arXiv subjects

B. K. Nikolic

Publications and source records attributed to B. K. Nikolic.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Giant spin Nernst effect in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet due to magnetoelastic coupling-induced gaps and interband transitions between magnon-like bands

We analyze theoretically the origin of the spin Nernst and thermal Hall effects in FePS3 as a realization of two-dimensional antiferromagnet (2D AFM). We find that a strong magnetoelastic coupling, hybridizing magnetic excitation (magnon) and elastic excitation (phonon), combined with time-reversal-symmetry-breaking, results in a Berry curvature hotspots in the region of anticrossing between the two distinct hybridized bands. Furthermore, large spin Berry curvature emerges due to interband transitions between two magnon-like bands, where a small energy gap is induced by magnetoelastic coupling between such bands that are energetically distant from anticrossing of hybridized bands. These nonzero Berry curvatures generate topological transverse transport (i.e., the thermal Hall effect) of hybrid excitations, dubbed magnon-polaron, as well as of spin (i.e., the spin Nernst effect) carried by them, in response to applied longitudinal temperature gradient. We investigate the dependence of the spin Nernst and thermal Hall conductivities on the applied magnetic field and temperature, unveiling very large spin Nernst conductivity even at zero magnetic field. Our results suggest FePS3 AFM, which is already available in 2D form experimentally, as a promising platform to explore the topological transport of the magnon-polaron quasiparticles at THz frequencies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Spatio-temporal dynamics of shift current quantum pumping by femtosecond light pulse

Shift current---a photocurrent induced by light irradiating noncentrosymmetric materials in the absence of any bias voltage or built-in electric field---is one of the mechanisms of the so-called bulk photovoltaic effect. It has been traditionally described as a nonlinear optical response of periodic solids to continuous wave light using a perturbative formula, which is linear in the intensity of light and which involves Berry connection describing the shift in the center of mass position of the Wannier wave function associated with the transition between the valence and conduction bands. We analyze realistic two-terminal devices, where paradigmatic Rice-Mele model is sandwiched between two metallic electrodes, using recently developed time-dependent nonequilibrium Green function algorithms scaling linearly in the number of time steps and capable of treating nonperturbative effects in the amplitude of external time-dependent fields. This unveils novel features: superballistic transport, signified by time dependence of the displacement, $\sim t^ν$ with $ν> 1$, of the photoexcited charge carriers from the region where the femtosecond light pulse is applied toward the electrodes; and photocurrent quadratic in light intensity at subgap frequencies of light due to two-photon absorption processes that were missed in previous perturbative analyses. Furthermore, frequency dependence of the DC component of the photocurrent reveals shift currents as a realization of nonadiabatic quantum charge pumping enabled by breaking of left-right symmetry of the device structure. This demonstrates that a much wider class of systems, than the usually considered polar noncentrosymmetric bulk materials, can be exploited to generate nonzero DC component of photocurrent in response to unpolarized light and optimize shift-current-based solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Origin of nonlocal resistance in multiterminal graphene on hexagonal-boron-nitride: Fermi surface edge currents rather than Fermi sea topological valley currents

The recent observation [R. V. Gorbachev et al., Science {\bf 346}, 448 (2014)] of nonlocal resistance $R_\mathrm{NL}$ near the Dirac point (DP) of multiterminal graphene on aligned hexagonal boron nitride (G/hBN) has been interpreted as the consequence of topological valley Hall currents carried by the Fermi sea states just beneath the bulk gap $E_g$ induced by the inversion symmetry breaking. However, the valley Hall conductivity $σ^v_{xy}$, quantized inside $E_g$, is not directly measurable. Conversely, the Landauer-Büttiker formula, as numerically exact approach to observable nonlocal transport quantities, yields $R_\mathrm{NL} \equiv 0$ for the same simplistic Hamiltonian of gapped graphene that generates $σ^v_{xy} \neq 0$. We combine ab initio with quantum transport calculations to demonstrate that G/hBN wires with zigzag edges host dispersive edge states near the DP that are absent in theories based on the simplistic Hamiltonian. Although such edge states exist also in isolated zigzag graphene wires, aligned hBN is required to modify their energy-momentum dispersion and generate $R_\mathrm{NL} \neq 0$ near the DP persisting in the presence of edge disorder. Concurrently, the edge states resolve the long-standing puzzle of why the highly insulating state of G/hBN is rarely observed. We conclude that the observed $R_\mathrm{NL}$ is unrelated to Fermi sea topological valley currents conjectured for gapped Dirac spectra.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Proximity band structure and spin textures on both sides of topological-insulator/ferromagnetic-metal interface and their transport probes

