arXiv subjects

Hai-Long Deng

Publications and source records attributed to Hai-Long Deng.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ultrafast Fluence-Reversal Fingerprint of Fragile Kondo Hybridization in CePt$_2$In$_7$

The emergence of heavy quasiparticles in a Kondo lattice is usually viewed as the formation of a low-energy hybridization gap. Whether this gap represents a rigid electronic structure or a fragile many-body state that can be dynamically reconfigured remains a central question for heavy-fermion systems near magnetic order, quantum criticality, and unconventional superconductivity. Here we use femtosecond pump-probe reflectivity to interrogate this problem in the weakly hybridized Kondo-lattice compound CePt$_2$In$_7$. At low fluence, a slow quasiparticle relaxation channel emerges below $T^* \sim$ 40 K and follows a Rothwarf-Taylor bottleneck response with a low-energy recombination scale 2$\Delta \approx$ 7.4 meV. Coherent optical phonons, independently identified by Raman spectroscopy, act as an internal lattice thermometer and rule out large quasi-equilibrium lattice heating as the origin of the nonlinear electronic response. The phonon-free electronic amplitude $A_{\rm elec}$ reveals a fluence-reversal fingerprint: with cooling from the hybridization-crossover regime, the response evolves from weak-linear behavior to Rothwarf-Taylor-like bottleneck suppression and finally to anomalous high-fluence enhancement at the lowest temperatures. This reversal cannot be accounted for by a rigid fixed-gap bottleneck alone and instead identifies an ultrafast optical signature of photoinduced redistribution of a fragile Kondo-hybridized electronic response.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Electronic Nematicity Revealed by Polarized Ultrafast Spectroscopy in Bilayer La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$

We report a polarized ultrafast pump-probe study of the normal-state electronic dynamics in bilayer La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ and trilayer La$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10}$ single crystals at ambient pressure. While both nickelates exhibit density-wave (DW) transitions accompanied by the opening of a quasiparticle relaxation bottleneck, their electronic responses display strikingly different symmetry properties. La4Ni3O10 maintains an isotropic optical response across the entire temperature range. In contrast, La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ exhibits a pronounced twofold ($C_2$) anisotropy in its lowtemperature electronic dynamics. This electronic nematicity, evident in both the relaxation dynamics and the polarization-dependent effective bottleneck energy scales, is strongly modified below 115 K, suggesting coupling or competition with a secondary DW-like instability reported by complementary probes. The presence of macroscopic electronic anisotropy in the bilayer system, and its absence in the trilayer system, suggests a possible relation between electronic nematic correlations and the superconducting normal state in a$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ that deserves further exploration.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Nonthermal melting and density wave instability coupled to the lattice in La$_4$Ni$_3$O$_{10}$

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in pressurized nickelates has renewed interest in the broken-symmetry states of their ambient-pressure parent phases, where a density-wave (DW) order emerges and competes with superconductivity, but its microscopic origin remains unresolved. Using ultrafast optical spectroscopy, we track quasiparticle relaxation dynamics across the DW transition at $T_{\rm DW} \approx$ 136 K in trilayer nickelate {\LNO} single crystals, revealing the opening of an energy gap of $\sim$52 meV. Multiple coherent phonons, including $A_g$ modes near 3.88, 5.28, and 2.09 THz, display pronounced mode-selective anomalies across the transition, indicating that the DW is strongly coupled to lattice degrees of freedom and suggesting an important role of electron-phonon coupling. At higher excitation densities, the DW is nonthermally suppressed, producing a temperature-fluence phase diagram that parallels pressure-tuned behavior. These results establish the DW in {\LNO} as a lattice-entangled instability involving multiple phonon modes, and highlight ultrafast optical excitation as a nonequilibrium tuning parameter for suppressing density-wave order in nickelates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Ultrafast Optical Evidence of Coexisting Density Waves in Bilayer Nickelate La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$

Utilizing ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy, we investigate the coexistence and competition of electronic orders in the bilayer nickelate La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$. Our results reveal two coexisting density waves that can be selectively manipulated with light. We directly identify a spin-density wave (SDW) with electronic nematicity emerging below $T_{\rm SDW}$ $\approx$ 140 K by measuring its spin dynamics, and discover a distinct, nonmagnetic charge order appearing below $T_{\rm DW}$ $\approx$ 115 K. The central finding is the demonstration of differential optical control: the charge order is fragile, completely suppressed by a pump fluence of approximately 40 $\mu$J/cm$^2$, while the SDW is remarkably robust, persisting to 200 $\mu$J/cm$^2$. This work establishes a clear hierarchy in the stability of competing electronic orders and provides a powerful method for disentangling their interplay in quantum materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