arXiv subjects

Mohamed Assili

Publications and source records attributed to Mohamed Assili.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Green Function Invariants for Floquet Topological Superconductivity Induced by Proximity Effects

We bring forward a Green function approach for the prediction of Floquet topological phases in driven superconductor-semiconductor hybrids. Although it is common to treat the superconducting component as a mere Cooper-pair reservoir, it was recently pointed out that such an approximation breaks down in the presence of driving, due to the emergence of level broadening. Here, we go beyond these recent works and prescribe how to construct the Floquet topological invariants for such driven hybrids. Specifically, we propose to first obtain the midgap quasi-energy spectra by including the hermitian part of the semiconductor's self-energy and, subsequently, read out the respective level broadenings by projecting the anti-hermitian part of the self-energy onto the quasi-energy eigenvectors. We exemplify our approach for a Rashba nanowire coupled to a superconductor and a time-dependent Zeeman field. Using our method, we obtain the Floquet band structure, the respective level broadenings, and the topological invariants. Our analysis reinforces the need to properly account for the self-energy, and corroborates that broadening effects can hinder the observation of the Floquet topological phases and especially of those harboring Majorana $π$ modes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Superfluid Stiffness and Josephson Quantum Capacitance: Adiabatic Approach and Topological Effects

We bring forward a unified framework for the study of the superfluid stiffness and the quantum capacitance of superconducting platforms exhibiting conventional spin-singlet pairing. We focus on systems which in their normal phase contain topological band touching points or crossings, while in their superconducting regime feature a fully gapped energy spectrum. Our unified description relies on viewing these two types of physical quantities as the charge current and density response coefficients obtained for ``slow" spatiotemporal variations of the superconducting phase. Within our adiabatic formalism, the two coefficients are given in terms of Berry curvatures defined in synthetic spaces. Our work lays the foundations for the systematic description of topological diagonal superfluid responses induced by singularities dictating the synthetic Berry curvatures. We exemplify our approach for concrete one- and two-dimensional models of superconducting topological (semi)metals. We discuss topological phenomena which arise in the superfluid stiffness of bulk systems and the quantum capacitance of Josephson junctions. We show that both coefficients become proportional to a topological invariant which counts the number of topological touchings/crossings of the normal phase band structure. These topological effects can be equivalently viewed as manifestations of chiral anomaly. Our predictions appear experimentally testable in topological semimetals with proximity-induced pairing, such as in graphene-superconductor hybrids at charge neutrality.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Topological Superfluid Responses of Superconducting Dirac Semimetals

We demonstrate that topological constraints do not only dictate the geometric part of the superfluid stiffness, but can also govern the total superfluid stiffness. By introducing a general adiabatic approach for superfluid responses, we showcase such a possibility by proving that the stiffness of a superconducting Dirac cone in two dimensions (2D) is proportional to its topological charge. By relying on the emergent Lorentz invariance of Dirac electrons, we unify the superfluid stiffness and quantum capacitance in these systems. Based on this connection, we further predict a topological origin for the quantum capacitance of a Josephson junction where 2D massless Dirac electrons are sandwiched between two conventional superconductors. We show that the topological responses persist upon effecting strain, are resilient against weak disorder, and can be experimentally controlled via a Zeeman field. Remarkably, the nonuniversal topological quantization of the two superfluid responses, yet implies the universal topological quantization of the admittance modulus of the superconducting Dirac system in units of conductance. The quantum admittance effect arises when embedding the superconducting Dirac system in an ac electrical circuit with a frequency tuned at the absorption edge. These findings are in principle experimentally observable in graphene-superconductor hybrids.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Dynamical Chiral Symmetry and Symmetry-Class Conversion in Floquet Topological Insulators

