arXiv subjects

Kyo-Hoon Ahn

Publications and source records attributed to Kyo-Hoon Ahn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Incipient magnetic instability in RuO$_2$ with random phase approximation

We study the instability in RuO$_2$ using the Hartree-Fock approximation followed by the random phase approximation. We employ a three-orbital Hubbard model without spin-orbit coupling. An analysis of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the static susceptibility in the non-magnetic phase for various local interaction parameters $U$, $J_H$, and hole doping $n$ shows that the spin susceptibility is the dominant response channel. In the stoichiometric system without spin-orbit coupling, commensurate altermagnetic order is identified as the leading instability at sufficiently low temperatures, whereas at higher temperatures or finite hole doping, incommensurate wave vectors emerge. To elucidate the origin of the magnetic instability, we analyze the band spitting by the staggered Weiss field and discuss the qualitative difference between altermagnets and antiferromagnets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Optimizing high-temperature electron mobility in single-crystal Bi$_2$O$_2$Se based on its unconventional dependence on concentration

Quasi-2D Bi$_2$O$_2$Se is part of an intensive materials research effort aimed at finding new semiconductors that outperform silicon-based electronics in terms of speed and power consumption. This material exhibits exceptionally high carrier mobility at low temperatures but mediocre mobility at 300 K. Its high mobility is generally associated with its high permittivity ($\varepsilon_r$~500), which is also associated with metallicity persisting down to very low carrier concentrations. This material exhibits a counterintuitive increase in carrier mobility as the concentration increases. The connection between low both carrier concentration and mobility in Se-rich conditions, and both high carrier concentration and mobility in Se-poor conditions suggests that the increase is related to native defects. We demonstrate that these defects can alter the effective mass of charge carriers. Specifically, substitutional Se(Bi) defects, which appear under Se-rich conditions, destroy the Bi$_2$O$_2$ channel and compromise charge transport properties. These defects increase the effective mass of charge carriers transforming the original semiconductor into a semimetal and introducing holes into charge transport. Additionally, we show that single crystals are generally inhomogeneous, particularly those grown under Se-rich conditions. Unlike Se-poor conditions, Se-rich conditions induce a higher concentration of dislocations and extraneous phases. These findings suggest that the perfection of the Bi$_2$O$_2$ channel is crucial for mobility, particularly at room temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Thermal conductivity of CdCr$_{2}$Se$_{4}$ ferromagnet at low temperatures: role of grain boundaries and porosity

It is unambiguously demonstrated that the low temperature magnon specific heat in a ferromagnet varies as T$^{3/2}$ and the magnon thermal conductivity, due to T$^{1/2}$ - dependent effective velocity of magnons, as T$^{2}$. The confirmation of these model comportments is based on the experimental study of chalcospinel CdCr$_{2}$Se$_{4}$, which represents relatively rare example of a ferromagnetic insulator (T$_{C}$ = 130 K) without undesirable masking contributions of the itinerant electron excitations and nuclear specific heat that both make impossible to conclusively unveil the role of magnons. The ratio of the magnon to lattice specific heat is found to reach 87:13 at 2 K and is in accordance with predictions based on the spin-wave stiffness D = 33.5 meVA$^{2}$ and Debye temperature $θ_{D}$ = 237 K. On the other hand, the ratio of the magnon to phonon thermal conductivity reaching 27:73 at 2 K is much lower than expected for standard model of the grain boundary limited transport. This suggests that mean free paths for long-wavelength magnon/phonon heat carriers are largely different - shorter than the grain size (of 1$μ$m) for magnons and longer than grain size for phonons. The phonon dominated low temperature thermal conductivity exhibits, moreover, a T$^{2.3}$ temperature dependence instead of the standard predicted model in T$^{3}$. The relevant scattering mechanisms, both the phonon frequency independent and dependent ones, are discussed in detail.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Phonon properties and unconventional heat transfer in quasi-2D $Bi_2O_2Se$ crystal

