arXiv subjects

Fu-Chun Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Fu-Chun Zhang.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

t-J model on the effective brick-wall lattice for the recently discovered high-temperature superconductor Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$

Layered copper oxides have highest superconducting transition temperatures at ambient pressure. Its mechanism remains a grand challenge in condensed matter physics. The essential physics lying in 2-dimensional copper-oxygen layers is well described by a single band Hubbard model or its strong coupling limit t-J model in 2-dimensional square lattice. Recently discovered high temperature superconductor Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ with $δ\sim 0.2$ has different crystal structure with large portion of in-plane oxygen vacancies. We observe that an oxygen vacancy breaks the bond of its two neighboring copper atoms, and propose ordered vacancies in Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ lead to extended t-J model on an effective brick-wall lattice. For the nearest neighbor hopping, the brick-wall model can be mapped onto t-J model on honeycomb lattice. Our theory explains the superconductivity of Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ at high charge carrier density, and predict a time reversal symmetry broken pairing state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Interlayer correlated fractional quantum Hall state in the ν = 4/5 bilayer system

We perform exact diagonalization studies for fractional quantum Hall states at filing factor 4/5 in a bilayer system, on a torus with various aspect ratios and angles. We find that in the absence of tunneling, two weakly coupled 2/5-layers undergo a phase transition into an interlayer-correlated regime, which is also Abelian with the five-fold degeneracy on the torus. In the limit of zero layer separation, this phase becomes a singlet in the pseudospin variable describing the layer degree-of-freedom. By studying the Chern-number matrix, we show that the K-matrix describing the interlayer-correlated regime requires matrix dimension larger than two and this regime is in particular not described by a Halperin state. A detailed analysis of possible 4 X 4 K-matrices having the requisite symmetries and quantum numbers shows that there is only one equivalence class of such matrices. A model wave function representing this universality class is constructed. The role of separate particle number conservation in both layers is discussed, and it is argued that this additional symmetry allows for the further distinction of two different symmetry protected Abelian phases in the interlayer correlated regime. Interlayer tunneling breaks this symmetry, and can drive the system into a single-layer regime when strong enough. A qualitative phase diagram in the tunneling-layer separation parameter space is proposed based on our numerical results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Protocol for reading out Majorana vortex qubit and testing non-Abelian statistics

The successful test of non-Abelian statistics not only serves as a milestone in fundamental physics but also provides a quantum gate operation in topological quantum computation. An accurate and efficient readout scheme of a topological qubit is an essential step toward the experimental confirmation of non-Abelian statistics. In the current work, we propose a protocol to read out the quantum state of a Majorana vortex qubit on a topological superconductor island. The protocol consists of four Majorana zero modes trapped in spatially well-separated vortex cores on the two-dimensional surface of a Coulomb blockaded topological superconductor. Our proposed measurement is implemented by a pair of weakly coupled Majorana modes separately in touch with two normal metal leads, and the readout is realized by observing the conductance peak location in terms of gate voltage. Using this protocol, we can further test the non-Abelian statistics of Majorana zero modes in the two-dimensional platform. A successful readout of Majorana qubit is a crucial step towards the future application of topological quantum computation. In addition, this Coulomb blockaded setup can distinguish Majorana zero modes from Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon modes in vortex cores.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Anomalous sharp peak in the London penetration depth induced by the nodeless-to-nodal superconducting transition in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$

The issue of whether the quantum critical point (QCP) is hidden inside unconventional superconductors is a matter of hot debate. Although a prominent experiment on London penetration depth has demonstrated the existence of the QCP in the isovalent-doped iron-based superconductor BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$, with the observation of a sharp peak in the penetration depth in the vicinity of the disappearance of magnetic order at zero temperature, the nature of such an emerging QCP remains unclear. Here, we provide a unique picture to understand well the phenomena of the QCP based on the framework of linear response theory. Evidence from the density of states and superfluid density calculations suggests the nodeless-to-nodal pairing transition accompanied the appearance of a sharp peak in the penetration depth in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$. Such a pairing transition originates from the three-dimensional electronic properties with a strong interlayer superconducting pairing. This finding provides a significant insight into the understanding of the QCP observed in experiment in BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Scalable Majorana vortex modes in iron-based superconductors

