arXiv subjects

S. Das Sarma

Publications and source records attributed to S. Das Sarma.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Resistivity saturation in a weakly interacting 2D Fermi liquid at intermediate temperatures

We report a highly unusual temperature dependence in the magnetoresistance of a weakly interacting high mobility 2D electron gas (2DEG) under a parallel magnetic field and when the current is perpendicular to the field. While the linear temperature dependence below 10 K and the exponential temperature dependence above 40 K agree with existing theory of electron-phonon scattering, a field induced resistivity saturation behaviour characterized by an almost complete suppression of the temperature dependence is observed from approximately 20 to 40 K, which is in sharp contrast to the phenomenology observed when the current is parallel to the field. Possible origins of this intriguing intermediate temperature phenomenon are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Comparison of microscopic models for disorder in bilayer graphene: Implications for the density of states and the optical conductivity

We study the effects of disorder on bilayer graphene using four different microscopic models and directly compare their results. We compute the self-energy, density of states, and optical conductivity in the presence of short-ranged scatterers and screened Coulomb impurities, using both the Born approximation and self-consistent Born approximation for the self-energy. We also include a finite interlayer potential asymmetry which generates a gap between the valence and conduction bands. We find that the qualitative behavior of the two scattering potentials are similar, but that the choice of approximation for the self-energy leads to important differences near the band edge in the gapped case. Finally, we describe how these differences manifest in the measurement of the band gap in optical and transport experimental techniques.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

2D transport and screening in topological insulator surface states

We study disorder effects on the surface states of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ close to the topologically protected crossing point. Close to charge neutrality, local fluctuations in carrier density arising from the random charged disorder in the environment result in electron and hole puddles that dominate the electronic properties of these materials. By calculating the polarizability of the surface state using the random phase approximation, and determining the characteristics of puddles using the self-consistent approximation, we find that band asymmetry plays a crucial role in determining experimentally measured quantities including the conductivity and the puddle autocorrelation length.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Coulomb drag in graphene

We calculate theoretically the Coulomb drag resistivity for two graphene monolayers spatially separated by a distance "$d$". We show that the frictional drag induced by inter-layer electron-electron interaction goes asymptotically as $T^2/n^3$ and $T^2 \ln(n)/n$ in the high-density ($k_F d \gg 1$) and low-density ($k_F d \ll 1$) limits, respectively.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Screening of charged impurities with multi-electron singlet-triplet spin qubits in quantum dots

Charged impurities in semiconductor quantum dots comprise one of the main obstacles to achieving scalable fabrication and manipulation of singlet-triplet spin qubits. We theoretically show that using dots that contain several electrons each can help to overcome this problem through the screening of the rough and noisy impurity potential by the excess electrons. We demonstrate how the desired screening properties turn on as the number of electrons is increased, and we characterize the properties of a double quantum dot singlet-triplet qubit for small odd numbers of electrons per dot. We show that the sensitivity of the multi-electron qubit to charge noise may be an order of magnitude smaller than that of the two-electron qubit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Topological Protection of Majorana Qubits

We study the stability of the topological quantum computation proposals involving Majorana fermions against thermal fluctuations. We use a minimal realistic model of a spinless px+ipy superconductor and consider effect of excited midgap states localized in the vortex core as well as of transitions above the bulk superconducting gap on the quasiparticle braiding, interferometry-based qubit read-out schemes, and quantum coherence of the topological qubits. We find that thermal occupation of the midgap states does not affect adiabatic braiding operations but leads to a reduction in the visibility of the interferometry measurements. We also consider quantum decoherence of topological qubits at finite temperatures and calculate their decay rate which is associated with the change of the fermion parity and, as such, is exponentially suppressed at temperatures well below the bulk excitation gap. Our conclusion is that the Majorana-based topological quantum computing schemes are indeed protected by the virtue of the quantum non-locality of the stored information and the presence of the bulk superconducting gap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Coulomb drag in monolayer and bilayer graphene

