arXiv subjects

Nisarg Chadha

Publications and source records attributed to Nisarg Chadha.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A quantum geometric mechanism for chiral domain wall metastability: Application to twisted transition-metal dichalcogenides

Band topology can have an imprint on the excitations of a ferromagnet. A known example is quantum Hall ferromagnets and their lattice analogs; when both flavors have the same Chern number $C$, a smooth skyrmion texture binds charge $-eC$ per unit winding. Here, we consider instead the case of conjugate Chern bands related by time-reversal. We show that, despite the vanishing net charge response, a smooth texture can be associated with a dipole response---a domain wall (DW) with an in-plane winding along its length can bind a nonzero dipole density transverse to the wall. The strength of this dipole density is controlled by a dimensionless coefficient $c_G$. Although not quantized, the geometric dipole coefficient $c_G$ is a moment of the second Chern form of the occupied projector in mixed (momentum and order-parameter) space and is generally nonzero. The dipole-decorated DW can thus become metastable at a finite radius due to the competition between dipolar repulsion and the usual surface tension, even at a finite Zeeman field. In a realistic model of twisted MoTe$_2$, we find that $c_G$ drops sharply across a transition within the valley-polarized (VP) phase from a $C=1$ to a $C=0$ ferromagnet. This naturally explains recent pump-probe experiments~\cite{exp} at hole filling $\nu=1$, in which a long-lived excitation survives reverse fields far exceeding the saturation field but disappears at an intermediate displacement field despite only weak changes in conventional magnetic diagnostics. Metastable spin textures thus serve as a sensitive probe of band quantum geometry, and as an intrinsic bottleneck for fast optical control of moir\'e ferromagnets in Chern-conjugate bands.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Observation of metastable chiral domain walls in a topological magnet

The interplay between topology and correlation can give rise to exotic collective excitations. The integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) magnets recently discovered in two-dimensional (2D) flatband systems are predicted to host spin excitations distinct from those in conventional magnets. Experimentally, nevertheless, these new excitations remain largely unexplored. Here we investigate spin-valley excitations in a twisted MoTe2 moir\'e superlattice using resonant ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. We observe a metastable spin-valley excitation in the QAH magnet below T ~ 3.7 K that survives reverse magnetic field several times larger than the saturation field. The behavior of this excitation is sharply distinct from ordinary domain walls and magnons, indicating a new type of spin-valley textures unique to topological magnets. We propose that these textures are chiral domain walls with an in-plane winding of the pseudospin order parameter along the domain wall. Their metastability arises from the interplay between the topological winding in real space and the quantum geometry of the parent bands in momentum space through a universal mechanism. These chiral domain walls govern the nonequilibrium dynamics of QAH magnets and may play a central role in their stability. Our study highlights intrinsic quantum geometry effects on spin excitations in topological magnets; and provides key insights into the fundamental mechanism limiting stability of topological protection.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Bootstrap bounds for Quantum Spin Systems using String Operators

Bootstrap is a numerical many-body method that provides rigorous bounds on ground-state observables by imposing a set of necessary constraints on the expectation values of operators. The quality of the resulting bounds is sensitive to the choice of operators entering the constraints. In particular, bounds on ground-state correlations are often loose in spontaneous symmetry-breaking (SSB) phases, since local operator sets cannot exclude domain-wall excitations. In this work, we introduce non-local, string-like operators into the bootstrap and show that the program can be formulated directly in thermodynamic limit. We then apply our construction to several 1D spin models. First, we obtain a significant tightening of the bounds in the SSB phase of the 1D transverse-field Ising model. Using the 1D axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model, we further show that this tightening allows for a quantitative estimate of the locations of phase boundaries. Finally, we generalize the string operators to the 1D $\mathbb{Z}_3$ chiral clock model and track the behavior of the bounds across the phase diagram. Our results broaden the class of constraints available to the bootstrap and open a route toward bootstrapping more general symmetry-broken and topological phases, where the relevant constraints may involve non-local or extended operators.

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arXiv2025

Defect Bootstrap: Tight Ground State Bounds in Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking Phases

The recent development of bootstrap methods based on semidefinite relaxations of positivity constraints has enabled rigorous two-sided bounds on local observables directly in the thermodynamic limit. However, these bounds inevitably become loose in symmetry broken phases, where local constraints are insufficient to capture long-range order. In this work, we identify the origin of this looseness as order parameter defects which are difficult to remove using local operators. We introduce a $\textit{defect bootstrap}$ framework that resolves this limitation by embedding the system into an auxiliary $\textit{defect model}$ equipped with ancilla degrees of freedom. This construction effectively enables local operators to remove order parameter defects, yielding tighter bounds in phases with spontaneous symmetry breaking. This approach can be applied broadly to pairwise-interacting local lattice models with discrete or continuous internal symmetries that satisfy a property we call $\textit{defect diamagnetism}$, which requires that the ground state energy does not decrease upon adding any finite number of symmetry defects. Applying the method to the transverse field Ising models in 1D and 2D, we obtain significantly improved bounds on energy densities and spin correlation functions throughout the symmetry broken phase in 1D and deep within the phase in 2D. Our results demonstrate that physically motivated constraint sets can dramatically enhance the power of bootstrap methods for quantum many-body systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Vortical currents and reciprocal relations for transport coefficients in the electron hydrodynamic regime