The control of recently observed spintronic effects in topological-insulator/ferromagnetic-metal (TI/FM) heterostructures is thwarted by the lack of understanding of band structure and spin texture around their interfaces. Here we combine density functional theory with Green's function techniques to obtain the spectral function at any plane passing through atoms of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ and Co or Cu layers comprising the interface. In contrast to widely assumed but thinly tested Dirac cone gapped by the proximity exchange field, we find that the Rashba ferromagnetic model describes the spectral function on the surface of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ in contact with Co near the Fermi level $E_F^0$, where circular and snowflake-like constant energy contours coexist around which spin locks to momentum. The remnant of the Dirac cone is hybridized with evanescent wave functions injected by metallic layers and pushed, due to charge transfer from Co or Cu layers, few tenths of eV below $E_F^0$ for both Bi$_2$Se$_3$/Co and Bi$_2$Se$_3$/Cu interfaces while hosting distorted helical spin texture wounding around a single circle. These features explain recent observation [K. Kondou {\em et al.}, Nat. Phys. {\bf 12}, 1027 (2016)] of sensitivity of spin-to-charge conversion signal at TI/Cu interface to tuning of $E_F^0$. Interestingly, three monolayers of Co adjacent to Bi$_2$Se$_3$ host spectral functions very different from the bulk metal, as well as in-plane spin textures signifying the spin-orbit proximity effect. We predict that out-of-plane tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in vertical heterostructure Cu/Bi$_2$Se$_3$/Co, where current flowing perpendicular to its interfaces is modulated by rotating magnetization from parallel to orthogonal to current flow, can serve as a sensitive probe of spin texture residing at $E_F^0$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

The Nonequilibrium Many-Body Problem as a paradigm for extreme data science

Generating big data pervades much of physics. But some problems, which we call extreme data problems, are too large to be treated within big data science. The nonequilibrium quantum many-body problem on a lattice is just such a problem, where the Hilbert space grows exponentially with system size and rapidly becomes too large to fit on any computer (and can be effectively thought of as an infinite-sized data set). Nevertheless, much progress has been made with computational methods on this problem, which serve as a paradigm for how one can approach and attack extreme data problems. In addition, viewing these physics problems from a computer-science perspective leads to new approaches that can be tried to solve them more accurately and for longer times. We review a number of these different ideas here.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Spin and Charge Shot Noise in Mesoscopic Spin Hall Systems

Injection of unpolarized charge current through the longitudinal leads of a four-terminal two-dimensional electron gas with the Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling and/or SO scattering off extrinsic impurities is responsible not only for the pure spin Hall current in the transverse leads, but also for random time-dependent current fluctuations. We employ the scattering approach to current-current correlations in multiterminal nanoscale conductors to analyze the shot noise of transverse pure spin Hall and zero charge current, or transverse spin current and non-zero charge Hall current, driven by unpolarized or spin-polarized longitudinal current, respectively. Since any spin-flip acts as an additional source of noise, we argue that these shot noises offer a unique tool to differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic SO mechanisms underlying the spin Hall effect in paramagnetic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Tunnel barrier enhanced voltage signals generated by magnetization precession of a single ferromagnetic layer

We report the electrical detection of magnetization dynamics in an Al/AlOx/Ni80Fe20/Cu tunnel junction, where a Ni80Fe20 ferromagnetic layer is brought into precession under the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) conditions. The dc voltage generated across the junction by the precessing ferromagnet is enhanced about an order of magnitude compared to the voltage signal observed when the contacts in this type of multilayered structure are ohmic. We discuss the relation of this phenomenon to magnetic spin pumping and speculate on other possible underlying mechanisms responsible for the enhanced electrical signal.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Optimizing the speed of a Josephson junction

We review the application of dynamical mean-field theory to Josephson junctions and study how to maximize the characteristic voltage IcRn which determines the width of a rapid single flux quantum pulse, and thereby the operating speed in digital electronics. We study a wide class of junctions ranging from SNS, SCmS (where Cm stands for correlated metal), SINIS (where the insulating layer is formed from a screened dipole layer), and SNSNS structures. Our review is focused on a survey of the physical results; the formalism has been developed elsewhere.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Tuning a Josephson junction through a quantum critical point

We tune the barrier of a Josephson junction through a zero-temperature metal-insulator transition and study the thermodynamic behavior of the junction in the proximity of the quantum-critical point. We examine a short-coherence-length superconductor and a barrier (that is described by a Falicov-Kimball model) using the local approximation and dynamical mean-field theory. The inhomogeneous system is self-consistently solved by performing a Fourier transformation in the planar momentum and exactly inverting the remaining one-dimensional matrix with the renormalized perturbation expansion. Our results show a delicate interplay between oscillations on the scale of the Fermi wavelength and pair-field correlations on the scale of the coherence length, variations in the current-phase relationship, and dramatic changes in the characteristic voltage as a function of the barrier thickness or correlation strength (which can lead to an ``intrinsic'' pinhole effect).

cond-mat.str-el↗