arXiv subjects

Shou-Cheng Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Shou-Cheng Zhang.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Nonlocal edge state transport in the quantum spin Hall state

We present direct experimental evidence for nonlocal transport in HgTe quantum wells in the quantum spin Hall regime, in the absence of any external magnetic field. The data conclusively show that the non-dissipative quantum transport occurs through edge channels, while the contacts lead to equilibration between the counter-propagating spin states at the edge. We show that the experimental data agree quantitatively with the theory of the quantum spin Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Emergence of the persistent spin helix in semiconductor quantum wells

According to Noethers theorem, for every symmetry in nature there is a corresponding conservation law. For example, invariance with respect to spatial translation corresponds to conservation of momentum. In another well-known example, invariance with respect to rotation of the electrons spin, or SU(2) symmetry, leads to conservation of spin polarization. For electrons in a solid, this symmetry is ordinarily broken by spin-orbit coupling, allowing spin angular momentum to flow to orbital angular momentum. However, it has recently been predicted that SU(2) can be achieved in a two-dimensional electron gas, despite the presence of spin-orbit coupling. The corresponding conserved quantities include the amplitude and phase of a helical spin density wave termed the persistent spin helix. SU(2) is realized, in principle, when the strength of two dominant spin-orbit interactions, the Rashba (strength parameterized by α) and linear Dresselhaus (β_1), are equal. This symmetry is predicted to be robust against all forms of spin-independent scattering, including electron-electron interactions, but is broken by the cubic Dresselhaus term (β_3) and spin-dependent scattering. When these terms are negligible, the distance over which spin information can propagate is predicted to diverge as αapproaches β_1. Here we observe experimentally the emergence of the persistent spin helix in GaAs quantum wells by independently tuning αand β_1. Using transient spin-grating spectroscopy, we find a spin-lifetime enhancement of two orders of magnitude near the symmetry point.........

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Electronic Structures and Surface States of Topological Insulator Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_{x}$

We investigate the electronic structures of the alloyed Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$ compounds based on first-principle calculations including spin-orbit coupling (SOC), and calculate the surface states of semi-infinite systems using maximally localized Wannier function (MLWF). From the calculated results, we analyze the topological nature of Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$, and found the followings: (1) pure Bi crystal is topologically trivial; (2) topologically non-trivial phase can be realized by reducing the strength of SOC via Sb doping; (3) the indirect bulk band gap, which is crucial to realize the true bulk insulating phase, can be enhanced by uniaxial pressure along c axis. (4) The calculated surface states can be compared with experimental results, which confirms the topological nature; (5) We predict the spin-resolved Fermi surfaces and showed the vortex structures, which should be examined by future experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Topological Insulators at Room Temperature

Topological insulators are new states of quantum matter with surface states protected by the time-reversal symmetry. In this work, we perform first-principle electronic structure calculations for $Sb_2Te_3$, $Sb_2Se_3$, $Bi_2Te_3$ and $Bi_2Se_3$ crystals. Our calculations predict that $Sb_2Te_3$, $Bi_2Te_3$ and $Bi_2Se_3$ are topological insulators, while $Sb_2Se_3$ is not. In particular, $Bi_2Se_3$ has a topologically non-trivial energy gap of $0.3 eV$, suitable for room temperature applications. We present a simple and unified continuum model which captures the salient topological features of this class of materials. These topological insulators have robust surface states consisting of a single Dirac cone at the $Γ$ point.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Seeing the magnetic monopole through the mirror of topological surface states

Existence of the magnetic monopole is compatible with the fundamental laws of nature, however, this illusive particle has yet to be detected experimentally. In this work, we show that an electric charge near the topological surface state induces an image magnetic monopole charge due to the topological magneto-electric effect. The magnetic field generated by the image magnetic monopole can be experimentally measured, and the inverse square law of the field dependence can be determined quantitatively. We propose that this effect can be used to experimentally realize a gas of quantum particles carrying fractional statistics, consisting of the bound states of the electric charge and the image magnetic monopole charge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Algebraic spin liquid in an exactly solvable spin model

We have proposed an exactly solvable quantum spin-3/2 model on a square lattice. Its ground state is a quantum spin liquid with a half integer spin per unit cell. The fermionic excitations are gapless with a linear dispersion, while the topological "vison" excitations are gapped. Moreover, the massless Dirac fermions are stable. Thus, this model is, to the best of our knowledge, the first exactly solvable model of half-integer spins whose ground state is an "algebraic spin liquid."

