arXiv subjects

Henrik Johannesson

Publications and source records attributed to Henrik Johannesson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Synthesizing Majorana zero-energy modes in a periodically gated quantum wire

We explore a scheme for engineering a one-dimensional spinless p-wave superconductor hosting unpaired Majorana zero-energy modes, using an all-electric setup with a spin-orbit coupled quantum wire in proximity to an s-wave superconductor. The required crossing of the Fermi level by a single spin-split energy band is ensured by employing a periodically modulated Rashba interaction, which, assisted by electron-electron interactions and a uniform Dresselhaus interaction, opens a gap at two of the spin-orbit shifted Fermi points. While an implementation in a hybrid superconductor-semiconductor device requires improvements upon present-day capabilities, a variant of our scheme where spin-orbit-coupled cold fermions are effectively proximity-coupled to a BEC reservoir of Feshbach molecules may provide a ready-to-use platform.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Nonequilibrium critical scaling from quantum thermodynamics

The emerging field of quantum thermodynamics is contributing important results and insights into archetypal many-body problems, including quantum phase transitions. Still, the question whether out-of-equilibrium quantities, such as fluctuations of work, exhibit critical scaling after a sudden quench in a closed system has remained elusive. Here, we take a novel approach to the problem by studying a quench across an impurity quantum critical point. By performing density matrix renormalization group computations on the two-impurity Kondo model, we are able to establish that the irreversible work produced in a quench exhibits finite-size scaling at quantum criticality. This scaling faithfully predicts the equilibrium critical exponents for the crossover length and the order parameter of the model, and, moreover, implies a new exponent for the rescaled irreversible work. By connecting the irreversible work to the two-impurity spin correlation function, our findings can be tested experimentally.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Entanglement structure of the two-channel Kondo model

Two electronic channels competing to screen a single impurity spin, as in the two-channel Kondo model, are expected to generate a ground state with nontrivial entanglement structure. We exploit a spin-chain representation of the two-channel Kondo model to probe the ground-state block entropy, negativity, tangle, and Schmidt gap, using a density matrix renormalization group approach. In the presence of symmetric coupling to the two channels we confirm field-theory predictions for the boundary entropy difference, $\ln (g_{UV}/g_{IR})=\ln(2)/2$, between the ultraviolet and infrared limits and the leading $\ln(x)/x$ impurity correction to the block entropy. The impurity entanglement, $S_{\text{imp}}$, is shown to scale with the characteristic length $ξ_{2CK}$. We show that both the Schmidt gap and the entanglement of the impurity with one of the channels $-$ as measured by the negativity$-$ faithfully serve as order parameters for the impurity quantum phase transition appearing as a function of channel asymmetry, allowing for explicit determination of critical exponents, $ν\!\approx\! 2$ and $β\!\approx\! 0.2$. Remarkably, we find the emergence of tripartite entanglement only in the vicinity of the critical channel-symmetric point.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Universal Single-Frequency Oscillations in a Quantum Impurity System After a Local Quench

Long-lived single-frequency oscillations in the local non-equilibrium dynamics of a quantum many-body system is an exceptional phenomenon. In fact, till now, it has never been observed, nor predicted, for the physically relevant case where a system is prepared to be quenched from one quantum phase to another. Here we show how the quench dynamics of the entanglement spectrum may reveal the emergence of such oscillations in a correlated quantum system with Kondo impurities. The oscillations we find are characterized by a single frequency. This frequency is independent of the amount of energy released by the local quench, and scales with the inverse system size. Importantly, the quench-independent frequency manifests itself also in local observables, such as the spin-spin correlation function of the impurities.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Controllable spin entanglement production in a quantum spin Hall ring

We study the entanglement production in a quantum spin Hall ring geometry where electrons of opposite spins are emitted in pairs from a source and collected in two different detectors. Postselection of coincidence detector events gives rise to entanglement in the system, measurable through correlations between the outcomes in the detectors. We have chosen a geometry such that the entanglement depends on the dynamical phases picked up by the edge states as they move around the ring. In turn, the dependence of the phases on gate potential and Rashba interaction allows for a precise electrical control of the entanglement production in the ring.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Synthetic helical liquid in a quantum wire

We show that the combination of a Dresselhaus interaction and a spatially periodic Rashba interaction leads to the formation of a helical liquid in a quantum wire when the electron-electron interaction is weakly screened. The effect is sustained by a helicity-dependent effective band gap which depends on the size of the Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. We propose a design for a semiconductor device in which the helical liquid can be realized and probed experimentally.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

