arXiv subjects

Jonathan Ruhman

Publications and source records attributed to Jonathan Ruhman.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals

Motivated by the experimental detection of superconductivity in the low-carrier density half-Heusler compound YPtBi, we study the pairing instabilities of three-dimensional strongly spin-orbit coupled semimetals with a quadratic band touching point. In these semimetals the electronic structure at the Fermi energy is described by spin j=3/2 quasiparticles, which are fundamentally different from those in ordinary metals with spin j=1/2. We develop a general approach to analyzing pairing instabilities in j=3/2 materials by decomposing the pair scattering interaction into irreducible channels, projecting them to the Fermi surface and deriving the corresponding Eliashberg theory. Applying our method to a generic density-density interaction in YPtBi we establish the following results: (i) The pairing strength in each channel uniquely encodes the j=3/2 nature of the Fermi surface band structure--a manifestation of the fundamental difference with ordinary metals. In particular, this implies that Anderson's theorem, which addresses the effect of spin-orbit coupling and disorder on pairing states of spin-1/2 electrons, cannot be applied in this case. (ii) The leading pairing instabilities are different for electron and hole doping. This implies that superconductivity depends on carrier type. (iii) In the case of hole doping--relevant to YPtBi, we find two odd-parity channels in close competition with s-wave pairing. One of these two channels is a multicomponent pairing channel, allowing for the possibility of time-reversal symmetry breaking. (iv) In the case of Coulomb interactions mediated by the long-ranged electric polarization of optical phonon modes, a significant coupling strength is generated in spite of the extremely low density of carriers. Furthermore, non-linear response and Fermi liquid corrections can favor non-s-wave pairing and potentially account for the experimentally-observed Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Dynamics of entanglement and transport in 1D systems with quenched randomness

Quenched randomness can have a dramatic effect on the dynamics of isolated 1D quantum many-body systems, even for systems that thermalize. This is because transport, entanglement, and operator spreading can be hindered by `Griffiths' rare regions which locally resemble the many-body-localized phase and thus act as weak links. We propose coarse-grained models for entanglement growth and for the spreading of quantum operators in the presence of such weak links. We also examine entanglement growth across a single weak link numerically. We show that these weak links have a stronger effect on entanglement growth than previously assumed: entanglement growth is sub-ballistic whenever such weak links have a power-law probability distribution at low couplings, i.e. throughout the entire thermal Griffiths phase. We argue that the probability distribution of the entanglement entropy across a cut can be understood from a simple picture in terms of a classical surface growth model. Surprisingly, the four length scales associated with (i) production of entanglement, (ii) spreading of conserved quantities, (iii) spreading of operators, and (iv) the width of the `front' of a spreading operator, are characterized by dynamical exponents that in general are all distinct. Our numerical analysis of entanglement growth between weakly coupled systems may be of independent interest.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2017

Odd-parity superconductivity near inversion breaking quantum critical point in one dimension

We study how an inversion-breaking quantum critical point affects the ground state of a one-dimensional electronic liquid with repulsive interaction and spin-orbit coupling. We find that regardless of the interaction strength, the critical fluctuations always lead to a gap in the electronic spin-sector. The origin of the gap is a two-particle backscattering process, which becomes relevant due to renormalization of the Luttinger parameter near the critical point. The resulting spin-gapped state is a one-dimensional version of spin triplet superconductivity. Interestingly, in the case of a ferromagnetic critical point the Luttinger parameter is renormalized in the opposite manner, such that the system remains non-superconducting.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Topological degeneracy and pairing in a one-dimensional gas of spinless Fermions

We revisit the low energy physics of one dimensional spinless fermion liquids, showing that with sufficiently strong interactions the conventional Luttinger liquid can give way to a strong pairing phase. While the density fluctuations in both phases are described by a gapless Luttinger liquid, single fermion excitations are gapped only in the strong pairing phase. Smooth spatial Interfaces between the two phases lead to topological degeneracies in the ground state and low energy phonon spectrum. Using a concrete microscopic model, with both single particle and pair hopping, we show that the strong pairing state is established through emergence of a new low energy fermionic mode. We characterize the two phases with numerical calculations using the density matrix renormalization group. In particular we find enhancement of the central charge from $c=1$ in the two Luttinger liquid phases to $c=3/2$ at the critical point, which gives direct evidence for an emergent critical Majorana mode. Finally, we confirm the existence of topological degeneracies in the low energy phonon spectrum, associated with spatial interfaces between the two phases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Fate of the one-dimensional Ising quantum critical point coupled to a gapless boson

