arXiv subjects

Omar A. Ashour

Publications and source records attributed to Omar A. Ashour.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Relativistic and nonrelativistic spin splitting above and below the Fermi level in a $g$-wave altermagnet

Nonrelativistic spin splitting (NRSS) challenges conventional wisdom about antiferromagnets by allowing spin-split electronic bands even in collinear orders with zero net magnetization. This sub-class of antiferromagnets, recently dubbed "altermagnets," enforces distinctive spin textures via spin-group symmetries in the crystal. However, direct experimental evidence for such symmetry-driven magnetism remains scarce, and distinguishing it from relativistic spin splitting presents additional challenges. Here, we combine first-principles calculations, symmetry analysis, and two spin-resolved spectroscopies--angle-resolved photoemission (spin-ARPES) and our newly developed spin- and angle-resolved electron reflection spectroscopy (spin-ARRES)--to achieve the first complete momentum-resolved mapping of relativistic (RSS) and nonrelastivistic (NRSS) spin splitting in CoNb$_4$Se$_8$. By probing both the occupied (spin-ARPES) and unoccupied (spin-ARRES) electronic states in a single experiment, we uncover a series of momentum-dependent spin splitting phenomena each of which switch sign under sixfold rotations and persists far above and below the Fermi level. Crucially, distinct nodal planes in momentum space distinguish NRSS from RSS features. Additionally, the observed collapse of NRSS and the persistence of RSS above the Néel temperature, distinguishes a genuine magnetic phase transition from inversion symmetry breaking. Our work demonstrates, for the first time, the combined power of spin-ARPES and spin-ARRES in capturing the full spin texture across an extended energy range, positioning CoNb$_4$Se$_8$ as a prototype for exploring spin-group-based phenomena. These findings open new routes for engineering spin-based functionalities ranging from neuromorphic computing to unconventional superconductivity in layered antiferromagnets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Observation of an anomaly in the statistics of Kibble-Zurek defects

The Kibble-Zurek mechanism quantifies defect formation during adiabatic passage across a continuous phase transition, providing key insights into universality in quantum many-body systems. We explore counting statistics of defects in adiabatic passage experiments on long 1D Rydberg atom chains. The experiments reveal an anomaly in the defect number distribution at long ramp times, challenging the hypothesis of defect formation through independent domain mergers. Numerical simulations confirm the anomaly and suggest its link to non-critical coarsening dynamics, which we suppress in prepare-and-hold experiments. Our results highlight the ability of quantum simulators to uncover unexpected correlated quantum phenomena.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Pressure-Tunable Targets for Light Dark Matter Direct Detection: The Case of Solid Helium

We propose hydrostatic pressure -- a well-established tool for tuning properties of condensed matter -- as a novel route for optimizing targets for light dark matter direct detection, specifically via phonons. Pressure dramatically affects compressible solids by boosting the speed of sound and phonon frequencies. Focusing on helium -- the most compressible solid -- our ab initio calculations illustrate how high pressure elevates helium from lacking single-phonon reach to rivaling leading candidates. Our work establishes pressure as an unexplored tuning knob for accessing lower dark matter mass regimes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Theoretical investigation of decoherence channels in athermal phonon sensors

The creation and evolution of nonequilibrium phonons is central in applications ranging from cosmological particle searches to decoherence processes in qubits. However, the fundamental understanding of decoherence pathways for athermal phonon distributions in solid-state systems remains an open question. Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the primary decay channels of athermal phonons in two technologically relevant semiconductors -- Si and GaAs. We quantify the contributions of anharmonic, isotopic, and interfacial scattering in these materials. From this, we construct a model to estimate the thermal power in a readout scheme as a function of time. We discuss the implication of our results on noise limitations in current phonon sensor designs and strategies for improving coherence in next-generation phonon sensors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

On the effects of strain, defects, and interactions on the topological properties of HfTe5

Topological insulators are characterized by spin-momentum-locked massless surface states which are robust under various perturbations. Manipulating such surface states is a topic of vigorous research, as a possible route for the realization of emergent many-body physics in topological systems. Thus far, time-reversal symmetry breaking via Coulomb and magnetic perturbations has been a dominant approach for the tuning of topological states. However, the effect of the structural degrees of freedom on quasi-particle dynamics in topological materials remains elusive. In this work, we demonstrate a transition in HfTe5 between distinct topological phases as a function of either Te vacancy concentration or applied strain; these phases are characterized theoretically as a transition from strong to weak topological insulator and experimentally by a transition from sharp surface states and Dirac crossing to a Fermi-liquid-like quasiparticle state in which these surface-localized features are heavily suppressed. Although vacancies can result in various consequences such as scattering, doping, and structural distortions, we show that changes in the lattice constants play the foremost role in determining the electronic structure, self-energy, and topological states of HfTe5. Our results demonstrate the possibility of using both defect chemistry and strain as control parameters for topological phase transitions and associated many-body physics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Higher-order Breathers as Quasi-rogue Waves on a Periodic Background

