arXiv subjects

D. N. Sheng

Publications and source records attributed to D. N. Sheng.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Topologically Protected Extended States in Disordered Quantum Spin-Hall Systems without Time-Reversal Symmetry

We demonstrate the existence of robust bulk extended states in the disordered Kane-Mele model with vertical and horizontal Zeeman fields, in the presence of a large Rashba coupling. The phase diagrams are mapped out by using level statistics analysis and computations of the localization length and spin-Chern numbers $C_\pm$. $C_\pm$ are protected by the finite energy and spin mobility gaps. The latter is shown to stay open for arbitrarily large vertical Zeeman fields, or for horizontal Zeeman fields below a critical strength or at moderate disorder. In such cases, a change of $C_\pm$ is necessarily accompanied by the closing of the mobility gap at the Fermi level. The numerical simulations reveal sharp changes in the quantized values of $C_\pm$ when crossing the regions of bulk extended states, indicating that the topological nature of the extended states is indeed linked to the spin-Chern numbers. For large horizontal Zeeman fields, the spin-gap closes at strong disorder prompting a change in the quantized spin-Chern numbers without a closing of the energy mobility gap.

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arXiv2011

Time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall effect

Quantum spin Hall (QSH) state of matter is usually considered to be protected by time-reversal (TR) symmetry. We investigate the fate of the QSH effect in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and an exchange field, which break both inversion and TR symmetries. It is found that the QSH state characterized by nonzero spin Chern numbers $C_{\pm}=\pm 1$ persists when the TR symmetry is broken. A topological phase transition from the TR symmetry-broken QSH phase to a quantum anomalous Hall phase occurs at a critical exchange field, where the bulk band gap just closes. It is also shown that the transition from the TR symmetry-broken QSH phase to an ordinary insulator state can not happen without closing the band gap.

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arXiv2011

Spin Bose-Metal and Valence Bond Solid phases in a spin-1/2 model with ring exchanges on a four-leg triangular ladder

We study a spin-1/2 system with Heisenberg plus ring exchanges on a four-leg triangular ladder using the density matrix renormalization group and Gutzwiller variational wave functions. Near an isotropic lattice regime, for moderate to large ring exchanges we find a spin Bose-metal phase with a spinon Fermi sea consisting of three partially filled bands. Going away from the triangular towards the square lattice regime, we find a staggered dimer phase with dimers in the transverse direction, while for small ring exchanges the system is in a featureless rung phase. We also discuss parent states and a possible phase diagram in two dimensions.

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arXiv2011

Fractional Quantum Hall States at 1/3 and 5/2 Filling: the Density-Matrix Renormalization Group Calculations

In this paper, the density-matrix renormalization group method is employed to investigate the fractional quantum Hall effect at filling fractions $ν=1/3$ and 5/2. We first present benchmark results at both filling fractions for large system sizes to show the accuracy as well as the capability of the numerical algorithm. Furthermore, we show that by keeping a large number of basis states, one can also obtain accurate entanglement spectrum at $ν=5/2$ for large system with electron number up to $N_e=34$, much larger than systems previously studied. Based on a finite-size scaling analysis, we demonstrate that the entanglement gap defined by Li and Haldane is finite in the thermodynamic limit, which characterizes the topological order of the FQHE state.

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arXiv2011

Fractional Quantum Hall Effect of Hard-Core Bosons in Topological Flat Bands

Recent proposals of topological flat band (TFB) models have provided a new route to realize the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) without Landau levels. We study hard-core bosons with short-range interactions in two representative TFB models, one of which is the well known Haldane model (but with different parameters). We demonstrate that FQHE states emerge with signatures of even number of quasi-degenerate ground states on a torus and a robust spectrum gap separating these states from higher energy spectrum. We also establish quantum phase diagrams for the filling factor 1/2 and illustrate quantum phase transitions to other competing symmetry-breaking phases.