A vortex in an s-wave superconductor with a surface Dirac cone can trap a Majorana bound state with zero energy leading to a zero-bias peak (ZBP) of tunneling conductance. The iron-based superconductor FeTe$_x$Se$_{1-x}$ is one of the material candidates hosting these Majorana vortex modes. It has been observed by recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurement that the fraction of vortex cores possessing ZBPs decreases with increasing magnetic field on the surface of this iron-based superconductor. We construct a three-dimensional tight-binding model simulating the physics of over a hundred Majorana vortex modes in FeTe$_x$Se$_{1-x}$ with realistic physical parameters. Our simulation shows that the Majorana hybridization and disordered vortex distribution can explain the decreasing fraction of the ZBPs observed in the experiment. Furthermore, we find the statistics of the energy peaks off zero energy in our simulation with the Majorana physics in agreement with the analyzed peak statistics in the vortex cores from the experiment. This agreement and the explanation of the decreasing ZBP fraction lead to an important indication of scalable Majorana vortex modes in the iron-based superconductor. Thus, FeTe$_x$Se$_{1-x}$ can be one promising platform possessing scalable Majorana qubits for quantum computing. In addition, we further show the interplay of the ZBP presence and the vortex locations qualitatively agrees with our additional experimental observation and predict the universal spin signature of the hybridized multiple Majorana vortex modes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Self-doped Mott insulator for parent compounds of nickelate superconductors

We propose the parent compound of the newly discovered superconducting nickelate Nd$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$NiO$_{2}$ as a self-doped Mott insulator, in which the low-density Nd-$5d$ conduction electrons couple to localized Ni-3$% d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ electrons to form Kondo spin singlets at low temperatures. This proposal is motivated with our analyses of the reported resistivity and Hall coefficient data in the normal state, showing logarithmic temperature dependence at low temperatures. In the strong Kondo coupling limit, we derive a generalized $t$-$J$ model with both Kondo singlets and nickel holons moving through the lattice of otherwise nickel spin-1/2 background. The antiferromagnetic long-range order is therefore suppressed as observed in experiments. With Sr-doping, the number of holons on the nickel sites increases, giving rise to the superconductivity and a strange metal phase analogous to those in superconducting copper oxides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Exact Solution to Haldane-BCS-Hubbard Model Along the Symmetric Lines: Interaction Induced Topological Phase Transition

We propose a Haldane-BCS-Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice, which is composed of two copies of the Haldane model of the quantum anomalous Hall effect, an equal-spin pairing term and an onsite Hubbard interaction term. For any interaction strength, this model is exactly solvable along the symmetric line where the hopping and pairing amplitudes are equal to each other. The ground state of the Haldane-BCS-Hubbard model is a topological superconducting state at weak interaction with two chiral Majorana edge states. A strong interaction drives the system across a topological quantum phase transition to a topologically trivial superconductor. A $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ symmetry of the Hamiltonian, which is a composition of the bond-centered inversion and a gauge transformation, is spontaneously broken by the interaction, resulting a finite antiferromagnetic order in the $y$-direction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Pristine Mott Insulator from an Exactly Solvable Spin-1/2 Kitaev Model

We propose an exactly solvable quantum spin-1/2 model with time reversal invariance on a two dimensional brick-wall lattice, where each unit cell consists of three sites. We find that the ground states are algebraic quantum spin liquid states. The spinon excitations are gapless and the energy dispersion is linear around two Dirac points. The ground states are of three-fold topological degeneracy on a torus. Breaking the time reversal symmetry opens a bulk energy gap and the $Z_2$ vortices obey non-Abelian statistics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Theory of chiral $p$-wave superconductivity with near-nodes for Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

We use functional renormalization group method to study a three-orbital model for superconducting Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Although the pairing symmetry is found to be chiral $p$-wave, the atomic spin-orbit coupling induces near-nodes for quasiparticle excitations. Our theory explains a major experimental puzzle between $d$-wave-like feature observed in thermal experiments and the chiral $p$-wave triplet pairing revealed in nuclear-magnetic-resonance and Kerr effect.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Hexagonal warping effect to Majorana zero modes at ends of superconducting vortex line in doped 3D strong topological insulators

In a superconducting topological insulator, superconducting vortex line may trap 1-dimensional topological band with Majorana zero modes (MZMs) localized at its ends. In this work, we study the effect of hexagonal warping to the vortex phase transition. We carry out both analytical calculations based on a semiclassical formula and numerical calculations based on full quantum mechanics of Bogliubov de Gennes equation. We find that the hexagonal warping term enlarges the topological region of the vortex line as the chemical potential changes, and leads to the MZMs even in the absence of topological surface states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Exact Solution to a Class of Generalized Kitaev Spin-$1/2$ Models in Arbitrary Dimensions

We construct a class of exactly solvable generalized Kitaev spin-$1/2$ models in arbitrary dimensions, which is beyond the category of quantum compass models. The Jordan-Wigner transformation is employed to prove the exact solvability. An exactly solvable quantum spin-$1/2$ models can be mapped to a gas of free Majorana fermions coupled to static $Z_2$ gauge fields. We classify these exactly solvable models according to their parent models. Any model belonging to this class can be generated by one of the parent models. For illustration, a two dimensional ($2D$) tetragon-octagon model and a three dimensional ($3D$) $xy$ bond model are studied.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ thin film under biaxial strain