In this work, we discuss properties with no static counterpart arising in Floquet topological insulators with a dynamical chiral symmetry (DCS), i.e., a chiral symmetry which is present while driving. We explore the topological properties of Floquet insulators possessing a DCS which either does or does not survive upon taking the static limit. We consider the case of harmonic drives and employ a general framework using the quasi-energy operator in frequency space. We find that for a DCS with no static analog, the presence of driving has a negligible impact on the topological phases associated with zero quasi-energy. In stark contrast, topological gaps can open at $π$ quasi-energy and mainly occur at momenta where the driving perturbation vanishes. We confirm the above general predictions for an extended Kitaev chain model in the BDI symmetry class. Another possibility that opens up when adding the drive, while preserving chiral symmetry, is symmetry-class conversion. We demonstrate such an effect for a static CI class Hamiltonian which is topologically trivial in 1D. By considering a suitable driving, we obtain a CI$\rightarrow$AIII transition, which now enables the system to harbor topological $π$-modes. Notably, the arising topological phases strongly depend on whether the DCS has a static analog or not. Our results bring Floquet insulators with nonstandard DCS forward as ideal candidate platforms for engineering and manipulating topological $π$-modes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Electric field-induced valley degeneracy lifting in uniaxial strained graphene: evidence from magnetophonon resonance

A double peak structure in the magneto-phonon resonance (MPR) spectrum of uniaxial strained graphene, under crossed electric and magnetic fields, is predicted. We focus on the $Γ$ point optical phonon modes coupled to the inter-Landau level transitions $0 \leftrightarrows \pm 1$ where MPR is expected to be more pronounced at high magnetic field. We derive the frequency shifts and the broadenings of the longitudinal (LO) and transverse (TO) optical phonon modes taking into account the effect of the strain modified electronic spectrum on the electron-phonon coupling. We show that the MPR lines acquire a double resonance structure originating from the two-fold valley degeneracy lifting. The latter is due to the different Landau level spacings in the two Dirac valleys resulting form the simultaneous action of the inplane electric field and the strain induced Dirac cone tilt. We discuss the role of some key parameters such as disorder, strain, doping and electric field amplitude on the emergence of the double resonance structure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Long-wavelength optical phonon behavior in uniaxial strained graphene: Role of electron-phonon interaction

We derive the frequency shifts and the broadening of $Γ$ point longitudinal optical (LO) and transverse optical (TO) phonon modes, due to electron-phonon interaction, in graphene under uniaxial strain as a function of the electron density and the disorder amount. We show that, in the absence of a shear strain component, such interaction gives rise to a lifting of the degeneracy of the LO and TO modes which contributes to the splitting of the G Raman band. The anisotropy of the electronic spectrum, induced by the strain, results in a polarization dependence of the LO and TO modes. This dependence is in agreement with the experimental results showing a periodic modulation of the Raman intensity of the splitted G peak. Moreover, the anomalous behavior of the frequency shift reported in undeformed graphene is found to be robust under strain.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Interlayer magnetoresistance in multilayer Dirac electron systems: motion and merging of Dirac cones

We theoretically study the effect of the motion and the merging of Dirac cone on the interlayer magnetoresistance in multilayer graphene like systems. This merging, which could be induced by a uniaxial strain, gives rise in monolayer Dirac electron system to a topological transition from a semi-metallic phase to an insulating phase where Dirac points disappear. Based on a universal Hamiltonian proposed to describe the motion and the merging of Dirac points in two dimensional Dirac electron crystals, we calculate the interlayer conductivity of a stack of deformed graphene like layers using Kubo formula in the quantum limit where only the contribution of the $n=0$ Landau level is relevant. A crossover from a negative to a positive interlayer magnetoresistance is found to take place as the merging is approached. This sign change of the magnetoresistance could also result from a coupling between the Dirac valleys which is enhanced as the magnetic field amplitude increases. Our results may describe the behavior of the magnetotransport in the organic conductor $α$-(BEDT)$_2$I$_3$ at high pressure where the merging of Dirac cones could be observed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