arXiv subjects

Benjamin E. Feldman

Publications and source records attributed to Benjamin E. Feldman.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Visualizing Heavy Fermion Confinement and Pauli-Limited Superconductivity in Layered CeCoIn5

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron-electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of their bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to directly probe in cross section the quasi-two-dimensional correlated electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of heavy quasi-particles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase in this compound. Examining the interlayer coupled superconducting state at low temperatures, we find that the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave order parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

High-resolution studies of the Majorana atomic chain platform

Ordered assemblies of magnetic atoms on the surface of conventional superconductors can be used to engineer topological superconducting phases and realize Majorana fermion quasiparticles (MQPs) in a condensed matter setting. Recent experiments have shown that chains of Fe atoms on Pb generically have the required electronic characteristics to form a 1D topological superconductor and have revealed spatially resolved signatures of localized MQPs at the ends of such chains. Here we report higher resolution measurements of the same atomic chain system performed using a dilution refrigerator scanning tunneling microscope (STM). With significantly better energy resolution than previous studies, we show that the zero bias peak (ZBP) in Fe chains has no detectable splitting from hybridization with other states. The measurements also reveal that the ZBP exhibits a distinctive 'double eye' spatial pattern on nanometer length scales. Theoretically we show that this is a general consequence of STM measurements of MQPs with substantial spectral weight in the superconducting substrate, a conclusion further supported by measurements of Pb overlayers deposited on top of the Fe chains. Finally, we report experiments performed with superconducting tips in search of the particle-hole symmetric MQP signature expected in such measurements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Imaging electronic states on topological semimetals using scanning tunneling microscopy

Following the intense studies on topological insulators, significant efforts have recently been devoted to the search for gapless topological systems. These materials not only broaden the topological classification of matter but also provide a condensed matter realization of various relativistic particles and phenomena previously discussed mainly in high energy physics. Weyl semimetals host massless, chiral, low-energy excitations in the bulk electronic band structure, whereas a symmetry protected pair of Weyl fermions gives rise to massless Dirac fermions. We employed scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy to explore the behavior of electronic states both on the surface and in the bulk of topological semimetal phases. By mapping the quasiparticle interference and emerging Landau levels at high magnetic field in Dirac semimetals Cd$_3$As$_2$ and Na$_3$Bi, we observed extended Dirac-like bulk electronic bands. Quasiparticle interference imaged on Weyl semimetal TaAs demonstrated the predicted momentum dependent delocalization of Fermi arc surface states in the vicinity of the surface-projected Weyl nodes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Observation of a Nematic Quantum Hall Liquid on the Surface of Bismuth

Nematic quantum fluids with wavefunctions that break the underlying crystalline symmetry can form in interacting electronic systems. We examine the quantum Hall states that arise in high magnetic fields from anisotropic hole pockets on the Bi(111) surface. Spectroscopy performed with a scanning tunneling microscope shows that a combination of local strain and many-body Coulomb interactions lift the six-fold Landau level (LL) degeneracy to form three valley-polarized quantum Hall states. We image the resulting anisotropic LL wavefunctions and show that they have a different orientation for each broken-symmetry state. The wavefunctions correspond precisely to those expected from pairs of hole valleys and provide a direct spatial signature of a nematic electronic phase.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Scanning Josephson spectroscopy on the atomic scale

The Josephson effect provides a direct method to probe the strength of the pairing interaction in superconductors. By measuring the phase fluctuating Josephson current between a superconducting tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and a BCS superconductor with isolated magnetic adatoms on its surface, we demonstrate that the spatial variation of the pairing order parameter can be characterized on the atomic scale. This system provides an example where the local pairing potential suppression is not directly reflected in the spectra measured via quasipartcile tunneling. Spectroscopy with such superconducting tips also show signatures of previously unexplored Andreev processes through individual impurity-bound Shiba states. The atomic resolution achieved here establishes scanning Josephson spectroscopy as a promising technique for the study of novel superconducting phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Bulk crystal growth and electronic characterization of the 3D Dirac Semimetal Na3Bi

High quality hexagon plate-like Na3Bi crystals with large (001) plane surfaces were grown from a molten Na flux. The freshly cleaved crystals were analyzed by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), allowing for the characterization of the three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal (TDS) behavior and the observation of the topological surface states. Landau levels (LL) were observed, and the energy-momentum relations exhibited a linear dispersion relationship, characteristic of the 3D TDS nature of Na3Bi. In transport measurements on Na3Bi crystals the linear magnetoresistance and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillations are observed for the first time.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Landau Quantization and Quasiparticle Interference in the Three-Dimensional Dirac Semimetal Cd3As2

