arXiv subjects

M. J. Calderon

Publications and source records attributed to M. J. Calderon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2015

Magnetic interactions in iron superconductors: A review

High temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides and chalcogenides emerges when a magnetic phase is suppressed. The multi-orbital character and the strength of correlations underlie this complex phenomenology, involving magnetic softness and anisotropies, with Hund's coupling playing an important role. We review here the different theoretical approaches used to describe the magnetic interactions in these systems. We show that taking into account the orbital degree of freedom allows us to unify in a single phase diagram the main mechanisms proposed to explain the (π,0) order in iron pnictides: the nesting-driven, the exchange between localized spins, and the Hund induced magnetic state with orbital differentiation. Comparison of theoretical estimates and experimental results helps locate the Fe superconductors in the phase diagram. In addition, orbital physics is crucial to address the magnetic softness, the doping dependent properties, and the anisotropies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Optical conductivity and Raman scattering of iron superconductors

We discuss how to analyze the optical conductivity and Raman spectra of multi-orbital systems using the velocity and the Raman vertices in a similar way Raman vertices were used to disentangle nodal and antinodal regions in cuprates. We apply this method to iron superconductors in the magnetic and non-magnetic states, studied at the mean field level. We find that the anisotropy in the optical conductivity at low frequencies reflects the difference between the magnetic gaps at the X and Y electron pockets. Both gaps are sampled by Raman spectroscopy. We also show that the Drude weight anisotropy in the magnetic state is sensitive to small changes in the lattice structure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic interactions in iron superconductors studied with a five-orbital model within the Hartree-Fock and Heisenberg approximations

We have analyzed the magnetic interactions of a five orbital model for iron superconductors treated both within Hartree-Fock and Heisenberg approximations. We have found that the exchange constants depend non-trivially on the Fe-As-Fe angle and on the charge and orbital filling. Within the localized picture, columnar ordering is found for intermediate Hund's coupling J_H. At smaller J_H, an unusual orbital reorganization stabilizes checkerboard ordering. Ferromagnetism appears at large J_H. Ferromagnetic correlations are enhanced with electron doping while large hole doping stabilizes checkerboard antiferromagnetism, explaining the change in magnetic interactions upon substitution of Fe by Co or Mn. For intermediate and large values of U, Hartree-Fock shows similar results as strong coupling though with a double stripe phase instead of ferromagnetism. Itinerancy enhances the stability of the columnar ordering. Comparison of the two approaches reveals a metallic region of the phase diagram where strong coupling physics is determinant.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Magnetoelectric coupling at the interface of BiFeO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 multilayers

Electric-field controlled exchange bias in a heterostructure composed of the ferromagnetic manganite La0.7Sr0.3MO3 and the ferroelectric antiferromagnetic BiFeO3 has recently been demonstrated experimentally. By means of a microscopic model Hamiltonian we provide a possible explanation of the origin of this magnetoelectric coupling. We find, in agreement with experimental results, a net ferromagnetic moment at the BiFeO3 interface. The induced ferromagnetic moment is the result of the competition between the e_g-electrons double exchange and the t_2g-spins antiferromagnetic superexchange that dominate in bulk BiFeO3. The balance of these simultaneous ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic tendencies is strongly affected by the interfacial electronic charge density which, in turn, can be controlled by the BiFeO3 ferroelectric polarization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Effect of strain on the orbital and magnetic ordering of manganite thin films and their interface with an insulator

We study the effect of uniform uniaxial strain on the ground state electronic configuration of a thin film manganite. Our model Hamiltonian includes the double-exchange, the Jahn-Teller electron-lattice coupling, and the antiferromagnetic superexchange. The strain arises due to the lattice mismatch between an insulating substrate and a manganite which produces a tetragonal distortion. This is included in the model via a modification of the hopping amplitude and the introduction of an energy splitting between the Mn e_g levels. We analyze the bulk properties of half-doped manganites and the electronic reconstruction at the interface between a ferromagnetic and metallic manganite and the insulating substrate. The strain drives an orbital selection modifying the electronic properties and the magnetic ordering of manganites and their interfaces.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Low magnetization and anisotropy in the antiferromagnetic state of undoped iron pnictides

We examine the magnetic phase diagram of iron pnictides using a five band model. For the intermediate values of the interaction expected to hold in the iron pnictides, we find a metallic low moment state characterized by antiparallel orbital magnetic moments. The anisotropy of the interorbital hopping amplitudes is the key to understanding this low moment state. This state accounts for the small magnetization measured in undoped iron pnictides and leads to the strong exchange anisotropy found in neutron experiments. Orbital ordering is concomitant with magnetism and produces the large zx orbital weight seen at Gamma in photoemission experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Heterointerface effects on the charging energy of shallow D- ground state in silicon: the role of dielectric mismatch

Donor states in Si nanodevices can be strongly modified by nearby insulating barriers and metallic gates. We report here experimental results indicating a strong reduction in the charging energy of isolated As dopants in Si FinFETs relative to the bulk value. By studying the problem of two electrons bound to a shallow donor within the effective mass approach, we find that the measured small charging energy may be due to a combined effect of the insulator screening and the proximity of metallic gates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Tight binding model for iron pnictides

We propose a five-band tight-binding model for the Fe-As layers of iron pnictides with the hopping amplitudes calculated within the Slater-Koster framework. The band structure found in DFT, including the orbital content of the bands, is well reproduced using only four fitting parameters to determine all the hopping amplitudes. The model allows to study the changes in the electronic structure caused by a modification of the angle $α$ formed by the Fe-As bonds and the Fe-plane and recovers the phenomenology previously discussed in the literature. We also find that changes in $α$ modify the shape and orbital content of the Fermi surface sheets.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Quantum control and manipulation of donor electrons in Si-based quantum computing