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Field-induced Gap and Quantized Charge Pumping in Nano-helix

We propose several novel physical phenomena based on nano-scale helical wires. Applying a static electric field transverse to the helical wire induces a metal to insulator transition, with the band gap determined by the applied voltage. Similar idea can be applied to "geometrically" constructing one-dimensional systems with arbitrary external potential. With a quadrupolar electrode configuration, the electric field could rotate in the transverse plane, leading to a quantized dc charge current proportional to the frequency of the rotation. Such a device could be used as a new standard for the high precession measurement of the electric current. The inverse effect implies that passing an electric current through a helical wire in the presence of a transverse static electric field can lead to a mechanical rotation of the helix. This effect can be used to construct nano-scale electro-mechanical motors. Finally, our methodology also enables new ways of controlling and measuring the electronic properties of helical biological molecules such as the DNA.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Magnetic impurities on the surface of a topological insulator

The surface states of a topological insulator are described by an emergent relativistic massless Dirac equation in 2+1 dimensions. In contrast to graphene, there is an odd number of Dirac points, and the electron spin is directly coupled to the momentum. We show that a magnetic impurity opens up a local gap and suppresses the local density of states. Furthermore, the Dirac electronic states mediate an RKKY interaction among the magnetic impurities which is always ferromagnetic, whenever the chemical potential lies near the Dirac point. These effects can be directly measured in STM experiments. We also study the case of quenched disorder through a renormalization group analysis.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Pairing strengths for a two orbital model of the Fe-pnictides

Using an RPA approximation, we have calculated the strengths of the singlet and triplet pairing interactions which arise from the exchange of spin and orbital fluctuations for a 2-orbital model of the Fe-pnictide superconductors. When the system is doped with F, the electron pockets become dominant and we find that the strongest pairing occurs in the singlet d-wave pairing and the triplet p-wave pairing channels, which compete closely. The pairing structure in the singlet d-wave channel corresponds to a superposition of near neighbor intra-orbital singlets with a minus sign phase difference between the $d_{xz}$ and $d_{yz}$ pairs. The leading pairing configuration in the triplet channel also involves a nearest neighbor intra-orbital pairing. We find that the strengths of both the singlet and triplet pairing grow, with the singlet pairing growing faster, as the onsite Coulomb interaction approaches the value where the S=1 particle-hole susceptibility diverges.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

A minimal two-band model for the superconducting Fe-pnictides

Following the discovery of the Fe-pnictide superconductors, LDA band structure calculations showed that the dominant contributions to the spectral weight near the Fermi energy came from the Fe 3d orbitals. The Fermi surface is characterized by two hole surfaces around the $Γ$ point and two electron surfaces around the M point of the 2 Fe/cell Brillouin zone. Here, we describe a 2-band model that reproduces the topology of the LDA Fermi surface and exhibits both ferromagnetic and $q=(π,0)$ spin density wave (SDW) fluctuations. We argue that this minimal model contains the essential low energy physics of these materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Topological Superconductivity and Superfluidity

We construct time reversal invariant topological superconductors and superfluids in two and three dimensions which are analogous to the recently discovered quantum spin Hall and three-d $Z_2$ topological insulators respectively. These states have a full pairing gap in the bulk, gapless counter-propagating Majorana states at the boundary, and a pair of Majorana zero modes associated with each vortex. We show that the time reversal symmetry naturally emerges as a supersymmetry, which changes the parity of the fermion number associated with each time-reversal invariant vortex. In the presence of external T-breaking fields, non-local topological correlation is established among these fields, which is an experimentally observable manifestation of the emergent supersymmetry.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Topological Field Theory of Time-Reversal Invariant Insulators

We show that the fundamental time reversal invariant (TRI) insulator exists in 4+1 dimensions, where the effective field theory is described by the 4+1 dimensional Chern-Simons theory and the topological properties of the electronic structure is classified by the second Chern number. These topological properties are the natural generalizations of the time reversal breaking (TRB) quantum Hall insulator in 2+1 dimensions. The TRI quantum spin Hall insulator in 2+1 dimensions and the topological insulator in 3+1 dimension can be obtained as descendants from the fundamental TRI insulator in 4+1 dimensions through a dimensional reduction procedure. The effective topological field theory, and the $Z_2$ topological classification for the TRI insulators in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions are naturally obtained from this procedure. All physically measurable topological response functions of the TRI insulators are completely described by the effective topological field theory. Our effective topological field theory predicts a number of novel and measurable phenomena, the most striking of which is the topological magneto-electric effect, where an electric field generates a magnetic field in the same direction, with an universal constant of proportionality quantized in odd multiples of the fine structure constant $α=e^2/\hbar c$. Finally, we present a general classification of all topological insulators in various dimensions, and describe them in terms of a unified topological Chern-Simons field theory in phase space.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Hg$_{1-y}$Mn$_{y}$Te Quantum Wells

