arXiv subjects

Mikael Fogelström

Publications and source records attributed to Mikael Fogelström.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Light induced Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in Superconducting Films

We report a light-driven non-equilibrium vortex Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition in a superconductor. We use a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model to demonstrate vortex-antivortex deconfinement via light induced fields. The transformation occurs independently of thermal fluctuations and is viewed as a quantum phase transition. The resulting phase map mirrors QCD phase diagram, delineating confined, premelted, and fully deconfined vortex phases. The nature of these phases is discussed. Transitions between phases are governed by light induced depairing and phase fluctuations, establishing a new class of light-induced topological transitions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Probing Fractional Quantum Hall states in weakly interacting Fermi gases

Quantum gases are used to simulate the physics of the lowest Landau level (LLL) with neutral atoms, which in the simplest setup is achieved by rotating the gas at the confining harmonic trap frequency, a requirement that is difficult to achieve in practice. We point out that for weakly interacting Fermi gases, this rapid-rotation limit is not needed to access the LLL: As a direct consequence of first-order perturbation theory, many-body wave functions of states in the LLL remain unchanged at any rotation, and only their energies shift. This implies that even in the absence of rotations or for moderate rotations frequencies, LLL states are present as excited states at finite angular momentum. For fermions with contact interactions, these states are exact eigenstates of a paradigmatic model of Fractional Quantum Hall (FQH) states described by a single Haldane pseudopotential ($V_1$ for spin-polarized and $V_0$ for spinful systems), which realizes exact Laughlin and Haldane wave functions. We suggest that recently developed excitation and imaging techniques for rotating few-fermion systems allow for a detailed experimental investigation of FQH wave functions and to study the crossover to large particle number. We illustrate this for $N = 6$ spin-balanced fermions

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Impurity strength-temperature phase diagram with phase crystals and competing time-reversal symmetry breaking states in nodal $d$-wave superconductors

Phase crystals are a class of nonuniform superconducting ground states characterized by spontaneous phase gradients of the superconducting order parameter. These phase gradients nonlocally drive periodic currents and magnetic fields, thus breaking both time-reversal symmetry and continuous translational symmetry. The phase crystal instability is generally triggered by negative and inhomogeneous superfluid stiffness. Several scenarios have been identified that can realize phase crystals, especially flat bands at specific edges of unconventional nodal superconductors. Motivated by omnipresent disorder in all materials, we employ the ${t}$-matrix approach within the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity to study the emergence of phase crystals at edges of a nodal $d$-wave superconductor. We quantify the full phase diagram as a function of the impurity scattering energy and the temperature, with full self-consistency in the impurity self energies, the superconducting order parameter, and the vector potential. We find that the phase crystal survives even up to $\sim 40-50\%$ of the superconducting critical impurity strength in both the Born and unitary scattering limits. Finally, we show how mesoscopic finite-size effects induce a competition with a state still breaking time-reversal symmetry but with translationally invariant edge currents.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Spontaneous splitting of d-wave surface states: Circulating currents or edge magnetization?

Pair-breaking edges of $d$-wave superconductors feature Andreev bound states at the Fermi energy. Since these states are energetically highly unfavorable they are susceptible to effects that shift them to finite energy. We investigate the free energy of two different mechanisms: spontaneous phase gradients in the superconducting order parameter and surface ferromagnetism caused by Fermi liquid interaction effects. We find that the surface magnetization appears at lower temperatures than the spontaneous current flow of the phase-crystal state. The magnetic state can, however, be energetically favorable at lower temperatures for sufficiently strong Fermi liquid effects. As a result, first-order transitions between the two states are possible, suggesting a rich low-temperature phase diagram in $d$-wave superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Disorder-robust phase crystal in high-temperature superconductors stabilized by strong correlations

The simultaneous interplay of strong electron-electron correlations, topological zero-energy states, and disorder is yet an unexplored territory but of immense interest due to their inevitable presence in many materials. Copper oxide high-temperature superconductors (cuprates) with pair breaking edges host a flat band of topological zero-energy states, making them an ideal playground where strong correlations, topology, and disorder are strongly intertwined. Here we show that this interplay in cuprates generates a new phase of matter: a fully gapped ``phase crystal" state that breaks both translational and time-reversal invariance, characterized by a modulation of the $d$-wave superconducting phase co-existing with a modulating extended $s$-wave superconducting order. In contrast to conventional wisdom, we find that this phase crystal state is remarkably robust to omnipresent disorder, but only in the presence of strong correlations, thus giving a clear route to its experimental realization.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Transport properties of vertical heterostructures under light irradiation

Electronic and transport properties of bilayer heterostructure under light irradiation are of fundamental interest to improve functionality of optoelectronic devices. We theoretically study the modification of transport properties of bilayer graphene and bilayer heterostructures under a time-periodic external light field. The bulk electronic and transport properties are studied in a Landauer-type configuration by using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. To illustrate the behavior of the differential conductance of a bilayer contact under light illumination, we consider tight-binding models of bilayer graphene and graphene/hexagonal boron-nitride heterostructures. The non-adiabatic driving induces sidebands of the original band structure and opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum. In transport properties, the gap openings are manifested in a suppression of the differential conductance. In addition to suppression, an external light field induces an enhancement of the differential conductance if photoexcited electrons tunnel into or out of a Van~Hove singularity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Highly efficient UV detection in a metal-semiconductor-metal detector with epigraphene

