arXiv subjects

Sang-Wook Cheong

Publications and source records attributed to Sang-Wook Cheong.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Altermagnetism in NiSi and antiferromagnetic candidate materials with non-collinear spins

Recently, a new class of magnetic phenomenon, called altermagnetism, was proposed where the underlying spin configuration resembles antiferromagnetic structure, but the system violates \textbf{PT} (PT: Parity times Time reversal) symmetry due to the alternation of crystalline symmetry across magnetic ions. Although the original idea was proposed for the collinear spin structure, a recent report by Cheong et al. has suggested that antiferromagnetic materials with non-collinear spin structure and local alternation of crystalline arrangement can also manifest altermagnetism. Besides breaking the \textbf{PT} symmetry, altermagnetic compounds are also expected to exhibit anomalous Hall effects of odd orders. Here, we discuss possible candidates in this regard. One example is nickel monosilicide, which was recently shown to exhibit high temperature antiferromagnetism with non-collinear spin structure. It fulfills both criteria of breaking the \textbf{PT} symmetry and manifesting nonlinear anomalous Hall effect. In addition to NiSi, we also discuss other potential antiferromagnetic materials with non-collinear spin configuration for the exploration of altermagnetic states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Electrical switching of Ising-superconducting nonreciprocity for quantum neuronal transistor

Nonreciprocal quantum transport effect is mainly governed by the symmetry breaking of the material systems and is gaining extensive attention in condensed matter physics. Realizing electrical switching of the polarity of the nonreciprocal transport without external magnetic field is essential to the development of nonreciprocal quantum devices. However, electrical switching of superconducting nonreciprocity remains yet to be achieved. Here, we report the observation of field-free electrical switching of nonreciprocal Ising superconductivity in Fe3GeTe2/NbSe2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure. By taking advantage of this electrically switchable superconducting nonreciprocity, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept nonreciprocal quantum neuronal transistor, which allows for implementing the XOR logic gate and faithfully emulating biological functionality of a cortical neuron in the brain. Our work provides a promising pathway to realize field-free and electrically switchable nonreciprocity of quantum transport and demonstrate its potential in exploring neuromorphic quantum devices with both functionality and performance beyond the traditional devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Kibble-Zurek mechanism of Ising domains

The formation of topological defects after a symmetry-breaking phase transition is an overarching phenomenon that encodes rich information about the underlying dynamics. Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM), which describes these nonequilibrium dynamics, predicts defect densities of these second-order phase transitions driven by thermal fluctuations. It has been verified as a successful model in a wide variety of physical systems, finding applications from structure formation in the early universe to condensed matter systems. However, whether topologically-trivial Ising domains, one of the most common and fundamental types of domains in condensed matter systems, also obey the KZM has never been investigated in the laboratory. We examined two different kinds of three-dimensional (3D) structural Ising domains: clockwise (CW)/counter-clockwise (CCW) ferro-rotation domains in NiTiO3 and up/down polar domains in BiTeI. While the KZM slope of ferro-rotation domains in NiTiO3 agrees well with the prediction of the 3D Ising model, the KZM slope of polar domains in BiTeI surprisingly far exceeds the theoretical limit, setting an exotic example where possible weak long-range dipolar interactions play a critical role in steepening the KZM slope of non-topological quantities. Our results demonstrate the validity of KZM for Ising domains and reveal an enhancement of the power-law exponent and a possible reduction of the dynamic critical exponent z for transitions with long-range interactions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Emergent photons and fractionalized excitations in a quantum spin liquid

