arXiv subjects

Ruqian Wu

Publications and source records attributed to Ruqian Wu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Stacking-Engineered Switchable Altermagnetism in Topological FeSe bilayer systems

Altermagnetism and topological insulators represent two of the most transformative frontiers in modern condensed matter physics, spintronics, and quantum information science. Bringing these two paradigms together opens a largely unexplored route toward fundamentally new quantum phenomena. Here, we predict a topological altermagnetic phase in bilayer tetragonal Fe-based superconductors and reveal it as a highly tunable platform for valley-polarized anomalous Hall physics. Based on first-principles calculations, we show that the characteristic spin-splitting and valley polarization can be effectively tuned via applied strain. Moreover, the resulting valley-polarized anomalous Hall conductivity can be manipulated by shifting the Fermi level. These findings reveal a powerful route for controlling altermagnetism in topological materials and identify a realistic material platform for its experimental realization and technological exploitation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Spin-biased quantum spin Hall effect in altermagnetic Lieb lattice

Altermagnetic (AM) order, a recently discovered magnetic state, has attracted intense research interest for its potential applications in spintronic and quantum technologies. Here, we theoretically investigate the AM state in the Lieb lattice, a prototypical two-dimensional lattice, using the Hubbard model. We show that AM order emerges with only moderate electronic correlations. Strikingly, spin-orbit coupling drives the system into a topological phase exhibiting a new quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) with spin-biased topological edge states in one-dimensional nanoribbons. These edge states possess different localizations and velocities, and hence may produce spin and charge currents, fundamentally distinct from that in conventional topological insulators with spin degeneracy. This novel spin-biased QSHE in the AM Lieb lattice unveils exciting opportunities for both fundamental studies and innovative device concepts, motivating immediate experimental exploration.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Atomic-scale tunable phonon transport at tailored grain boundaries and Their Impact on Thermal Conductivity

Grain boundaries (GBs) strongly influence thermal transport in crystalline solids by disrupting lattice periodicity and scattering phonons. Due to the atomic-level disorder and structural complexity, a fundamental understanding of how specific GB geometries regulate nanoscale phonon behavior and macroscopic thermal conductivity has remained elusive. Here, using emerging atomic-resolution vibrational spectroscopy, we directly correlate GB structure, defect-specific vibrational states, and thermal transport in bicrystal strontium titanate with controlled tilt and twist angles. The phonon characterizations and thermal conductivity data reveal two distinct regimes, where low-angle tilt GBs (2deg, 6deg, 10deg) substantially modulate phonon populations and mode frequencies, resulting in pronounced changes in thermal conductivity, whereas high-angle tilt GBs (22deg, 36deg) exhibit weak conductivity variation due to saturated structural disorder and scattering. In contrast, twist GBs introduce periodic defect motifs that only locally tailor phonon transport. Our results suggest tilt and twist angles as complementary knobs for coarse and fine control of phonon propagation and cross-GB thermal transport, providing a predictive framework for thermal engineering in materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Highly Tunable Phonon Polaritons via Metal Intercalation

Phonon polaritons in van der Waals crystals offer mid-infrared light confinement deep below the diffraction limit, making them promising for nanophotonics applications. However, the practical use of phonon polaritons remains limited, in part due to the lack of precise control over the phonon polariton dispersion, as crystal lattice vibrations are often inert to external stimuli. Here, we address this challenge by zerovalent metal intercalation of $α$-MoO$_3$. Photo-induced force microscopy shows that introducing tin into the van der Waals gap modulates the phonon polariton dispersion by up to $38.5\pm0.5\%$, which is the highest amount of tunability among non-mechanical modulation approaches, to the best of our knowledge. Intercalation with various metal species preserves the phonon polariton lifetimes, while modulating the dielectric permittivity in agreement with the density functional theory and analytical calculations. Our results establish metal intercalation as a practical route to reconfigurable mid-infrared nanophotonics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Magnetic Anisotropy in Two-dimensional van der Waals Magnetic Materials and Their Heterostructures: Importance, Mechanisms, and Opportunities

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetism in atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) monolayers and heterostructures has attracted significant attention due to its promising potential for next-generation spintronic and quantum technologies. A key factor in stabilizing long-range magnetic order in these systems is magnetic anisotropy, which plays a crucial role in overcoming the limitations imposed by the Mermin-Wagner theorem. This review provides a comprehensive theoretical and experimental overview of the importance of magnetic anisotropy in enabling intrinsic 2D magnetism and shaping the electronic, magnetic, and topological properties of 2D vdW materials. We begin by summarizing the fundamental mechanisms that determine magnetic anisotropy, emphasizing the contributions from strong ligand spin-orbit coupling of ligand atoms and unquenched orbital magnetic moments. We then examine a range of material engineering approaches, including alloying, doping, electrostatic gating, strain, and pressure, that have been employed to effectively tune magnetic anisotropy in these materials. Finally, we discuss open challenges and promising future directions in this rapidly advancing field. By presenting a broad perspective on the role of magnetic anisotropy in 2D magnetism, this review aims to stimulate ongoing efforts and new ideas toward the realization of robust, room-temperature applications based on 2D vdW magnetic materials and their heterostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Vacancy-Engineered Phonon Polaritons in a van der Waals Crystal