Bi2O2Se belongs to a group of quasi-2D semiconductors that can replace silicon in future high-speed/low-power electronics. However, the correlation between crystal/band structure and other physical properties still eludes understanding: carrier mobility increases non-intuitively with carrier concentration; the observed $T^2$ temperature dependence of resistivity lacks explanation. Moreover, a very high relative out-of-plane permittivity of about 150 has been reported in the literature. A proper explanation for such a high permittivity is still lacking. We have performed infrared (IR) reflectivity and Raman scattering experiments on a large perfect single crystal with defined mosaicity, carrier concentration and mobility. Five of the eight phonons allowed by factor group theory have been observed and their symmetries determined. The IR spectra show that the permittivity measured in the tetragonal plane is as high as $ε_r{\approx}500$, and this high value is due to a strong polar phonon with a low frequency of ~34 $cm^{-1}$ (~1 THz). Such an unusually high permittivity allows the screening of charge defects, leading to the observation of high electron mobility at low temperatures. It also allows effective modulation doping providing a platform for high performance 2D electronics. DFT calculations suggest the existence of a very low frequency acoustic phonon ~14 $cm^{-1}$ (~0.4 THz). Both the low frequency phonons cause anomalous phonon DOS, which is reflected in the unconventional temperature dependence of the heat capacity, $c_M{\approx}T^{3.5}$. The temperature-dependent, two-component group velocity is proposed to explains the unusual temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity, $κ{\approx}T^{1.5}$

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Semiclassical model of magnons in double-layered antiferromagnets

The stability and magnonic properties of double-layered antiferromagnets are investigated using two model systems, a linear chain (LC) and a more complex chain of railroad trestle (RT) geometry, and the results are confronted with properties of the real material CrN. The spin-paired order ($\cdots{+}{+}{-}{-}\cdots$) in LC requires alternating ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchanges, whereas in RT, an analogous order remains stable even when all interactions are AFM within certain analytical constraints. The rock-salt structure of CrN evokes clear magnetic frustration since Cr atoms in a face-centered cubic lattice form links to twelve nearest neighbors (NNs) all equivalent and AFM. Nonetheless, the magnetostructural transition to an orthorhombically distorted phase below $T_\text{N} = 287~\text{K}$ leads to four different NN Cr-Cr distances and consequently, to a large diversification of the exchange strength, which suppresses the frustration and allows for stable double-layered AFM order of CrN. This behavior originates from a competition at each NN link between Cr-Cr direct exchange and 90$^\circ$ Cr-N-Cr superexchange, both exhibiting specific power-law dependences on the interatomic distance. Finally, based on the $\textit{ab initio}$ calculated exchange parameters, the magnon spectrum and temperature evolution of ordered magnetic moments are derived.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Spin Hall magnetoresistance at the altermagnetic insulator/Pt interface

The resistance of a heavy metal can be modulated by an adjacent magnetic material through the combined effects of the spin Hall effect, inverse spin Hall effect, and dissipation of the spin accumulation at the interface. This phenomenon is known as the spin Hall magnetoresistance. The dissipation of the spin accumulation can occur via various mechanisms, with spin-transfer torque being the most extensively studied. In this work, we report the observation of spin Hall magnetoresistance at the interface between platinum and an insulating altermagnetic candidate, Ba$_2$CoGe$_2$O$_7$. Our findings reveal that this heterostructure exhibits a relatively large spin Hall magnetoresistance signal, which is anisotropic with respect to the crystal orientation of the current channel. We explore and rule out several potential explanations for this anisotropy and propose that our results may be understood in the context of the anisotropies of the spin current channels across the Pt/altermagnetic Ba$_2$CoGe$_2$O$_7$ interface.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Anomalous Spectroscopical Effects in an Antiferromagnetic Semiconductor

Following the recent observation of anomalous Hall effect in antiferromagnetic hexagonal MnTe thin films, related phenomena at finite frequencies have come into focus. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) is the key material property here. In the x-ray range, the XMCD has already been demonstrated and used to visualise domains via photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Here we report on MCD in optical range and discuss its microscopic mechanism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Spontaneous Crystal Thermal Hall Effect in Insulating Altermagnets

We show that magnetic insulators with a collinear and compensated order can exhibit a thermal Hall effect even at zero magnetic field if they have altermagnetic symmetries. We predict a finite thermal Hall conductivity vector $\boldsymbolκ_\text{H}$ for a rutile-inspired effective spin model with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Within the linear spin-wave theory, we identify two magnon branches that carry identical Berry curvature and give rise to a finite $\boldsymbolκ_\text{H}$, which can be controlled by the Néel vector orientation and by strain. The thermal Hall response is further complemented with a spin Nernst response to contrast spin and heat transport in altermagnetic insulators with those in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. Our results establish the crystal thermal Hall effect of magnons and we discuss material candidates for experimental realization, such as MnF$_2$, CoF$_2$, and NiF$_2$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Chiral magnons in altermagnetic RuO2