A quantum spin liquid (QSL) arises from a highly entangled superposition of many degenerate classical ground states in a frustrated magnet, and is characterized by emergent gauge fields and deconfined fractionalized excitations (spinons). Because such a novel phase of matter is relevant to high-transition-temperature superconductivity and quantum computation, the microscopic understanding of QSL states is a long-sought goal in condensed matter physics. The 3D pyrochlore lattice of corner-sharing tetrahedra can host a QSL with U(1) gauge fields called quantum spin ice (QSI), which is a quantum (with effective $S=1/2$) analog of the classical (with large effective moment) spin ice. A key difference between QSI and classical spin ice is the predicted presence of the linearly dispersing collective excitations near zero energy, dubbed the "photons", arising from emergent quantum electrodynamics, in addition to the spinons at higher energies. Recently, 3D pyrochlore systems Ce2M2O7 (M = Sn, Zr, Hf) have been suggested as effective $S=1/2$ QSI candidates, but there has been no evidence of quasielastic magnetic scattering signals from photons, a key signature for a QSI. Here, we use polarized neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of Ce2Zr2O7 to conclusively demonstrate the presence of magnetic excitations near zero energy at 50 mK in addition to signatures of spinons at higher energies. By comparing the energy (E), wave vector (Q), and polarization dependence of the magnetic excitations with theoretical calculations, we conclude that Ce2Zr2O7 is the first example of a dipolar-octupolar $π$ flux QSI with dominant dipolar Ising interactions, therefore identifying a microscopic Hamiltonian responsible for a QSL.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Interfacial magnetic spin Hall effect in van der Waals Fe3GeTe2/MoTe2 heterostructure

The spin Hall effect (SHE) allows efficient generation of spin polarization or spin current through charge current and plays a crucial role in the development of spintronics. While SHE typically occurs in non-magnetic materials and is time-reversal even, exploring time-reversal-odd (T-odd) SHE, which couples SHE to magnetization in ferromagnetic materials, offers a new charge-spin conversion mechanism with new functionalities. Here, we report the observation of giant T-odd SHE in Fe3GeTe2/MoTe2 van der Waals heterostructure, representing a previously unidentified interfacial magnetic spin Hall effect (interfacial-MSHE). Through rigorous symmetry analysis and theoretical calculations, we attribute the interfacial-MSHE to a symmetry-breaking induced spin current dipole at the vdW interface. Furthermore, we show that this linear effect can be used for implementing multiply-accumulate operations and binary convolutional neural networks with cascaded multi-terminal devices. Our findings uncover an interfacial T-odd charge-spin conversion mechanism with promising potential for energy-efficient in-memory computing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Giant X-ray circular dichroism in a time-reversal invariant altermagnet

X-ray circular dichroism, arising from the contrast in X-ray absorption between opposite photon helicities, serves as a spectroscopic tool to measure the magnetization of ferromagnetic materials and identify the handedness of chiral crystals. Antiferromagnets with crystallographic chirality typically lack X-ray magnetic circular dichroism because of time-reversal symmetry, yet exhibit weak X-ray natural circular dichroism. Here, we report the observation of giant natural circular dichroism in the Ni $L_3$-edge X-ray absorption of Ni$_3$TeO$_6$, a polar and chiral antiferromagnet with effective time-reversal symmetry. To unravel this intriguing phenomenon, we propose a phenomenological model that classifies the movement of photons in a chiral crystal within the same symmetry class as that of a magnetic field. The coupling of X-ray polarization with the induced magnetization yields giant X-ray natural circular dichroism, revealing the altermagnetism of Ni$_3$TeO$_6$. Our findings provide evidence for the interplay between magnetism and crystal chirality in natural optical activity. Additionally, we establish the first example of a new class of magnetic materials exhibiting circular dichroism with time-reversal symmetry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Local Manipulation of Skyrmion Lattice in Fe3GaTe2 at Room Temperature

