arXiv subjects

Chandra Shekhar

Publications and source records attributed to Chandra Shekhar.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Parallel spin-momentum locking in a chiral topological semimetal

Spin-momentum locking in solids describes a directional relationship between the electron's spin angular momentum and its linear momentum over the entire Fermi surface. While orthogonal spin-momentum locking, such as Rashba spin-orbit coupling, has been studied for decades and inspired a vast number of applications, its natural counterpart, the purely parallel spin-momentum locking, has remained elusive in experiments. Recently, chiral topological semimetals that host single- and multifold band crossings have been predicted to realize such parallel locking. Here, we use spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy to probe spin-momentum locking of a multifold fermion in the chiral topological semimetal PtGa via the spin-texture of its topological Fermi-arc surface states. We find that the electron spin of the Fermi-arcs points orthogonal to their Fermi surface contour for momenta close to the projection of the bulk multifold fermion, which is consistent with parallel spin-momentum locking of the latter. We anticipate that our discovery of parallel spin-momentum locking of multifold fermions will lead to the integration of chiral topological semimetals in novel spintronic devices, and the search for spin-dependent superconducting and magnetic instabilities in these materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Berry curvature induced anomalous Hall conductivity in magnetic topological oxide double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6

Oxide materials exhibit several novel structural, magnetic, and electronic properties. Their stability under ambient conditions, easy synthesis, and high transition temperatures provide such systems with an ideal ground for realizing topological properties and real-life technological applications. However, experimental evidence of topological states in oxide materials is rare. In this study, we have synthesized single crystals of oxide double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 and revealed its topological nature by investigating its structural, magnetic, and electronic properties. We observed that the system crystallized in the cubic space group Fm-3m, which is a half-metallic ferromagnet. Transport measurements show an anomalous Hall effect, and it is evident that the Hall contribution originates from the Berry curvature. Assuming a shift of the Fermi energy towards the conduction band, the contribution of the anomalous Hall effect is enhanced owing to the presence of a gaped nodal line. This study can be used to explore and realize the topological properties of bulk oxide systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Real Time Vehicle Identification

Identification of the vehicles passing over the roads is a very important component of an Intelligent Transportation System. However, due to the presence of multiple vehicles together and their velocity, it gets hard to accurately identify and record them in real-time. Solutions based on Computer-vision use heavyweight equipment making them quiet inflexible, costly and hence unsuitable for wide-area coverage. Solutions based on RFID, although are lightweight and cost-effective, lack of fast and efficient communication protocol pertains to their inability to record multiple moving vehicles at the same time. We propose an IoT-assisted solution that leverages Synchronous-Transmission based communication to bridge these gaps. Through extensive experiments we demonstrate that our strategy can consistently record upto an average of 40 vehicles running at speed range 30-90 Km/h with at least 97.5% accuracy.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2022

Quasi-symmetry protected topology in a semi-metal

The crystal symmetry of a material dictates the type of topological band structures it may host, and therefore symmetry is the guiding principle to find topological materials. Here we introduce an alternative guiding principle, which we call 'quasi-symmetry'. This is the situation where a Hamiltonian has an exact symmetry at lower-order that is broken by higher-order perturbation terms. This enforces finite but parametrically small gaps at some low-symmetry points in momentum space. Untethered from the restraints of symmetry, quasi-symmetries eliminate the need for fine-tuning as they enforce that sources of large Berry curvature will occur at arbitrary chemical potentials. We demonstrate that a quasi-symmetry in the semi-metal CoSi stabilizes gaps below 2 meV over a large near-degenerate plane that can be measured in the quantum oscillation spectrum. The application of in-plane strain breaks the crystal symmetry and gaps the degenerate point, observable by new magnetic breakdown orbits. The quasi-symmetry, however, does not depend on spatial symmetries and hence transmission remains fully coherent. These results demonstrate a class of topological materials with increased resilience to perturbations such as strain-induced crystalline symmetry breaking, which may lead to robust topological applications as well as unexpected topology beyond the usual space group classifications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

LiVeR: Lightweight Vehicle Detection and Classification in Real-Time

Detection and classification of vehicles are very significant components in an Intelligent-Transportation System. Existing solutions not only use heavy-weight and costly equipment, but also largely depend on constant cloud (Internet) connectivity, as well as adequate uninterrupted power-supply. Such dependencies make these solutions fundamentally impractical considering the possible adversities of outdoor environment as well as requirement of correlated wide-area operation. For practical use, apart from being technically sound and accurate, a solution has to be lightweight, cost-effective, easy-to-install, flexible as well as supporting efficient time-correlated coverage over large area. In this work we propose an IoT-assisted strategy to fulfil all these goals together. We adopt a top-down approach where we first introduce a lightweight framework for time-correlated low-cost wide-area measurement and then reuse the concept for developing the individual measurement units. Our extensive outdoor measurement studies and trace-based simulation on the empirical data show about 98% accuracy in vehicle detection and upto 93% of accuracy in classification of the vehicles over moderately busy urban roads.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

