arXiv subjects

Masatoshi Sato

Publications and source records attributed to Masatoshi Sato.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Topological Phase Transition driven by Infinitesimal Instability: Majorana Fermions in Non-Hermitian Spintronics

Quantum phase transitions are intriguing and fundamental cooperative phenomena in physics. Analyzing a superconducting nanowire with spin-dependent non-Hermitian hopping, we discover a topological quantum phase transition driven by infinitesimal cascade instability. The anomalous phase transition is complementary to the universal non-Bloch wave behavior of non-Hermitian systems. We show that an infinite small magnetic field drastically suppresses the non-Hermitian skin effect, inducing a topological phase with Majorana boundary states. Furthermore, by identifying the bulk topological invariant, we establish the non-Hermitian bulk-boundary correspondence that does not have a Hermitian counterpart. We also discuss an experimental realization of the system by using the spin-current injection to a quantum wire.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Classification of Exceptional Points and Non-Hermitian Topological Semimetals

Exceptional points are universal level degeneracies induced by non-Hermiticity. Whereas past decades witnessed their new physics, the unified understanding has yet to be obtained. Here we present the complete classification of generic topologically stable exceptional points according to two types of complex-energy gaps and fundamental symmetries of charge conjugation, parity, and time reversal. This classification reveals unique non-Hermitian gapless structures with no Hermitian analogs and systematically predicts unknown non-Hermitian semimetals and nodal superconductors; a topological dumbbell of exceptional points in three dimensions is constructed as an illustration. Our work paves the way toward richer phenomena and functionalities of exceptional points and non-Hermitian topological semimetals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Lieb-Robinson Bounds on Entanglement Gaps from Symmetry-Protected Topology

A quantum quench is the simplest protocol to investigate nonequilibrium many-body quantum dynamics. Previous studies on the entanglement properties of quenched quantum many-body systems mainly focus on the growth of entanglement entropy. Several rigorous results and phenomenological guiding principles have been established, such as the no-faster-than-linear entanglement growth generated by generic local Hamiltonians and the peculiar logarithmic growth for many-body localized systems. However, little is known about the dynamical behavior of the full entanglement spectrum, which is a refined character closely related to the topological nature of the wave function. Here, we establish a rigorous and universal result for the entanglement spectra of 1D SPT systems evolving out of equilibrium. Our result is derived both for free-fermion SPT systems and interacting ones. For free-fermion systems with AZ symmetries, we prove that the single-particle entanglement gap after quenches obeys essentially the same Lieb-Robinson bound as that on the equal-time correlation, provided that there is no dynamical symmetry breaking. As a notable byproduct, we obtain a new type of Lieb-Robinson velocity which is related to the band dispersion with a complex wave number and reaches the minimum as the maximal (relative) group velocity. Within the framework of tensor networks, i.e., for SPT MPSs evolved by symmetric and trivial MPUs, we also identify a Lieb-Robinson bound on the many-body entanglement gap for general quenched interacting SPT systems. This result suggests high potential of tensor-network approaches for exploring rigorous results on long-time quantum dynamics. Influence of partial symmetry breaking, effects of disorder, and the relaxation property in the long-time limit are also discussed. Our work establishes a paradigm for exploring rigorous results of SPT systems out of equilibrium.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Topological Crystalline Superconductivity in Dirac Semimetal Phase of Iron-based Superconductors

In iron-based superconductors, band inversion of $d$- and $p$-orbitals yields Dirac semimetallic states. We theoretically investigate their topological properties in normal and superconducting phases, based on the tight-binding model involving full symmetry of the materials. We demonstrate that a Cooper pair between electrons with $d$- and $p$-orbitals relevant to the band structure yields odd-parity superconductivity. Moreover, we present the typical surface states by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and characterize them by topological invariants defined with crystal symmetry. It is found that there appear various types of Majorana fermions such as surface flat band, Majorana quartet and Möbius twisted surface state. Our theoretical results show that iron-based superconductors are promising platforms to realize rich topological crystalline phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Topological classification under nonmagnetic and magnetic point group symmetry: Application of real-space Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence to higher-order topology

