arXiv subjects

Hong-Ya Xu

Publications and source records attributed to Hong-Ya Xu.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Observation of Quantized Klein Tunneling in a Dielectric Resonator Chain

We present the first experimental observation of quantized Klein tunneling in a bounded Dirac system, implemented by a dimer chain of dielectric microwave resonators. Both the unusual quantized levels and corresponding spinor states hybridized from distinct particle and hole wavefunctions are measured. All observations are in quantitative agreement with the hitherto-untested prediction of Dirac equation. Our results make an important step to realize and understand the particle-hole physics of Klein tunneling in bounded Dirac systems, and also shed light on potential applications for manipulating particle-hole hybridized spinor waves.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Symmetry dictated universal helicity redistribution of Dirac fermions in transport

Helicity is a fundamental property of Dirac fermions. Yet, the general rule of how it changes in transport is still lacking. We uncover, theoretically, the universal spinor state transformation and consequently helicity redistribution rule in two cases of transport through potentials of electrostatic and mass types, respectively. The former is dictated by Lorentz boost and its complex counterpart in Klein tunneling regime, which establishes miraculously a unified yet latent connection between helicity, Klein tunneling, and Lorentz boost. The latter is governed by an abstract rotation group we construct, which reduces to SO(2) when acting on the plane of effective mass and momentum. They generate invariant submanifolds, i.e., leaves, that foliate the Hilbert space of Dirac spinors. Our results provide a basis for unified understanding of helicity transport, and may open a new window for exotic helicity-based physics and applications in mesoscopic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Anomalous in-gap edge states in two-dimensional pseudospin-1 Dirac insulators

Quantum materials that host a flat band, such as pseudospin-1 lattices and magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, can exhibit drastically new physical phenomena including unconventional superconductivity, orbital ferromagnetism, and Chern insulating behaviors. We report a surprising class of electronic in-gap edge states in pseudospin-1 materials without the conventional need of band-inversion topological phase transitions or introducing magnetism via an external magnetic type of interactions. In particular, we find that, in two-dimensional gapped (insulating) Dirac systems of massive spin-1 quasiparticles, in-gap edge modes can emerge through only an {\em electrostatic potential} applied to a finite domain. Associated with these unconventional edge modes are spontaneous formation of pronounced domain-wall spin textures, which exhibit the feature of out-of-plane spin-angular momentum locking on both sides of the domain boundary and are quite robust against boundary deformations and impurities despite a lack of an explicit topological origin. The in-gap modes are formally three-component evanescent wave solutions, akin to the Jackiw-Rebbi type of bound states. Such modes belong to a distinct class due to the following physical reasons: three-component spinor wave function, unusual boundary conditions, and a shifted flat band induced by the external scalar potential. Not only is the finding of fundamental importance, but it also paves the way for generating highly controllable in-gap edge states with emergent spin textures using the traditional semiconductor gate technology. Results are validated using analytic calculations of a continuum Dirac-Weyl model and tight-binding simulations of realistic materials through characterizations of local density of state spectra and resonant tunneling conductance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Scattering of Dirac electrons from a skyrmion: emergence of robust skew scattering

We study electron scattering from a closed magnetic structure embedded in the top surface of a topological insulator (TI). Outside the structure there is a uniform layer of ferromagnetic insulator (FMI), leading to a positive effective mass for the Dirac electrons. The mass inside can be engineered to be negative, leading to a skyrmion structure. The geometric shape of the structure can be circular or deformed, leading to integrable or chaotic dynamics, respectively, in the classical limit. For a circular structure, the relativistic quantum scattering characteristics can be calculated analytically. For a deformed structure, we develop an efficient numerical method, the multiple multipole method, to solve the scattering wavefunctions. We find that anomalous Hall effect as characterized by strong skew scattering can arise, which is robust against structural deformation due to the resonant modes. In the short (long) wavelength regime, the resonant modes manifest themselves as confined vortices (excited edge states). The origin of the resonant states is the spin phase factor of massive Dirac electrons at the skyrmion boundary. Further, in the short wavelength regime, for a circular skyrmion, a large number of angular momentum channels contribute to the resonant modes. In this regime, in principle, classical dynamics are relevant, but we find that geometric deformations, even those as severe as leading to fully developed chaos, have little effect on the resonant modes. The vortex structure of the resonant states makes it possible to electrically ``charge'' the skyrmion, rendering feasible to manipulate its motion electrically. In the long wavelength regime, only the lowest angular momentum channels contribute to the resonant modes, making the skew scattering sharply directional. These phenomena may find applications for information storage and in Hall devices based on dynamic skyrmion.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Chaos based Berry phase detector