Phonon-polaritons (PhPs) in low-symmetry van der Waals materials confine mid-infrared electromagnetic radiation well below the diffraction limit for nanoscale optics, sensing, and energy control. However, controlling the PhP dispersion at the nanoscale through intrinsic material properties$-$without external fields, lithography, or intercalants$-$remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate vacancy-engineered tuning of PhPs in $α$-phase molybdenum trioxide ($α$-MoO$_3$) via oxygen vacancy formation and lattice strain. Near-field nanoimaging of PhPs in processed $α$-MoO$_3$ reveals an average polariton wavevector modulation of $Δk/k \approx 0.13 $ within the lower Restrahlen band. Stoichiometric analysis, density functional theory, and finite-difference time-domain simulations show agreement with the experimental results and suggest an induced vacancy concentration of $1\% - 2\%$ along with $(1.2\pm 0.2)\%$ compressive strain, resulting in a non-volatile dielectric permittivity modulation of up to $Δ\varepsilon / \varepsilon \approx 0.15$. Despite these lattice modifications, the lifetimes of thermomechanically tuned PhPs remain high at $1.2 \pm 0.31$ ps. These results establish thermomechanical vacancy engineering as a general strategy to reprogram polaritonic response in vdW crystals, offering a new degree of freedom for embedded, non-volatile nanophotonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Extended Hybridization Expansion Solver for Impurity Models with Retarded Interactions

We extend the continuous-time hybridization expansion solver to a general form, where the hybridization function and retarded interaction are treated on equal footing. Correlation functions can now be directly obtained via functional derivatives with respect to the bosonic propagators, similar to the measurement of Green's functions. We devise a combinatorial scheme of measuring the correlation function, whose efficiency partially emulates that of the Green's function measurement. The algorithm and numerical methods are validated through application to an impurity model involving both electron-phonon coupling and exchange interactions, a case where the previous hybridization expansion algorithm is not applicable. Our improvement of the hybridization expansion solver promotes its applicability in studies of electron-phonon coupling, the extended dynamical mean field theory, and the dual boson method.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Symmetry-Constrained Anomalous Transport in the Altermagnetic Material CuX$_2$ (X=F,Cl)

Recently discovered, altermagnetism represents a third class of collinear magnets. These materials exhibit zero net magnetization, similar to antiferromagnets, but display anomalous transport properties resembling those of ferromagnets. Altermagnetic materials manifest various anomalous electronic transport phenomena, including the anomalous Hall effect, anomalous Nernst effect, and anomalous thermal Hall effect. Additionally, they exhibit magneto-optical Kerr and Faraday effects, previously considered exclusive to ferromagnetic materials. These anomalous transport phenomena are constrained by symmetry, as revealed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. However, an effective model-based approach to verify these symmetry constraints remains unavailable. In this Letter, we construct a $k\cdot p$ model for $d$-wave altermagnets CuX$_2$ (X=F,Cl) using spin space group representations and apply it to calculate the anomalous Hall effect. The symmetry-imposed transport properties predicted by the model are in agreement with the DFT results, providing a foundation for further investigation into symmetry-restricted transport phenomena in altermagnetic materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Topological Surface State Evolution in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ via Surface Etching

Topological insulators are materials with an insulating bulk interior while maintaining gapless boundary states against back scattering. Bi$_2$Se$_3$ is a prototypical topological insulator with a Dirac-cone surface state around $Γ$. Here, we present a controlled methodology to gradually remove Se atoms from the surface Se-Bi-Se-Bi-Se quintuple layers, eventually forming bilayer-Bi on top of the quintuple bulk. Our method allows us to track the topological surface state and confirm its robustness throughout the surface modification. Importantly, we report a relocation of the topological Dirac cone in both real space and momentum space, as the top surface layer transitions from quintuple Se-Bi-Se-Bi-Se to bilayer-Bi. Additionally, charge transfer among different surface layers is identified. Our study provides a precise method to manipulate surface configurations, allowing for the fine-tuning of the topological surface states in Bi$_2$Se$_3$, which represents a significant advancement towards nano-engineering of topological states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Why Superconducting Ta Qubits Have Fewer Tunneling Two-Level Systems at the Air-Oxide Interface Than Nb Qubits

