arXiv subjects

Lunhui Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Lunhui Hu.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Andreev Reflection to Probe Momentum-Dependent Spin Polarization in Altermagnet CrSb

Altermagnetic materials have recently emerged as promising candidates for next-generation spintronic applications, characterized by the k-dependent spin-splitted band structure and a simultaneous zero-net-magnetization. Among them, altermagnetic candidate CrSb has attracted considerable attention, owing to its g-wave spin splitting and high N\'eel temperature. In this article, we employed mechanical point-contact spectroscopy (MPCS) with superconducting Nb tips to probe the Andreev reflection on CrSb single crystals along three principal crystallographic orientations. The extracted momentum-dependent spin polarizations are approximately 73.4% for the (0001) plane, 67.9% for the (-1-120) plane, and 61.9% for the (10-10) plane, respectively, distinct from conventional antiferromagnets. Furthermore, conductance spectra from spatial line-scans on the sample surface support the existence of altermagnetic domains with a characteristic size of 250-500 nm separated by domain-walls with width about 250 nm. These results strongly support the momentum-dependent spin polarization in altermagnetic CrSb and establish Andreev reflection as a new paradigm to probe k-dependent spin textures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Observation of hidden altermagnetism in Cs$_{1-\delta}$V$_2$Te$_2$O

Altermagnets are characterized by anisotropic band/spin splittings in momentum space, dictated by their spin-space group symmetries. However, the real-space modulations of altermagnetism are often neglected and have not been explored experimentally. Here we combine neutron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), spin-resolved ARPES and density functional theory to demonstrate that Cs$_{1-\delta}$V$_2$Te$_2$O realizes a spatially modulated form of altermagnetism, i.e., hidden altermagnetism. Such a state in Cs$_{1-\delta}$V$_2$Te$_2$O results from its G-type antiferromagnetism and two-dimensional electronic states, allowing for the development of spatially alternating altermagnetic layers, whose local spin polarizations are directly verified by spin-resolved ARPES measurements. Our experimental discovery of hidden altermagnetism broadens the scope of unconventional magnetism and opens routes to exploring emergent phenomena from real-space modulations of altermagnetic order.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Spin triplet pairing by suppressing altermagnetism

The interplay between unconventional superconductivity and altermagnetic order has attracted much attention. In particular, whether spin-triplet superconductivity can be achieved by suppressing altermagnetism remains an open issue. We investigate this issue using a minimal single-orbital Hubbard model on a square lattice with a vacancy superstructure, in which both conventional antiferromagnetic and altermagnetic orders can emerge on an equal footing. We illustrate the existence of a metallic normal phase with altermagnetism even at half-filling due to geometric frustration and Coulomb interaction. Suppressing the altermagnetic long-range order using charge doping can lead to both conventional antiferromagnetic and altermagnetic spin fluctuations. Spin-singlet pairing is always favored when conventional antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations dominate. However, when altermagnetic spin fluctuations dominate, spin-triplet pairing will be induced. Implications of our results for possible material candidates are also briefly discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Orbital Hybridization-Induced Ising-Type Superconductivity in a Confined Gallium Layer

In low-dimensional superconductors, the interplay between quantum confinement and interfacial hybridization effects can reshape Cooper pair wavefunctions and induce novel forms of unconventional superconductivity. In this work, we employ a plasma-free, carbon buffer layer-assisted confinement epitaxy method to synthesize trilayer gallium (Ga) sandwiched between a graphene layer and a 6H-SiC(0001) substrate, forming an air-stable graphene/trilayer Ga/SiC heterostructure. In this confined light-element Ga layer, we demonstrate interfacial Ising-type superconductivity driven by atomic orbital hybridization between the Ga layer and the SiC substrate. Electrical transport measurements reveal that the in-plane upper critical magnetic field u0Hc2,|| reaches ~21.98T at T=400 mK, approximately 3.38 times the Pauli paramagnetic limit (~6.51T). Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements combined with theoretical calculations confirm the presence of split Fermi surfaces with Ising-type spin textures at the K and K' valleys of the confined Ga layer strongly hybridized with SiC. Moreover, by incorporating finite relaxation time induced by impurity scattering into an Ising-type superconductivity model, we reproduce the entire temperature-dependent u0Hc2,|| phase diagram. This work establishes a new strategy to realize unconventional pairing wavefunctions by combining quantum confinement and interfacial hybridization effects in superconducting thin films. It also opens new avenues for designing scalable superconducting quantum electronic and spintronic devices through interfacial engineering.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Concurrent Ferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se) van der Waals Josephson Junctions

Ferromagnetism and superconductivity are two key ingredients to create non-Abelian quasiparticle excitations that are expected as building blocks to construct topological quantum computers. Adversely, ferromagnetism and superconductivity are typically also two hostile orderings competing to align spins in different configurations, making the material design and experimental implementation extremely challenging. Recently, iron-based superconductor Fe(Te,Se) has emerged as a connate topological superconductor (TSC), which differentiates itself from other hybrid TSCs by self-proximitizing its Dirac surface states with bulk superconductivity. So far, the efforts to search for Majorana states in this material are prevalently focused on spectroscopy techniques. In this paper, we present the global transport signature of interfacial magnetism coexisting with superconductivity. Time-reversal symmetry breaking superconducting states are confirmed through device level transport measurements for the first time in a van der Waals (vdW) Josephson junction structure. Magnetic hysteresis is observed in this device scheme, which only appears below the superconducting critical temperature, leading to potential Fulde-Ferrell (FF) superconducting pairing mechanisms. The 0-π phase mixing in the Fraunhofer patterns pinpoints the ferromagnetic state dwelling on the surface. Furthermore, a stochastic field-free superconducting diode effect also confirms the spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking which reflects the behavior of the ferromagnetism. Our work paves a new way to explore topological superconductivity in iron-based superconductors for future high Tc fault-tolerant qubit implementations from a device perspective.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Quasi-symmetry protected topology in a semi-metal