Motivated by advances in spintronic devices, an extensive exploration is underway to uncover materials that host topologically protected spin textures, exemplified by skyrmions. One critical challenge involved in the potential application of skyrmions in van der Waals (vdW) materials is the attainment and manipulation of skyrmions at room temperature. In this study, we report the creation of intrinsic skyrmion state in van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2. By employing variable temperature magnetic force microscopy, the skyrmion lattice can be locally manipulated on Fe3GaTe2 flake. The ordering of skyrmion state is further analyzed. Our result suggest Fe3GaTe2 emerges as a highly promising contender for the realization of skyrmion-based layered spintronic memory devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Emergent Phenomena with Broken Parity-Time Symmetry: Odd-order vs. Even-order Effects

Symmetry often governs the laws of nature, and breaking symmetry accompanies a new order parameter and emergent observable phenomena. Herein, we focus on broken Parity (P)-Time (T) symmetry, which lifts the Kramers' degeneracy, and thus, guarantees non-trivial spin textures in excitation spectra. To attain non-zero measurables, we use the concept of symmetry operational similarity (SOS), which consider the symmetry relationship between a specimen and an experimental setup, rather than the symmetry of specific coupling terms. Even without specific coupling terms, this SOS approach can tell if the relevant phenomenon is a zero, non-zero odd-order or non-zero even-order effect. We discuss systematically numerous steady-state physical phenomena, in which breaking P-T symmetry is a necessary condition. These phenomena include Odd-order or Even-order Anomalous Hall Effect, Optical activities, Directional nonreciprocity in transverse magnetic field, Diagonal or Off-diagonal current-induced magnetization (current can be associated with electrons, phonons, or light), Diagonal or Off-diagonal piezomagnetism and piezoelectricity. Some of these phenomena turn out to be conjugate to each other through P to T. Our findings unveil numerous new non-traditional candidate materials for various exotic physical phenomena, many of which have never been realized in the standard coupling term/tensorial approaches, and are a transformative and unconventional avenue for symmetry-guided materials designs and discoveries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Magnetochiral Tunneling in Paramagnetic Co$_{1/3}$NbS$_2$

Electric currents have the intriguing ability to induce magnetization in nonmagnetic crystals with sufficiently low crystallographic symmetry. Some associated phenomena include the non-linear anomalous Hall effect in polar crystals and the nonreciprocal directional dichroism in chiral crystals when magnetic fields are applied. In this work, we demonstrate that the same underlying physics is also manifested in the electronic tunneling process between the surface of a nonmagnetic chiral material and a magnetized scanning probe. In the paramagnetic but chiral metallic compound Co$_{1/3}$NbS$_2$, the magnetization induced by the tunneling current is shown to become detectable by its coupling to the magnetization of the tip itself. This results in a contrast across different chiral domains, achieving atomic-scale spatial resolution of structural chirality. To support the proposed mechanism, we used first-principles theory to compute the chirality-dependent current-induced magnetization and Berry curvature in the bulk of the material. Our demonstration of this magnetochiral tunneling effect opens up a new avenue for investigating atomic-scale variations in the local crystallographic symmetry and electronic structure across the structural domain boundaries of low-symmetry nonmagnetic crystals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Altermagnetism with Non-collinear Spins

Altermagnetism is introduced as a category of magnetic states with vanishing net magnetic moment, and consists of collinear alternating (i.e., antiferromagnetic-like) spins and alternating variations of local structures around spins in such a way that the symmetry allows ferromagnetic behaviors such as anomalous Hall effect and magneto-optical Kerr effects. Altermagnets exhibiting ferromagnetic behaviors without any external perturbations (called type-I) turn out to belong to the ferromagnetic point group, and represent a form of weak ferromagnetic states. Other altermagnets (called type-II and type-III) can have ferromagnetic behaviors only with external perturbations, which conserve parity-time reversal (PT) symmetry. All types of altermagnets themselves have broken PT symmetry. The concept of altermagnetism can be extended to accommodate multiple spin and local-structure variations (thus, include non-collinear spins), and this extended form of altermagnetism offers an intriguing opportunity to leverage complementary advantages of both ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism, and thus holds great promise for, for example, various spintronic applications.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Ultrafast simultaneous manipulation of multiple ferroic orders through nonlinear phonon excitation

