arXiv subjects

M. Khodas

Publications and source records attributed to M. Khodas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Extrinsic anomalous Hall effect in altermagnets

We find the extrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) to be comparable to the intrinsic one in roughly half of the altermagnetic spin Laue groups in the limit of large exchange splitting. In materials with a finite Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type interaction, the extrinsic contribution is essential even in the clean limit. In other altermagnets it is mostly negligible. This peculiar behavior is linked to the nonanalytic dependence of the intrinsic AHC on spin-orbit coupling. Both originate from the lifting of the spin degeneracy along the nodal planes as the weak spin-orbit coupling breaks the nonrelativistic spin symmetry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Tuning of altermagnetism by strain

For all collinear altermagnets, we sort out piezomagnetic free-energy invariants allowed in the nonrelativistic limit and relativistic piezomagnetic invariants bilinear in the N\'eel vector $\mathbf{L}$ and magnetization $\mathbf{M}$, which include strain-induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The symmetry-allowed responses are fully determined by the nonrelativistic spin Laue group. In the nonrelativistic limit, two distinct mechanisms are discussed: the band-filling mechanism, which exists in metals and is illustrated using the simple two-dimensional Lieb lattice model, and the temperature-dependent exchange-driven mechanism, which is illustrated using first-principles calculations for transition-metal fluorides. The leading second-order nonrelativistic term in the strain-induced magnetization is also obtained for CrSb. Piezomagnetism due to the strain-induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is calculated from first principles for transition-metal fluorides, MnTe, and CrSb. Finally, we discuss triplet superconducting correlations supported by altermagnets and protected by inversion rather than time-reversal symmetry. We apply the nonrelativistic classification of Cooper pairs to describe the interplay between strain and superconductivity in the two-dimensional Lieb lattice and in bulk rutile structures. We show that triplet superconductivity is, on average, unitary in an unstrained altermagnet, but becomes non-unitary under piezomagnetically active strain.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Planar Hall effect from superconducting fluctuations

We investigate the planar Hall effect (PHE) in two-dimensional (2D) superconductors with spin-orbit interactions, where transport anisotropy is induced by an in-plane magnetic field. While PHE typically arises from the breaking of basal mirror symmetry, when the field exclusively couples to spin degrees of freedom, it remains negligible in non-interacting systems. In this study, we explore anisotropic paraconductivity as an alternative mechanism for PHE observed in 2D superconductors in the normal state. Due to the momentum dependence of spin-orbit interactions, the field-induced pair breaking exhibits anisotropy. To elucidate this phenomenon, we compute the PHE for the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. Our analysis reveals that Cooper pairs propagating along the field experience stronger pair breaking compared to those moving perpendicular to the field. This physical insight is corroborated by explicit calculations of paraconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Interplay of magnetic field and magnetic impurities in Ising superconductors

Phonon-driven $s$-wave superconductivity is fundamentally antagonistic to uniform magnetism, and field-induced suppression of the critical temperature is one of its canonical signatures. Examples of the opposite are unique and require fortuitous cancellations and very fine parameter tuning. The recently discovered Ising superconductors violate this rule: an external magnetic field applied in a certain direction does not suppress superconductivity in an ideal, impurity-free material. We propose a simple and experimentally accessible system where the effects of spin-conserving and spin-flip scattering can be studied in a controlled way, namely NbSe$_2$ monolayers dosed with magnetic $3d$ atoms. We predict that the critical temperature is slightly increased by an in-plane magnetic field in NbSe$_2$ dosed with Cr. Due to the band spin splitting, magnetic spin-flip scattering requires a finite momentum transfer, while spin-conserving scattering does not. If the magnetic anisotropy is easy-axis, an in-plane field reorients the impurity spins and transforms spin-conserving scattering into spin-flip. The critical temperature is enhanced if the induced magnetization of NbSe$_2$ has a substantial long-range component, as is the case for Cr ions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Tunneling spectroscopy of few-monolayer NbSe$_2$ in high magnetic field: Ising protection and triplet superconductivity

In conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Scrieffer (BCS) superconductors, Cooper pairs of electrons of opposite spin (i.e. singlet structure) form the ground state. Equal spin triplet pairs (ESTPs), as in superfluid $^3$He, are of great interest for superconducting spintronics and topological superconductivity, yet remain elusive. Recently, odd-parity ESTPs were predicted to arise in (few-)monolayer superconducting NbSe$_2$, from the non-colinearity between the out-of-plane Ising spin-orbit field (due to the lack of inversion symmetry in monolayer NbSe$_2$) and an applied in-plane magnetic field. These ESTPs couple to the singlet order parameter at finite field. Using van der Waals tunnel junctions, we perform spectroscopy of superconducting NbSe$_2$ flakes, of 2--25 monolayer thickness, measuring the quasiparticle density of states (DOS) as a function of applied in-plane magnetic field up to 33T. In flakes $\lesssim$ 15 monolayers thick the DOS has a single superconducting gap. In these thin samples, the magnetic field acts primarily on the spin (vs orbital) degree of freedom of the electrons, and superconductivity is further protected by the Ising field. The superconducting energy gap, extracted from our tunnelling spectra, decreases as a function of the applied magnetic field. However, in bilayer NbSe$_2$, close to the critical field (up to 30T, much larger than the Pauli limit), superconductivity appears to be more robust than expected from Ising protection alone. Our data can be explained by the above-mentioned ESTPs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Signatures of triplet correlations in density of states of Ising superconductors

The few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been recently suggested as a platform for controlled unconventional superconductivity. We study the manifestations of unconventional triplet pairing in the density of states of a disordered TMD based monolayer. The conventional singlet pairing attraction is assumed to be the dominant pairing interaction. We map the phase diagrams of disordered Ising superconductors in the plane of temperature and the in-plane magnetic field. The latter suppresses singlet and promote triplet correlations. The triplet order parameters of a trivial (non-trivial) symmetry compete (cooperate) with the singlet order parameter which gives rise to a rich phase diagram. We locate the model-dependent phase boundaries and compute the order parameters in each of the distinct phases. With this information, we obtain the density of states by solving the Gorkov equation. The triplet components of the order parameters may change an apparent width of the density of states by significantly increasing the critical field. The triplet components of the order parameters lead to the density of states broadening significantly exceeding the broadening induced by magnetic field and disorder in the singlet superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Orbital order from the on-site orbital attraction

We study the model of Fe-based superconductors with intraorbital attraction, designed to favor a spontaneous orbital polarization. Previous studies of this model within the two-orbital approximation indicated that the leading instability is toward s-wave superconductivity and the subleading one is toward anti-ferro-orbital order, which breaks the translational symmetry of the crystal. The two-orbital approximation is, however, not consistent with the Fermi surface geometry of Fe superconductors, as it yields the wrong position of one of the hole pockets. Here we analyze the model with the same interaction but with realistic Fermi surface geometry (two hole pockets at the center of the Brillouin zone and two electron pockets at its boundary). We apply the parquet renormalization-group (pRG) technique to detect the leading instability upon the lowering of the temperature. We argue that the pRG analysis strongly favors a q = 0 orbital order, which in the band basis is a d-wave Pomeranchuk order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Critical Quadrupole Fluctuations and Collective Modes in Iron Pnictide Superconductors

The multiband nature of iron pnictides gives rise to a rich temperature-doping phase diagram of competing orders and a plethora of collective phenomena. At low dopings, the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition is closely followed by a spin density wave transition both being in close proximity to the superconducting phase. A key question is the nature of high-$T_c$ superconductivity and its relation to orbital ordering and magnetism. Here we study the NaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$As superconductor using polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy. The Raman susceptibility displays critical enhancement of non-symmetric charge fluctuations across the entire phase diagram which are precursors to a $d$-wave Pomeranchuk instability at temperature $θ(\mbox{x})$. The charge fluctuations are interpreted in terms of quadrupole inter-orbital excitations in which the electron and hole Fermi surfaces breathe in-phase. Below $T_c$, the critical fluctuations acquire coherence and undergo a metamorphosis into a coherent ingap mode of extraordinary strength.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Magnetic penetration depth in disordered iron-based superconductors