The crystal symmetry of a material dictates the type of topological band structures it may host, and therefore symmetry is the guiding principle to find topological materials. Here we introduce an alternative guiding principle, which we call 'quasi-symmetry'. This is the situation where a Hamiltonian has an exact symmetry at lower-order that is broken by higher-order perturbation terms. This enforces finite but parametrically small gaps at some low-symmetry points in momentum space. Untethered from the restraints of symmetry, quasi-symmetries eliminate the need for fine-tuning as they enforce that sources of large Berry curvature will occur at arbitrary chemical potentials. We demonstrate that a quasi-symmetry in the semi-metal CoSi stabilizes gaps below 2 meV over a large near-degenerate plane that can be measured in the quantum oscillation spectrum. The application of in-plane strain breaks the crystal symmetry and gaps the degenerate point, observable by new magnetic breakdown orbits. The quasi-symmetry, however, does not depend on spatial symmetries and hence transmission remains fully coherent. These results demonstrate a class of topological materials with increased resilience to perturbations such as strain-induced crystalline symmetry breaking, which may lead to robust topological applications as well as unexpected topology beyond the usual space group classifications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Observation of Superconductivity Induced Ferromagnetism in an Fe-Chalcogenide Superconductor

The interplay among topology, superconductivity, and magnetism promises to bring a plethora of exotic and unintuitive behaviors in emergent quantum materials. The family of Fe-chalcogenide superconductors FeTexSe1-x are directly relevant in this context due to their intrinsic topological band structure, high-temperature superconductivity, and unconventional pairing symmetry. Despite enormous promise and expectation, the local magnetic properties of FeTexSe1-x remain largely unexplored, which prevents a comprehensive understanding of their underlying material properties. Exploiting nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, here we report nanoscale quantum sensing and imaging of magnetic flux generated by exfoliated FeTexSe1-x flakes, providing clear evidence of superconductivity-induced ferromagnetism in FeTexSe1-x. The coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in an established topological superconductor opens up new opportunities for exploring exotic spin and charge transport phenomena in quantum materials. The demonstrated coupling between NV centers and FeTexSe1-x may also find applications in developing hybrid architectures for next-generation, solid-state-based quantum information technologies.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Interference dislocations in condensate of indirect excitons

Phase singularities in quantum states play a significant role both in the state properties and in the transition between the states. For instance, a transition to two-dimensional superfluid state is governed by pairing of vortices and, in turn, unpaired vortices can cause dissipations for particle fluxes. Vortices and other phase defects can be revealed by characteristic features in interference patterns produced by the quantum system. We present dislocation-like phase singularities in interference patterns in a condensate of indirect excitons measured by shift-interferometry. We show that the observed dislocations in interference patterns are not associated with conventional phase defects: neither with vortices, nor with polarization vortices, nor with half-vortices, nor with skyrmions, nor with half-skyrmions. We present the origin of these new phase singularities in condensate interference patterns: the observed interference dislocations originate from converging of the condensate matter waves propagating from different sources.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Quasi 1D topological nodal vortex line phase in doped superconducting 3D Dirac Semimetals

We study the vortex bound states in three dimensional (3D) superconducting Dirac semimetals with time reversal symmetry. Assuming two Dirac points on the kz-axis and bulk s-wave superconductivity, with a quantum vortex line parallel to the z-direction, we find that the superconducting vortex line has a robust quasi-1D nodal phase. The nodal phase stems from the symmetry protected Dirac points in the normal state bands, and it can be characterized by a topological index (ν; n) at kz = 0 and kz = π, where νis the Z2 topological invariant for a 0D class-D system and n is the Z topological invariant for a 0D class-A system according to the Altland- Zirnbauer classification. Based on the topological index, we find that vortex end Majorana zero mode can coexist with the quasi-1D nodal phase in certain kinds of Dirac semimetals. The influence of the symmetry breaking perturbations on the quasi-1D nodal phase is also analyzed. Finally, we discuss the possible material realization of such nodal vortex line state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Topological Vortex Phase Transitions in Iron-Based Superconductors

We study topological vortex phases in iron-based superconductors. Besides the previously known vortex end Majorana zero modes (MZMs) phase stemming from the existence of a three dimensional (3D) strong topological insulator state, we show that there is another topologically nontrivial phase as iron-based superconductors can be doped superconducting 3D weak topological insulators (WTIs). The vortex bound states in a superconducting 3D WTI exhibit two different types of quantum states, a robust nodal superconducting phase with pairs of bulk MZMs and a full-gap topologically nontrivial superconducting phase which has single vortex end MZM in a certain range of doping level. Moreover, we predict and summarize various topological phases in iron-based superconductors, and find that carrier doping and interlayer coupling can drive systems to have phase transitions between these different topological phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