arXiv subjects

Meng Zeng

Publications and source records attributed to Meng Zeng.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Spin-orbit-coupled superconductivity with spin-singlet non-unitary pairing

An unconventional superconductor is distinguished with two types of gap functions: unitary and non-unitary. This core subject has been concentrated on purely spin-triplet or singlet-triplet mixed superconductors. However, the generalization to a purely spin-singlet superconductor has remained primarily of theoretical interest, which requires at least a multi-orbital correlated electronic systems. In this work, we present a possible establishment of both unitary and non-unitary pairings for spin-singlet superconductors with two atomic orbitals. Then we investigate the effects of atomic spin-orbit coupling and find a new spin-orbit-coupled non-unitary superconductor that supports exotic phenomena. Remarkably, there are mainly three features. Firstly, the atomic spin-orbit coupling locks the electron spins to be out-of-plane, which could give birth to the Type II Ising superconductivity with a large in-plane upper critical field compared to the Pauli limit. Secondly, topological chiral or helical Majorana edge state could be realized even in the absence of external magnetic fields or Zeeman fields. In addition, a spin-polarized superconducting state could even be generated by spin-singlet non-unitary pairings with spontaneous time-reversal breaking, which severs as a smoking gun to detect this exotic state by measuring the spin-resolved density of states. Therefore, our work might pave a new avenue to spin-orbit-coupled superconductors with spin-singlet non-unitary pairing symmetries.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Materials

Topological states of matter possess bulk electronic structures categorized by topological invariants and edge/surface states due to the bulk-boundary correspondence. Topological materials hold great potential in the development of dissipationless spintronics, information storage, and quantum computation, particularly if combined with magnetic order intrinsically or extrinsically. Here, we review the recent progress in the exploration of intrinsic magnetic topological materials, including but not limited to magnetic topological insulators, magnetic topological metals, and magnetic Weyl semimetals. We pay special attention to their characteristic band features such as the gap of topological surface state, gapped Dirac cone induced by magnetization (either bulk or surface), Weyl nodal point/line, and Fermi arc, as well as the exotic transport responses resulting from such band features. We conclude with a brief envision for experimental explorations of new physics or effects by incorporating other orders in intrinsic magnetic topological materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Fermi Surface Symmetric Mass Generation

Symmetric mass generation is a novel mechanism to give gapless fermions a mass gap by non-perturbative interactions without generating any fermion bilinear condensation. The previous studies of symmetric mass generation have been limited to Dirac/Weyl/Majorana fermions with zero Fermi volume in the free fermion limit. In this work, we generalize the concept of symmetric mass generation to Fermi liquid with a finite Fermi volume and discuss how to gap out the Fermi surfaces by interactions without breaking the U(1) loop group symmetry or developing topological orders. We provide examples of Fermi surface symmetric mass generation in both (1+1)D and (2+1)D Fermi liquid systems when several Fermi surfaces together cancel the Fermi surface anomaly. However, the U(1) loop group symmetry in these cases is still restrictive enough to rule out all possible fermion bilinear gapping terms, such that a non-perturbative interaction mechanism is the only way to gap out the Fermi surfaces. This symmetric Fermi surface reconstruction is in contrast to the conventional symmetry-breaking mechanism to gap the Fermi surfaces. As a side product, our model provides a pristine 1D lattice regularization for the (1+1)D U(1) symmetric chiral fermion model (e.g., the 3-4-5-0 model) by utilizing a lattice translation symmetry as an emergent U(1) symmetry at low energy. This opens up the opportunity for efficient numerical simulations of chiral fermions in their own dimensions without introducing mirror fermions under the domain wall fermion construction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Symmetric Mass Generation in the 1+1 Dimensional Chiral Fermion 3-4-5-0 Model

Lattice regularization of chiral fermions has been a long-standing problem in physics. In this work, we present the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulation of the 3-4-5-0 model of (1+1)D chiral fermions with an anomaly-free chiral U(1) symmetry, which contains two left-moving and two right-moving fermions carrying U(1) charges 3,4 and 5,0, respectively. Following the Wang-Wen chiral fermion model, we realize the chiral fermions and their mirror partners on the opposite boundaries of a thin strip of (2+1)D lattice model of multi-layer Chern insulator, whose finite-width implies the quantum system is effectively (1+1)D. By introducing carefully designed two sets of six-fermion local interactions to the mirror sector only, we demonstrate that the mirror fermions can be gapped out by the interaction beyond a critical strength without breaking the chiral U(1) symmetry, via the symmetric mass generation (SMG) mechanism. We show that the interaction-driven gapping transition is in the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) universality class. We determine the evolution of Luttinger parameters before the transition, which confirms that the transition happens exactly at the point when the interaction term becomes marginal. As the mirror sector is gapped after the transition, we check that the fermions in the light chiral fermion sector remain gapless, which provides the desired lattice regularization of chiral fermions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Pressure-tuned intralayer exchange in superlattice-like MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n topological insulators

