arXiv subjects

Ran Cheng

Publications and source records attributed to Ran Cheng.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Nonabelian magnonics in antiferromagnets

We present a semiclassical formalism for antiferromagnetic (AFM) magnonics which promotes the central ingredient of spin wave chirality, encoded in a quantity called magnonic isospin, to a first-class citizen of the theory. We use this formalism to unify results of interest from the field under a single chirality-centric formulation. Our main result is that the isospin is governed by unitary time evolution, through a Hamiltonian projected down from the full spin wave dynamics. Because isospin is SU(2)-valued, its dynamics on the Bloch sphere are precisely rotations - which, in general, do not commute. Consequently, the induced group of operations on AFM spin waves is nonabelian. This is a paradigmatic departure from ferromagnetic magnonics, which operates purely within the abelian group generated by spin wave phase and amplitude. Our investigation of this nonabelian magnonics in AFM insulators focuses on studying several simple gate operations, and offering in broad strokes a program of study for interesting new logic families in antiferromagnetic spin wave systems

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Magnonic Spin-Transfer Torque in Ferromagnet/Antiferromagnet/Ferromagnet Trilayer

In an antiferromagnet (AF) with uniaxial anisotropy, spin-up and spin-down magnons coexist and form an intrinsic degree of freedom resembling electrons. When polarized by an adjacent ferromagnet (F), a magnonic pure spin current can be thermally generated in an AF. We explore thermal magnon transport in an insulating F/AF/F trilayer where propagating magnons inside the AF spacer can transfer angular momenta between the two Fs. We find that a sufficiently large temperature gradient can switch the downstream F via magnonic spin-transfer torque if it is initially antiparallel with the upstream F. A reciprocal switching is achievable by reversing the temperature gradient. Using typical material parameters, we estimate the threshold to be less than 1 K/nm at room temperature, which can be reduced by raising temperature and enhancing the interfacial exchange coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Spin-Mechanical Inertia in Antiferromagnet

Angular momentum conservation has served as a guiding principle in the interplay between spin dynamics and mechanical rotations. However, in an antiferromagnet with vanishing magnetization, new fundamental rules are required to properly describe spin-mechanical phenomena. Here we show that the Néel order dynamics affects the mechanical motion of a rigid body by modifying its inertia tensor in the presence of strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This effect depends on temperature when magnon excitations are considered. Such a spin-mechanical inertia can produce measurable consequences at small scales.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Accurate recalibated waveforms for extreme-mass-ratio inspirals in effective-one-body frame

How to calculate the gravitational waves (GWs) of Extreme-mass-ratio-inspirals (EMRIs) in a highly accurate and efficient way still keeps a challenge. In this paper, we present a so-called fully recalibrated waveforms for EMRIs with high accuracy. Based on the numerical data by solving the Teukolsky equations, we recalibrate all mass-ratio independent coefficients of the factorized waveforms which are used in the effective-one-body (EOB) models. Due to these new coefficients, the precision of waveforms is improved enormously, and is much higher than the original forms and at the same time higher than other existing calibration models. We believe our model will play an important role in the waveform-template construction of the space-based GW detectors.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Van der Waals Engineering of Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Heterostructures for Spin and Valleytronics

The integration of magnetic material with semiconductors has been fertile ground for fundamental science as well as of great practical interest toward the seamless integration of information processing and storage. Here we create van der Waals heterostructures formed by an ultrathin ferromagnetic semiconductor CrI3 and a monolayer of WSe2. We observe unprecedented control of the spin and valley pseudospin in WSe2, where we detect a large magnetic exchange field of nearly 13 T and rapid switching of the WSe2 valley splitting and polarization via flipping of the CrI3 magnetization. The WSe2 photoluminescence intensity strongly depends on the relative alignment between photo-excited spins in WSe2 and the CrI3 magnetization, due to ultrafast spin-dependent charge hopping across the heterostructure interface. The photoluminescence detection of valley pseudospin provides a simple and sensitive method to probe the intriguing domain dynamics in the ultrathin magnet, as well as the rich spin interactions within the heterostructure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Layer-dependent Ferromagnetism in a van der Waals Crystal down to the Monolayer Limit