We show that epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (epigraphene) grown at high temperatures (T > 1850 °C) readily acts as material for implementing solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) detectors with outstanding performance. We present centimeter-sized epigraphene metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) detectors with peak external quantum efficiency of ~ 85% for wavelengths 250-280 nm, corresponding to nearly 100% internal quantum efficiency when accounting for reflection losses. Zero bias operation is possible in asymmetric devices, with the responsivity to UV remaining as high as R = 134 mA/W, making this a self-powered detector. The low dark currents Io ~50 fA translate into an estimated record high specific detectivity D = 3.5 x 10^15 Jones. The performance that we demonstrate, together with material reproducibility, renders epigraphene technologically attractive to implement high-performance planar MSM devices with a low processing effort, including multi-pixel UV sensor arrays, suitable for a number of practical applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Transport through vertical graphene contacts under intense laser fields

We theoretically study the electronic and transport properties of two graphene layers vertically coupled by an insulating layer under the influence of a time-periodic external light field. The non-adiabatic driving induces excitations of electrons and a redistribution of the occupied states which is manifested in the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum of graphene. When a voltage is applied between the top and bottom graphene layers, the photo-induced nonequilibrium occupation modifies the transport properties of the contact. We investigate the electronic and transport properties of the contact by using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. To illustrate the behavior of the differential conductance of the vertical contact under the light illumination, we consider two cases. First, we assume that both the bottom and top layers consist of graphene and second we consider a finite mass term in the bottom layer. We obtain that the differential conductance is strongly suppressed due to the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum in graphene. Additionally, the conductance shows features corresponding to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons at energies of the van Hove singularity for both the top and bottom layers. In the case of a finite mass term in the bottom layer, the differential conductance can be directly related to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Graphene plasmons: impurities and nonlocal effects

This work analyses how impurities and vacancies on the surface of a graphene sample affect its optical conductivity and plasmon excitations. The disorder is analysed in the self-consistent Green's function formulation and nonlocal effects are fully taken into account. It is shown that impurities modify the linear spectrum and give rise to an impurity band whose position and width depend on the two parameters of our model, the density and the strength of impurities. The presence of the impurity band strongly influences the electromagnetic response and the plasmon losses. Furthermore, we discuss how the impurity-band position can be obtained experimentally from the plasmon dispersion relation and discuss this in the context of sensing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Current-controlled light scattering and asymmetric plasmon propagation in graphene

We demonstrate that plasmons in graphene can be manipulated using a DC current. A source-drain current lifts the forward/backward degeneracy of the plasmons, creating two modes with different propagation properties parallel and antiparallel to the current. We show that the propagation length of the plasmon propagating parallel to the drift current is enhanced, while the propagation length for the antiparallel plasmon is suppressed. We also investigate the scattering of light off graphene due to the plasmons in a periodic dielectric environment and we find that the plasmon resonance separates in two peaks corresponding to the forward and backward plasmon modes. The narrower linewidth of the forward propagating plasmon may be of interest for refractive index sensing and the DC current control could be used for the modulation of mid-infrared electromagnetic radiation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Spontaneous generation of fractional vortex-antivortex pairs at single edges of high-Tc superconductors

Unconventional d-wave superconductors with pair-breaking edges are predicted to have ground states with spontaneously broken time-reversal and translational symmetries. We use the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity to demonstrate that such phases can exist at any single pair-breaking facet. This implies that a greater variety of systems, not necessarily mesoscopic in size, should be unstable to such symmetry breaking. The density of states averaged over the facet displays a broad peak centered at zero energy, which is consistent with experimental findings of a broad zero-bias conductance peak with a temperature-independent width at low temperatures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

High-sensitivity plasmonic refractive index sensing using graphene

We theoretically demonstrate a high-sensitivity, graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensor working in the mid-infrared at room temperature. The bulk figure of merit of our sensor reaches values above $10$, but the key aspect of our proposed plasmonic sensor is its surface sensitivity which we examine in detail. We have used realistic values regarding doping level and electron relaxation time, which is the limiting factor for the sensor performance. Our results show quantitatively the high performance of graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensors working in the mid-infrared.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Optical signatures of nonlocal plasmons in graphene

