arXiv subjects

Congcong Le

Publications and source records attributed to Congcong Le.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Classification of High-Ordered Topological Nodes towards Moiré Flat Bands in Twisted Bilayers

At magic twisted angles, Dirac cones in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) can evolve into flat bands, serving as a critical playground for the study of strongly correlated physics. When chiral symmetry is introduced, rigorous mathematical proof confirms that the flat bands are locked at zero energy in the entire Moiré Brillouin zone (BZ). Yet, TBG is not the sole platform that exhibits this absolute band flatness. Central to this flatness phenomenon are topological nodes and their specific locations in the BZ. In this study, considering twisted bilayer systems that preserve chiral symmetry, we classify various ordered topological nodes in base layers and all possible node locations across different BZs. Specifically, we constrain the node locations to rotational centers, such as Γ and M points, to ensure the interlayer coupling retains equal strength in all directions. Using this classification as a foundation, we systematically identify the conditions under which Moiré flat bands emerge. Additionally, through the extension of holomorphic functions, we provide proof that flat bands are locked at zero energy, shedding light on the origin of the band flatness. Remarkably, beyond Dirac cones, numerous twisted bilayer nodal platforms can host flat bands with a degeneracy number of more than two, such as four-fold, six-fold, and eight-fold. This multiplicity of degeneracy in flat bands might unveil more complex and enriched correlation physics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Effective model and pairing tendency in bilayer Ni-based superconductor La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$

Since the discovery of cuprate, the origin of high-T$_c$ superconductivity has been an outstanding puzzle. Recently, high-T$_c$ superconductivity was observed in a bilayer nickelate La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ under pressure, whose structure hosts the apical oxygen between two layers, distinct from multi-layer cuprates. Motivated by this discovery, we investigate its electronic structure using first-principle calculations and superconducting instabilities from both weak-coupling and strong-coupling perspective. Based on the first-principle band structures, we construct a bilayer two-orbital model on a square lattice, consisting of $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{z^2}$ orbitals, which accurately captures the low-energy electronic properties. Within this model, we study pairing instability using both functional renormalization group approach and multi-orbital t-J model. An $s_{\pm}$-wave pairing with sign-reversal gaps on different Fermi surfaces is revealed, reminiscent of iron based superconductors. The Ni-$d_{z^2}$ orbital and its associated interlayer and intralayer exchange couplings are found to be crucial for the high-T$_c$ superconductivity. Our study provides valuable insights into unique nature of electronic structure and superconductivity in La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ and contributes to the understanding of unconventional superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Non-trivial band topology and orbital-selective electronic nematicity in a new titanium-based kagome superconductor

Electronic nematicity that spontaneously breaks rotational symmetry has been shown as a generic phenomenon in correlated quantum systems including high-temperature superconductors and the AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) family with a kagome network. Identifying the driving force has been a central challenge for understanding nematicity. In iron-based superconductors, the problem is complicated because the spin, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom are intimately coupled. In vanadium-based kagome superconductors AV3Sb5, the electronic nematicity exhibits an intriguing entanglement with the charge density wave order (CDW), making understanding its origin difficult. Recently, a new family of titanium-based kagome superconductors ATi3Bi5 has been synthesized. In sharp contrast to its vanadium-based counterpart, the electronic nematicity occurs in the absence of CDW. ATi3Bi5 provides a new window to explore the mechanism of electronic nematicity and its interplay with the orbital degree of freedom. Here, we combine polarization-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with density functional theory to directly reveal the band topology and orbital characters of the multi-orbital RbTi3Bi5. The promising coexistence of flat bands, type-II Dirac nodal line and nontrivial Z2 topological states is identified in RbTi3Bi5. Remarkably, our study clearly unveils the orbital character change along the G-M and G-K directions, implying a strong intrinsic inter-orbital coupling in the Ti-based kagome metals, reminiscent of iron-based superconductors. Furthermore, doping-dependent measurements directly uncover the orbital-selective features in the kagome bands, which can be well explained by the d-p hybridization. The suggested d-p hybridization, in collaboration with the inter-orbital coupling, could account for the electronic nematicity in ATi3Bi5.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Tunable Dirac Semimetals with Higher-order Fermi Arcs in Kagome Lattices Pd$_3$Pb$_2$X$_2$ (X = S, Se)