An order parameter for impurity systems at quantum criticality

A quantum phase transition may occur in the ground state of a system at zero temperature when a controlling field or interaction is varied. The resulting quantum fluctuations which trigger the transition produce scaling behavior of various observables, governed by universal critical exponents. A particularly interesting class of such transitions appear in systems with quantum impurities where a non-extensive term in the free energy becomes singular at the critical point. Curiously, the notion of a conventional order parameter which exhibits scaling at the critical point is generically missing in these systems. We here explore the possibility to use the Schmidt gap, which is an observable obtained from the entanglement spectrum, as an order parameter. A case study of the two-impurity Kondo model confirms that the Schmidt gap faithfully captures the scaling behavior by correctly predicting the critical exponent of the dynamically generated length scale at the critical point.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Electrical control of the Kondo effect in a helical edge liquid

Magnetic impurities affect the transport properties of the helical edge states of quantum spin Hall insulators by causing single-electron backscattering. We study such a system in the presence of a Rashba spin-orbit interaction induced by an external electric field, showing that this can be used to control the Kondo temperature, as well as the correction to the conductance due to the impurity. Surprisingly, for a strongly anisotropic electron-impurity spin exchange, Kondo screening may get obstructed by the presence of a non-collinear spin interaction mediated by the Rashba coupling. This challenges the expectation that the Kondo effect is stable against time-reversal invariant perturbations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Entanglement probe of two-impurity Kondo physics in a spin chain

We propose that real-space properties of the two-impurity Kondo model can be obtained from an effective spin model where two single-impurity Kondo spin chains are joined via an RKKY interaction between the two impurity spins. We then use a DMRG approach, valid in all ranges of parameters, to study its features using two complementary quantum-entanglement measures, the negativity and the von Neumann entropy. This non-perturbative approach enables us to uncover the precise dependence of the spatial extent $ξ_K$ of the Kondo screening cloud with the Kondo and RKKY couplings. Our results reveal an exponential suppression of the Kondo temperature $T_K \sim 1/ξ_K$ with the size of the effective impurity spin in the limit of large ferromagnetic RKKY coupling, a striking display of "Kondo resonance narrowing" in the two-impurity Kondo model. We also show how the antiferromagnetic RKKY interaction produces an effective decoupling of the impurities from the bulk already for intermediate strengths of this interaction, and, furthermore, exhibit how the non-Fermi liquid quantum critical point is signaled in the quantum entanglement between various parts of the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Modulated Rashba interaction in a quantum wire: Spin and charge dynamics

It was recently shown that a spatially modulated Rashba spin-orbit coupling in a quantum wire drives a transition from a metallic to an insulating state when the wave number of the modulation becomes commensurate with the Fermi wave length of the electrons in the wire. It was suggested that the effect may be put to practical use in a future spin transistor design. In the present article we revisit the problem and present a detailed analysis of the underlying physics. First, we explore how the build-up of charge density wave correlations in the quantum wire due to the periodic gate configuration that produces the Rashba modulation influences the transition to the insulating state. The interplay between the modulations of the charge density and that of the spin-orbit coupling turns out to be quite subtle: Depending on the relative phase between the two modulations, the joint action of the Rashba interaction and charge density wave correlations may either enhance or reduce the Rashba current blockade effect. Secondly, we inquire about the role of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling that is generically present in a quantum wire embedded in semiconductor heterostructure. While the Dresselhaus coupling is found to work against the current blockade of the insulating state, the effect is small in most materials. Using an effective field theory approach, we also carry out an analysis of effects from electron- electron interactions, and show how the single-particle gap in the insulating state can be extracted from the more easily accessible collective charge and spin excitation thresholds. The smallness of the single-particle gap together with the anti-phase relation between the Rashba and chemical potential modulations pose serious difficulties for realizing a Rashba-controlled current switch in an InAs-based device. Some alternative designs are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Two-Impurity Kondo Model: Spin-Orbit Interactions and Entanglement

Motivated by proposals to employ RKKY-coupled spins as building blocks in a solid-state quantum computer, we analyze how the RKKY interaction in a 2D electron gas is influenced by spin-orbit interactions. Using a two-impurity Kondo model with added Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit interactions we find that spin-rotational invariance of the RKKY interaction - essential for having a well-controllable two-qubit gate - is restored when tuning the Rashba coupling to have the same strength as the Dresselhaus coupling. We also discuss the critical properties of the two-impurity Kondo model in the presence of spin-orbit interactions, and extract the leading correction to the block entanglement scaling due to these interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Impurity entanglement entropy in Kondo systems from conformal field theory