We theoretically investigate under which conditions nonlocal plasmon response in monolayer graphene can be detected. To this purpose, we study optical scattering off graphene plasmon resonances coupled using a subwavelength dielectric grating. We compute the graphene conductivity using the Random Phase Approximation (RPA) obtaining a nonlocal conductivity and we calculate the optical scattering of the graphene-grating structure. We then compare this with the scattering amplitudes obtained if graphene is modeled by the local RPA conductivity commonly used in the literature. We find that the graphene plasmon wavelength calculated from the local model may deviate up to $20\%$ from the more accurate nonlocal model in the small-wavelength (large-$q$) regime. We also find substantial differences in the scattering amplitudes obtained from the two models. However, these differences in response are pronounced only for small grating periods and low temperatures compared to the Fermi temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Spin-polarized currents and noise in NS junctions with Yu-Shiba-Rusinov impurities

Conventional superconductors disordered by magnetic impurities demonstrate physical properties drastically different from their pristine counterparts. In our previous work [Phys. Rev. B 92, 245430 (2015)] we explored spectral and thermodynamic properties of such systems for two extreme cases: completely random and ferromagnetically aligned impurity magnetic moments. Here we consider transport properties of these systems, and show that they have a potential to be used in superconducting spintronic devices. Each magnetic impurity contributes a Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound state to the spectrum, residing at sub-gap energies. Provided the YSR states form metallic bands, we demonstrate that the tunneling current carried by these states can be highly spin-polarized when the impurities are ferromagnetically ordered. The spin polarization can be switched by simply tuning the bias voltage. Moreover, even when the impurity spins are completely uncorrelated, one can still achieve almost 100% spin polarization of the current, if the tunnel interface is spin-active. We compute electric current and noise, varying parameters of the interface between tunneling and fully transparent regimes, and analyze the relative role of single-particle and Andreev reflection processes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Non-equilibrium charge and spin transport in SFS point contacts

The conventional Josephson effect may be modified by introducing spin-active scattering in the interface-layer of the junction. Here, we discuss a Josephson junction consisting of two s-wave superconducting leads coupled over a classical spin that precesses with the Larmor frequency due to an external magnetic field. This magnetically active interface results in a time-dependent boundary condition with different tunnelling amplitudes for spin-up and -down quasiparticles and where the precession produces spin-flip scattering processes. As a result, the Andreev states develop sidebands and a non-equilibrium population that depend on the details of the spin precession. The Andreev states carry a steady-state Josephson charge current and a time-dependent spin current, whose current-phase relations could be used for characterising the precessing spin. The spin current is supported by spin-triplet correlations induced by the spin precession and creates a feed-back effect on the classical spin in the form of a torque that shifts the precession frequency. By applying a bias voltage, the Josephson frequency adds another complexity to the situation and may create resonances together with the Larmor frequency. These Shapiro resonances are manifested as torques and are, under suitable conditions, able to reverse the direction of the classical spin in sub-nanosecond time. Another characteristic feature is the subharmonic gap structure in the dc charge current displaying an even-odd effect that is attributable to precession-assisted multiple Andreev reflections.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Correlated Cooper pair transport and microwave photon emission in the dynamical Coulomb blockade

We study theoretically electromagnetic radiation emitted by inelastic Cooper-pair tunneling. We consider a dc-voltage-biased superconducting transmission line terminated by a Josephson junction. We show that the generated continuous-mode electromagnetic field can be expressed as a function of the time-dependent current across the Josephson junction. The leading-order expansion in the tunneling coupling, similar to the "$P(E)$-theory", has previously been used to investigate the photon emission statistics in the limit of sequential (independent) Cooper-pair tunneling. By explicitly evaluating the system characteristics up to the fourth-order in the tunneling coupling, we account for dynamics between consecutively tunneling Cooper pairs. Within this approach we investigate how temporal correlations in the charge transport can be seen in the first- and second-order coherences of the emitted microwave radiation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Spectral properties of superconductors with ferromagnetically ordered magnetic impurities

We present a comprehensive theoretical study of thermodynamic properties of superconductors with a dilute concentration of magnetic impurities, with focus on how the properties of the superconducting host change if the magnetic moments of the impurities order ferromagnetically. Scattering off the magnetic impurities leads to the formation of a band of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states within the superconducting energy gap that drastically influences superconductivity. In the magnetically ordered system, the magnetization displays a sudden drop as function of impurity density or magnetic moment amplitude. The drop occurs as the spin-polarized impurity band crosses the Fermi level and is associated with a quantum phase transition first put forward by Sakurai for the single impurity case. Taking into account that the background magnetic field created by the ordered impurity moments enters as a Zeeman shift, we find that the superconducting phase transition changes from second order to first order for high enough impurity concentration.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Antibunched photons from inelastic Cooper-pair tunneling

We demonstrate theoretically that charge transport across a Josephson junction, voltage-biased through a resistive environment, produces antibunched photons. We develop a continuous-mode description of the emitted radiation field in a semi-infinite transmission line terminated by the Josephson junction. Within a perturbative treatment in powers of the tunneling coupling across the Josephson junction, we capture effects originating in charging dynamics of consecutively tunneling Cooper pairs. We find that within a feasible experimental setup the Coulomb blockade provided by high zero-frequency impedance can be used to create antibunched photons at a very high rate and in a very versatile frequency window ranging from a few GHz to a THz.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