Bulk-boundary correspondence has achieved a great success in the identification of topological states. However, this elegant strategy doesn't apply to the Dirac semimetals (DSMs). Here, we propose that kagome lattices Pd$_3$Pb$_2$X$_2$ (X = S, Se) are unique type-I DSMs without surface Fermi arc states, which are different from the previous well-known DSMs, such as Na$_3$Bi and Cd$_3$As$_2$. Pd$_3$Pb$_2$X$_2$ are characterized by nontrivial topological invariant Z$_3$, guaranteeing a higher-order bulk-hinge correspondence and the existence of higher-order Fermi arcs, as well as fractional corner charges on the hinges. The type-I DSMs are located at the phase boundaries of several topological phases, including type-II DSMs and three-dimensional weak topological insulators. The phase transitions can be easily manipulated by external strain. Our results provide feasible platforms for the study of these unique DSMs and the related phase transitions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Generalized Fermion Doubling Theorems: Classification of 2D Nodal Systems in Terms of Wallpaper Groups

The Nielsen-Ninomiya Theorem has set up a ground rule for the minimal number of the topological points in a Brillouin zone. Notably, in the 2D Brillouin zone, chiral symmetry and space-time inversion symmetry can properly define topological invariants as charges characterizing the stability of the nodal points so that the non-zero charges protect these points. Due to the charge neutralization, the Nielsen-Ninomiya Theorem requires at least two stable topological points in the entire Brillouin zone. However, additional crystalline symmetries might duplicate the points. In this regard, for the wallpaper groups with crystalline symmetries, the minimal number of the nodal points in the Brillouin zone might be more than two. In this work, we determine the minimal numbers of the nodal points for the wallpaper groups in chiral-symmetric and space-time-inversion-symmetric systems separately and provide examples for new topological materials, such as topological nodal time-reversal-symmetric superconductors and Dirac semimetals. This generalized Nielsen-Ninomiya Theorem serves as a guide to search for 2D topological nodal materials and new platforms for twistronics. Furthermore, we show the Nielsen-Ninomiya Theorem can be extended to 2D non-Hermitian systems hosting topologically protected exceptional points and Fermi points for the 17 wallpaper groups and use the violation of the theorem on the surface to classify 3D Hermitian and non-Hermitian topological bulks.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Topology and symmetry of circular photogalvanic effect in the chiral multifold semimetals: a review

The circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) is the only possible quantized signal in Chiral Weyl and multi-fold semimetals with inversion and mirror symmetries broken. Here, we review CPGE in the chiral multifold semimetals in terms of classification of CPGE tensor, the quantization of CPGE from k.p effective model and topological semimetal RhSi family. Firstly, we give complete symmetric analysis of CPGE tensors for all nonmagnetic point groups, and get a table classifying matrix of response tensors. Secondly, the CPGE becomes a quantized response in the noncentrosymmetric topological semimetals, and depends on the Chern number of multifold fermions. Based on k.p effective model with linear dispersion, detailed derivations about the quantization of CPGE are given. Finally, according to ab-initio analysis for the quantized CPGE based on noninteracting electronic structures, we review previous reports and make new calculations for the chiral topological semimetals in RhSi family, which can be separated into two groups. The first group, including RhSi, PtAl and CoSi, can be the promising candidates to exhibit a quantized CPGE trace, while the second group includes PdGa, PtGa and RhSn without a quantization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Giant anomalous Nernst signal in the antiferromagnet YbMnBi2