Motivated by the success of experimental manipulation of the band structure through biaxial strain in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ thin film grown on a mismatched substrate, we investigate theoretically the effects of biaxial strain on the electronic instabilities, such as superconductivity (SC) and spin density wave (SDW), by functional renormalization group. According to the experiment, the positive strain (from lattice expansion) causes charge transfer to the $γ$-band and consequently Lifshitz reconstruction of the Fermi surface. Our theoretical calculations show that within a limited range of positive strain a p-wave superconducting order is realized. However, as the strain is increased further the system develops into the SDW state well before the Lifshitz transition is reached. We also consider the effect of negative strains (from lattice constriction). As the strain increases, there is a transition from p-wave SC state to nodal s-wave SC state. The theoretical results are discussed in comparison to experiment and can be checked by further experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Selective equal spin Andreev reflection at vortex core center in magnetic semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure

Sau, Lutchyn, Tewari and Das Sarma (SLTD) proposed a heterostructure consisting of a semiconducting thin film sandwiched between an s-wave superconductor and a magnetic insulator and showed possible Majorana zero mode. Here we study spin polarization of the vortex core states and spin selective Andreev reflection at the vortex center of the SLTD model. In the topological phase, the differential conductance at the vortex center contributed from the Andreev reflection, is spin selective and has a quantized value $(dI/dV)^{topo}_A =2e^2/h$ at zero bias. In the topological trivial phase, $(dI/dV)^{trivial}_A$ at the lowest quasiparticle energy of the vortex core is spin selective due to the spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Unlike in the topological phase, $(dI/dV)^{trivial}_A$ is suppressed in the Giaever limit and vanishes exactly at zero bias due to the quantum destruction interference.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Majorana zero modes and long range edge correlation in interacting Kitaev chains: analytic solutions and density-matrix-renormalization-group study

We study Kitaev model in one-dimension with open boundary condition by using exact analytic methods for non-interacting system at zero chemical potential as well as in the symmetric case of Δ = t, and by using density-matrix-renormalizationgroup method for interacting system with nearest neighbor repulsion interaction. We suggest and examine an edge correlation function of Majorana fermions to characterize the long range order in the topological superconducting states and study the phase diagram of the interating Kitaev chain.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Topological Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase and Majorana zero mode chain in bilayer superconducting topological insulator films

We theoretically study bilayer superconducting topological insulator film, in which superconductivity exists for both top and bottom surface states. We show that an in-plane magnetic field can drive the system into Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) phase, where electrons are paired with finite momenta. The LO phase is topologically non-trivial and characterized by a Z 2 topological invariant, leading to a Majorana zero mode chain along the edge perpendicular to in-plane magnetic fields.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

The Transformation of the Superconducting Gap to an Insulating Pseudogap at a Critical Hole Density in the Cuprates

We apply the recent wavepacket formalism developed by Ossadnik to describe the origin of the short range ordered pseudogap state as the hole doping is lowered through a critical density in cuprates. We argue that the energy gain that drives this precursor state to Mott localization, follows from maximizing umklapp scattering near the Fermi energy. To this end we show how energy gaps driven by umklapp scattering can open on an appropriately chosen surface, as proposed earlier by Yang, Rice and Zhang. The key feature is that the pairing instability includes umklapp scattering, leading to an energy gap not only in the single particle spectrum but also in the pair spectrum. As a result the superconducting gap at overdoping is turned into an insulating pseudogap, in the antinodal parts of the Fermi surface.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Exact Solution to Interacting Kitaev Chain at Symmetric Point

Kitaev chain model with nearest neighbor interaction U is solved exactly at the symmetry point $Δ=t$ and chemical potential $μ=0$ in open boundary condition. By applying two Jordan-Wigner transformations and a spin-rotation, such a symmetric interacting model is mapped to a non-interacting fermion model, which can be diagonalized exactly. The solutions include topologically non-trivial phase at $|U| t$. The two phases are related by dualities. Quantum phase transitions in the model are studied with the help of the exact solution.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Theory for superconductivity in alkali chromium arsenides A2Cr3As3 (A=K,Rb,Cs)

We propose an extended Hubbard model with three molecular orbitals on a hexagonal lattice with $D_{3h}$ symmetry to study recently discovered superconductivity in A$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ (A=K,Rb,Cs). Effective pairing interactions from paramagnon fluctuations are derived within the random phase approximation, and are found to be most attractive in spin triplet channels. At small Hubbard $U$ and moderate Hund's coupling, the pairing arises from 3-dimensional (3D) $γ$ band and has a spatial symmetry $f_{y(3x^{2}-y^{2})}$, which gives line nodes in the gap function. At large $U$, a fully gapped $p$-wave state, $p_{z}\hat{z}$ dominates at the quasi-1D $α$-band.

cond-mat.supr-con↗