Superconducting qubits are a key contender for quantum computing elements, but they often face challenges like noise and decoherence from two-level systems (TLS). Tantalum (Ta) qubits are notable for their long T$_1$ coherence times nearing milliseconds, mainly due to fewer TLS, though the cause was unclear. Our research explored this by analyzing the air-oxide interface with density functional theory, particularly comparing Nb oxide (Nb$_2$O$_5$) and Ta oxide (Ta$_2$O$_5$). We discovered that Ta$_2$O$_5$ forms a smoother surface with fewer dangling O atoms and TLS than Nb$_2$O$_5$. The greater atomic mass of Ta also lowers the TLS tunnel splittings below the qubit's operating frequency. Furthermore, using external electric fields or SO$_2$ passivation can significantly reduce TLS on Nb surfaces, potentially improving their coherence times.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Site-Controlled Purcell-Induced Bright Single Photon Emitters in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Single photon emitters (SPEs) hosted in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are essential elementary building blocks for enabling future on-chip quantum photonic technologies that operate at room temperature. However, fundamental challenges, such as managing non-radiative decay, competing incoherent processes, as well as engineering difficulties in achieving deterministic placement and scaling of the emitters, limit their full potential. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate large-area arrays of plasmonic nanoresonators for Purcell-induced site-controlled SPEs by engineering emitter-cavity coupling and enhancing radiative emission at room temperature. The plasmonic nanoresonator architecture consists of gold-coated silicon pillars capped with an alumina spacer layer, enabling a 10-fold local field enhancement in the emission band of native hBN defects. Confocal photoluminescence and second-order autocorrelation measurements show bright SPEs with sub-30 meV bandwidth and a saturated emission rate of more than 3.8 million counts per second. We measure a Purcell factor of 4.9, enabling average SPE lifetimes of 480 ps, a five-fold reduction as compared to emission from gold-free devices, along with an overall SPE yield of 21%. Density functional theory calculations further reveal the beneficial role of an alumina spacer between defected hBN and gold, as an insulating layer can mitigate the electronic broadening of emission from defects proximal to gold. Our results offer arrays of bright, heterogeneously integrated quantum light sources, paving the way for robust and scalable quantum information systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Monte Carlo Spin Simulations of Magnetic Noise -- The Search for Pivoting

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) show great promise as quantum bits (qubits) but continue to be hindered by flux noise. The flux noise power spectra of SQUIDs go as $1/f^α$, where $α$ is the temperature-dependent noise exponent. Experiments find $0.5 \lesssim α\lesssim 1$. Furthermore, experiments find that the noise power spectra versus frequency at different temperatures pivot about or cross at a common point for each SQUID. To try to better understand the results and motivated by experimental evidence that magnetic moments on the surface of SQUIDS produce flux noise, we present the results of our Monte Carlo simulations of various spin systems on 2D lattices. We find that only spin glasses produce $α\sim 1$ at low temperature. We find that aliasing of the noise power spectra at high frequencies can lead to spectral pivoting if it is in proximity to a knee at a slightly lower frequency. We show that the pivot frequency depends on the method of site selection and how often the magnetization is recorded. The spectral pivoting that occurs in our simulations is due to aliasing and does not explain the spectral pivoting of experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Switching intrinsic magnetic skyrmions with controllable magnetic anisotropy in van der Waals multiferroic heterostructures

Magnetic skyrmions, topologically nontrivial whirling spin textures at nanometer scales, have emerged as potential information carriers for spintronic devices. The ability to efficiently create and erase magnetic skyrmions is vital yet challenging for such applications. Based on first-principles studies, we find that switching between intrinsic magnetic skyrmion and high-temperature ferromagnetic states can be achieved in two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) multiferroic heterostructure CrSeI/In2Te3 by reversing the ferroelectric polarization of In2Te3. The core mechanism of this switching is traced to the controllable magnetic anisotropy of CrSeI influenced by the ferroelectric polarization of In2Te3. We propose a useful descriptor linking the presence of magnetic skyrmions to magnetic parameters, and validate this connection through studies of a variety of similar vdW multiferroic heterostructures. Our work demonstrates that manipulating magnetic skyrmions via tunable magnetic anisotropies in vdW multiferroic heterostructures represents a highly promising and energy-efficient strategy for future development of spintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Valley-dependent Multiple Quantum States and Topological Transitions in Germanene-based Ferromagnetic van der Waals Heterostructures