We study the effect of disorder on the London penetration depth in iron-based superconductors. The theory is based on a two-band model with quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surfaces, which allows for the coexistence region in the phase diagram between magnetic and superconducting states in the presence of intraband and interband scattering. Within the quasiclassical approximation we derive and solve Eilenberger's equations, which include a weak external magnetic field, and provide analytical expressions for the penetration depth in the various limiting cases. A complete numerical analysis of the doping and temperature dependence of the London penetration depth reveals the crucial effect of disorder scattering, which is especially pronounced in the coexistence phase. The experimental implications of our results are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Raman scattering as a probe of nematic correlations

We use the symmetry constrained low energy effective Hamiltonian of iron based superconductors to study the Raman scattering in the normal state of underdoped iron-based superconductors. The incoming and scattered Raman photons couple directly to orbital fluctuations and indirectly to the spin fluctuations. We computed both couplings within the same low energy model. The symmetry constrained Hamiltonian yields the coupling between the orbital and spin fluctuations of only the same symmetry type. Attraction in B2g symmetry channel was assumed for the system to develop the subleading instability towards the discrete in-plane rotational symmetry breaking, referred to as Ising nematic transition. We find that upon approaching this instability, the Raman spectral function develops a quasi-elastic peak as a function of energy transferred by photons to the crystal. We attribute this low-energy B2g scattering to the critical slow-down associated with the build up of nematic correlations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Decay of the Kohn mode in hydrodynamic regime

We develop a hydrodynamic description of the collective modes of interacting liquids in a quasi-one-dimensional confining potential. By solving Navier-Stokes equations we determine analytically excitation spectrum of sloshing oscillations. For parabolic confinement, the lowest frequency eigenmode is not renormalized by interactions and is protected from decay by the Kohn theorem, which states that center of mass motion decouples from internal dynamics. We find that the combined effect of potential anharmonicity and interactions results in the depolarization shift and final lifetime of the Kohn mode. All other excited modes of sloshing oscillations thermalize with the parametrically faster rates. Our results are significant for the interpretation of recent experiments with trapped Fermi gases that observed weak violation of the Kohn theorem.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

On the origin of the electronic anisotropy in iron pnicitde superconductors

We use polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to study the anisotropy of the electronic characteristics of the iron-pnictide parent compounds $A$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ ($A$~=~Eu, Sr). We demonstrate that above the structural phase transition at Ts the dynamical anisotropic properties of the 122 compounds are governed by the emergence of $xy$-symmetry critical collective mode foretelling a condensation into a state with spontaneously broken four-fold symmetry at a temperature $T^{*}$. However, the mode's critical slowing down is intervened by a structural transition at Ts, about 80~K above $T^{*}$, resulting in an anisotropic density wave state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Effects of interaction on field-induced resonances in confined Fermi liquid

We consider the two-dimensional electron gas confined laterally to a narrow channel by a harmonic potential. As the Zeeman splitting matches the intersubband separation the nonlocal spin polarization develops a minimum as reported by Frolov et al. [Nature (London) 458, 868 (2009)]. This phenomenon termed Ballistic Spin Resonance is due to the degeneracy between the nearest oppositely polarized subbands that is lifted by spin-orbit coupling. We showed that the resonance survives the weak and short-range interaction. The latter detunes it and as a result shifts the Zeeman splitting at which the minimum in spin polarization occurs. Here this shift is attributed to the absence of Kohn theorem for the spin sloshing collective mode. We characterized the shift due to weak interaction qualitatively by analyzing the spin sloshing mode within the Fermi liquid phenomenology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Collective modes in multiband superconductors: Raman scattering in iron selenides