Since the celebrated discovery of graphene, the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials has grown to encompass a broad range of electronic properties. Recent additions include spin-valley coupled semiconductors, Ising superconductors that can be tuned into a quantum metal, possible Mott insulators with tunable charge-density waves, and topological semi-metals with edge transport. Despite this progress, there is still no 2D crystal with intrinsic magnetism, which would be useful for many technologies such as sensing, information, and data storage. Theoretically, magnetic order is prohibited in the 2D isotropic Heisenberg model at finite temperatures by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. However, magnetic anisotropy removes this restriction and enables, for instance, the occurrence of 2D Ising ferromagnetism. Here, we use magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy to demonstrate that monolayer chromium triiodide (CrI3) is an Ising ferromagnet with out-of-plane spin orientation. Its Curie temperature of 45 K is only slightly lower than the 61 K of the bulk crystal, consistent with a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, our studies suggest a layer-dependent magnetic phase transition, showcasing the hallmark thickness-dependent physical properties typical of van der Waals crystals. Remarkably, bilayer CrI3 displays suppressed magnetization with a metamagnetic effect, while in trilayer the interlayer ferromagnetism observed in the bulk crystal is restored. Our work creates opportunities for studying magnetism by harnessing the unique features of atomically-thin materials, such as electrical control for realizing magnetoelectronics, and van der Waals engineering for novel interface phenomena.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

PlatEMO: A MATLAB Platform for Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization

Over the last three decades, a large number of evolutionary algorithms have been developed for solving multiobjective optimization problems. However, there lacks an up-to-date and comprehensive software platform for researchers to properly benchmark existing algorithms and for practitioners to apply selected algorithms to solve their real-world problems. The demand of such a common tool becomes even more urgent, when the source code of many proposed algorithms has not been made publicly available. To address these issues, we have developed a MATLAB platform for evolutionary multi-objective optimization in this paper, called PlatEMO, which includes more than 50 multi-objective evolutionary algorithms and more than 100 multi-objective test problems, along with several widely used performance indicators. With a user-friendly graphical user interface, PlatEMO enables users to easily compare several evolutionary algorithms at one time and collect statistical results in Excel or LaTeX files. More importantly, PlatEMO is completely open source, such that users are able to develop new algorithms on the basis of it. This paper introduces the main features of PlatEMO and illustrates how to use it for performing comparative experiments, embedding new algorithms, creating new test problems, and developing performance indicators. Source code of PlatEMO is now available at: http://bimk.ahu.edu.cn/index.php?s=/Index/Software/index.html.

cs.NE↗

arXiv2016

Dynamics of extended bodies with spin-induced quadrupole in Kerr spacetime: generic orbits

We discuss motions of extended bodies in Kerr spacetime by using Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon equations. We firstly solve the conditions for circular orbits, and calculate the orbital frequency shift due to the mass quadrupoles. The results show that we need not consider the spin-induced quadrupoles in extreme-mass-ratio inspirals for spatial gravitational wave detectors. We quantitatively investigate the temporal variation of rotational velocity of the extended body due to the coupling of quadrupole and background gravitational field. For generic orbits, we numerically integrate the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon equations for evolving the motion of an extended body orbiting a Kerr black hole. By comparing with the monopole-dipole approximation, we reveal the influences of quadrupole moments of extended bodies on the orbital motion and chaotic dynamics of extreme-mass-ratio systems. We do not find any chaotic orbits for the extended bodies with physical spins and spin-induced quadrupoles. Possible implications for gravitational wave detection and pulsar timing observation are outlined.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Spin Nernst Effect of Magnons in Collinear Antiferromagnets

In a collinear antiferromagnet with easy-axis anisotropy, symmetry guarantees that the spin wave modes are doubly degenerate. The two modes carry opposite spin angular momentum and exhibit opposite chirality. Using a honeycomb antiferromagnet in the presence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, we show that a longitudinal temperature gradient can drive the two modes to opposite transverse directions, realizing a spin Nernst effect of magnons with vanishing thermal Hall current. We find that magnons around the Γ-point and the K-point contribute oppositely to the transverse spin transport, and their competition leads to a sign change of the spin Nernst coefficient at finite temperature. Possible material candidates are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Anomalous Feedback and Negative Domain Wall Resistance

Magnetic induction can be regarded as a negative feedback effect, where the motive-force opposes the change of magnetic flux that generates the motive-force. In artificial electromagnetics emerging from spintronics, however, this is not necessarily the case. By studying the current-induced domain wall dynamics in a cylindrical nanowire, we show that the spin motive-force exerting on electrons can either oppose or support the applied current that drives the domain wall. The switching into the anomalous feedback regime occurs when the strength of the dissipative torque β is about twice the value of the Gilbert damping constant α. The anomalous feedback manifests as a negative domain wall resistance, which has an analogy with the water turbine.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Dynamic Feedback in Ferromagnet/Spin Hall Metal Heterostructures

In ferromagnet/normal metal heterostructures, spin pumping and spin-transfer torques are two reciprocal processes that occur concomitantly. Their interplay introduces a dynamic feedback effect interconnecting energy dissipation channels of both magnetization and current. By solving the spin diffusion process in the presence of the spin Hall effect in the normal metal, we show that the dynamic feedback gives rise to: (i) a nonlinear magnetic damping that is crucial to sustain uniform steady-state oscillations of a spin Hall oscillator at large angles. (ii) a frequency dependent spin Hall magnetoimpedance that reduces to the spin Hall magnetoresistance in the dc limit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Terahertz Antiferromagnetic Spin Hall Nano-Oscillator

