arXiv subjects

Antonello Sindona

Publications and source records attributed to Antonello Sindona.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Plasmons in twisted bilayer graphene across dispersive and flat bands

The dynamical dielectric response of twisted bilayer graphene is explored in large-angle dispersive-band and small-angle quasi-flat-band regimes using time-dependent density-functional theory within the random-phase approximation. At the reference bilayer-graphene interlayer distance, weak coupling in the largest-angle structures preserves Dirac dispersions and the intrinsic $π$ plasmon. Electron doping activates a two-dimensional Dirac plasmon with energies obeying approximate geometric twist-angle scaling, while acoustic-like branches remain embedded in the single-particle continuum. The prohibitively large first-magic-angle supercell is represented by a tractable cell with its interlayer separation reduced to the angle-dependent magic distance, where four quasi-flat bands emerge around the Fermi level. Their partial occupation produces a dispersive low-energy plasmon-like excitation without a clear dielectric zero at resonance. A distinct interband plasmon is instead identified, supported by transitions involving the quasi-flat manifold and neighboring high-density-of-states regions. Band-energy rescaling places its characteristic energy in the mid-infrared range of interband collective excitations measured near the magic angle.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

The Hidden Cost of Alloying: Disorder-Driven Transport Collapse in TMDs

Alloying in two dimensional semiconductors is widely used to tune bandgaps, yet its implications for charge and energy transport remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate MoS2xSe2(1-x) alloys as a model system to study the interplay between composition, thickness, and disorder. Optical transitions and valence band dispersions evolve continuously with both stoichiometry and number of layers, with negligible bandgap bowing and a composition dependent attenuation of thickness driven renormalization. In contrast, time resolved spatial mapping of photoexcited carriers reveals a pronounced and asymmetric collapse of carrier diffusivity at intermediate compositions, which cannot be accounted for by changes in effective mass or band alignment, and instead emerges from strong real space fluctuations in the local energetic landscape generated by random chalcogen substitution. Microscopic simulations reproduce the experimental trends and show that the character of disorder depends critically on the direction of alloying, producing either scattering barriers or deep trapping sites. Together, these results demonstrate that transport in TMD alloys is governed by disorder physics, overlooked by conventional optical and photoemission probes at equilibrium. Our findings establish transport as a stringent metric of electronic quality and high-light intrinsic limitations in the usage of TMD alloys for layered semiconductor devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Revealing Many-Body Phases at finite temperatures through Quantum Coherence Distribution

We introduce a diagnostic framework based on the full probability distribution of quantum coherence to probe single-particle and many-body phases at finite temperature. We first apply this approach to the localization transition in the non-interacting Aubry-André model and then extend the analysis to its interacting counterpart, whose phase diagram is substantially richer. We show that the moments of the coherence distribution provide clear signatures of quantum phase transitions and capture the emergence of many-body phases. More importantly, we find that the entropy of the coherence distribution emerges as an even more powerful indicator, retaining clear signatures of the underlying quantum phases while remaining remarkably robust against increasing thermal fluctuations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Full Quantum Work Statistics for Non-Homogeneous Many-Body Systems

The nonequilibrium thermodynamics of interacting quantum many-body systems is investigated within the framework of thermal time-dependent density functional theory using a generalized linear-response formulation for the full quantum work statistics. A first-principles route is established to reconstruct the relaxation function that underlies linear-response theory, thereby moving beyond phenomenological descriptions and enabling a consistent evaluation of all moments of the dissipated-work distribution in interacting systems. The predictive power of the approach is demonstrated for the Hubbard model subject to a staggered external potential, where the evolution of the relaxation dynamics during the Mott-to-band-insulator crossover reveals how distinct many-body phases shape the out-of-equilibrium thermodynamic response. These results provide a microscopic and transferable framework for quantum thermodynamics in correlated systems, bridging thermal density functional theory and nonequilibrium work statistics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Magic distances in twisted bilayer graphene