The problem of a quantum Ising degree of freedom coupled to a gapless bosonic mode appears naturally in many one dimensional systems, yet surprisingly little is known how such a coupling affects the Ising quantum critical point. We investigate the fate of the critical point in a regime, where the weak coupling renormalization group (RG) indicates a flow toward strong coupling. Using a renormalization group analysis and numerical density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations we show that, depending on the ratio of velocities of the gapless bosonic mode and the Ising critical fluctuations, the transition may remain continuous or become fluctuation-driven first order. The two regimes are separated by a tri-critical point of a novel type.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Entanglement Growth Under Random Unitary Dynamics

Characterizing how entanglement grows with time in a many-body system, for example after a quantum quench, is a key problem in non-equilibrium quantum physics. We study this problem for the case of random unitary dynamics, representing either Hamiltonian evolution with time--dependent noise or evolution by a random quantum circuit. Our results reveal a universal structure behind noisy entanglement growth, and also provide simple new heuristics for the `entanglement tsunami' in Hamiltonian systems without noise. In 1D, we show that noise causes the entanglement entropy across a cut to grow according to the celebrated Kardar--Parisi--Zhang (KPZ) equation. The mean entanglement grows linearly in time, while fluctuations grow like $(\text{time})^{1/3}$ and are spatially correlated over a distance $\propto (\text{time})^{2/3}$. We derive KPZ universal behaviour in three complementary ways, by mapping random entanglement growth to: (i) a stochastic model of a growing surface; (ii) a `minimal cut' picture, reminiscent of the Ryu--Takayanagi formula in holography; and (iii) a hydrodynamic problem involving the dynamical spreading of operators. We demonstrate KPZ universality in 1D numerically using simulations of random unitary circuits. Importantly, the leading order time dependence of the entropy is deterministic even in the presence of noise, allowing us to propose a simple `minimal cut' picture for the entanglement growth of generic Hamiltonians, even without noise, in arbitrary dimensionality. We clarify the meaning of the `velocity' of entanglement growth in the 1D `entanglement tsunami'. We show that in higher dimensions, noisy entanglement evolution maps to the well-studied problem of pinning of a membrane or domain wall by disorder.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Superconductivity at very low density: the case of strontium titanate

Doped strontium titanate becomes superconducting at a density as low as n = 5 x 10^17 cm^-3, where the Fermi energy is orders of magnitude smaller than the longitudinal-optical-phonon frequencies. In this limit the only optical mode with a frequency which is smaller than the Fermi energy is the plasmon. In contrast to metals, the interaction strength is weak due to screening by the crystal, which allows the construction of a controllable theory of plasmon superconductivity. We show that plasma mediated pairing alone can account for the observed transition temperatures if the screening by the crystal is reduced in the slightly doped samples compared with the insulating ones. This mechanism can also explain the pairing in the two-dimensional superconducting states observed at surfaces and interfaces with other oxides. We also discuss unique features of the plasmon mechanism, which appear in the tunneling density of states above the gap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Majorana edge modes protected by emergent symmetry in a one dimensional fermi gas

We show that a one dimensional ultra-cold Fermi gas with Rashba-like spin orbit coupling, a Zeeman field and intrinsic attractive interactions exhibits a novel topological superfluid state, which forms in spite of total number conservation and the absence of a single particle gap. Majorana zero modes are localized to the interface between a topological region in the middle of the trap and trivial regions at its wings. Unlike the realization of a topological superconductor in proximity coupled nano-wires, the Majorana modes do not carry a quantum number associated with the total fermion parity. Instead, the topological degeneracy is protected by an emergent $Z_2$ symmetry present only at low energies. We discuss the experimental implications of the novel zero modes, as manifest for example in the response to modulation of a local potential near the position of the Majorana bound states. For the range of interaction strength corresponding to Luttinger parameter $1 2$, on the other hand the zero-mode can be detected as a sharp low frequency response at an energy which generically scales with system size as $1/L^{K/2}$ and is therefore parametrically separated from the phonons.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Topological States in a One-Dimensional Fermi Gas with Attractive Interactions