The entanglement entropy in Kondo impurity systems is studied analytically using conformal field theory. From the impurity contribution to the scaling corrections of the entanglement entropy we extract information about the screening cloud profile for general non-Fermi-liquid fixed points. By also considering the finite-temperature corrections to scaling of the von Neumann entropy we point out a direct connection between the large-distance screening cloud profile and thermodynamic observables such as the specific heat.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Corrections to scaling in entanglement entropy from boundary perturbations

We investigate the corrections to scaling of the Renyi entropies of a region of size l at the end of a semi-infinite one-dimensional system described by a conformal field theory when the corrections come from irrelevant boundary operators. The corrections from irrelevant bulk operators with scaling dimension x have been studied by Cardy and Calabrese (2010), and they found not only the expected corrections of the form l^(4-2x) but also unusual corrections that could not have been anticipated by finite-size scaling arguments alone. However, for the case of perturbations from irrelevant boundary operators we find that the only corrections that can occur to leading order are of the form l^(2-2x_b) for boundary operators with scaling dimension x_b < 3/2, and l^(-1) when x_b > 3/2. When x_b=3/2 they are of the form l^(-1)log(l). A marginally irrelevant boundary perturbation will give leading corrections going as log(l)^(-3). No unusual corrections occur when perturbing with a boundary operator.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Edge Dynamics in a Quantum Spin Hall State: Effects from Rashba Spin-Orbit Interaction

We analyze the dynamics of the helical edge modes of a quantum spin Hall state in the presence of a spatially non-uniform Rashba spin-orbit (SO) interaction. A randomly fluctuating Rashba SO coupling is found to open a scattering channel which causes localization of the edge modes for a weakly screened electron-electron (e-e) interaction. A periodic modulation of the SO coupling, with a wave number commensurate with the Fermi momentum, makes the edge insulating already at intermediate strengths of the e-e interaction. We discuss implications for experiments on edge state transport in a HgTe quantum well.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

The two-impurity Kondo model with spin-orbit interactions

We study the two-impurity Kondo model (TIKM) in two dimensions with spin-orbit coupled conduction electrons. In the first part of the paper we analyze how spin-orbit interactions of Rashba as well as Dresselhaus type influence the Kondo and RKKY interactions in the TIKM, generalizing results obtained by H. Imamura {\em et al.} (2004) and J. Malecki (2007). Using our findings we then explore the effect from spin-orbit interactions on the non-Fermi liquid quantum critical transition between the RKKY-singlet and Kondo-screened RKKY-triplet states. We argue that spin-orbit interactions under certain conditions produce a line of critical points exhibiting the same leading scaling behavior as that of the ordinary TIKM. In the second part of the paper we shift focus and turn to the question of how spin-orbit interactions affect the entanglement between two localized RKKY-coupled spins in the parameter regime where the competition from the direct Kondo interaction can be neglected. Using data for a device with two spinful quantum dots patterned in a gated InAs heterostructure we show that a gate-controlled spin-orbit interaction may drive a maximally entangled state to one with vanishing entanglement, or vice versa (as measured by the concurrence). This has important implications for proposals using RKKY interactions for nonlocal control of qubit entanglement in semiconductor heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Metal-insulator transition in a quantum wire driven by a modulated Rashba spin-orbit coupling

We study the ground-state properties of electrons confined to a quantum wire and subject to a smoothly modulated Rashba spin-orbit coupling. When the period of the modulation becomes commensurate with the band filling, the Rashba coupling drives a quantum phase transition to a nonmagnetic insulating state. Using bosonization and a perturbative renormalization group approach, we find that this state is robust against electron-electron interactions. The gaps to charge- and spin excitations scale with the amplitude of the Rashba modulation with a common interaction-dependent exponent. An estimate of the expected size of the charge gap, using data for a gated InAs heterostructure, suggests that the effect can be put to practical use in a future spin transistor design.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Multicriticality and entanglement in the one-dimensional quantum compass model

We study the one-dimensional (1D) quantum compass model with two independent parameters by means of an exact mapping to the quantum Ising model. This allows us to uncover hidden features of the quantum phase transition in the ordinary one-parameter quantum compass model, showing that it occurs at a multicritical point where a line of first-order transitions intersects a line of second-order symmetry-breaking transitions of Ising type. We calculate the concurrence and the block entanglement entropy in the four ground state phases, and find that these entanglement measures accurately signal the second-order, but not the first-order, transitions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Reduced fidelity in topological quantum phase transitions

We study the reduced fidelity between local states of lattice systems exhibiting topological order. By exploiting mappings to spin models with classical order, we are able to analytically extract the scaling behavior of the reduced fidelity at the corresponding quantum phase transitions out of the topologically ordered phases. Our results suggest that the reduced fidelity, albeit being a local measure, generically serves as a faithful marker of a topological quantum phase transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