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arXiv2011

Fractional quantum Hall effect in the absence of Landau levels

It has been well-known that topological phenomena with fractional excitations, i.e., the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) \cite{Tsui1982} will emerge when electrons move in Landau levels. In this letter, we report the discovery of the FQHE in the absence of Landau levels in an interacting fermion model. The non-interacting part of our Hamiltonian is the recently proposed topologically nontrivial flat band model on the checkerboard lattice \cite{sun}. In the presence of nearest-neighboring repulsion ($U$), we find that at 1/3 filling, the Fermi-liquid state is unstable towards FQHE. At 1/5 filling, however, a next-nearest-neighboring repulsion is needed for the occurrence of the 1/5 FQHE when $U$ is not too strong. We demonstrate the characteristic features of these novel states and determine the phase diagram correspondingly.

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arXiv2011

Exotic Gapless Mott Insulators of Bosons on Multi-Leg Ladders

We present evidence for an exotic gapless insulating phase of hard-core bosons on multi-leg ladders with a density commensurate with the number of legs. In particular, we study in detail a model of bosons moving with direct hopping and frustrating ring exchange on a 3-leg ladder at $ν=1/3$ filling. For sufficiently large ring exchange, the system is insulating along the ladder but has two gapless modes and power law transverse density correlations at incommensurate wave vectors. We propose a determinantal wave function for this phase and find excellent comparison between variational Monte Carlo and density matrix renormalization group calculations on the model Hamiltonian, thus providing strong evidence for the existence of this exotic phase. Finally, we discuss extensions of our results to other $N$-leg systems and to $N$-layer two-dimensional structures.

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arXiv2010

Quantum paramagnets on the honeycomb lattice and field-induced Néel order: Possible application to Bi$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$(NO$_3$)

Motivated by recent experiments on the spin-3/2 frustrated bilayer honeycomb antiferromagnet Bi$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$(NO$_3$), we study the spin-S Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice with various additional exchange interactions which frustrate Néel order. Using spin wave theory, exact diagonalization, and bond operator theory, we consider the effects of (i) second-neighbor exchange, (ii) biquadratic exchange for $S = 3/2$ which leads to an AKLT valence bond solid, and (iii) bilayer coupling which leads to an interlayer dimer solid. We show that the resulting paramagnetic states undergo a transition to Néel order beyond a critical magnetic field. We discuss experimental implications for Bi$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$(NO$_3$).

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arXiv2010

Universal Thermoelectric Effect of Dirac Fermions in Graphene

We numerically study the thermoelectric transports of Dirac fermions in graphene in the presence of a strong magnetic field and disorder. We find that the thermoelectric transport coefficients demonstrate universal behavior depending on the ratio between the temperature and the width of the disorder-broadened Landau levels(LLs). The transverse thermoelectric conductivity $α_{xy}$ reaches a universal quantum value at the center of each LL in the high temperature regime, and it has a linear temperature dependence at low temperatures. The calculated Nernst signal has a peak at the central LL with heights of the order of $k_B/e$, and changes sign near other LLs, while the thermopower has an opposite behavior, in good agreement with experimental data. The validity of the generalized Mott relation between the thermoelectric and electrical transport coefficients is verified in a wide range of temperatures.

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arXiv2009

Quantum Hall Effect in Bilayer Graphene: Disorder Effect and Quantum Phase Transition

We numerically study the quantum Hall effect (QHE) in bilayer graphene based on tight-binding model in the presence of disorder. Two distinct QHE regimes are identified in the full energy band separated by a critical region with non-quantized Hall Effect. The Hall conductivity around the band center (Dirac point) shows an anomalous quantization proportional to the valley degeneracy, but the $ν=0$ plateau is markedly absent, which is in agreement with experimental observation. In the presence of disorder, the Hall plateaus can be destroyed through the float-up of extended levels toward the band center and higher plateaus disappear first. The central two plateaus around the band center are most robust against disorder scattering, which is separated by a small critical region in between near the Dirac point. The longitudinal conductance around the Dirac point is shown to be nearly a constant in a range of disorder strength, till the last two QHE plateaus completely collapse.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Quantum Hall Effect in Biased Bilayer Graphene