Searching for a high anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) is crucial for thermoelectric energy conversion applications because the associated unique transverse geometry facilitates module fabrication. Topological ferromagnets with large Berry curvatures show high ANEs; however, they face drawbacks such as strong magnetic disturbances and low mobility due to high magnetization. Herein, we demonstrate that YbMnBi2, a canted antiferromagnet, has a large ANE conductivity of ~10 Am-1K-1 that surpasses the common high values (i.e. 3-5 Am-1K-1) observed so far in ferromagnets. The canted spin structure of Mn guarantees a nonzero Berry curvature but generates only a weak magnetization three orders of magnitude lower than that of general ferromagnets. The heavy Bi with a large spin-orbit coupling enables a high ANE and low thermal conductivity, whereas its highly dispersive px/y orbitals ensure low resistivity. The high anomalous transverse thermoelectric performance and extremely small magnetization makes YbMnBi2 an excellent candidate for transverse thermoelectrics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Coexistence of ferromagnetism, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity in magnetically anisotropic (Eu,La)FeAs2

Materials with exceptional magnetism and superconductivity usually conceive emergent physical phenomena. Here, we investigate the physical properties of the (Eu,La)FeAs2 system with double magnetic sublattices. The parent EuFeAs2 shows anisotropy-associated magnetic behaviors, such as Eu-related moment canting and exchange bias. Through La doping, the magnetic anisotropy is enhanced with ferromagnetism of Eu2+ realized in the overdoped region, and a special exchange bias of the superposed ferromagnetic/superconducting loop revealed in Eu0.8La0.2FeAs2. Meanwhile, the Fe-related antiferromagnetism shows unusual robustness against La doping. Theoretical calculation and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy investigation reveal a doping-tunable dual itinerant/localized nature of the Fe-related antiferromagnetism. Coexistence of the Eu-related ferromagnetism, Fe-related robust antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity is further revealed in Eu0.8La0.2FeAs2, providing a platform for further exploration of potential applications and emergent physics. Finally, an electronic phase diagram is established for (Eu,La)FeAs2 with the whole superconducting dome adjacent to the Fe-related antiferromagnetic phase, which is of benefit for seeking underlying clues to high-temperature superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Large anomalous Hall effect in the kagome ferromagnet LiMn$_6$Sn$_6$

Kagome magnets are believed to have numerous exotic physical properties due to the possible interplay between lattice geometry, electron correlation and band topology. Here, we report the large anomalous Hall effect in the kagome ferromagnet LiMn$_6$Sn$_6$, which has a Curie temperature of 382 K and easy plane along with the kagome lattice. At low temperatures, unsaturated positive magnetoresistance and opposite signs of ordinary Hall coefficient for $ρ_{xz}$ and $ρ_{yx}$ indicate the coexistence of electrons and holes in the system. A large intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of 380 $Ω^{-1}$ cm$^{-1}$, or 0.44 $e^2/h$ per Mn layer, is observed in $σ_{xy}^A$. This value is significantly larger than those in other $R$Mn$_6$Sn$_6$ ($R$ = rare earth elements) kagome compounds. Band structure calculations show several band crossings, including a spin-polarized Dirac point at the K point, close to the Fermi energy. The calculated intrinsic Hall conductivity agrees well with the experimental value, and shows a maximum peak near the Fermi energy. We attribute the large anomalous Hall effect in LiMn$_6$Sn$_6$ to the band crossings closely located near the Fermi energy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Design strong anomalous Hall effect via spin canting in antiferromagnetic nodal line materials