The geometric or Berry phase, a characteristic of quasiparticles, is fundamental to the underlying quantum materials. The discoveries of new materials at a rapid pace nowadays call for efficient detection of the Berry phase. Utilizing $α$-T$_3$ lattice as a paradigm, we find that, in the Dirac electron optics regime, the semiclassical decay of the quasiparticles from a chaotic cavity can be effectively exploited for detecting the Berry phase. In particular, we demonstrate a one-to-one correspondence between the exponential decay rate and the geometric phase for the entire family of $α$-T$_3$ materials. This chaos based detection scheme represents an experimentally feasible way to assess the Berry phase and to distinguish the quasiparticles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Interplay of Lorentz-Berry forces in position-momentum spaces for valley-dependent impurity scattering in alpha-T3 lattices

The Berry-phase mediated valley-selected skew scattering in alpha-T3 lattices is demonstrated. The interplay of Lorentz and Berry forces in position and momentum spaces is revealed and analyzed. Many-body screening of the electron-impurity interaction is taken into account to avoid overestimation of back- and skew-scattering of electrons in the system. Triplet peak from skew interactions at two valleys is found in near-vertical and near-horizontal forward- and backward-scattering directions for small Berry phases and low magnetic fields. Magnetic-field dependence in both non-equilibrium and thermal-equilibrium currents is also presented for valley-dependent longitudinal and transverse transports mediated by a Berry phase. Mathematically, two Boltzmann moment equations are employed for computing scattering-angle distributions of non-equilibrium skew currents by using microscopic inverse energy- and momentum-relaxation times. Meanwhile, a valley-dependent unbalanced thermal-equilibrium anomalous Hall current induced by the Berry force in momentum space, due to different mobilities for two valleys, is also computed for comparisons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Can a photonic thermalization gap arise in disordered non-Hermitian Hamiltonian systems?

The phenomenon of chiral-symmetry protected thermalization gap in Hermitian photonic systems is counterintuitive as it implies that the photon coherence can be continuously improved by disorders towards an asymptotic limit. We show that the phenomenon disappears in time-independent, non-Hermitian photonic systems even when the chiral symmetry is well preserved. In fact, the degree of thermalization generally increases with the disorder strength, in agreement with intuition. As non-Hermitian characteristics (e.g., weak gain and loss) can be expected in realistic physical situations, the phenomenon of thermalization gap may be observed but only in well controlled experiments with high quality materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Phase locking of a pair of nano ferromagnetic oscillators on a topological insulator

We investigate the magnetization dynamics of a pair of ferromagnetic insulators (FMIs) deposited on the surface of a topological insulator (TI). Due to the nonlinear nature of the underlying physics and intrinsic dynamics, the FMIs can exhibit oscillatory behaviors even under a constant applied voltage. The motion of the surface electrons of the TI, which obeys relativistic quantum mechanics, provides a mechanism of direct coupling between the FMIs. In particular, the spin polarized current of the TI surface electrons can affect the magnetization of the two FMIs, which in turn modulates the electron transport, giving rise to a hybrid relativistic quantum/classical nonlinear dynamical system. We find robust phase and anti-phase locking between the magnetization dynamics. As driving the surface electrons of a TI only requires extremely low power, our finding suggests that nano FMIs coupled by a spin polarized current on the surface of TI have the potential to serve as the fundamental building blocks of unconventional, low-power computing paradigms.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Decay of semiclassical massless Dirac fermions from integrable and chaotic cavities