Condensed matter systems provide a rich setting to realize Dirac and Majorana fermionic excitations and the possibility to manipulate them in materials for potential applications. Recently, it has been proposed that Weyl fermions, which are chiral, massless particles, can emerge in certain bulk materials or in topological insulator multilayers and can produce unusual transport properties, such as charge pumping driven by a chiral anomaly. A pair of Weyl fermions protected by crystalline symmetry, effectively forming a massless Dirac fermion, has been predicted to appear as low energy excitations in a number of candidate materials termed three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetals. Here we report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements at sub-Kelvin temperatures and high magnetic fields on one promising host material, the II-V semiconductor Cd3As2. Our study provides the first atomic scale probe of Cd3As2, showing that defects mostly influence the valence band, consistent with the observation of ultra-high mobility carriers in the conduction band. By combining Landau level spectroscopy and quasiparticle interference (QPI), we distinguish a large spin-splitting of the conduction band in a magnetic field and its extended Dirac-like dispersion above the expected regime. A model band structure consistent with our experimental findings suggests that for a specific orientation of the applied magnetic field, Weyl fermions are the low-energy excitations in Cd3As2.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Electron-Hole Asymmetric Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in Bilayer Graphene

The nature of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states is determined by the interplay between the Coulomb interaction and the symmetries of the system. The unique combination of spin, valley, and orbital degeneracies in bilayer graphene is predicted to produce novel and tunable FQH ground states. Here we present local electronic compressibility measurements of the FQH effect in the lowest Landau level of bilayer graphene. We observe incompressible FQH states at filling factors v = 2p + 2/3 with hints of additional states appearing at v = 2p + 3/5, where p = -2,-1, 0, and 1. This sequence of states breaks particle-hole symmetry and instead obeys a v --> v + 2 symmetry, which highlights the importance of the orbital degeneracy for many-body states in bilayer graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Fractional and integer quantum Hall effects in the zeroth Landau level in graphene

Experiments on the fractional quantized Hall effect in the zeroth Landau level of graphene have revealed some striking differences between filling factors in the ranges 0<|ν|<1 and 1<|ν|<2. We argue that these differences can be largely understood as a consequence of the effects of terms in the Hamiltonian which break SU(2) valley symmetry, which we find to be important for |ν|<1 but negligible for |ν| >1. The effective absence of valley anisotropy for |ν|>1 means that states with odd numerator, e.g. |ν|=5/3 or 7/5 can accommodate charged excitations in the form of large valley skyrmions, which have a low energy cost, and may be easily induced by coupling to impurities. The absence of observed quantum Hall states at these fractions is likely due to the effects of valley skyrmions. For |ν|<1, the anisotropy terms favor phases in which electrons occupy states with opposite spins, similar to the antiferromagnetic state previously hypothesized to be the ground state at ν=0. The anisotropy and Zeeman energies suppress large-area skyrmions, so that quantized Hall states can be observable at a set of fractions similar to those in GaAs two-dimensional electron systems. In a perpendicular magnetic field B, the competition between the Coulomb energy, which varies as B^{1/2}, and the Zeeman energy, which varies as B, can explain the observation of apparent phase transitions as a function of B for fixed ν, as transitions between states with different degrees of spin polarization. In addition to an analysis of various fractional states, and an examination of the effects of disorder on valley skyrmions, we present new experimental data for the energy gaps at integer fillings ν=0 and ν= -1, as a function of magnetic field, and we examine the possibility that valley-skyrmions may account for the smaller energy gaps observed at ν= -1.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Fractional Quantum Hall Phase Transitions and Four-flux Composite Fermions in Graphene

Graphene and its multilayers have attracted considerable interest owing to the fourfold spin and valley degeneracy of their charge carriers, which enables the formation of a rich variety of broken-symmetry states and raises the prospect of controlled phase transitions among them. In especially clean samples, electron-electron interactions were recently shown to produce surprising patterns of symmetry breaking and phase transitions in the integer quantum Hall regime. Although a series of robust fractional quantum Hall states was also recently observed in graphene, their rich phase diagram and tunability have yet to be fully explored. Here we report local electronic compressibility measurements of ultraclean suspended graphene that reveal a multitude of fractional quantum Hall states surrounding filling factors v = -1/2 and -1/4. In several of these states, we observe phase transitions that indicate abrupt changes in the underlying order and are marked by a narrow region of negative compressibility that cuts across the incompressible peak. Remarkably, as filling factor approaches v = -1/2, we observe additional oscillations in compressibility that appear to be related to the phase transitions and persist to within 2.5% of v = -1/2. We use a simple model based on crossing Landau levels of composite particles with different internal degrees of freedom to explain many qualitative features of the experimental data. Our results add to the diverse array of correlated states observed in graphene and demonstrate substantial control over their order parameters, showing that graphene serves as an excellent platform to study correlated electron phases of matter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Unconventional Sequence of Fractional Quantum Hall States in Suspended Graphene