We theoretically calculate the interaction-induced frictional Coulomb drag resistivity between two graphene monolayers as well as between two graphene bilayers, which are spatially separated by a distance "$d$". We show that the drag resistivity between graphene monolayers can be significantly affected by the intralayer momentum-relaxation mechanism. For energy independent intralayer scattering, the frictional drag induced by inter-layer electron-electron interaction goes asymptotically as $ρ_D \sim T^2/n^4d^6$ and $ρ_D \sim T^2/n^2d^2$ in the high-density ($k_F d \gg 1$) and low-density ($k_F d \ll 1$) limits, respectively. When long-range charge impurity scattering dominates within the layer, the monolayer drag resistivity behaves as $ρ_D \sim T^2/n^3d^4$ and $T^2 \ln (\sqrt{n} d) /n$ for $k_F d \gg 1$ and $k_F d \ll 1$, respectively. The density dependence of the bilayer drag is calculated to be $ρ_D \propto T^2/n^{3}$ both in the large and small layer separation limit. In the large layer separation limit, the bilayer drag has a strong $1/d^4$ dependence on layer separation, whereas this goes to a weak logarithmic dependence in the strong inter-layer correlation limit of small layer separation. In addition to obtaining the asymptotic analytical formula for Coulomb drag in graphene, we provide numerical results for arbitrary values of density and layer separation interpolating smoothly between our asymptotic theoretical results.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Temperature-dependent compressibility in graphene and two-dimensional systems

We calculate the finite temperature compressibility for two-dimensional semiconductor systems, monolayer graphene, and bilayer graphene within the Hartree-Fock approximation. We find that the calculated temperature dependent compressibility including exchange energy is non-monotonic. In 2D systems at low temperatures the inverse compressibility decreases first with increasing temperature, but after reaching a minimum it increases as temperature is raised further. At high enough temperatures the negative compressibility of low density systems induced by the exchange energy becomes positive due to the dominance of the finite temperature kinetic energy. The inverse compressibility in monolayer graphene is always positive and its temperature dependence appears to be reverse of the 2D semiconductor systems, i.e., it increases first with temperature and then decreases at high temperatures. The inverse compressibility of bilayer graphene shows the same non-monotonic behavior as ordinary 2D systems, but at high temperatures it approaches a constant which is smaller than the value of the non-interacting bilayer graphene. We find the leading order temperature correction to the compressibility within Hartree-Fock approximation to be $T^2 \ln T$ at low temperatures for all three systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

How to realize a robust practical Majorana chain in a quantum dot-superconductor linear array

Semiconducting nanowires in proximity to superconductors are promising experimental systems for Majorana fermions, which may ultimately be used as building blocks for topological quantum computers. A serious challenge in the experimental realization of the Majorana fermions is the supression of topological superconductivity by disorder. We show that Majorana fermions protected by a robust topological gap can occur at the ends of a chain of quantum dots connected by s-wave superconductors. In the appropriate parameter regime, we establish that the quantum dot/superconductor system is equivalent to a 1D Kitaev chain, which can be tuned to be in a robust topological phase with Majorana end modes even in the case where the quantum dots and superconductors are both strongly disordered. Such a spin-orbit coupled quantum dot - s-wave superconductor array provides an ideal experimental platform for the observation of non-Abelian Majorana modes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Mott insulating phases and magnetism of fermions in a double-well optical lattice

We theoretically investigate, using non-perturbative strong correlation techniques, Mott insulating phases and magnetic ordering of two-component fermions in a two-dimensional double-well optical lattice. At filling of two fermions per site, there are two types of Mott insulators, one of which is characterized by spin-1 antiferromagnetism below the Neel temperature. The super-exchange interaction in this system is induced by the interplay between the inter-band interaction and the spin degree of freedom. A great advantage of the double-well optical lattice is that the magnetic quantum phase diagram and the Neel temperature can be easily controlled by tuning the orbital energy splitting of the two-level system. Particularly, the Neel temperature can be one order of magnitude larger than that in standard optical lattices, facilitating the experimental search for magnetic ordering in optical lattice systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