The interplay between magnetism and topological electronic structure offers a large freedom to design strong anomalous Hall effect (AHE) materials. A nodal line from band inversion is a typical band structure to generate strong AHE. Whereas, in most collinear antiferromagnets (AFMs), the integration of Berry curvatures on Brillouin zone is forced to zero by the joint $TO$ symmetry, where $T$ and $O$ are time reversal and a space group operation, respectively. Even with inverted band structures, such kind of AFM cannot have AHE. Therefore, so far, AFM nodal line band structures constructed by spin degenerated bands didn't get much attentions in AHE materials. In this work, we illustrate that such kind of band structure indeed provides a promising starting point to generated strong local Berry curvature by perturbations and, therefore, strong intrinsic AHE. In specific AFM compounds of $A$MnBi$_2$($A$=Ca and Yb) with inverted band structure, we found a strong AHE induced by a weak spin canting, and due to nodal line in the band structure the anomalous Hall conductivity keeps growing as the canting angle increases. Since such spin-canting can be adjusted via doping experimentally, it provides another effective strategy to generate and manipulate strong AHE

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

Dirac Fermion Cloning, Moir$\bf{é}$ Flat Bands and Magic Lattice Constants in Epitaxial Monolayer Graphene

Tuning interactions between Dirac states in graphene has attracted enormous interest because it can modify the electronic spectrum of the two-dimensional material, enhance electron correlations, and give rise to novel condensed-matter phases such as superconductors, Mott insulators, Wigner crystals and quantum anomalous Hall insulators. Previous works predominantly focus on the flat band dispersion of coupled Dirac states from different graphene layers. In this work, we propose a new route to realizing flat band physics in monolayer graphene under a periodic modulation from substrates. We take gaphene/SiC heterostructure as a role model and demonstrate experimentally the substrate modulation leads to Dirac fermion cloning and consequently, the proximity of the two Dirac cones of monolayer graphene in momentum space. Our theoretical modeling captures the cloning mechanism of Dirac states and indicates that flat bands can emerge at certain magic lattice constants of substrate when the period of modulation becomes nearly commensurate with the $(\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3})R30^{\circ}$ supercell of graphene. The results show that the epitaxial monolayer graphene is a promising platform for exploring exotic many-body quantum phases arising from interactions between Dirac electrons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

A Raman Probe of Phonons and Electron-phonon Interactions in NbIrTe4

The semimetal NbIrTe4 has been proposed to be a Type-II Weyl semimetal with 8 pairs of opposite Chirality Weyl nodes which are very close to the Fermi energy. This topological electronic structure is made possible because of the broken inversion symmetry of NbIrTe4 which is an orthorhombic crystal with Td symmetry. Using micro-Raman scattering as a probe, we observe the frequencies and symmetries of 19 phonon modes (ranging from 40 to 260 cm-1) in this material and compare to Density Functional Theory calculations. Using angular and polarization resolved Raman scattering for green (514 nm) and red (633 nm) laser excitation, we show that it is possible to extract the excitation energy dependence of the Raman tensor elements associated with each measurable phonon mode. We show that these tensor elements vary substantially in a small energy range which reflects a strong variation of the electron-phonon coupling for these modes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Electronic structure and two-band superconductivity in unconventional high-$T_c$ cuprates Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$

The recently discovered cuprate superconductor Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ exhibits a high $T_c\simeq73$K at $δ\simeq0.2$. The polycrystal grown under high pressure has a structure similar to La$_2$CuO$_4$, but with dramatically different lattice parameters due to the CuO$_6$ octahedron compression. The crystal field in the compressed Ba$_2$CuO$_4$ leads to an inverted Cu $3d$ $e_g$ complex with the $d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbital sitting below the $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and an electronic structure highly unusual compared to the conventional cuprates. We construct a two-orbital Hubbard model for the Cu $d^9$ state at hole doping $x=2δ$ and study the orbital-dependent strong correlation and superconductivity. For the undoped case at $x=0$, we found that strong correlation drives an orbital-polarized Mott insulating state with the spin-$1/2$ moment of the localized $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbital. In contrast to the single-band cuprates where superconductivity is suppressed in the overdoped regime, hole doping the two-orbital Mott insulator leads to orbital-dependent correlations and the robust spin and orbital exchange interactions produce a high-$T_c$ antiphase $d$-wave superconductor even in the heavily doped regime at $x=0.4$. We conjecture that Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ realizes mixtures of such heavily hole-doped superconducting Ba$_2$CuO$_4$ and disordered Ba$_2$CuO$_{3}$ chains in a single-layer or predominately separated bilayer structure. Our findings suggest that unconventional cuprates with liberated orbitals as doped two-band Mott insulators can be a direction for realizing high-T$_c$ superconductivity with enhanced transition temperature $T_c$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

