interaction $V_{12}$ which is much larger than the intraband pairing terms. The second model, relevant for MgB$_2$, deals with the opposite limit where the intraband interactions are dominant and the interband pair scattering $V_{12}$ is weak but attractive. For ultrashort pump pulses, both of these models exhibit a nonadiabatic behavior which is characterized by oscillations of the superconducting order parameters. We find that for nonvanishing $V_{12}$, the superconducting gap on each band exhibits two oscillatory frequencies which are determined by the long-time asymptotic values of the gaps. The relative strength of these two frequency components depends sensitively on the magnitude of the interband interaction $V_{12}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Types of topological surface states in nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors

Nodal noncentrosymmetric superconductors have topologically nontrivial properties manifested by protected zero-energy surface states. Specifically, it was recently found that zero-energy surface flat bands of topological origin appear at their surface. We show that the presence of certain inversion-type lattice symmetries can give rise to additional topological features of the gap nodes, resulting in surface states forming one-dimensional arcs connecting the projections of two nodal rings. In addition, we demonstrate that Majorana surface states can appear at time-reversal-invariant momenta of the surface Brillouin zone, even when the system is not fully gapped in the bulk. Within a continuum theory we derive the topological invariants that protect these different types of zero-energy surface states. We independently derive general conditions for the existence of zero-energy surface bound states using the complementary quasiclassical scattering theory, explicitly taking into account the effects of spin-orbit splitting of the bands. We compute surface bound-state spectra for various crystal point-group symmetries and orbital-angular-momentum pairing states. Finally, we examine the signatures of the arc surface states and of the zero-energy surface flat bands in tunneling-conductance spectra and discuss how topological phase transitions in noncentrosymmetric superconductors could be observed in experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Resonant generation of coherent phonons in a superconductor by ultrafast optical pump pulses

We study the generation of coherent phonons in a superconductor by ultrafast optical pump pulses. The nonequilibrium dynamics of the coupled Bogoliubov quasiparticle-phonon system after excitation with the pump pulse is analyzed by means of the density-matrix formalism with the phonons treated at a full quantum kinetic level. For ultrashort excitation pulses, the superconductor exhibits a nonadiabatic behavior in which the superconducting order parameter oscillates. We find that in this nonadiabatic regime the generation of coherent phonons is resonantly enhanced when the frequency of the order-parameter oscillation is tuned to the phonon energy, a condition that can be achieved in experiments by varying the integrated pump pulse intensity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Topological phases and surface flat bands in superconductors without inversion symmetry

We examine different topological phases in three-dimensional non-centrosymmetric superconductors with time-reversal symmetry by using three different types of topological invariants. Due to the bulk boundary correspondence, a non-zero value of any of these topological numbers indicates the appearance of zero-energy Andreev surface states. We find that some of these boundary modes in nodal superconducting phases are dispersionless, i.e., they form a topologically protected flat band. The region where the zero-energy flat band appears in the surface Brillouin zone is determined by the projection of the nodal lines in the bulk onto the surface. These dispersionless Andreev surface bound states have many observable consequences, in particular, a zero-bias conductance peak in tunneling measurements. We also find that in the gapless phase there appear Majorana surface modes at time-reversal invariant momenta which are protected by a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological invariant.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Topologically protected flat zero-energy surface bands in non-centrosymmetric superconductors

Nodal non-centrosymmetric superconductors (NCS) have recently been shown to be topologically non-trivial. An important consequence is the existence of topologically protected flat zero-energy surface bands, which are related to the topological characteristics of the line nodes of the bulk gap via a bulk-boundary correspondence [Schnyder and Ryu, arXiv:1011.1438]. In this paper we examine these zero-energy surface bands using a quasiclassical theory. We determine their spectrum and derive a general condition for their existence in terms of the sign change of the gap functions. A key experimental signature of the zero-energy surface bands is a zero-bias peak in the tunneling conductance, which depends strongly on the surface orientation. This can be used as a fingerprint of a topologically non-trivial NCS.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Andreev spectroscopy and surface density of states for a three-dimensional time-reversal invariant topological superconductor

A topological superconductor is a fully gapped superconductor that exhibits exotic zero-energy Andreev surface states at interfaces with a normal metal. In this paper we investigate the properties of a three-dimensional time reversal invariant topological superconductor by means of a two-band model with unconventional pairing in both the inter- and intraband channels. Due to the bulk-boundary correspondence the presence of Andreev surface states in this system is directly related to the topological structure of the bulk wavefunctions, which is characterized by a winding number. Using quasiclassical scattering theory we construct the spectrum of the Andreev bound states that appear near the surface and compute the surface density of states for various surface orientations. Furthermore, we consider the effects of band splitting, i.e., the breaking of an inversion-type symmetry, and demonstrate that in the absence of band splitting there is a direct transition between the fully gapped topologically trivial phase and the nontrivial phase, whereas in the presence of band splitting there exists a finite region of a gapless nodal superconducting phase between the fully gapped topologically trivial and nontrivial phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

The superspin approach to a disordered quantum wire in the chiral-unitary symmetry class with an arbitrary number of channels

We use a superspin Hamiltonian defined on an infinite-dimensional Fock space with positive definite scalar product to study localization and delocalization of noninteracting spinless quasiparticles in quasi-one-dimensional quantum wires perturbed by weak quenched disorder. Past works using this approach have considered a single chain. Here, we extend the formalism to treat a quasi-one-dimensional system: a quantum wire with an arbitrary number of channels coupled by random hopping amplitudes. The computations are carried out explicitly for the case of a chiral quasi-one-dimensional wire with broken time-reversal symmetry (chiral-unitary symmetry class). By treating the space direction along the chains as imaginary time, the effects of the disorder are encoded in the time evolution induced by a single site superspin (non-Hermitian) Hamiltonian. We obtain the density of states near the band center of an infinitely long quantum wire. Our results agree with those based on the Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar equation for the chiral-unitary symmetry class.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Excitation spectrum and magnetic field effects in a quantum critical spin-orbital system:FeSc$_2$S$_4$