Doped Si is a promising candidate for quantum computing due to its scalability properties, long spin coherence times, and the astonishing progress on Si technology and miniaturization in the last few decades. This proposal for a quantum computer ultimately relies on the quantum control of electrons bound to donors near a Si/barrier (e.g. SiO2) interface. We address here several important issues and define critical parameters that establish the conditions that allow the manipulation of donor electrons in Si by means of external electric and magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Effect of the tetrahedral distortion on the electronic properties of iron-pnictides

We study the dependence of the electronic structure of iron pnictides on the angle formed by the arsenic-iron bonds. Within a Slater-Koster tight binding model which captures the correct symmetry properties of the bands, we show that the density of states and the band structure are sensitive to the distortion of the tetrahedral environment of the iron atoms. This sensitivity is extremely strong in a two-orbital (d_xz, d_yz) model due to the formation of a flat band around the Fermi level. Inclusion of the d_xy orbital destroys the flat band while keeping a considerable angle dependence in the band structure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Electron gas at the interface between two antiferromagnetic insulating manganites

We study theoretically the magnetic and electric properties of the interface between two antiferromagnetic and insulating manganites: La0.5Ca0.5MnO3, a strong correlated insulator, and CaMnO3, a band-insulator. We find that a ferromagnetic and metallic electron gas is formed at the interface between the two layers. We confirm the metallic character of the interface by calculating the in-plane conductance. The possibility of increasing the electron gas density by selective doping is also discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Limited local electron-lattice coupling in manganites

(Pr,Ca)MnO3 is the archetypal charge-ordered manganite, but in Pr0.48Ca0.52MnO3 we find (using convergent-beam electron diffraction and dark-field images) that the superlattice period is locally incommensurate with respect to the parent lattice, and that the superlattice orientation possesses significant local variations. This suggests that local electron-lattice coupling never overwhelmingly dominates the rich physics of manganites, even in the most extreme scenarios that produce the largest colossal magnetoresistance effects.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Valley interference effects on a donor electron close to a Si/SiO2 interface

We analyze the effects of valley interference on the quantum control and manipulation of an electron bound to a donor close to a Si/SiO2 interface as a function of the valley-orbit coupling at the interface. We find that, for finite valley-orbit coupling, the tunneling times involved in shuttling the electron between the donor and the interface oscillate with the interface/donor distance in much the same way as the exchange coupling oscillates with the interdonor distance. These oscillations disappear when the ground state at the interface is degenerate (corresponding to zero valley-orbit coupling).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Reliability of the Heitler-London approach for the exchange coupling between electrons in semiconductor nanostructures

We calculate the exchange coupling J between electrons in a double-well potential in a two-dimensional semiconductor environment within the Heitler-London (HL) approach. Two functional forms are considered for the double-well potential. We show that by choosing an appropriate and relatively simple single-electron variational wave function it is possible, within the HL approach, to significantly improve the estimates for J. In all cases the present scheme overcomes the artifacts and limitations at short interdot distances, previously attributed to the HL method, where unphysical triplet ground states have been found, and leads to an overall agreement with analytic interpolated expressions for J obtained for a donor-type model potential.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Magnetoresistance in an all-manganite heterostructure

We study the magnetic and transport properties of all-manganite heterostructures consisting of ferromagnetic metallic electrodes separated by an antiferromagnetic barrier. We find that the magnetic ordering in the barrier is influenced by the relative orientation of the electrodes magnetization producing a large difference in resistance between the parallel and antiparallel orientations of the ferromagnetic layers. The external application of a magnetic field in a parallel configuration also leads to large magnetoresistance.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

External field control of donor electron exchange at the Si/SiO2 interface

We analyze several important issues for the single- and two-qubit operations in Si quantum computer architectures involving P donors close to a SiO2 interface. For a single donor, we investigate the donor-bound electron manipulation (i.e. 1-qubit operation) between the donor and the interface by electric and magnetic fields. We establish conditions to keep a donor-bound state at the interface in the absence of local surface gates, and estimate the maximum planar density of donors allowed to avoid the formation of a 2-dimensional electron gas at the interface. We also calculate the times involved in single electron shuttling between the donor and the interface. For a donor pair, we find that under certain conditions the exchange coupling (i.e. 2-qubit operation) between the respective electron pair at the interface may be of the same order of magnitude as the coupling in GaAs-based two-electron double quantum dots where coherent spin manipulation and control has been recently demonstrated (for example for donors ~10 nm below the interface and \~40 nm apart, J~10^{-4} meV), opening the perspective for similar experiments to be performed in Si.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Theory of carrier mediated ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic oxides

We analyze the origin of ferromagnetism as a result of carrier mediation in diluted magnetic oxide semiconductors in the light of the experimental evidence reported in the literature. We propose that a combination of percolation of magnetic polarons at lower temperature and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida ferromagnetism at higher temperature may be the reason for the very high critical temperatures measured (up to ~700 K).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Re-entrant ferromagnetism in a generic class of diluted magnetic semiconductors

Considering a general situation where a semiconductor is doped by magnetic impurities leading to a carrier-induced ferromagnetic exchange coupling between the impurity moments, we show theoretically the possible generic existence of three ferromagnetic transition temperatures, T_1 > T_2 > T_3, with two distinct ferromagnetic regimes existing for T_1 > T > T_2 and T < T_3. Such an intriguing re-entrant ferromagnetism, with a paramagnetic phase (T_2 > T > T_3) between two ferromagnetic phases, arises from a subtle competition between indirect exchange induced by thermally activated carriers in an otherwise empty conduction band versus the exchange coupling existing in the impurity band due to the bound carriers themselves. We comment on the possibility of observing such a re-entrance phenomenon in diluted magnetic semiconductors and magnetic oxides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