We numerically study the quantum Hall effect in biased bilayer graphene based on a tight-binding model in the presence of disorder. Integer quantum Hall plateaus with quantized conductivity $σ_{xy}=νe^2/h$ (where $ν$ is any integer) are observed around the band center due to the split of the valley degeneracy by an opposite voltage bias added to the two layers. The central ($n=0$) Dirac Landau level is also split, which leads to a pronounced $ν=0$ plateau. This is consistent with the opening of a sizable gap between the valence and conduction bands. The exact spectrum in an open system further reveals that there are no conducting edge states near zero energy, indicating an insulator state with zero conductance. Consequently, the resistivity should diverge at Dirac point. Interestingly, the $ν=0$ insulating state can be destroyed by disorder scattering with intermediate strength, where a metallic region is observed near zero energy. In the strong disorder regime, the Hall plateaus with nonzero $ν$ are destroyed due to the float-up of extended levels toward the band center and higher plateaus disappear first.

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arXiv2009

Particle-Hole Symmetry Breaking and the 5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall Effect

We report on the study of the fractional quantum Hall effect at the filling factor 5/2 using exact diagonalization method with torus geometry. The particle-hole symmetry breaking effect is considered using an additional three-body interaction. Both Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states can be the ground state depending on the sign of the three-body interaction. The results of the low-energy spectrum, the wave function overlap, and the particle-hole parity evolution, have shown the clear evidence of a direct sharp transition (possibly first-order) from the Pfaffian to the anti-Pfaffian state at the Coulomb point. A quantum phase diagram is established, where one finds further transitions from the Pfaffian or anti-Pfaffian state to the nearby compressible phases induced by a change of the pseudopotential.

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arXiv2009

Spin Bose-Metal phase in a spin-1/2 model with ring exchange on a two-leg triangular strip

Recent experiments on triangular lattice organic Mott insulators have found evidence for a 2D spin liquid in proximity to the metal-insulator transition. A Gutzwiller wavefunction study of the triangular lattice Heisenberg model with appropriate four-spin ring exchanges has found that the projected spinon Fermi sea state has a low variational energy. This wavefunction, together with a slave particle gauge theory, suggests that such spin liquid possesses spin correlations that are singular along surfaces in momentum space ("Bose surfaces"). Signatures of this state, which we refer to as a "Spin Bose-Metal" (SBM), are expected to be manifest in quasi-1D ladder systems: The discrete transverse momenta cut through the 2D Bose surface leading to a distinct pattern of 1D gapless modes. Here we search for a quasi-1D descendant of the triangular lattice SBM state by exploring the Heisenberg plus ring model on a two-leg strip (zigzag chain). Using DMRG, variational wavefunctions, and a Bosonization analysis, we map out the full phase diagram. Without ring exchange the model is equivalent to the J_1 - J_2 Heisenberg chain, and we find the expected Bethe-chain and dimerized phases. Remarkably, moderate ring exchange reveals a new gapless phase over a large swath of the phase diagram. Spin and dimer correlations possess particular singular wavevectors and allow us to identify this phase as the hoped for quasi-1D descendant SBM state. We derive a low energy theory and find three gapless modes and one Luttinger parameter controlling all power laws. Potential instabilities out of the zigzag SBM give rise to other interesting phases such as a period-3 VBS or a period-4 Chirality order, which we discover in the DMRG; we also find an interesting SBM state with partial ferromagnetism.