Recent experimental studies have demonstrated the possibility of utilizing strong terahertz pulses to manipulate individual ferroic orders on pico- and femtosecond timescales. Here, we extend these findings and showcase the simultaneous manipulation of multiple ferroic orders in BiFeO$_3$, a material that is both ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic at room temperature. We find a concurrent enhancement of ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic second-harmonic generation (SHG) following the resonant excitation of a high-frequency fully-symmetric phonon mode. Based on first-principles calculations and phenomenological modeling, we ascribe this observation to the inherent coupling of the two ferroic orders to the nonequilibrium distortions induced in the crystal lattice by nonlinearly driven phonons. Our finding highlights the potential of nonlinear phononics as a technique for manipulating multiple ferroic order parameters at once. In addition, this approach provides a promising avenue to studying the dynamical magnetization and polarization behavior, as well as their intrinsic coupling, on ultrashort timescales.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Noncollinear magnetic order, in-plane anisotropy, and magnetoelectric coupling in a pyroelectric honeycomb antiferromagnet Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$

Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$ is a pyroelectric honeycomb antiferromagnet exhibiting peculiar changes of its electric polarization at magnetic transitions. Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$ stands out from the isostructural magnetic compounds, showing an anomalously low magnetic transition temperature and unique magnetic anisotropy. We determine the magnetic structure of Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$ utilizing high-resolution powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction. A noncollinear stripy antiferromagnetic order is found in the honeycomb planes. The magnetic space group is \textit{P$_C$na}2$_1$. The in-plane magnetic connection is of the stripy type both for the $ab$-plane and the $c$-axis spin components. This is a simpler connection than the one proposed previously. The ferromagnetic interlayer order of the $c$-axis spin components in our model is also distinct. The magnetic anisotropy of Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$ is characterized by orientation-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements on a single crystal, consistent with neutron diffraction analysis. The local magnetoelectric tensor analysis using our magnetic models provides new insights into its magnetoelectric coupling and polarization. Thus, our results deliver essential information for understanding both the unusual magnetoelectric properties of Ni$_{2}$Mo$_{3}$O$_{8}$ and the prospects for observation of exotic nonreciprocal, Hall, and magnonic effects characteristic to this compound family.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Light-induced electronic polarization in antiferromagnetic Cr2O3

In a solid, the electronic subsystem can exhibit incipient order with lower point group symmetry than the crystal lattice. External fields that couple to electronic order parameters have rarely been investigated, however, despite their potential importance to inducing exotic effects. Here, we show that when inversion symmetry is broken by the antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in Cr2O3, transmitting a linearly polarized light pulse through the crystal gives rise to an in-plane rotational symmetry breaking (from C3 to C1) via optical rectification. Using interferometric time-resolved second harmonic generation, we show that the ultrafast timescale of the symmetry reduction is indicative of a purely electronic response; the underlying spin and crystal structures remain unaffected. The symmetry-broken state exhibits a dipole moment, and its polar axis can be controlled with the incident light. Our results establish a coherent nonlinear optical protocol by which to break electronic symmetries and produce unconventional electronic effects in solids.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Hydrogen-induced tunable remanent polarization in a perovskite nickelate

Materials with field-tunable polarization are of broad interest to condensed matter sciences and solid-state device technologies. Here, using hydrogen (H) donor doping, we modify the room temperature metallic phase of a perovskite nickelate NdNiO3 into an insulating phase with both metastable dipolar polarization and space-charge polarization. We then demonstrate transient negative differential capacitance in thin film capacitors. The space-charge polarization caused by long-range movement and trapping of protons dominates when the electric field exceeds the threshold value. First-principles calculations suggest the polarization originates from the polar structure created by H doping. We find that polarization decays within ~1 second which is an interesting temporal regime for neuromorphic computing hardware design, and we implement the transient characteristics in a neural network to demonstrate unsupervised learning. These discoveries open new avenues for designing novel ferroelectric materials and electrets using light-ion doping.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Trompe L'oeil Ferromagnetism: magnetic point group analysis