We investigate higher-order breathers of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation on an elliptic background. We find that, beyond first-order, any arbitrarily constructed breather is a single-peaked solitary wave on a disordered background. These "quasi-rogue waves" are also common on periodic backgrounds. We assume the higher-order breather is constructed out of constituent first-order breathers with commensurate periods (i.e., higher-order harmonic waves). In that case, one obtains "quasi-periodic" breathers with distorted side-peaks. Fully periodic breathers are obtained when their wavenumbers are harmonic multiples of the background and each other. They are truly rare, requiring finely-tuned parameters. Thus, on a periodic background, we arrive at the paradoxical conclusion that the apparent higher-order rogue waves are rather common, while the truly periodic breathers are exceedingly rare.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

NonlinearSchrodinger: Higher-Order Algorithms and Darboux Transformations for Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations

NonlinearSchrodinger.jl is a Julia package with a simple interface for studying solutions of nonlinear Schrödinger equations (NLSEs). In approximately ten lines of code, one can perform a simulation of the cubic NLSE using one of 32 algorithms, including symplectic and Runge-Kutta-Nyström integrators up to eighth order. Furthermore, it is possible to compute analytical solutions via a numerical implementation of the Darboux transformation for extended NLSEs up to fifth order, with an equally simple interface. In what follows, we review the fundamentals of solving this class of equations numerically and analytically, discuss the implementation, and provide several examples.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2016

Femtosecond laser induced structural dynamics and melting of Cu (111) single crystal. An ultrafast time-resolved x-ray diffraction study

Femtosecond, 8.04 KeV x-ray pulses are used to probe the lattice dynamics of 150 nm Cu (111) single crystal on mica substrate irradiated with 400 nm, 100 fs laser pulses. For pump fluencies below the damage and melting threshold, we observed lattice contraction due to the formation of a blast force, and coherent acoustic phonons with a period of ~69 ps. At larger pump fluence, solid to liquid phase transition, annealing, and recrystallization were measured in real time by monitoring the intensity evolution of the probing fs x-ray rocking curves and agreed with theoretical simulation results. The experimental data suggest the melting process is a purely thermal phase transition. This study provides, in real time, an ultrafast time-resolved detailed description of the significant processes that occurs as a result of a femtosecond light-pulse interacts with the Cu (111) crystal surface.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Peak-height formula for higher-order breathers of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation on non-uniform backgrounds

Given any background (or seed) solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the Darboux transformation can be used to generate higher-order breathers with much greater peak intensities. The Darboux transformation is generic in iterating a pair of generating solutions of the Lax-pair equation which preserves the solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation as a consistency condition. The Darboux transformation itself knows nothing about the background solution except through the initial pair of Lax solutions. Because of this, in this work, we can prove in an unified manner, and without knowing the analytical form of the background solution, that the peak-height of a high-order breather, is just a sum of peak-heights of first-order breathers plus that of the background, {\it irrespective} of the specific choice of the background. Detailed results are verified for breathers on a cnoidal background. Generalizations to more extended nonlinear Schrödinger equations are also indicated.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Maximal intensity higher-order Akhmediev breathers of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation and their systematic generation

It is well known that Akhmediev breathers of the nonlinear cubic Schrodinger equation can be superposed nonlinearly via the Darboux transformation to yield breathers of higher order. Surprisingly, we find that the peak height of each Akhmediev breather only adds {\it linearly} to form the peak height of the final breather. Using this new peak-height formula, we show that at any given periodicity, there exist a unique high-order breather of maximal intensity. Moreover, these high-order breathers form a continuous hierarchy, growing in intensity with increasing periodicity. For any such higher-order breather, a simple initial wave function can be extracted from the Darboux transformation to dynamically generate that breather from the nonlinear Schrodinger equation.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2015

Anatomy of the Akhmediev breather: cascading instability, first formation time and Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence

By invoking Bogoliubov's spectrum, we show that for the nonlinear Schrodinger equation, the modulation instability (MI) of its n = 1 Fourier mode on a finite background automatically triggers a further cascading instability, forcing all the higher modes to grow exponentially in locked-step with the n = 1 mode. This fundamental insight, the enslavement of all higher modes to the n = 1 mode, explains the formation of a triangular-shaped spectrum which generates the Akhmediev breather, predicts its formation time analytically from the initial modulation amplitude, and shows that the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) recurrence is just a matter of energy conservation with a period twice the breather's formation time. For higher order MI with more than one initial unstable modes, while most evolutions are expected to be chaotic, we show that it is possible to have isolated cases of "super-recurrence", where the FPU period is much longer than that of a single unstable mode.

physics.optics↗