The quantum Hall effect is usually observed when the two-dimensional electron gas is subjected to an external magnetic field, so that their quantum states form Landau levels. In this work we predict that a new phenomenon, the quantum anomalous Hall effect, can be realized in Hg$_{1-y}$Mn$_{y}$Te quantum wells, without the external magnetic field and the associated Landau levels. This effect arises purely from the spin polarization of the $Mn$ atoms, and the quantized Hall conductance is predicted for a range of quantum well thickness and the concentration of the $Mn$ atoms. This effect enables dissipationless charge current in spintronics devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Inverted Type II Semiconductors

The quantum spin Hall (QSH) state is a topologically non-trivial state of quantum matter which preserves time-reversal symmetry; it has an energy gap in the bulk, but topologically robust gapless states at the edge. Recently, this novel effect has been predicted and observed in HgTe quantum wells. In this work we predict a similar effect arising in Type-II semiconductor quantum wells made from InAs/GaSb/AlSb. Because of a rare band alignment the quantum well band structure exhibits an "inverted" phase similar to CdTe/HgTe quantum wells, which is a QSH state when the Fermi level lies inside the gap. Due to the asymmetric structure of this quantum well, the effects of inversion symmetry breaking and inter-layer charge transfer are essential. By standard self-consistent calculations, we show that the QSH state persists when these corrections are included, and a quantum phase transition between the normal insulator and the QSH phase can be electrically tuned by the gate voltage.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Spin Charge Separation in the Quantum Spin Hall State

The quantum spin Hall state is a topologically non-trivial insulator state protected by the time reversal symmetry. We show that such a state always leads to spin-charge separation in the presence of a $π$ flux. Our result is generally valid for any interacting system. We present a proposal to experimentally observe the phenomenon of spin-charge separation in the recently discovered quantum spin Hall system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

The Quantum Spin Hall Effect: Theory and Experiment

The search for topologically non-trivial states of matter has become an important goal for condensed matter physics. Recently, a new class of topological insulators has been proposed. These topological insulators have an insulating gap in the bulk, but have topologically protected edge states due to the time reversal symmetry. In two dimensions the helical edge states give rise to the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, in the absence of any external magnetic field. Here we review a recent theory which predicts that the QSH state can be realized in HgTe/CdTe semiconductor quantum wells. By varying the thickness of the quantum well, the band structure changes from a normal to an "inverted" type at a critical thickness $d_c$. We present an analytical solution of the helical edge states and explicitly demonstrate their topological stability. We also review the recent experimental observation of the QSH state in HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells. We review both the fabrication of the sample and the experimental setup. For thin quantum wells with well width $d_{QW}< 6.3$ nm, the insulating regime shows the conventional behavior of vanishingly small conductance at low temperature. However, for thicker quantum wells ($d_{QW}> 6.3$ nm), the nominally insulating regime shows a plateau of residual conductance close to $2e^2/h$. The residual conductance is independent of the sample width, indicating that it is caused by edge states. Furthermore, the residual conductance is destroyed by a small external magnetic field. The quantum phase transition at the critical thickness, $d_c= 6.3$ nm, is also independently determined from the occurrence of a magnetic field induced insulator to metal transition.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Fractional Charge and Quantized Current in the Quantum Spin Hall State

A profound manifestation of topologically non-trivial states of matter is the occurrence of fractionally charged elementary excitations. The quantum spin Hall insulator state is a fundamentally novel quantum state of matter that exists at zero external magnetic field. In this work, we show that a magnetic domain wall at the edge of the quantum spin Hall insulator carries one half of the unit of electron charge, and we propose an experiment to directly measure this fractional charge on an individual basis. We also show that as an additional consequence, a rotating magnetic field can induce a quantized dc electric current, and vice versa.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells

Recent theory predicted that the Quantum Spin Hall Effect, a fundamentally novel quantum state of matter that exists at zero external magnetic field, may be realized in HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells. We have fabricated such sample structures with low density and high mobility in which we can tune, through an external gate voltage, the carrier conduction from n-type to the p-type, passing through an insulating regime. For thin quantum wells with well width d < 6.3 nm, the insulating regime shows the conventional behavior of vanishingly small conductance at low temperature. However, for thicker quantum wells (d > 6.3 nm), the nominally insulating regime shows a plateau of residual conductance close to 2e^2/h. The residual conductance is independent of the sample width, indicating that it is caused by edge states. Furthermore, the residual conductance is destroyed by a small external magnetic field. The quantum phase transition at the critical thickness, d = 6.3 nm, is also independently determined from the magnetic field induced insulator to metal transition. These observations provide experimental evidence of the quantum spin Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