The orbitally degenerate A-site spinel compound FeSc2S4 has been experimentally identified as a ``spin-orbital liquid'', with strong fluctuations of both spins and orbitals. Assuming that the second neighbor spin exchange J2 is the dominant one, we argued in a recent theoretical study [Chen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 096406 (2009)] that FeSc2S4 is in a local ``spin-orbital singlet'' state driven by spin orbit coupling, close to a quantum critical point, which separates the ``spin-orbital singlet'' phase from a magnetically and orbitally ordered phase. In this paper, we refine further and develop this theory of FeSc2S4 . First, we show that inclusion of a small first neighbor exchange J1 induces a narrow region of incommensurate phase near the quantum critical point. Next, we derive the phase diagram in the presence of an external magnetic field B, and show that the latter suppresses the ordered phase. Lastly, we compute the field dependent dynamical magnetic susceptibility $χ(k, ω; B)$, from which we extract a variety of physical quantities. Comparison with and suggestions for experiment are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Classification of topological insulators and superconductors in three spatial dimensions

We systematically study topological phases of insulators and superconductors (SCs) in 3D. We find that there exist 3D topologically non-trivial insulators or SCs in 5 out of 10 symmetry classes introduced by Altland and Zirnbauer within the context of random matrix theory. One of these is the recently introduced Z_2 topological insulator in the symplectic symmetry class. We show there exist precisely 4 more topological insulators. For these systems, all of which are time-reversal (TR) invariant in 3D, the space of insulating ground states satisfying certain discrete symmetry properties is partitioned into topological sectors that are separated by quantum phase transitions. 3 of the above 5 topologically non-trivial phases can be realized as TR invariant SCs, and in these the different topological sectors are characterized by an integer winding number defined in momentum space. When such 3D topological insulators are terminated by a 2D surface, they support a number (which may be an arbitrary non-vanishing even number for singlet pairing) of Dirac fermion (Majorana fermion when spin rotation symmetry is completely broken) surface modes which remain gapless under arbitrary perturbations that preserve the characteristic discrete symmetries. In particular, these surface modes completely evade Anderson localization. These topological phases can be thought of as 3D analogues of well known paired topological phases in 2D such as the chiral p-wave SC. In the corresponding topologically non-trivial and topologically trivial 3D phases, the wavefunctions exhibit markedly distinct behavior. When an electromagnetic U(1) gauge field and fluctuations of the gap functions are included in the dynamics, the SC phases with non-vanishing winding number possess non-trivial topological ground state degeneracies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Classification of Topological Insulators and Superconductors

An exhaustive classification scheme of topological insulators and superconductors is presented. The key property of topological insulators (superconductors) is the appearance of gapless degrees of freedom at the interface/boundary between a topologically trivial and a topologically non-trivial state. Our approach consists in reducing the problem of classifying topological insulators (superconductors) in d spatial dimensions to the problem of Anderson localization at a (d-1) dimensional boundary of the system. We find that in each spatial dimension there are precisely five distinct classes of topological insulators (superconductors). The different topological sectors within a given topological insulator (superconductor) can be labeled by an integer winding number or a Z_2 quantity. One of the five topological insulators is the 'quantum spin Hall' (or: Z_2 topological) insulator in d=2, and its generalization in d=3 dimensions. For each dimension d, the five topological insulators correspond to a certain subset of five of the ten generic symmetry classes of Hamiltonians introduced more than a decade ago by Altland and Zirnbauer in the context of disordered systems (which generalizes the three well known "Wigner-Dyson'' symmetry classes).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Lattice model of three-dimensional topological singlet superconductor with time-reversal symmetry

We study topological phases of time-reversal invariant singlet superconductors in three spatial dimensions. In these particle-hole symmetric systems the topological phases are characterized by an even-numbered winding number $ν$. At a two-dimensional (2D) surface the topological properties of this quantum state manifest themselves through the presence of $ν$ flavors of gapless Dirac fermion surface states, which are robust against localization from random impurities. We construct a tight-binding model on the diamond lattice that realizes a topologically nontrivial phase, in which the winding number takes the value $ν=\pm 2$. Disorder corresponds to a (non-localizing) random SU(2) gauge potential for the surface Dirac fermions, leading to a power-law density of states $ρ(ε) \sim ε^{1/7}$. The bulk effective field theory is proposed to be the (3+1) dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory with a theta-term at $θ=π$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

A Spin-Orbital Singlet and Quantum Critical Point on the Diamond Lattice: FeSc2S4

We present a theory of spin and orbital physics in the A-site spinel compound FeSc2S4, which experimentally exhibits a broad "spin-orbital liquid" regime. A spin-orbital Hamiltonian is derived from a combination of microscopic consideration and symmetry analysis. We demonstrate a keen competition between spin-orbit interactions, which favor formation of a local "Spin-Orbital Singlet" (SOS), and exchange, which favors magnetic and orbital ordering. Separating the SOS from the ordered state is a quantum critical point (QCP). We argue that FeSc2S4 is close to this QCP on the SOS side. The full phase diagram of the model includes a commensurate-incommensurate transition within the ordered phase. A variety of comparison to and suggestion for experiments are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