What's knot to like? Observation of a linked loop quantum state

Quantum phases can be classified by topological invariants, which take on discrete values capturing global information about the quantum state. Over the past decades, these invariants have come to play a central role in describing matter, providing the foundation for understanding superfluids, magnets, the quantum Hall effect, topological insulators, Weyl semimetals and other phenomena. Here we report a remarkable linking number (knot theory) invariant associated with loops of electronic band crossings in a mirror-symmetric ferromagnet. Using state-of-the-art spectroscopic methods, we directly observe three intertwined degeneracy loops in the material's bulk Brillouin zone three-torus, $\mathbb{T}^3$. We find that each loop links each other loop twice. Through systematic spectroscopic investigation of this linked loop quantum state, we explicitly draw its link diagram and conclude, in analogy with knot theory, that it exhibits linking number $(2,2,2)$, providing a direct determination of the invariant structure from the experimental data. On the surface of our samples, we further predict and observe Seifert boundary states protected by the bulk linked loops, suggestive of a remarkable Seifert bulk-boundary correspondence. Our observation of a quantum loop link motivates the application of knot theory to the exploration of exotic properties of quantum matter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Observation of a phase transition within the domain walls of ferromagnetic Co3Sn2S2

The ferromagnetic phase of Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$ is widely considered to be a topological Weyl semimetal, with evidence for momentum-space monopoles of Berry curvature from transport and spectroscopic probes. As the bandstructure is highly sensitive to the magnetic order, attention has focused on anomalies in magnetization, susceptibility and transport measurements that are seen well below the Curie temperature, leading to speculation that a "hidden" phase coexists with ferromagnetism. Here we report spatially-resolved measurements by Kerr effect microscopy that identify this phase. We find that the anomalies coincide with a deep minimum in domain wall (DW) mobility, indicating a crossover between two regimes of DW propagation. We demonstrate that this crossover is a manifestation of a 2D phase transition that occurs within the DW, in which the magnetization texture changes from continuous rotation to unidirectional variation. We propose that the existence of this 2D transition deep within the ferromagnetic state of the bulk is a consequence of a giant quality factor for magnetocrystalline anisotropy unique to this compound. This work broadens the horizon of the conventional binary classification of DWs into Bloch and Néel walls, and suggests new strategies for manipulation of domain walls and their role in electron and spin transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Temperature dependence of quantum oscillations from non-parabolic dispersions

The phase offset of quantum oscillations is commonly used to experimentally diagnose topologically non-trivial Fermi surfaces. This methodology, however, is inconclusive for spin-orbit-coupled metals where $π$-phase-shifts can also arise from non-topological origins. Here, we show that the linear dispersion in topological metals leads to a $T^2$-temperature correction to the oscillation frequency that is absent for parabolic dispersions. We confirm this effect experimentally in the Dirac semi-metal Cd$_3$As$_2$ and the multiband Dirac metal LaRhIn$_5$. Both materials match a tuning-parameter-free theoretical prediction, emphasizing their unified origin. For topologically trivial Bi$_2$O$_2$Se, no frequency shift associated to linear bands is observed as expected. However, the $π$-phase shift in Bi$_2$O$_2$Se would lead to a false positive in a Landau-fan plot analysis. Our frequency-focused methodology does not require any input from ab-initio calculations, and hence is promising for identifying correlated topological materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Anisotropic Nodal-Line-Derived Large Anomalous Hall Conductivity in ZrMnP and HfMnP

The nontrivial band structure of semimetals has attracted substantial research attention in condensed matter physics and materials science in recent years owing to its intriguing physical properties. Within this class, a group of non-trivial materials known as nodal-line semimetals is particularly important. Nodal-line semimetals exhibit the potential effects of electronic correlation in nonmagnetic materials, whereas they enhance the contribution of the Berry curvature in magnetic materials, resulting in high anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC). In this study, two ferromagnetic compounds, namely ZrMnP and HfMnP, are selected, wherein the abundance of mirror planes in the crystal structure ensures gapped nodal lines at the Fermi energy. These nodal lines result in one of the largest AHC values of 2840 ohm^-1cm^-1, with a high anomalous Hall angle of 13.6 % in these compounds. First-principles calculations provide a clear and detailed understanding of nodal line-enhanced AHC. Our finding suggests a guideline for searching large AHC compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Three-dimensional quasi-quantized Hall insulator phase in SrSi2