Magnons in ferromagnets have one chirality, and typically are in the GHz range and have a quadratic dispersion near the zero wavevector. In contrast, magnons in antiferromagnets are commonly considered to have bands with both chiralities that are degenerate across the entire Brillouin zone, and to be in the THz range and to have a linear dispersion near the center of the Brillouin zone. Here we theoretically demonstrate a new class of magnons on a prototypical $d$-wave altermagnet RuO$_2$ with the compensated antiparallel magnetic order in the ground state. Based on density-functional-theory calculations we observe that the THz-range magnon bands in RuO$_2$ have an alternating chirality splitting, similar to the alternating spin splitting of the electronic bands, and a linear magnon dispersion near the zero wavevector. We also show that, overall, the Landau damping of this metallic altermagnet is suppressed due to the spin-split electronic structure, as compared to an artificial antiferromagnetic phase of the same RuO$_2$ crystal with spin-degenerate electronic bands and chirality-degenerate magnon bands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Valence skipping, internal doping and site-selective Mott transition in PbCoO$_3$ under pressure

We present a computational study of PbCoO$_3$ at ambient and elevated pressure. We employ the static and dynamic treatment of local correlation in form of density functional theory + $U$ (DFT+$U$) and + dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT). Our results capture the experimentally observed crystal structures and identify the unsaturated Pb $6s$ - O $2p$ bonds as the driving force beyond the complex physics of PbCoO$_3$. We provide a geometrical analysis of the structural distortions and we discuss their implications, in particular, the internal doping, which triggers transition between phases with and without local moments and a site selective Mott transition in the low-pressure phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Ferromagnetism of LaCoO$_3$ films

We study ferromagnetic ordering and microscopic inhomogeneity in tensile strained LaCoO$_3$ using numerical simulations. We argue that both phenomena originate from effective superexchange interactions between atoms in the high-spin (HS) state mediated by the intermediate-spin excitations. We derive a model of the HS excitation as a bare atomic state dressed by electron and electron-hole fluctuations on the neighbor atoms. We construct a series of approximations to account for electron correlation effects responsible for HS fluctuations and magnetic exchange. The obtained amplitudes and directional dependence of magnetic couplings between the "dressed" HS states show a qualitative agreement with experimental observations and provide a new physical picture of LaCoO$_3$ films.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Antiferromagnetism in RuO$_2$ as $d$-wave Pomeranchuk instability

We present a computational study of antiferromagnetic transition in RuO$_2$. The rutile structure with the magnetic sublattices coupled by $π/2$-rotation leads to a spin-polarized band structure in the antiferromagnetic state, which gives rise to a $d$-wave modulation of the Fermi surface in the spin-triplet channel. We argue a finite spin conductivity that changes sign in the $ab$ plane is expected RuO$_2$ because of this band structure. We analyze the origin of the antiferromagnetic instability and link it to presence of a nodal line close to the Fermi level.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Coexistence of Triple Nodal Points, Nodal Links, and Unusual Flat Bands in intermetallic ${\cal A}$Pd$_3$ (${\cal A}$=Pb, Sn)

We investigate the electronic structure and several properties, and topological character, of the cubic time-reversal invariant intermetallic compounds PbPd$_3$ and SnPd$_3$ using density functional theory based methods. These compounds have a dispersionless band along the $Γ-X$ line, forming the top of the Pd $4d$ bands and lying within a few meV of the Fermi level $E_F$. Effects of the flat band on transport and optical properties have been inspected by varying the doping concentration treated with the virtual crystal approximation for substitution on the Pb site. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC), we find triple nodal points and three-dimensional nodal loops, which are known to lead to surface bands and drumhead states, respectively, which we discuss for PbPd$_3$. SOC removes degeneracy in most of the zone, providing a topological index $Z_2$=1 on the $k_z=0$ plane that indicates a topological character on that plane. The isovalent and isostructural compound SnPd$_3$ shows only minor differences in its electronic structures, so it is expected to display similar electronic, transport, and topological properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Calculated g-factors of 5d double perovskites Ba2NaOsO6 and Ba2YOsO6

