arXiv subjects

Hui-Min Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Hui-Min Zhang.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Design and theory of switchable linear magnetoelectricity by ferroelectricity in Type-I multiferroics

We present a comprehensive theoretical investigation of magnetoelectric (ME) coupling mechanisms in 19 altermagnetic and 4 ferrimagnetic Type-I multiferroics using electronic band structure calculations with spin-orbit coupling, a first-principles ME response framework, and spin-space-group theory analysis. We formulate a universal scheme for realizing nonvolatile ME coupling in Type-I multiferroics, where two distinct pathways emerge, each dictated by spin-space symmetry. The first pathway is associated with switching of the spin splitting or the now familiar spin-momentum locking in reciprocal space, characteristic of some altermagnetic mul-tiferroics that exhibit coexisting antiferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. The second pathway involves real-space magnetization switching via electric polarization reversal, characterized by switchable components of the linear ME tensor, despite the traditionally weak coupling in Type-I systems due to the independent origins of magnetism and ferroelectricity. We demonstrate that these two intrinsic ME coupling mechanisms are mutually exclusive and propose thermodynami-cally stable compounds for experimentation. Our findings establish general design principles for controlling robust nonvolatile ME effects in multiferroic materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Piezomagnetism-driven magnetoelectric coupling in altermagnetic multiferroic K3Cr2F7

Ferroelectric control of altermagnetism in momentum space has been studied widely, while the control of magnetism in real space of altermagnets are still rare. We present a design rule to identify multiferroicity in n=2 Ruddlesden-Popper halides. Our results show that a Jahn-Teller distortion can cooperate with oxygen octahedral rotations to break inversion symmetry, which we demonstrate in K3Cr2F7 and cation-ordered KAg2Cu2Cl7, and leads to a ferrielectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition in K3Cr2F7. Altermagnetic spin order in the ferrielectric phase of K3Cr2F7 transforms into a conventional antiferromagnetic order in the ferroelectric phase, at which strain/pressure engineered sizable changes of weak ferromagnetism can occur. Our study is not only conducive to realize strong magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics, but also reveals more functionalities in altermagnetic materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Tuning Magnetism in Layered Magnet VI$_3$: A Theoretical Study

When combined with transition metals with partially filled $d$-orbitals, magnetism can be incorporated in two-dimensional materials, which greatly expands the scope for fundamental researches and potential applications of these materials. Here, a first-principles study of a new two-dimensional ferromagnet VI$_3$ has been carried out. The structural symmetry, magnetic and electronic properties of VI$_3$ in its bulk and single layer forms have been confirmed and predicted, respectively. Its ferromagnetic Curie temperature is predicted to be reduced by half in its monolayer form. In addition, the cation substitution in its monolayer have also been studied, which can significantly tune the magnetism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Possible emergence of a skyrmion phase in ferroelectric GaMo$_4$S$_8$

Polar lacunar spinels, such as GaV$_4$S$_8$ and GaV$_4$Se$_8$, were proposed to host skyrmion phases under magnetic field. In this work, we put forward, as a candidate for Néel-type skyrmion lattice, the isostructural GaMo$_4$S$_8$, here systematically studied via both first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations of model Hamiltonian. Electric polarization, driven by Jahn-Teller distortion, is predicted to arise in GaMo$_4$S$_8$, showing a comparable size but an opposite sign with respect to that evaluated in V-based counterparts and explained in terms of different electron counting arguments and resulting distortions. Interestingly, a larger spin-orbit coupling of 4d orbitals with respect to 3d orbitals in vanadium-spinels leads to stronger Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, which are beneficial to stabilize a cycloidal spin texture, as well as smaller-sized skyrmions (radius<10 nm). Furthermore, the possibly large exchange anisotropy of GaMo4S8 may lead to a ferroelectric-ferromagnetic ground state, as an alternative to the ferroelectric-skyrmionic one, calling for further experimental verification.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Observation of Double-Dome Superconductivity in Potassium-Doped FeSe Thin Films

We report on the emergence of two disconnected superconducting domes in alkali-metal potassium (K)-doped FeSe ultra-thin films grown on graphitized SiC(0001). The superconductivity exhibits hypersensitivity to K dosage in the lower-Tc dome, whereas in the heavily electron-doped higher-Tc dome it becomes spatially homogeneous and robust against disorder, supportive of a conventional Cooper-pairing mechanism. Furthermore, the heavily K-doped multilayer FeSe films all reveal a large superconducting gap of ~ 14 meV, irrespective of film thickness, verifying the higher-Tc superconductivity only in the topmost FeSe layer. The unusual finding of a double-dome superconducting phase has stepped towards the mechanistic understanding of superconductivity in FeSe-derived superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Visualizing the elongated vortices in $γ$-Ga nanostrips