A proposed signature of Anderson localization and correlation-induced delocalization in an N-leg optical lattice

We propose a realization of the one-dimensional random dimer model and certain N-leg generalizations using cold atoms in an optical lattice. We show that these models exhibit multiple delocalization energies that depend strongly on the symmetry properties of the corresponding Hamiltonian and we provide analytical and numerical results for the localization length as a function of energy. We demonstrate that the N-leg systems possess similarities with their 1D ancestors but are demonstrably distinct. The existence of critical delocalization energies leads to dips in the momentum distribution which serve as a clear signal of the localization-delocalization transition. These momentum distributions are different for models with different group symmetries and are identical for those with the same symmetry.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Majorana Fermions in Semiconductor Nanowires

We study multiband semiconducting nanowires proximity-coupled with an s-wave superconductor and calculate the topological phase diagram as a function of the chemical potential and magnetic field. The non-trivial topological state corresponds to a superconducting phase supporting an odd number of pairs of Majorana modes localized at the ends of the wire, whereas the non-topological state corresponds to a superconducting phase with no Majoranas or with an even number of pairs of Majorana modes. Our key finding is that multiband occupancy not only lifts the stringent constraint of one-dimensionality, but also allows having higher carrier density in the nanowire. Consequently, multiband nanowires are better-suited for stabilizing the topological superconducting phase and for observing the Majorana physics. We present a detailed study of the parameter space for multiband semiconductor nanowires focusing on understanding the key experimental conditions required for the realization and detection of Majorana fermions in solid-state systems. We include various sources of disorder and characterize their effects on the stability of the topological phase. Finally, we calculate the local density of states as well as the differential tunneling conductance as functions of external parameters and predict the experimental signatures that would establish the existence of emergent Majorana zero-energy modes in solid-state systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

dmu/dn In suspended bilayer graphene: the interplay of disorder and band gap

We present an interpretation of recent experimental measurements of dmu/dn in suspended bilayer graphene samples. We demonstrate that the data may be quantitatively described by assuming a spatially varying band gap induced by local electric fields. We demonstrate that the gap fluctuations vary amongst different samples and that the gap fluctuations are correlated with the associated charge density fluctuations, indicating that the mechanism causing this effect is likely to be an extrinsic effect. We also provide predictions for the optical conductivity and mobility of suspended bilayer graphene samples with small band gaps.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Intervalley coupling for interface-bound electrons in silicon: An effective mass study

Orbital degeneracy of the electronic conduction band edge in silicon is a potential roadblock to the storage and manipulation of quantum information involving the electronic spin degree of freedom in this host material. This difficulty may be mitigated near an interface between Si and a barrier material, where intervalley scattering may couple states in the conduction ground state, leading to nondegenerate orbital ground and first excited states. The level splitting is experimentally found to have a strong sample dependence, varying by orders of magnitude for different interfaces and samples. The basic physical mechanisms leading to such coupling in different systems are addressed. We expand our recent study based on an effective mass approach, incorporating the full plane-wave expansions of the Bloch functions at the conduction band minima. Physical insights emerge naturally from a simple Si/barrier model. In particular, we present a clear comparison between ours and different approximations and formalisms adopted in the literature and establish the applicability of these approximations in different physical scenarios.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Momentum relaxation in a semiconductor proximity-coupled to a disordered s-wave superconductor: effect of scattering on topological superconductivity