Twisted bilayer graphene exhibits isolated, relatively flat electronic bands near charge neutrality when the interlayer rotation is tuned to specific magic angles. These small misalignments, typically below 1.1°, result in long-period moiré patterns with anomalous electronic properties, posing severe challenges for accurate atomistic simulations due to the large supercell sizes required. Here, we introduce a framework to map arbitrarily stacked graphene bilayers, characterized by specific rotation angles corresponding to precise interplanar distances, onto an equivalence class represented by magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. Using a continuum model, we derive the equivalence relation defining this class and extend its implementation to tight-binding approaches. We further explore the applicability of this mapping within density functional theory, demonstrating that the magic-angle physics can be efficiently studied using twisted bilayer graphene configurations with larger stacking angles and computationally manageable supercell sizes. This approach offers a pathway for ab initio investigations into unconventional topological phases and emergent excitations in the low-energy quasi-flat bands of twisted bilayer materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Thermal density functional theory approach to quantum thermodynamics

Understanding the thermodynamic properties of many-body quantum systems and their emergence from microscopic laws is a topic of great significance due to its profound fundamental implications and extensive practical applications. Recent advances in experimental techniques for controlling and preparing these systems have increased interest in this area, as they have the potential to drive the development of quantum technologies. In this study, we present a density-functional theory approach to extract detailed information about the statistics of work and the irreversible entropy associated with quantum quenches at finite temperature. Specifically, we demonstrate that these quantities can be expressed as functionals of thermal and out-of-equilibrium densities, which may serve as fundamental variables for understanding finite-temperature many-body processes. We, then, apply our method to the case of the inhomogeneous Hubbard model, showing that our density functional theory based approach can be usefully employed to unveil the distinctive roles of interaction and external potential on the thermodynamic properties of such a system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Plasmon modes of graphene nanoribbons with periodic planar arrangements

Among their amazing properties, graphene and related low-dimensional materials show quantized charge-density fluctuations--known as plasmons--when exposed to photons or electrons of suitable energies. Graphene nanoribbons offer an enhanced tunability of these resonant modes, due to their geometrically controllable band gaps. The formidable effort made over recent years in developing graphene-based technologies is however weakened by a lack of predictive modeling approaches that draw upon available {\it ab initio} methods. An example of such a framework is presented here, focusing on narrow-width graphene nanoribbons organized in periodic planar arrays. Time-dependent density-functional calculations reveal unprecedented plasmon modes of different nature at visible to infrared energies. Specifically, semimetallic~(zigzag) nanoribbons display an intraband plasmon following the energy-momentum dispersion of a two-dimensional electron gas. Semiconducting~(armchair) nanoribbons are instead characterized by two distinct intraband and interband plasmons, whose fascinating interplay is extremely responsive to either injection of charge carriers or increase in electronic temperature. These oscillations share some common trends with recent nanoinfrared imaging of confined edge and surface plasmon modes detected in graphene nanoribbons of $100$-$500$~nm width.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Spatial dispersion effects upon local excitation of extrinsic plasmons in a graphene micro-disk

Excitation of surface plasmon waves in extrinsic graphene is studied using a full-wave electromagnetic field solver as analysis engine. Particular emphasis is placed on the role played by spatial dispersion due to the finite size of the two-dimensional material at the micro-scale. A simple instructive set up is considered where the near field of a wire antenna is held at sub-micrometric distance from a disk-shaped graphene patch. The key-input of the simulation is the graphene conductivity tensor at terahertz frequencies, being modeled by the Boltzmann transport equation for the valence and conduction electrons at the Dirac points~(where a linear wave-vector dependence of the band energies is assumed). The conductivity equation is worked out in different levels of approximations, based on the relaxation time ansatz with an additional constraint for particle number conservation. Both drift and diffusion currents are shown to significantly contribute to the spatially dispersive anisotropic features of micro-scale graphene. More generally, spatial dispersion effects are predicted to influence not only plasmon propagation free of external sources, but also typical scanning probe microscopy configurations. The paper set the focus on plasmon excitation phenomena induced by near field probes, being a central issue for the design of optical devices and photonic circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