Topological and valleytronic materials are promising for spintronic and quantum applications due to their unique properties. Using first principles calculations, we demonstrate that germanene (Ge)-based ferromagnetic heterostructures can exhibit multiple quantum states such as quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) with Chern numbers of C=-1 or C=-2, quantum valley Hall effect (QVHE) with a valley Chern number of C$v$=2, valley-polarized quantum anomalous Hall effect (VP-QAHE) with two Chern numbers of C=-1 and C$v$=-1 as well as time-reversal symmetry broken quantum spin Hall effect (T-broken QSHE) with a spin Chern number of C$s$~1. Furthermore, we find that the transitions between different quantum states can occur by changing the magnetic orientation of ferromagnetic layers through applying a magnetic field. Our discovery provides new routes and novel material platforms with a unique combination of diverse properties that make it well suitable for applications in electronics, spintronics and valley electronics.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2024

Inelastic electron scattering at large angles: the phonon polariton contribution

We explore the inelastic electron scattering in SrTiO3, PbTiO3, and SiC in their phonon energy range, challenging the assumption that phonon polaritons are excluded at large angles in high-resolution transmission electron energy-loss spectroscopy. We demonstrate that through multiple scattering, the electron beam can excite both phonons and phonon polaritons, and the relative proportion of each varies depending on the structure factor and scattering angle. Integrating dielectric theory, density functional theory, and multi-slice simulations, we provide a comprehensive framework for understanding these interactions in materials with polar optical phonons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Real-Space Visualization of Frequency-Dependent Anisotropy of Atomic Vibrations

The underlying dielectric properties of materials, intertwined with intriguing phenomena such as topological polariton modes and anisotropic thermal conductivities, stem from the anisotropy in atomic vibrations. Conventionally, X-ray diffraction techniques have been employed to estimate thermal ellipsoids of distinct elements, albeit lacking the desired spatial and energy resolutions. Here we introduce a novel approach utilizing the dark-field monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy for momentum-selective vibrational spectroscopy, enabling the cartographic delineation of variations of phonon polarization vectors. By applying this technique to centrosymmetric cubic-phase strontium titanate, we successfully discern two types of oxygen atoms exhibiting contrasting vibrational anisotropies below and above 60 meV due to their frequency-linked thermal ellipsoids. This method establishes a new pathway to visualize phonon eigenvectors at specific crystalline sites for diverse elements, thus delving into uncharted realms of dielectric, optical, and thermal property investigations with unprecedented spatial resolutions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Exceptional electronic transport and quantum oscillations in thin bismuth crystals grown inside van der Waals materials

Confining materials to two-dimensional forms changes the behavior of electrons and enables new devices. However, most materials are challenging to produce as uniform thin crystals. Here, we present a new synthesis approach where crystals are grown in a nanoscale mold defined by atomically-flat van der Waals (vdW) materials. By heating and compressing bismuth in a vdW mold made of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), we grow ultraflat bismuth crystals less than 10 nanometers thick. Due to quantum confinement, the bismuth bulk states are gapped, isolating intrinsic Rashba surface states for transport studies. The vdW-molded bismuth shows exceptional electronic transport, enabling the observation of Shubnikov-de Haas quantum oscillations originating from the (111) surface state Landau levels, which have eluded previous studies. By measuring the gate-dependent magnetoresistance, we observe multi-carrier quantum oscillations and Landau level splitting, with features originating from both the top and bottom surfaces. Our vdW-mold growth technique establishes a platform for electronic studies and control of bismuth's Rashba surface states and topological boundary modes. Beyond bismuth, the vdW-molding approach provides a low-cost way to synthesize ultrathin crystals and directly integrate them into a vdW heterostructure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Coercivity Mechanisms of Single-Molecule Magnets

Magnetic hysteresis has become a crucial aspect for characterizing single-molecule magnets, but the comprehension of the coercivity mechanism is still a challenge. By using analytical derivation and quantum dynamical simulations, we reveal fundamental rules that govern magnetic relaxation of single molecule magnets under the influence of external magnetic fields, which in turn dictates the hysteresis behavior. Specifically, we find that energy level crossing induced by magnetic fields can drastically increase the relaxation rate and set a coercivity limit. The activation of optical-phonon-mediated quantum tunneling accelerates the relaxation and largely determines the coercivity. Intra-molecular exchange interaction in multi-ion compounds may enhance the coercivity by suppressing key relaxation processes. Unpaired bonding electrons in mixed-valence complexes bear a pre-spin-flip process, which may facilitate magnetization reversal. Underlying these properties are magnetic relaxation processes modulated by the interplay of magnetic fields, phonon spectrum and spin state configuration, which also proposes a fresh perspective for the nearly centurial coercive paradox.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