Conventional microlasing of electromagnetic waves requires (1) a high $Q$ cavity and (2) a mechanism for directional emission. Previous theoretical and experimental work demonstrated that the two requirements can be met with deformed dielectric cavities that generate chaotic ray dynamics. Is it possible for a massless Dirac spinor wave in graphene or its photonic counterpart to exhibit a similar behavior? Intuitively, because of the absence of backscattering of associated massless spin-1/2 particles and Klein tunneling, confining the wave in a cavity for a long time seems not feasible. Deforming the cavity to generate classical chaos would make confinement even more difficult. Investigating the decay of a spin-1/2 wave from a scalar potential barrier defined cavity characterized by an effective refractive index $n$ that depends on the applied potential and the particle energy, we uncover the striking existence of an interval of the refractive index in which the average lifetime of the massless spin-1/2 wave in the cavity can be as high as that of the electromagnetic wave, for both integrable and chaotic cavities. We also find scaling laws for the ratio between the mean escape time associated with electromagnetic waves and that with massless spin-1/2 particles versus the index outside of this interval. The scaling laws hold regardless of the nature of the classical dynamics. All the results are verified numerically. The findings provide insights into the emergent field of Dirac electron optics and have potential applications in developing unconventional electronics using 2D Dirac materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Chaos in Dirac electron optics: Emergence of a relativistic quantum chimera

We uncover a remarkable quantum scattering phenomenon in two-dimensional Dirac material systems where the manifestations of both classically integrable and chaotic dynamics emerge simultaneously and are electrically controllable. The distinct relativistic quantum fingerprints associated with different electron spin states are due to a physical mechanism analogous to chiroptical effect in the presence of degeneracy breaking. The phenomenon mimics a chimera state in classical complex dynamical systems but here in a relativistic quantum setting - henceforth the term "Dirac quantum chimera," associated with which are physical phenomena with potentially significant applications such as enhancement of spin polarization, unusual coexisting quasibound states for distinct spin configurations, and spin selective caustics. Experimental observations of these phenomena are possible through, e.g., optical realizations of ballistic Dirac fermion systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Non-equilibrium transport in the pseudospin-1 Dirac-Weyl system

Solid state materials hosting pseudospin-1 quasiparticles have attracted a great deal of recent attention. In these materials, the energy band contains of a pair of Dirac cones and a flat band through the connecting point of the cones. As the "caging" of carriers with a zero group velocity, the flat band itself has zero conductivity. However, in a non-equilibrium situation where a constant electric field is suddenly switched on, the flat band can enhance the resulting current in both the linear and nonlinear response regimes through distinct physical mechanisms. Using the ($2+1$) dimensional pseudospin-$1$ Dirac-Weyl system as a concrete setting, we demonstrate that, in the weak field regime, the interband current is about twice larger than that for pseudospin-1/2 system due to the interplay between the flat band and the negative band, with the scaling behavior determined by the Kubo formula. In the strong field regime, the intraband current is $\sqrt{2}$ times larger than that in the pseudospin-1/2 system, due to the additional contribution from particles residing in the flat band. In this case, the current and field follows the scaling law associated with Landau-Zener tunneling. These results provide a better understanding of the role of the flat band in non-equilibrium transport and are experimentally testable using electronic or photonic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Superscattering of pseudospin-1 wave in photonic lattice

We uncover a superscattering behavior of pseudospin-1 wave from weak scatterers in the subwavelength regime where the scatterer size is much smaller than wavelength. The phenomenon manifests itself as unusually strong scattering characterized by extraordinarily large values of the cross section even for arbitrarily weak scatterer strength. We establish analytically and numerically that the physical origin of superscattering is revival resonances, for which the conventional Born theory breaks down. The phenomenon can be experimentally tested using synthetic photonic systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

GOE statistics in graphene billiards with the shape of classically integrable billiards

A crucial result in quantum chaos, which has been established for a long time, is that the spectral properties of classically integrable systems generically are described by Poisson statistics whereas those of time-reversal symmetric, classically chaotic systems coincide with those of random matrices from the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE). Does this result hold for two-dimensional Dirac material systems? To address this fundamen- tal question, we investigate the spectral properties in a representative class of graphene billiards with shapes of classically integrable circular-sector billiards. Naively one may expect to observe Poisson statistics, which is indeed true for energies close to the band edges where the quasiparticle obeys the Schrödinger equation. However, for energies near the Dirac point, where the quasiparticles behave like massless Dirac fermions, Pois- son statistics is extremely rare in the sense that it emerges only under quite strict symmetry constraints on the straight boundary parts of the sector. An arbitrarily small amount of imperfection of the boundary results in GOE statistics. This implies that, for circular sector confinements with arbitrary angle, the spectral properties will generically be GOE. These results are corroborated by extensive numerical computation. Furthermore, we provide a physical understanding for our results.

quant-ph↗