The magnetic structures of MnBi2Te4(Bi2Te3)n can be manipulated by tuning the interlayer coupling via the number of Bi2Te3 spacer layers n, while the intralayer ferromagnetic (FM) exchange coupling is considered too robust to control. By applying hydrostatic pressure up to 3.5 GPa, we discover opposite responses of magnetic properties for n = 1 and 2. MnBi4Te7 stays at A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase with a decreasing Néel temperature and an increasing saturation field. In sharp contrast, MnBi6Te10 experiences a phase transition from A-type AFM to a quasi-two-dimensional FM state with a suppressed saturation field under pressure. First-principles calculations reveal the essential role of intralayer exchange coupling from lattice compression in determining these magnetic properties. Such magnetic phase transition is also observed in 20% Sb-doped MnBi6Te10 due to the in-plane lattice compression.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Half-Magnetic Topological Insulator

Topological magnets are a new family of quantum materials providing great potential to realize emergent phenomena, such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion-insulator state. Here we present our discovery that stoichiometric ferromagnet MnBi8Te13 with natural heterostructure MnBi2Te4-(Bi2Te3)3 is an unprecedented half-magnetic topological insulator, with the magnetization existing at the MnBi2Te4 surface but not at the opposite surface terminated by triple Bi2Te3 layers. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements unveil a massive Dirac gap at the MnBi2Te4 surface, and gapless Dirac cone on the other side. Remarkably, the Dirac gap (~28 meV) at MnBi2Te4 surface decreases monotonically with increasing temperature and closes right at the Curie temperature, thereby representing the first smoking-gun spectroscopic evidence of magnetization-induced topological surface gap among all known magnetic topological materials. We further demonstrate theoretically that the half-magnetic topological insulator is desirable to realize the half-quantized surface anomalous Hall effect, which serves as a direct proof of the general concept of axion electrodynamics in condensed matter systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Spectroscopic realization of large surface gap in a doped magnetic topological insulator

Realization of the quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion electrodynamics in topological materials are among the paradigmatic phenomena in condensed matter physics. Recently, signatures of both phases are observed to exist in thin films of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$, a stoichiometric antiferromagnetic topological insulator. Direct evidence of the bulk topological magnetoelectric response in an axion insulator requires an energy gap at its topological surface state (TSS). However, independent spectroscopic experiments revealed that such a surface gap is absent, or much smaller than previously thought, in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. Here, we utilize angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations to demonstrate that a sizable TSS gap unexpectedly exists in Sb-doped MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. This gap is found to be topologically nontrivial, insensitive to the bulk antiferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition, while enlarges along with increasing Sb concentration. Our work shows that Mn(Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$)$_2$Te$_4$ is a potential platform to observe the key features of the high-temperature axion insulator state, such as the topological magnetoelectric responses and half-integer quantum Hall effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Hybridization-Induced Gapped and Gapless States on the Surfaces of Magnetic Topological Insulators

The layered MnBi2nTe3n+1 family represents the first intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator (AFM TI, protected by a combination symmetry ) ever discovered, providing an ideal platform to explore novel physics such as quantum anomalous Hall effect at elevated temperature and axion electrodynamics. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments on this family have revealed that all terminations exhibit (nearly) gapless topological surface states (TSSs) within the AFM state, violating the definition of the AFM TI, as the surfaces being studied should be -breaking and opening a gap. Here we explain this curious paradox using a surface-bulk band hybridization picture. Combining ARPES and first-principles calculations, we prove that only an apparent gap is opened by hybridization between TSSs and bulk bands. The observed (nearly) gapless features are consistently reproduced by tight-binding simulations where TSSs are coupled to a Rashba-split bulk band. The Dirac-cone-like spectral features are actually of bulk origin, thus not sensitive to the-breaking at the AFM surfaces. This picture explains the (nearly) gapless behaviour found in both Bi2Te3- and MnBi2Te4-terminated surfaces and is applicable to all terminations of MnBi2nTe3n+1 family. Our findings highlight the role of band hybridization, superior to magnetism in this case, in shaping the general surface band structure in magnetic topological materials for the first time.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Gapless surface Dirac cone in antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$