Ferromagnetism can be characterized by various unique phenomena such as non-zero magnetization (inducing magnetic attraction/repulsion), diagonal piezomagnetism, nonreciprocal circular dichroism (such as Faraday effect), odd-order (including linear) anomalous Hall effect, and magneto-optical Kerr effect. We identify all broken symmetries requiring each of the above phenomena, and also the relevant magnetic point groups (MPGs) with those broken symmetries. All of ferromagnetic point groups, relevant for ferromagnets, ferri-magnets and weak ferromagnets, can certainly exhibit all of these phenomena, including non-zero magnetization. Some of true antiferromagnets, which are defined as magnets with MPGs that do not belong to ferromagnetic point groups, can display these phenomena through magnetization induced by external perturbations such as applied current, electric fields, light illumination, and strain. Such MPGs are identified for each external perturbation. Since high-density and ultrafast spintronic technologies can be enabled by antiferromagnets, our findings will be an essential guidance for the future magnetism-related science as well as technology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Kinkless electronic junction along one dimensional electronic channel

Here we report the formation of type-A and type-B electronic junctions without any structural discontinuity along a well-defined 1-nm-wide one-dimensional electronic channel within a van der Waals layer. We employ scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to investigate the atomic and electronic structure along peculiar domain walls formed on the charge-density-wave phase of 1T-TaS2. We find distinct kinds of abrupt electronic junctions with discontinuities of the band gap along the domain walls, which do not have any structural kinks and defects. Our density-functional calculations reveal a novel mechanism of the electronic junction formation; they are formed by a kinked domain wall in the layer underneath through substantial electronic interlayer coupling. This work demonstrates that the interlayer electronic coupling can be an effective control knob over several-nanometer-scale electronic property of two-dimensional atomic monolayers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Disorder-induced excitation continuum in a spin-1/2 cobaltate on a triangular lattice

A spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet is a prototypical frustrated quantum magnet, which exhibits remarkable quantum many-body effects that arise from the synergy between geometric spin frustration and quantum fluctuations. It can host quantum frustrated magnetic topological phenomena like quantum spin liquid (QSL) states, highlighted by the presence of fractionalized quasiparticles within a continuum of magnetic excitations. In this work, we use neutron scattering to study CoZnMo$_3$O$_8$, which has a triangular lattice of Jeff = 1/2 Co2+ ions with octahedral coordination. We found a wave-vector-dependent excitation continuum at low energy that disappears with increasing temperature. Although these excitations are reminiscent of a spin excitation continuum in a QSL state, their presence in CoZnMo$_3$O$_8$ originates from magnetic intersite disorder-induced dynamic spin states with peculiar excitations. Our results, therefore, give direct experimental evidence for the presence of a disorder-induced spin excitation continuum.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Topological Surface Magnetism and Neel Vector Control in a Magnetoelectric Antiferromagnet

Antiferromagnetic states with no stray magnetic fields can enable high-density ultra-fast spintronic technologies. However, the detection and control of antiferromagnetic Neel vectors remain challenging. Linear magnetoelectric antiferromagnets (LMAs) may provide new pathways, but applying simultaneous electric and magnetic fields, necessary to control Neel vectors in LMAs, is cumbersome and impractical for most applications. Herein, we show that Cr2O3, a prototypical room-temperature LMA, carries a topologically-protected surface magnetism in all surfaces, which stems from intrinsic surface electric fields due to band bending, combined with the bulk linear magnetoelectricity. Consequently, bulk Neel vectors with zero bulk magnetization can be simply tuned by magnetic fields through controlling the magnetizations associated with the surface magnetism. Our results imply that the surface magnetizations discovered in Cr2O3 should be also present in all LMAs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