We study the superconducting proximity effect between a conventional semiconductor and a disordered s-wave superconductor. We calculate the effective momentum relaxation rate in the semiconductor due to processes involving electron tunneling into a disordered superconductor and scattering off impurities. The magnitude of the effective disorder scattering rate is important for understanding the stability of the topological (chiral p-wave) superconducting state that emerges in the semiconductor, since disorder scattering has a detrimental effect and can drive the system into a non-topological state. We find that the effective impurity scattering rate involves higher-order tunneling processes and is suppressed due to the destructive quantum interference of quasi-particle and quasi-hole trajectories. We show that, despite the fact that both the proximity-induced gap and the effective impurity scattering rate depend on interface transparency, there is a large parameter regime where the topological superconducting phase is robust against disorder in the superconductor. Thus, we establish that the static disorder in the superconductor does not suppress the proximity induced topological superconductivity in the semiconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Instabilities of Bosonic Spin Currents in Optical Lattices

We analyze the dynamical and energetic instabilities of spin currents in a system of two-component bosons in an optical lattice, with a particular focus on the Neel state. We consider both the weakly interacting superfluid and the strongly interacting Mott insulating limits as well as the regime near the superfluid-insulator transition and establish the criteria for the onset of these instabilities. We use Bogoliubov theory to treat the weakly interacting superfluid regime. Near the Mott transition, we calculate the stability phase diagram within a variational Gutzwiller wavefunction approach. In the deep Mott limit we discuss the emergence of the Heisenberg model and calculate the stability diagram within this model. Though the Bogoliubov theory and the Heisenberg model (appropriate for deep superfluid and deep Mott phase respectively) predict no dynamical instabilities, we find, interestingly, between these two limiting cases there is a regime of dynamical instability. This result is relevant for the ongoing experimental efforts to realize a stable Neel-ordered state in multi-component ultracold bosons.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

A number conserving theory for topologically protected degeneracy in one-dimensional fermions

Semiconducting nanowires in proximity to superconductors are among promising candidates to search for Majorana fermions and topologically protected degeneracies which may ultimately be used as building blocks for topological quantum computers. The prediction of neutral Majorana fermions in the proximity-induced superconducting systems ignores number-conservation and thus leaves open the conceptual question of how a topological degeneracy that is robust to all local perturbations arises in a number-conserving system. In this work, we study how local attractive interactions generate a topological ground-state near-degeneracy in a quasi one-dimensional superfluid using bosonization of the fermions. The local attractive interactions opens a topological quasiparticle gap in the odd channel wires (with more than one channel) with end Majorana modes associated with a topological near-degeneracy. We explicitly study the robustness of the topological degeneracy to local perturbations and find that such local perturbations result in quantum phase slips which split of the topological degeneracy by an amount that does not decrease exponentially with the length of the wire, but still decreases rapidly if the number of channels is large. Therefore a bulk superconductor with a large number of channels is crucial for true topological degeneracy.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Entanglement Measures for Quasi-Two-Dimensional Fractional Quantum Hall States

We theoretically examine entanglement in fractional quantum hall states, explicitly taking into account and emphasizing the quasi-two-dimensional nature of experimental quantum Hall systems. In particular, we study the entanglement entropy and the entanglement spectrum as a function of the finite layer thickness $d$ of the quasi-two-dimensional system for a number of filling fractions $ν$ in the lowest and the second Landau levels: $ν$ = 1/3, 7/3, 1/2, and 5/2. We observe that the entanglement measures are dependent on which Landau level the electrons fractionally occupy, and find that filling factions 1/3 and 7/3, which are considered to be Laughlin states, weaken with $d$ in the lowest Landau level ($ν$=1/3) and strengthen with $d$ in the second Landau level ($ν$=7/3). For the enigmatic even-denominator $ν=5/2$ state, we find that entanglement in the ground state is consistent with that of the non-Abelian Moore-Read Pfaffian state at an optimal thickness $d$. We also find that the single-layer $ν= 1/2$ system is not a fractional quantum Hall state consistent with the experimental observation. In general, our theoretical findings based on entanglement considerations are completely consistent with the results based on wavefunction overlap calculations.

cond-mat.str-el↗