We classify time-reversal breaking (class A) spinful topological crystalline insulators with crystallographic non-magnetic (32 types) and magnetic (58 types) point groups. The classification includes all possible magnetic topological crystalline insulators protected by point group symmetry. Whereas the classification of topological insulators is known to be given by the $K$-theory in the momentum space, computation of the $K$-theory has been a difficult task in the presence of complicated crystallographic symmetry. Here we consider the $K$-homology in the real space for this problem, instead of the $K$-theory in the momentum space, both of which give the same topological classification. We apply the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence (AHSS) for computation of the $K$-homology, which is a mathematical tool for generalized (co)homology. In the real space picture, the AHSS naturally gives the classification of higher-order topological insulators at the same time. By solving the group extension problem in the AHSS on the basis of physical arguments, we completely determine possible topological phases including higher-order ones for each point group. Relationships among different higher-order topological phases are argued in terms of the AHSS in the $K$-homology. We find that in some nonmagnetic and magnetic point groups, a stack of two $\mathbb{Z}_2$ second-order topological insulators can be smoothly deformed into non-trivial fourth-order topological insulators, which implies non-trivial group extensions in the AHSS.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Majorana multipole response of topological superconductors

In contrast to elementary Majorana particles, emergent Majorana fermions (MFs) in condensed-matter systems may have electromagnetic multipoles. We developed a general theory of magnetic multipoles for surface helical MFs on time-reversal-invariant superconductors. The results show that the multipole response is governed by crystal symmetry, and that a one-to-one correspondence exists between the symmetry of Cooper pairs and the representation of magnetic multipoles under crystal symmetry. The latter property provides a way to identify nonconventional pairing symmetry via the magnetic response of surface MFs. We also find that most helical MFs exhibit a magnetic-dipole response, but those on superconductors with spin-3/2 electrons may display a magnetic-octupole response in leading order, which uniquely characterizes high-spin superconductors. Detection of such an octupole response provides direct evidence of high-spin superconductivity, such as in half-Heusler superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Influence of edge magnetization and electric fields on zigzag silicene, germanene and stanene nanoribbons

Using a multi-orbital tight-binding model, we have studied the edge states of zigzag silicene, germanene, and stanene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs and ZSnNRs, respectively) in the presence of the Coulomb interaction and a vertical electric field. The resulting edge states have non-linear energy dispersions due to multi-orbital effects, and the nanoribbons show induced magnetization at the edges. Owing to this non-linear dispersion, ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs and ZSnNRs may not provide superior performance in field effect transistors, as has been proposed from single-orbital tight-binding model calculations. We propose an effective low-energy model that describes the edge states of ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs, and ZSnNRs. We demonstrate that the edge states of ZGeNR and ZSnNR show anti-crossing of bands with opposite spins, even if only out-of-plane edge magnetization is present. The ability to tune the spin polarizations of the edge states by applying an electric field points to future opportunities to fabricate silicene, germanene and stanene nanoribbons as spintronics devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Multiple topological states in iron-based superconductors

Topological insulators and semimetals as well as unconventional iron-based superconductors have attracted major recent attention in condensed matter physics. Previously, however, little overlap has been identified between these two vibrant fields, even though the principal combination of topological bands and superconductivity promises exotic unprecedented avenues of superconducting states and Majorana bound states (MBSs), the central building block for topological quantum computation. Along with progressing laser-based spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) towards high energy and momentum resolution, we have resolved topological insulator (TI) and topological Dirac semimetal (TDS) bands near the Fermi level ($E_{\text{F}}$) in the iron-based superconductors Li(Fe,Co)As and Fe(Te,Se), respectively. The TI and TDS bands can be individually tuned to locate close to $E_{\text{F}}$ by carrier doping, allowing to potentially access a plethora of different superconducting topological states in the same material. Our results reveal the generic coexistence of superconductivity and multiple topological states in iron-based superconductors, rendering these materials a promising platform for high-$T_{\text{c}}$ topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Spin-Orbit Coupling and Topological States in $F=\frac{3}{2}$ Cold Fermi Gas