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arXiv2009

Phase diagram of the frustrated, spatially anisotropic S=1 antiferromagnet on a square lattice

We study the S=1 square lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with spatially anisotropic nearest neighbor couplings $J_{1x}$, $J_{1y}$ frustrated by a next-nearest neighbor coupling $J_{2}$ numerically using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method and analytically employing the Schwinger-Boson mean-field theory (SBMFT). Up to relatively strong values of the anisotropy, within both methods we find quantum fluctuations to stabilize the Néel ordered state above the classically stable region. Whereas SBMFT suggests a fluctuation-induced first order transition between the Néel state and a stripe antiferromagnet for $1/3\leq J_{1x}/J_{1y}\leq 1$ and an intermediate paramagnetic region opening only for very strong anisotropy, the DMRG results clearly demonstrate that the two magnetically ordered phases are separated by a quantum disordered region for all values of the anisotropy with the remarkable implication that the quantum paramagnetic phase of the spatially isotropic $J_{1}$-$J_{2}$ model is continuously connected to the limit of decoupled Haldane spin chains. Our findings indicate that for S=1 quantum fluctuations in strongly frustrated antiferromagnets are crucial and not correctly treated on the semiclassical level.

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arXiv2008

Supersolid Order of Frustrated Hard-Core Bosons in a Triangular Lattice System

We numerically demonstrate that a supersolid phase exists in a frustrated hard-core boson system on a triangular lattice over a wide range of interaction strength. In the infinite repulsion (Ising) limit, we establish a mapping to the same problem with unfrustrated hopping, which connects the supersolid to the known results in that case. The weak superfluidity can be destroyed or strongly enhanced by a next nearest neighbor hopping term, which provides valuable information for experimental realization of a supersolid phase on optical lattice.

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arXiv2008

Strong-Coupling Phases of Frustrated Bosons on a 2-leg Ladder with Ring Exchange

Developing a theoretical framework to access quantum phases of itinerant bosons or fermions in two dimensions (2D) that exhibit singular structure along surfaces in momentum space but have no quasi-particle description remains as a central challenge in the field of strongly correlated physics. In this paper we propose that distinctive signatures of such 2D strongly correlated phases will be manifest in quasi-one-dimensional "N-leg ladder" systems. Characteristic of each parent 2D quantum liquid would be a precise pattern of 1D gapless modes on the N-leg ladder. These signatures could be potentially exploited to approach the 2D phases from controlled numerical and analytical studies in quasi-1D. As a first step we explore itinerant boson models with a frustrating ring exchange interaction on the 2-leg ladder, searching for signatures of the recently proposed two-dimensional d-wave correlated Bose liquid (DBL) phase. A combination of exact diagonalization, density matrix renormalization group, variational Monte Carlo, and bosonization analysis of a quasi-1D gauge theory, all provide compelling evidence for the existence of a new strong-coupling phase of bosons on the 2-leg ladder which can be understood as a descendant of the two-dimensional DBL. We suggest several generalizations to quantum spin and electron Hamiltonians on ladders which could likewise reveal fingerprints of such 2D non-Fermi liquid phases.

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arXiv2008

DMRG Numerical Study of the Kagomé Antiferromagnet

We numerically study the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagomé lattice using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. We find that the ground state is a magnetically disordered spin liquid, characterized by an exponential decay of spin-spin correlation function in real space and a magnetic structure factor showing system-size independent peaks at commersurate antiferromangetic wavevectors. We obtain a spin triplet excitation gap $ΔE(S=1)=0.055\pm 0.005$ by extrapolation based on the large size results, and confirm the presence of gapless singlet excitations. The physical nature of such an exotic spin liquid is also discussed.

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arXiv2008

Broken-Symmetry States of Dirac Fermions in Graphene with A Partially Filled High Landau Level

We report on numerical study of the Dirac fermions in partially filled N=3 Landau level (LL) in graphene. At half-filling, the equal-time density-density correlation function displays sharp peaks at nonzero wavevectors $\pm {\bf q^{*}}$. Finite-size scaling shows that the peak value grows with electron number and diverges in the thermodynamic limit, which suggests an instability toward a charge density wave. A symmetry broken stripe phase is formed at large system size limit, which is robust against purturbation from disorder scattering. Such a quantum phase is experimentally observable through transport measurements. Associated with the special wavefunctions of the Dirac LL, both stripe and bubble phases become possible candidates for the ground state of the Dirac fermions in graphene with lower filling factors in the N=3 LL.

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