Using Wannier functions to represent the density functional results we calculate the hybridization corrections to the orbital momentum operator in the Os 5d shell of Mott insulators Ba2NaOsO6 and Ba2YOsO6. The g-factors are obtained by evaluating the spin and orbital momentum operators in the atomic ground states of the Os ion. While the hybridization corrections play minor role in d3 ion of Ba2YOsO6 with dominant spin moment, they are instrumental for observation of non- zero g-factor of the d1 ions of Ba2NaOsO6. In addition we analyze the exchange interactions in Ba2YOsO6 and find them consistent with the reported magnetic structure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Spin-orbit interaction driven collective electron-hole excitations in a noncentrosymmetric nodal loop Weyl semimetal

NbP is one member of a new class of nodal loop semimetals characterized by the cooperative effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and a lack of inversion center. Here transport and spectroscopic properties of NbP are evaluated using density functional theory methods. SOC together with the lack of inversion symmetry splits degeneracies, giving rise to "Russian doll nested" Fermi surfaces containing 4*10$^{-4}$ electron (hole) carriers/f.u. Due to the modest SOC strength in Nb, the Fermi surfaces map out the Weyl nodal loops. Calculated structure around T$^*$~100 K in transport properties reproduces well the observed transport behavior only when SOC is included, attesting to the precision of the (delicate) calculations and the stoichiometry of the samples. Low energy collective electron-hole excitations (plasmons) in the 20-60 meV range result from the nodal loop splitting.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Tuning ferromagnetic BaFe$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ through a high Chern number topological phase

There is strong interest in discovering or designing wide gap Chern insulators. Here we follow a Chern insulator to trivial Mott insulator transition versus interaction strength U in a honeycomb lattice Fe-based transition metal oxide, discovering that a spin-orbit coupling energy scale $ξ$=40 meV can produce and maintain a topologically entangled Chern insulating state against large band structure changes arising from an interaction strength U up to 60 times as large. Within the Chern phase the minimum gap switches from the zone corner K to the zone center $Γ$ while maintaining the topological structure. At a critical strength $U_c$, the continuous evolution of the electronic structure encounters a gap closing then reopening, upon which the system reverts to a trivial Mott insulating phase. This Chern insulator phase of honeycomb lattice Fe$^{2+}$ BaFe$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ corresponds to a large Chern number C=-3 that will provide enhanced anomalous Hall conductivity due to the associated three edge states threading through the bulk gap of 80 meV.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Doping-dependent bandwidth renormalization and spin-orbit coupling in (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_2$RhO$_4$

We investigate the electronic structure of (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_2$RhO$_4$ using a combination of the density functional and dynamical mean-field theories. Unlike the earlier local density approximation plus Hubbard $U$ (LDA+U) studies, we find no sizable enhancement of the spin-orbit splitting due to electronic correlations and show that such an enhancement is a spurious effect of the static mean-field approximation of the LDA+U method. The electron doping suppresses the importance of electronic correlations, which is reflected in quasi-particle bandwidth increasing with $x$. (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_2$RhO$_4$ can be classified as weakly correlated metal, which becomes an itinerant in-plane ferromagnet (but possibly A-type antiferromagnet) due to Stoner instability around $x=0.2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Unquenched $e_g^1$ orbital moment in the Mott insulating antiferromagnet KOsO4

Applying the correlated electronic structure method based on density functional theory plus the Hubbard $U$ interaction, we have investigated the tetragonal scheelite structure Mott insulator KOsO$_4$, whose $e_g^1$ configuration should be affected only slightly by spin-orbit couping (SOC). The method reproduces the observed antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state, populating the Os $d_{z^2}$ majority orbital. The quarter-filled $e_g$ manifold is characterized by a symmetry breaking due to the tetragonal structure, and the Os ion shows a crystal field splitting $Δ_{cf}$ = 1.7 eV from the $t_{2g}$ complex, which is relatively small considering the high formal oxidation state Os$^{7+}$. The small magnetocrystalline anisotropy before including correlation (i.e., in the metallic state) is increased by more than an order of magnitude in the Mott-insulating state, a result of a strong interplay between large SOC and a strong correlation. In contrast to conventional wisdom that the $e_g$ complex will not support orbital magnetism, we find that for the easy axis [100] direction the substantial Os orbital moment $M_L\approx-0.2 μ_B$ compensates half of the Os spin moment $M_S$ = 0.4$μ_B$. The origin of the orbital moment is analyzed and understood in terms of additional spin-orbital lowering of symmetry, and beyond that due to structural distortion, for magnetization along [100]. Further interpretation is assisted by analysis of the spin density and the Wannier function with SOC included.

cond-mat.str-el↗