Interactions among electrons can give rise to striking collective phenomena when the kinetic energy of charge carriers is suppressed. One example is the fractional quantum Hall effect, in which correlations between electrons moving in two dimensions under the influence of a strong magnetic field generate excitations with fractional charge. Graphene provides a platform to study unique many-body effects due to its massless chiral charge carriers and the fourfold degeneracy that arises from their spin and valley degrees of freedom. Here we report local electronic compressibility measurements of a suspended graphene flake performed using a scanning single-electron transistor. Between Landau level filling v = 0 and 1, we observe incompressible fractional quantum Hall states that follow the standard composite fermion sequence v = p/(2p \pm 1) for all integer p \leq 4. In contrast, incompressible behavior occurs only at v = 4/3, 8/5, 10/7 and 14/9 between v = 1 and 2. These fractions correspond to a subset of the standard composite fermion sequence involving only even numerators, suggesting a robust underlying symmetry. We extract the energy gaps associated with each fractional quantum Hall state as a function of magnetic field. The states at v = 1/3, 2/3, 4/3 and 8/5 are the strongest at low field, and persist below 1.5 T. The unusual sequence of incompressible states provides insight into the interplay between electronic correlations and SU(4) symmetry in graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Coulomb-driven broken-symmetry states in doubly gated suspended bilayer graphene

The non-interacting energy spectrum of graphene and its bilayer counterpart consists of multiple degeneracies owing to the inherent spin, valley and layer symmetries. Interactions among charge carriers are expected to spontaneously break these symmetries, leading to gapped ordered states. In the quantum Hall regime these states are predicted to be ferromagnetic in nature whereby the system becomes spin polarized, layer polarized or both. In bilayer graphene, due to its parabolic dispersion, interaction-induced symmetry breaking is already expected at zero magnetic field. In this work, the underlying order of the various broken-symmetry states is investigated in bilayer graphene that is suspended between top and bottom gate electrodes. By controllably breaking the spin and sublattice symmetries we are able to deduce the order parameter of the various quantum Hall ferromagnetic states. At small carrier densities, we identify for the first time three distinct broken symmetry states, one of which is consistent with either spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry or spontaneously broken rotational symmetry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Local Compressibility Measurements of Correlated States in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

Bilayer graphene has attracted considerable interest due to the important role played by many-body effects, particularly at low energies. Here we report local compressibility measurements of a suspended graphene bilayer. We find that the energy gaps at filling factors v = 4 do not vanish at low fields, but instead merge into an incompressible region near the charge neutrality point at zero electric and magnetic field. These results indicate the existence of a zero-field ordered state and are consistent with the formation of either an anomalous quantum Hall state or a nematic phase with broken rotational symmetry. At higher fields, we measure the intrinsic energy gaps of broken-symmetry states at v = 0, 1 and 2, and find that they scale linearly with magnetic field, yet another manifestation of the strong Coulomb interactions in bilayer graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Broken symmetry states and divergent resistance in suspended bilayer graphene

Graphene [1] and its bilayer have generated tremendous excitement in the physics community due to their unique electronic properties [2]. The intrinsic physics of these materials, however, is partially masked by disorder, which can arise from various sources such as ripples [3] or charged impurities [4]. Recent improvements in quality have been achieved by suspending graphene flakes [5,6], yielding samples with very high mobilities and little charge inhomogeneity. Here we report the fabrication of suspended bilayer graphene devices with very little disorder. We observe fully developed quantized Hall states at magnetic fields of 0.2 T, as well as broken symmetry states at intermediate filling factors $ν= 0$, $\pm 1$, $\pm 2$ and $\pm 3$. The devices exhibit extremely high resistance in the $ν= 0$ state that grows with magnetic field and scales as magnetic field divided by temperature. This resistance is predominantly affected by the perpendicular component of the applied field, indicating that the broken symmetry states arise from many-body interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