We describe a novel topological superfluid state, which forms in a one-dimensional Fermi gas with Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling, a Zeeman field and intrinsic attractive interactions. In spite of total number conservation and the presence of gapless excitations, Majorana-like zero modes appear in this system and can be linked with interfaces between two distinct phases that naturally form at different regions of the harmonic trap. As a result, the low lying collective excitations of the system, including the dipole oscillations and the long-wavelength phonons, are doubly degenerate. While backscattering from point impurities can lead to a splitting of the degeneracies that scales algebraically with the system size, the smooth confining potential can only cause an exponentially small splitting. We show that the topological state can be uniquely probed by a pumping effect induced by a slow sweep of the Zeeman field from a high initial value down to zero field.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Ferromagnetic and Nematic Non-Fermi Liquids in Spin-Orbit Coupled Two-Dimensional Fermi Gases

We study the fate of a two-dimensional system of interacting fermions with Rashba spin-orbit coupling in the dilute limit. The interactions are strongly renormalized at low densities, and give rise to various fermionic liquid crystalline phases, including a spin-density wave, an in-plane ferromagnet, and a non-magnetic nematic phase, even in the weak coupling limit. The nature of the ground state in the low-density limit depends on the range of the interactions: for short range interactions it is the ferromagnet, while for dipolar interactions the nematic phase is favored. Interestingly, the ferromagnetic and nematic phases exhibit strong deviations from Fermi liquid theory, due to the scattering of the Fermionic quasi-particles off long-wavelength collective modes. Thus, we argue that a system of interacting fermions with Rashba dispersion is generically a non-Fermi liquid at low densities.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Competition Between Kondo Screening and Magnetism at the LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ Interface

We present a theory of magnetic and magneto-transport phenomena at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces, which as a central ingredient includes coupling between the conduction bands and local magnetic moments originating from charge traps at the interface. Tuning the itinerant electron density in the model drives transitions between a heavy Fermi liquid phase with screened moments and various magnetic states. The dependence of the magnetic phenomena on the electron density or gate voltage stems from competing magnetic interactions between the local moments and the different conduction bands. At low densities only the lowest conduction band, composed of the $d_{xy}$ orbitals of Ti, is occupied. Its antiferromagnetic interaction with the local moments leads to screening of the moments at a Kondo scale that increases with density. However, above a critical density, measured in experiments to be $n_c\approx 1.7\times 10^{13} cm^{-2}$, the $d_{xz}$ and $d_{yz}$ bands begin to populate. Their ferromagnetic interaction with the local moments competes with the antiferromagnetic interaction of the $d_{xy}$ band leading to eventual reduction of the Kondo scale with density. We explain the distinct magneto transport regimes seen in experiments as manifestations of the magnetic phase diagram computed from the model. We present new data showing a relation between the anomalous Hall effect and the resistivity in the system. The data strongly suggests that the concentration of local magnetic moments affecting the transport in the system is much lower than the carrier density, in accord with the theoretical model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Non-local Order in Elongated Dipolar Gases

Dipolar particles in an elongated trap are expected to undergo a quantum phase transition from a linear to a zigzag structure with decreasing transverse confinement. We derive the low energy effective theory of the transition showing that in presence of quantum fluctuations the Zigzag phase can be characterized by a long ranged string order, while the local Ising correlations decay as a power law. This is also confirmed using DMRG calculations on a microscopic model. The non local order in the bulk gives rise to zero energy states localized at the interface between the ordered and disordered phases. Such an interface naturally arises when the particles are subject to a weak harmonic confinement along the tube axis. We compute the signature of the edge states in the single particle tunneling spectra pointing to differences between a system with bosonic versus fermionic particles. Finally we asses the magnitude of the relevant quantum fluctuations in realistic systems of dipolar particles, including ultracold polar molecules as well as alkali atoms weakly dressed by a Rydberg excitation.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