In insulators, the longitudinal resistivity becomes infinitely large at zero temperature. For classic insulators, the Hall conductivity becomes zero at the same time. However, there are special systems, such as two-dimensional quantum Hall isolators, in which a more complex scenario is observed at high magnetic fields. Here, we report experimental evidence for a quasi-quantized Hall insulator in the quantum limit of the three-dimensional semimetal SrSi2. Our measurements reveal a magnetic field-range, in which the longitudinal resistivity diverges with decreasing temperature, while the Hall conductivity approaches a quasi-quantized value that is given only by the conductance quantum and the Fermi wave vector in the field-direction. The quasi-quantized Hall insulator appears in a magnetic-field induced insulating ground state of three-dimensional materials and is deeply rooted in quantum Hall physics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Giant anomalous Hall conductivity in the itinerant ferromagnet LaCrSb3 and the effect of f-electrons

Itinerant ferromagnets constitute an important class of materials wherein spin-polarization can affect the electric transport properties in nontrivial ways. One such phenomenon is anomalous Hall effect which depends on the details of the band structure such as the amount of band crossings in the valence band of the ferromagnet. Here, we have found extraordinary anomalous Hall effect in an itinerant ferromagnetic metal LaCrSb3. The rather two-dimensional nature of the magnetic subunit imparts large anisotropic anomalous Hall conductivity of 1250 S/cm at 2K. Our investigations suggest that a strong Berry curvature by abundant momentum-space crossings and narrow energy-gap openings are the primary sources of the anomalous Hall conductivity. An important observation is the existence of quasi-dispersionless bands in LaCrSb3 which is now known to increase the anomalous Hall conductivity. After introducing f-electrons, anomalous Hall conductivity experiences more than two-fold increase and reaches 2900 S/cm in NdCrSb3.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Observation of linearly dispersive edge modes in a magnetic Weyl semimetal Co3Sn2S2

The physical realization of Chern insulators is of fundamental and practical interest, as they are predicted to host the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and topologically protected chiral edge states which can carry dissipationless current. The realization of the QAHE state has however been challenging because of the complex heterostructures and sub-Kelvin temperatures required. Time-reversal symmetry breaking Weyl semimetals, being essentially stacks of Chern insulators with inter-layer coupling, may provide a new platform for the higher temperature realization of robust QAHE edge states. In this work we present a combined scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretical investigation of a newly discovered magnetic Weyl semimetal, Co3Sn2S2. Using modeling and numerical simulations we find that chiral edge states can be localized on partially exposed Kagome planes on the surface of a Weyl semimetal. Correspondingly, our STM dI/dV maps on narrow kagome Co3Sn terraces show linearly dispersing quantum well like states, which can be attributed to hybridized chiral edge modes. Our experiment and theory results suggest a new paradigm for studying chiral edge modes in time-reversal breaking Weyl semimetals. More importantly, this work leads a practical route for realizing higher temperature QAHE.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Topological quantum materials from the viewpoint of chemistry

Topology, a mathematical concept, has recently become a popular and truly transdisciplinary topic encompassing condensed matter physics, solid state chemistry, and materials science. Since there is a direct connection between real space, namely atoms, valence electrons, bonds and orbitals, and reciprocal space, namely bands and Fermi surfaces, via symmetry and topology, classifying topological materials within a single-particle picture is possible. Currently, most materials are classified as trivial insulators, semimetals and metals, or as topological insulators, Dirac and Weyl nodal-line semimetals, and topological metals. The key ingredients for topology are: certain symmetries, the inert pair effect of the outer electrons leading to inversion of the conduction and valence bands, and spin-orbit coupling. This review presents the topological concepts related to solids from the viewpoint of a solid-state chemist, summarizes techniques for growing single crystals, and describes basic physical property measurement techniques to characterize topological materials beyond their structure and provide examples of such materials. Finally, a brief outlook on the impact of topology in other areas of chemistry is provided at the end of the article.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Effect of Serum Starvation on Rheology of Cell Monolayers