We consider the current-induced dynamics of insulating antiferromagnets in a spin Hall geometry. Sufficiently large in-plane currents perpendicular to the Néel order trigger spontaneous oscillations at frequencies between the acoustic and the optical eigenmodes. The direction of the driving current determines the chirality of the excitation. When the current exceeds a threshold, the combined effect of spin pumping and current-induced torques introduces a dynamic feedback that sustains steady-state oscillations with amplitudes controllable via the applied current. The ac voltage output is calculated numerically as a function of the dc current input for different feedback strengths. Our findings open a route towards terahertz antiferromagnetic spin-torque oscillators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Antiferromagnetic Spin Wave Field-Effect Transistor

In a collinear antiferromagnet with easy-axis anisotropy, symmetry dictates that the spin wave modes must be doubly degenerate. Theses two modes, distinguished by their opposite polarization and available only in antiferromagnets, give rise to a novel degree of freedom to encode and process information. We show that the spin wave polarization can be manipulated by an electric field induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and magnetic anisotropy. We propose a prototype spin wave field-effect transistor which realizes a gate-tunable magnonic analog of the Faraday effect, and demonstrate its application in THz signal modulation. Our findings open up the exciting possibility of digital data processing utilizing antiferromagnetic spin waves and enable the direct projection of optical computing concepts onto the mesoscopic scale.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Ultrafast Switching of Antiferromagnets via Spin-transfer Torque

Picosecond switching of the staggered antiferromagnetic order is shown to be realizable through spin-transfer torques from a short current pulse. The coupled dynamics of sublattice magnetization is mapped onto a classical pendulum subject to gravity and a driving pulse, where switching occurs if the pendulum acquires sufficient kinetic energy during the pulse to overcome the maximum of the effective gravity potential. The optimal switching scheme is explored through the dependence of switch angle and magnetic loss on the duration and strength of the current pulse. The physics discussed here provides a general route towards multi-functional THz applications via the spin-transfer torque in antiferromagnetic materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Spin pumping and spin-transfer torques in antiferromagnets

Spin pumping and spin-transfer torques are two reciprocal phenomena widely studied in ferromagnetic materials. However, pumping from antiferromagnets and its relation to current-induced torques have not been explored. By calculating how electrons scatter off a normal metal-antiferromagnetic interface, we derive pumped spin and staggered spin currents in terms of the staggered field, the magnetization, and their rates of change. For both compensated and uncompensated interfaces, spin pumping is of a similar magnitude as in ferromagnets with a direction controlled by the polarization of the driving microwave. The pumped currents are connected to current-induced torques via Onsager reciprocity relations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Dynamics of Antiferromagnets Driven by Spin Current

When a spin-polarized current flows through a ferromagnetic (FM) metal, angular momentum is transferred to the background magnetization via spin-transfer torques. In antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials, however, the corresponding problem is unsolved. We derive microscopically the dynamics of an AFM system driven by spin current generated by an attached FM polarizer, and find that the spin current exerts a driving force on the local staggered order parameter. The mechanism does not rely on the conservation of spin angular momentum, nor does it depend on the induced FM moments on top the AFM background. Two examples are studied: (i) A domain wall is accelerated to a terminal velocity by purely adiabatic effect where the Walker's break-down is avoided; and (ii) Spin injection modifies the AFM resonance frequency, and spin current injection triggers spin wave instability of local moments above a threshold.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Microscopic derivation of Spin-transfer torques in ferromagnets

Spin-transfer torque (STT) provides key mechanisms for current-induced phenomena in ferromagnets. While it is widely accepted that STT involves both adiabatic and non-adiabatic contributions, their underlying physics and range of validity are quite controversial. By computing microscopically the response of conduction electron spins to a time varying and spatially inhomogeneous magnetic background, we derive the adiabatic and non-adiabatic STT in a unified fashion. Our result confirms the macroscopic theory [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{93},~127204 (2004)] with all coefficients matched exactly. Our derivation also reveals a benchmark on the validity of the result, which is used to explain three recent measurements of the non-adiabatic STT in quite different settings.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Quantum Geometric Tensor (Fubini-Study Metric) in Simple Quantum System: A pedagogical Introduction

Geometric Quantum Mechanics is a novel and prospecting approach motivated by the belief that our world is ultimately geometrical. At the heart of that is a quantity called Quantum Geometric Tensor (or Fubini-Study metric), which is a complex tensor with the real part serving as the Riemannian metric that measures the `quantum distance', and the imaginary part being the Berry curvature. Following a physical introduction of the basic formalism, we illustrate its physical significance in both the adiabatic and non-adiabatic systems.

quant-ph↗