We study the magnetic response of superconducting $γ$-Ga via low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The magnetic vortex cores rely substantially on the Ga geometry, and exhibit an unexpectedly-large axial elongation with aspect ratio up to 40 in rectangular Ga nano-strips (width $l$ $<$ 100 nm). This is in stark contrast with the isotropic circular vortex core in a larger round-shaped Ga island. We suggest that the unusual elongated vortices in Ga nanostrips originate from geometric confinement effect probably via the strong repulsive interaction between the vortices and Meissner screening currents at the sample edge. Our finding provides novel conceptual insights into the geometrical confinement effect on magnetic vortices and forms the basis for the technological applications of superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Molecular beam epitaxy growth and scanning tunneling microscopy study of TiSe$_2$ ultrathin films

Molecular beam epitaxy is used to grow TiSe2 ultrathin films on graphitized SiC(0001) substrate. TiSe2films proceed via a nearly layer-by-layer growth mode and exhibit two dominant types of defects, identified as Se vacancy and interstitial, respectively. By means of scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrate that the well-established charge density waves can survive in single unit-cell (one triple layer) regime, and find a gradual reduction in their correlation length as the density of surface defects in TiSe2 ultrathin films increases. Our findings offer important insights into the nature of charge density wave in TiSe2, and also pave a material foundation for potential applications based on the collective electronic states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Strain driven sequential magnetic transitions in strained GdTiO3 on compressive substrates: a first-principles study

The compressive strain effects on the magnetic ground state and electronic structure of strained GdTiO 3 have been studied by the first-principles method. Different from the congeneric YTiO3 and LaTiO3 cases both of which becomes the A-type antiferromagnetism on the (001) LaAlO3 substrate despite their contrastive magnetism, the ground state of strained GdTiO3 on the LaAlO3 substrate changes from the original ferromagnetism to G-type antiferromagnetim, instead of the A-type one although Gd 3+ is between Y3+ and La3+. Only when the in-plane compressive strain is large enough, e.g. on the (001) YAlO3 substrate, the ground state finally becomes the A-type one. The band structure calculation shows that these compressive strained GdTiO3 remain insulating, although the band gap changes a little in these strained GdTiO3.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Direct observation of quantum confinement of massless Dirac fermions in a topological insulator

Since the discovery of topological insulators (TIs)1,2, the peculiar nature of their chiral surface states has been experimentally demonstrated both in bulk and in film materials with open boundaries3,4. Closed boundary on a TI surface may intrigue more interesting phenomena such as quantum confinement of massless Dirac fermions (DFs), which is analogous to the quantum corral (QC) for massive free electrons on a metal surface5-10. To date, it keeps a highly stringent challenge to realize a true Dirac QC due to the unusual transmitting power of a massless fermion. Through heteroepitaxially growing a Bi bilayer on the Bi2Te3 surface with appropriate coverage, here we demonstrate the realization of a true Dirac QC. Specifically, spectacular maps of quantum interference in equilateral triangle-shaped QCs surrounded by Bi bilayers are directly visualized by using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The present success is ascribed to a perfect orientation matching between the QC boundary and the stationary-phase scattering of massless DFs. In addition, the quasiparticle lifetime of the confined DFs is also systematically measured and analyzed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Computational Relativistic Astrophysics With Adaptive Mesh Refinement: Testbeds

We have carried out numerical simulations of strongly gravitating systems based on the Einstein equations coupled to the relativistic hydrodynamic equations using adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) techniques. We show AMR simulations of NS binary inspiral and coalescence carried out on a workstation having an accuracy equivalent to that of a $1025^3$ regular unigrid simulation, which is, to the best of our knowledge, larger than all previous simulations of similar NS systems on supercomputers. We believe the capability opens new possibilities in general relativistic simulations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2003

Head-on/Near Head-on Collisions of Neutron Stars With a Realistic EOS

It has been conjectured that in head-on collisions of neutron stars (NSs), the merged object would not collapse promptly even if the total mass is higher than the maximum stable mass of a cold NS. In this paper, we show that the reverse is true: even if the total mass is {\it less} than the maximum stable mass, the merged object can collapse promptly. We demonstrate this for the case of NSs with a realistic equation of state (the Lattimer-Swesty EOS) in head-on {\it and} near head-on collisions. We propose a ``Prompt Collapse Conjecture'' for a generic NS EOS for head on and near head-on collisions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1997

Induced Gauge Structure of Quantum Mechanics on $S^D$

The Ohnuki-Kitakado (O-K) scheme of quantum mechanics on $S^D$ embedded in $R^{D+1}$ is investigated. Generators satisfying the O-K algebra are written down explicitly in term of the induced gauge potential. A direct method is developed to obtain the generators in covariant form. It is seen that there exists an induced gauge configuration which is trivial on $S^D$ but might cause a nontrivial physical effect in $R^{D+1}$. The relation of the O-K scheme to extended objects such as the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole is discussed.

hep-th↗