The rheological properties of cells and tissues are central to embryonic development and homoeostasis in adult tissues and organs and are closely related to their physiological activities. In this work, we present our study of rheological experiments on cell monolayer under serum starvation compared to that of healthy cell monolayer with full serum. The normal functioning of cells depends on the micronutrient supply provided by the serum in the growth media. Serum starvation is one of the most widely used procedures in cell biology. Serum deficiency may lead to genomic instability, variation in protein expression, chronic diseases, and some specific types of cancers. However, the effect of deprivation of serum concentration on the material properties of cells is still unknown. Therefore, we performed the macro-rheology experiments to investigate the effect of serum starvation on a fully confluent Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell monolayer. The material properties such as storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G''), of the monolayer, were measured using oscillatory shear experiments under serum-free (0% FBS) and full serum (10% FBS) conditions. Additionally, the step strain experiments were performed to gain more insights into the viscoelastic properties of the cell monolayer. Our results indicate that without serum, the loss and storage moduli decrease and do not recover fully even after small deformation. This is because of the lack of nutrients, which may result in many permanent physiological changes. Whereas, the healthy cell monolayer under full serum condition, remains strong & flexible, and can fully recover even from a large deformation at higher strain.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2020

Anomalous Nernst effect and field-induced Lifshitz transition in Weyl semimetals TaP and TaAs

The discovery of Weyl fermions in transition metal monoarsenides/phosphides without inversion symmetry represents an exceptional breakthrough in modern condensed matter physics. However, exploring the inherent nature of these quasiparticles is experimentally elusive because most of the experimental probes rely on analysing Fermi arc topology or controversial signatures such as the appearance of the chiral anomaly and the giant magnetoresistance. Here we show that the prototypical type-I Weyl semimetals TaP and TaAs possess a giant anomalous Nernst signal with a characteristic saturation plateau beyond a critical field which can be understood as a direct consequence of the finite Berry curvature originating from the Weyl points. Our results thus promote the Nernst coefficient as an ideal bulk probe for detecting and exploring the fingerprints of emergent Weyl physics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Detection of antiskyrmions by topological Hall effect in Heusler compounds

Heusler compounds having $\textit{D}$${}_{2d}$ crystal symmetry gained much attention recently due to the stabilization of a vortex-like spin texture called antiskyrmions in thin lamellae of Mn${}_{1.4}$Pt${}_{0.9}$Pd${}_{0.1}$Sn as reported in the work of Nayak $\textit{et al.}$ [Nature (London) 548, 561 (2017)]. Here we show that bulk Mn${}_{1.4}$Pt${}_{0.9}$Pd${}_{0.1}$Sn undergoes a spin-reorientation transition from a collinear ferromagnetic to a noncollinear configuration of Mn moments below 135 K, which is accompanied by the emergence of a topological Hall effect. We tune the topological Hall effect in Pd and Rh substituted Mn${}_{1.4}$PtSn Heusler compounds by changing the intrinsic magnetic properties and spin textures. A unique feature of the present system is the observation of a zero-field topological Hall resistivity with a sign change which indicates the robust formation of antiskyrmions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Effect of topology on quasi-particle interactions in the Weyl semimetal WP$_2$

We compare two crystallographic phases of the low-dimensional WP$_2$ to better understand features of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in topological systems. The topological $β$-phase, a Weyl semimetal with a giant magneto-resistance, shows a larger intensity of electronic Raman scattering compared to the topologically trivial $α$-phase. This intensity sharply drops for $T < T^* = 20$ K which evidences a crossover in the topological phase from marginal quasiparticles to a coherent low temperature regime. In contrast, the non-topological $α$-phase shows more pronounced signatures of electron-phonon interaction. Here there exist generally enlarged phonon linewidths and deviations from conventional anharmonicity in an intermediate temperature regime. These effects provide evidence for an interesting interplay of electronic correlations and electron-phonon coupling. Both interband and intraband electronic fluctuations are involved in these effects. Their dependence on symmetry as well as momentum conservation are critical ingredients to understand this interplay.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Large Nernst Power Factor over a Broad Temperature Range in Polycrystalline Weyl Semimetal NbP

The discovery of topological materials has provided new opportunities to exploit advanced materials for heat-to-electricity energy conversion as they share many common characteristics with thermoelectric materials. In this work, we report the magneto-thermoelectric properties and Nernst effect of the topological Weyl semimetal NbP. We find that polycrystalline, bulk NbP shows a significantly larger Nernst thermopower than its conventional thermopower under magnetic field. As a result, a maximum Nernst power factor of ~ 35*10-4 Wm-1K-2 is achieved at 9 T and 136 K, which is 4 times higher than its conventional power factor and is also comparable to that of state-of-the-art thermoelectrics. Moreover, the Nernst power factor maintains relatively large value over a broad temperature range. These results highlight that the enhancement of thermoelectric performance can be achieved in topological semimetals based on the Nernst effect and transverse transport.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