The recent discovered antiferromagnetic topological insulators in Mn-Bi-Te family with intrinsic magnetic ordering have rapidly drawn broad interest since its cleaved surface state is believed to be gapped, hosting the unprecedented axion states with half-integer quantum Hall effect. Here, however, we show unambiguously by using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy that a gapless Dirac cone at the (0001) surface of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ exists between the bulk band gap. Such unexpected surface state remains unchanged across the bulk Néel temperature, and is even robust against severe surface degradation, indicating additional topological protection. Through symmetry analysis and $\textit{ab}$-$\textit{initio}$ calculations we consider different types of surface reconstruction of the magnetic moments as possible origins giving rise to such linear dispersion. Our results reveal that the intrinsic magnetic topological insulator hosts a rich platform to realize various topological phases such as topological crystalline insulator and time-reversal-preserved topological insulator, by tuning the magnetic configurations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

On Design of Collaborative Beamforming for Two-Way Relay Networks

We consider a two-way relay network, where two source nodes, S1 and S2, exchange information through a cluster of relay nodes. The relay nodes receive the sum signal from S1 and S2 in the first time slot. In the second time slot, each relay node multiplies its received signal by a complex coefficient and retransmits the signal to the two source nodes, which leads to a collaborative two-way beamforming system. By applying the principle of analog network coding, each receiver at S1 and S2 cancels the "self-interference" in the received signal from the relay cluster and decodes the message. This paper studies the 2-dimensional achievable rate region for such a two-way relay network with collaborative beamforming. With different assumptions of channel reciprocity between the source-relay and relay-source channels, the achievable rate region is characterized under two setups. First, with reciprocal channels, we investigate the achievable rate regions when the relay cluster is subject to a sum-power constraint or individual-power constraints. We show that the optimal beamforming vectors obtained from solving the weighted sum inverse-SNR minimization (WSISMin) problems are sufficient to characterize the corresponding achievable rate region. Furthermore, we derive the closed form solutions for those optimal beamforming vectors and consequently propose the partially distributed algorithms to implement the optimal beamforming, where each relay node only needs the local channel information and one global parameter. Second, with the non-reciprocal channels, the achievable rate regions are also characterized for both the sum-power constraint case and the individual-power constraint case. Although no closed-form solutions are available under this setup, we present efficient numerical algorithms.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2010

On Design of Distributed Beamforming for Two-Way Relay Networks

We consider a two-way relay network, where two source nodes, S1 and S2, exchange information through a cluster of relay nodes. The relay nodes receive the sum signal from S1 and S2 in the first time slot. In the second time slot, each relay node multiplies its received signal by a complex coefficient and retransmits the signal to the two source nodes, which leads to a distributed two-way beamforming system. By applying the principle of analog network coding, each receiver at S1 and S2 cancels the ``self-interference'' in the received signal from the relay cluster and decodes the message. This paper studies the 2-dimensional achievable rate region for such a two-way relay network with distributed beamforming. With different assumptions of channel reciprocity between the source-relay and relay-source channels, the achievable rate region is characterized under two setups. First, with reciprocal channels, we investigate the achievable rate regions when the relay cluster is subject to a sum-power constraint or individual-power constraints. We show that the optimal beamforming vectors obtained from solving the weighted sum inverse-SNR minimization (WSISMin) problems are sufficient to characterize the corresponding achievable rate region. Furthermore, we derive the closed form solutions for those optimal beamforming vectors and consequently propose the partially distributed algorithms to implement the optimal beamforming, where each relay node only needs the local channel information and one global parameter. Second, with the non-reciprocal channels, the achievable rate regions are also characterized for both the sum-power constraint case and the individual-power constraint case. Although no closed-form solutions are available under this setup, we present efficient algorithms to compute the optimal beamforming vectors, which are attained by solving SDP problems after semi-definite relaxation.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2009

Outage Capacity and Optimal Transmission for Dying Channels

In wireless networks, communication links may be subject to random fatal impacts: for example, sensor networks under sudden power losses or cognitive radio networks with unpredictable primary user spectrum occupancy. Under such circumstances, it is critical to quantify how fast and reliably the information can be collected over attacked links. For a single point-to-point channel subject to a random attack, named as a \emph{dying channel}, we model it as a block-fading (BF) channel with a finite and random delay constraint. First, we define the outage capacity as the performance measure, followed by studying the optimal coding length $K$ such that the outage probability is minimized when uniform power allocation is assumed. For a given rate target and a coding length $K$, we then minimize the outage probability over the power allocation vector $\mv{P}_{K}$, and show that this optimization problem can be cast into a convex optimization problem under some conditions. The optimal solutions for several special cases are discussed. Furthermore, we extend the single point-to-point dying channel result to the parallel multi-channel case where each sub-channel is a dying channel, and investigate the corresponding asymptotic behavior of the overall outage probability with two different attack models: the independent-attack case and the $m$-dependent-attack case. It can be shown that the overall outage probability diminishes to zero for both cases as the number of sub-channels increases if the \emph{rate per unit cost} is less than a certain threshold. The outage exponents are also studied to reveal how fast the outage probability improves over the number of sub-channels.

cs.IT↗