In this work we study the possible occurrence of topological insulators for 2D fermions of high spin. They can be realized in cold fermion systems with ground-state atomic spin $F>\tfrac{1}{2}$, if the optical potential is properly designed, and spin-orbit coupling is relevant. The latter is shown to be induced by letting the fermions interact with a specially tuned arrangement of polarized laser beams. When the system is subject to a perpendicular magnetic field, time reversal symmetry is broken but the ensuing Hamiltonian is still endowed with a mirror symmetry. Topological insulators for fermions of higher spins are fundamentally distinct from those pertaining to spin $\frac{1}{2}$. The underlying physics reveals a plethora of positive and negative mirror Chern numbers, respectively corresponding to chiral and anti-chiral edge states. Here, for simplicity, we concentrate on the case $F=\tfrac{3}{2}$ (which is suitable for $^{6}$Li or $^2$H atoms) but extension to higher spins (such as $^{40}$K whose ground-state spin is $F=\tfrac{9}{2}$), is straightforward.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Topological Crystalline Materials of $J=3/2$ Electrons: Antiperovskites, Dirac points, and High Winding Topological Superconductivity

We present a theory of the high-spin generalization of topological insulators and their doped superconducting states. The higher-spin topological insulators involve a pair of $J=3/2$ bands with opposite parity, and are characterized by their band inversion. The low-energy effective theory reveals that the topological insulators host four different phases characterized by mirror Chern numbers, at which boundaries two different patterns of bulk Dirac points appear. For the carrier-doped case, it is shown that the system may host unique unconventional superconductivity because of its high-spin nature and additional orbital degrees of freedom intrinsic to topological insulators. The superconducting critical temperature is evaluated by using density-density pairing interactions, and odd-parity Cooper pairs are shown to be naturally realized in the presence of interorbital pairing interaction. It is observed that even the simplest spin 0 odd-parity pairing state exhibits a novel class of topological superconductivity---high winding topological superconductivity. We also discuss the experimental signals of high winding topological superconductivity in the case of the antiperovskite superconductor Sr$_{3-x}$SnO.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Axion instability and non-linear electromagnetic effect

We investigate the instability due to dynamical axion field near the topological phase transition of insulators. We first point out that the amplitude of dynamical axion field is bounded for magnetic insulators in general, which suppresses the axion instability. Near the topological phase transition, however, the axion field may have a large fluctuation, which decreases the critical electric field for the instability and increases the axion induced magnetic flux density. Using two different model Hamiltonians, we report the electromagnetic response of the axion field in details.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Topological Dirac semimetal phase in the iron-based superconductor Fe(Te,Se)

Topological Dirac semimetals (TDSs) exhibit bulk Dirac cones protected by time reversal and crystal symmetry, as well as surface states originating from non-trivial topology. While there is a manifold possible onset of superconducting order in such systems, few observations of intrinsic superconductivity have so far been reported for TDSs. We observe evidence for a TDS phase in FeTe$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ ($x$ = 0.45), one of the high transition temperature ($T_c$) iron-based superconductors. In angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) and transport experiments, we find spin-polarized states overlapping with the bulk states on the (001) surface, and linear magnetoresistance (MR) starting from 6 T. Combined, this strongly suggests the existence of a TDS phase, which is confirmed by theoretical calculations. In total, the topological electronic states in Fe(Te,Se) provide a promising high $T_c$ platform to realize multiple topological superconducting phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Symmetry-protected line nodes and Majorana flat bands in nodal crystalline superconductors

Line nodes in the superconducting gap are known to be a source of Majorana flat bands (MFBs) in time-reversal-invariant superconductors (SCs). Here, we extend this relation to all symmetry-protected line nodes where an additional constraint arising from a symmetry of the crystal destabilizes or hides the existence of MFBs. By establishing a one-to-one correspondence between group theoretical and topological classifications, we are able to classify the possible line-node-induced MFBs, including cases with (magnetic) non-symmorphic space groups. Our theoretical analysis reveals a new type of MFB, i.e., MFBs in antiferromagnetic SCs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Topological Crystalline Materials - General Formulation, Module Structure, and Wallpaper Groups -

We formulate topological crystalline materials on the basis of the twisted equivariant $K$-theory. Basic ideas of the twisted equivariant $K$-theory is explained with application to topological phases protected by crystalline symmetries in mind, and systematic methods of topological classification for crystalline materials are presented. Our formulation is applicable to bulk gapful topological crystalline insulators/superconductors and their gapless boundary and defect states, as well as bulk gapless topological materials such as Weyl and Dirac semimetals, and nodal superconductors. As an application of our formulation, we present a complete classification of topological crystalline surface states, in the absence of time-reversal invariance. The classification works for gapless surface states of three-dimensional insulators, as well as full gapped two-dimensional insulators. Such surface states and two-dimensional insulators are classified in a unified way by 17 wallpaper groups, together with the presence or the absence of (sublattice) chiral symmetry. We identify the topological numbers and their representations under the wallpaper group operation. We also exemplify the usefulness of our formulation in the classification of bulk gapless phases. We present a new class of Weyl semimetals and Weyl superconductors that are topologically protected by inversion symmetry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Critical Slowing Down of Quadrupole and Hexadecapole Orderings in Iron Pnictide Superconductor