We investigate the hydrodynamic regime in metals with momentum-conserving electron-electron scattering. The conservation of momentum results in well-defined dynamics whose effects we investigate via the relevant continuity equations. We find anomalous contributions to the charge and heat transport currents arising from gradients of the velocity field in a semiclassical treatment with a Berry curvature. These contributions are non-vanishing for systems lacking inversion symmetry, and the corresponding transport coefficients do not obey the standard Onsager reciprocity relations. Instead, we show that the response coefficients relating the currents to the stress tensor obey independent reciprocity relations with the stress tensor and thus exhibit cross-tensor effects of charge and heat transport with the momentum transport. The Berry curvature contribution to the stress magnetization tensor is also derived.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Universality in quantum critical flow of charge and heat in ultra-clean graphene

Close to the Dirac point, graphene is expected to exist in quantum critical Dirac fluid state, where the flow of both charge and heat can be described with a dc electrical conductivity $σ_\mathrm{Q}$, and thermodynamic variables such as the entropy and enthalpy densities. Although the fluid-like viscous flow of charge is frequently reported in state-of-the-art graphene devices, the value of $σ_\mathrm{Q}$, predicted to be quantized and determined only by the universality class of the critical point, has not been established experimentally so far. Here we have discerned the quantum critical universality in graphene transport by combining the electrical ($σ$) and thermal ($κ_\mathrm{e}$) conductivities in very high-quality devices close to the Dirac point. We find that $σ$ and $κ_\mathrm{e}$ are inversely related, as expected from relativistic hydrodynamics, and $σ_\mathrm{Q}$ converges to $\approx (4\pm 1)\times e^2/h$ for multiple devices, where $e$ and $h$ are the electronic charge and the Planck's constant, respectively. We also observe, (1) a giant violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law where the effective Lorentz number exceeds the semiclassical value by more than 200 times close to the Dirac point at low temperatures, and (2) the effective dynamic viscosity ($η_\mathrm{th}$) in the thermal regime approaches the holographic limit $η_\mathrm{th}/s_\mathrm{th} \rightarrow \hbar/4πk_\mathrm{B}$ within a factor of four in the cleanest devices close to the room temperature, where $s_\mathrm{th}$ and $k_\mathrm{B}$ are the thermal entropy density and the Boltzmann constant, respectively. Our experiment addresses the missing piece in the potential of high-quality graphene as a testing bed for some of the unifying concepts in physics.

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arXiv2023

Uncovering Exceptional Contours in non-Hermitian Hyperbolic Matter

Hyperbolic lattices are starting to be explored in search of novel phases of matter. At the same time, non-Hermitian physics has come to the forefront in photonic, optical, phononic, and condensed matter systems. In this work, we introduce non-Hermitian hyperbolic matter and elucidate its exceptional properties in depth. We use hyperbolic Bloch theory to investigate band structures of hyperbolic lattices in the presence of non-Hermitian on-site gain and loss as well as non-reciprocal hopping. Using various analytical and numerical approaches we demonstrate widely accessible and tunable exceptional points and contours in {10,5} tessellations, which we characterize using phase rigidity, energy scaling, and vorticity. We further demonstrate the occurrence of higher-order exceptional points and contours in the {8,4} tessellations using the method of Newton polygons, supported by vorticity and phase rigidity computations. Finally, we investigate the open boundary spectra and densities of states to compare with results from band theory, along with a demonstration of boundary localisation. Our results unveil an abundance of exceptional degeneracies in hyperbolic non-Hermitian matter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Real-space topological localizer index to fully characterize the dislocation skin effect

The dislocation skin effect exhibits the capacity of topological defects to trap an extensive number of modes in two-dimensional non-Hermitian systems. Similar to the corresponding skin effects caused by system boundaries, this phenomenon also originates from nontrivial topology. However, finding the relationship between the dislocation skin effect and nonzero topological invariants, especially in disordered systems, can be obscure and challenging. Here, we introduce a real-space topological invariant based on the spectral localizer to characterize the skin effect on two-dimensional lattices. We demonstrate that this invariant consistently predicts the occurrence and location of both boundary and dislocation skin effects, offering a unified approach applicable to both ordered and disordered systems. Our work demonstrates a general approach that can be utilized to diagnose the topological nature of various types of skin effects, particularly in the absence of translational symmetry when momentum-space descriptions are inapplicable.

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