An ab-initio study of circular photogalvanic effect in chiral multifold semimetals

So far, the circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) is the only possible quantized signal in Weyl semimetals. With inversion and mirror symmetries broken, Weyl and multifold fermions in band structures with opposite chiralities can stay at different energies and generate a net topological charge. Such kind of net topological charge can present as a quantized signal in the circular polarized light induced injection current. According to current theoretical understanding, RhSi and its counterparts are believed to be the most promising candidate for the experimental observation of the quantized CPGE. However, the real quantized signal was not experimentally observed to date. Since all the previous theoretical studies for the quantized CPGE were based on effective model but not realistic band structures, it should lose some crucial details that influence the quantized signal. The current status motives us to perform a realistic ab-initio study for the CPGE. Our result shows that the quantized value is very easy to be interfered by trivial bands related optic transitions, and an fine tuning of the chemical potential by doping is essential for the observation of quantized CPGE. This work performs the first ab-initio analysis for the quantized CPGE based on realistic electronic band structure and provides an effective way to solve the current problem for given materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Identification of chirality of chiral multifold fermions in anti-crystals

The chirality of chiral multifold fermions in reciprocal space is related to the chirality of the crystal lattice structure in real space. In this work, we propose a strategy to detect and identify opposite-chirality multifold fermions in nonmagnetic systems by means of second-order optical transports. The chiral crystals are related by an inversion operation and cannot overlap with each other by any experimental operation, and the chiral multifold fermions in the crystals host opposite chiralities for a given k-point. A change of chirality is indicated by a sign change of the second-order charge current dominated by chiral fermions. This strategy is effective to study the relationship between chiralities in reciprocal and real spaces by utilizing bulk transport.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Topological superconductivity in Ni-based transition-metal trichalcogenide superconductors

Based on a two-orbital honeycomb lattice model and random phase approximation, we investigate the pairing symmetry of the Ni-based transition-metal trichalcogenide. We find that an I-wave (A2g) state and a chiral d-wave state are dominant and nearly degenerate for typical electron and hole dopings. These two states carry nontrivial topological properties, which are manifested by the presence of chiral edge states in the d+id-wave state and dispersionless Andreev bound state at zero energy in the I-wave state. Ni-based transition-metal trichalcogenides provide us a new platform to study the exotic phenomena emerged from electron-electron correlation effects.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Anomalous Dome-like Superconductivity in RE2(Cu1-xNix)5As3O2(RE=La, Pr, Nd)

Significant manifestation of interplay of superconductivity and charge density wave, spin density wave or magnetism is dome-like variation in superconducting critical temperature (Tc) for cuprate, iron-based and heavy Fermion superconductors. Overall behavior is that the ordered temperature is gradually suppressed and the Tc is enhanced under external control parameters. Many phenomena like pesudogap, quantum critical point and strange metal emerge in the different doping range. Exploring dome-shaped Tc in new superconductors is of importance to detect emergent effects. Here, we report that the observation of superconductivity in new layered Cu-based compound RE2Cu5As3O2 (RE=La, Pr, Nd), in which the Tc exhibits dome-like variation with maximum Tc of 2.5 K, 1.2 K and 1.0 K as substituting Cu by large amount of Ni ions. The transitions of T* in former two compounds can be suppressed by either Ni doping or rare earth replacement. Simultaneously, the structural parameters like As-As bond length and c/a ratio exhibit unusual variations as Ni-doping level goes through the optimal value. The robustness of superconductivity, up to 60% of Ni doping, reveals the unexpected impurity effect on inducing and enhancing superconductivity in this novel layered materials

cond-mat.supr-con↗