Ultrasonic measurements have been carried out to investigate the critical dynamics of structural and superconducting transitions due to degenerate orbital bands in iron pnictide compounds with the formula Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$. The attenuation coefficient $α_{\mathrm{L}[110]}$ of the longitudinal ultrasonic wave for $(C_{11}+C_{12}+2C_{66})/2$ for $x = 0.036$ reveals the critical slowing down of the relaxation time around the structural transition at $T_\mathrm{s} = 65$ K, which is caused by ferro-type ordering of the quadrupole $O_{x'^2-y'^2}$ coupled to the strain $\varepsilon_{xy}$. The attenuation coefficient $α_{66}$ of the transverse ultrasonic wave for $C_{66}$ for $x = 0.071$ also exhibits the critical slowing down around the superconducting transition at $T_\mathrm{SC} = 23$ K, which is caused by ferro-type ordering of the hexadecapole $H_z^α\bigl( \boldsymbol{r}_i, \boldsymbol{r}_j \bigr) = O_{x'y'}\bigl( \boldsymbol{r}_i \bigr) O_{x'^2 - y'^2}\bigl( \boldsymbol{r}_j \bigr) + O_{x'^2 - y'^2}\bigl( \boldsymbol{r}_i \bigr) O_{x'y'}\bigl( \boldsymbol{r}_j \bigr)$ of the bound two-electron state coupled to the rotation $ω_{xy}$. It is proposed that the hexadecapole ordering associated with the superconductivity brings about spontaneous rotation of the macroscopic superconducting state with respect to the host tetragonal lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Topological superconductors: a review

This review elaborates pedagogically on the fundamental concept, basic theory, expected properties, and materials realizations of topological superconductors. The relation between topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions are explained, and the difference between dispersive Majorana fermions and a localized Majorana zero mode is emphasized. A variety of routes to topological superconductivity are explained with an emphasis on the roles of spin-orbit coupling. Present experimental situations and possible signatures of topological superconductivity are summarized with an emphasis on intrinsic topological superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Superconductivity in the antiperovskite Dirac-metal oxide Sr$_3$SnO

Oxides with perovskite-based structures have been known as essential materials for fascinating phenomena such as high-temperature and unconventional superconductivity. Discoveries of these oxide superconductors have driven the science community to vastly extend the concepts of strongly correlated electron systems. The base of these materials, the cubic perovskite oxides, $AB$O$_3$, also exhibit superconductivity with $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ of up to 30 K, as reported for Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$BiO$_3$. Perovskite oxides have their counterparts, antiperovskite oxides $A_3B$O (or "$B$O$A_3$"), in which the position of metal and oxygen ions are reversed and therefore metallic $B$ ions take unusual negative valence states. However, no superconductivity has been reported among antiperovskite oxides. Here, we report the discovery of the first superconducting antiperovskite oxide Sr$_3$SnO with $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ of around 5 K. Sr$_3$SnO possesses Dirac points in its electronic structure, originating from the inversion of bands with different parities. Based on theoretical analysis, we propose possibility of topological odd-parity superconductivity analogous to the superfluid $^3$He-B, in moderately hole-doped Sr$_3$SnO, originating from unusual orbital texture on the Fermi surface. We envision that this discovery of a new class of oxide superconductor with the inverted valence configuration will stimulate the exploration of topological materials science based on a variety of antiperovskite oxides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Anisotropic magnetic responses of topological crystalline superconductors

Majorana Kramers pairs emerged on surfaces of time-reversal-invariant topological crystalline superconductors show the Ising anisotropy to an applied magnetic field. We clarify that crystalline symmetry uniquely determines the direction of the Majorana Ising spin for given irreducible representations of pair potential, deriving constraints to topological invariants. Besides, necessary conditions for nontrivial topological invariants protected by the n-fold rotational symmetry are shown.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