We study Raman scattering in the superconducting state of alkali-intercalated iron selenide materials AxFe2-ySe2 (A=K,Rb,Cs) in which Fermi surface has only electron pockets. Theory predicts that both s-wave and d-wave pairing channels are attractive in this material, and the gap can have either s-wave or d-wave symmetry, depending on the system parameters. ARPES data favor $s-$wave superconductivity. We present the theory of Raman scattering in AxFe2-ySe2 assuming that the ground state has s-wave symmetry but $d-$ wave is a close second. We argue that Raman profile in d-wave B2g channel displays two collective modes. One is a particle-hole exciton, another is a Bardasis-Schrieffer-type mode associated with superconducting fluctuations in d-wave channel. At a finite damping, the two modes merge into one broad peak. We present Raman data for AxFe2-ySe2 and compare them with theoretical Raman profile.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Effect of SDW fluctuations on the specific heat jump in iron pnictides at a superconducting transition

Measurements of the specific heat jump at the onset of superconducting transition in the iron-pnictide compounds revealed strong variation of its magnitude as a function of doping that is peaked near the optimal doping. We show that this behavior is direct manifestation of the coexistence between spin-density-wave and superconducting orders and the peak originates from thermal fluctuations of the spin-density-waves near the end point of the coexistence phase -- a tetracritical point. Thermal fluctuations result in a power-law dependence of the specific heat jump that is stronger than the contribution of mass renormalization due to quantum fluctuations of spin-density-waves in the vicinity of the putative critical point beneath the superconducting dome.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Spin resonance in AFe2Se2 with s-wave pairing symmetry

We study spin resonance in the superconducting state of recently discovered alkali-intercalated iron selenide materials A_xFe_(2-y)Se_2 (A=K,Rb,Cs) in which the Fermi surface has only electron pockets. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies [M. Xu et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 220504(R) (2012)] were interpreted as strong evidence for s-wave gap in these materials, while the observation of the resonance peak in neutron scattering measurements [G. Friemel et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 140511 (2012)] suggests that the gap must have different signs at Fermi surface points connected by the momentum at which the resonance has been observed. We consider recently proposed unconventional s+- superconducting state of A_xFe_(2-y)Se_2 with superconducting gap changing sign between the hybridized electron pockets. We argue that such a state supports a spin resonance. We compute the dynamical structure factor and show that it is consistent with the results of inelastic neutron scattering.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Phase-sensitive bichromatic photoresistance in a two-dimensional electron gas

We have studied microwave photoresistance in a two-dimensional electron system subject to two radiation fields (frequencies $ω_1$ and $ω_2$) using quantum kinetic equation. We have found that when $ω_2/ω_1= 1 + 2/N$, where $N$ is an integer, and both waves have the same polarization, the displacement mechanism gives rise to a new, phase-sensitive photoresistance. This photoresistance oscillates with the magnetic field and can be a good fraction of the total photoresistance under typical experimental conditions. The inelastic mechanism, on the other hand, gives zero phase-sensitive photoresistance if the radiation fields are circularly polarized.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Spin polarization oscillations without spin precession: spin-orbit entangled resonances in quasi-one-dimensional spin transport

Resonant behavior involving spin-orbit entangled states occurs for spin transport along a narrow channel defined in a two-dimensional electron gas, including an apparent rapid relaxation of the spin polarization for special values of the channel width and applied magnetic field (so-called ballistic spin resonance). A fully quantum mechanical theory for transport through multiple subbands of the one-dimensional system provides the dependence of the spin transport on the applied magnetic field and channel width, including a resonant depolarization of spins when the Zeeman energy matches the subband energy splittings and a spin texture transverse to the magnetic field. The resonance phenomenon is robust to disorder.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