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Snehasish Nandy

Publications and source records attributed to Snehasish Nandy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Quantum Geometry Driven Optical Responses in 1T-MX$_2$ Monolayers: A Symmetry-Constrained Slater-Koster Tight-Binding Approach

Centrosymmetric 1T-MX$_2$ monolayers(MLs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their intriguing transport properties and potential technological applications arising from the interplay among quantum geometry, electronic band structure, and band-gap characteristics. Despite this rich physics, a comprehensive microscopic tight-binding(TB) description that simultaneously captures these properties remains insufficiently established, while first-principles approaches can be computationally demanding for systematic investigations across different materials and perturbations. Here, we develop a transferable eleven-band Slater-Koster TB description of ML 1T-MX$_2$ TMDs and use it to establish a connection among their microscopic electronic structure, quantum geometry, and optical response. The model is constructed in an orthogonal orbital basis from the crystal geometry and symmetry-constrained SK parameters, with material-specific parametrizations obtained from DFT calculations for ML ZrS$_2$ and HfS$_2$. The resulting geometry-based Hamiltonian accurately describes the low-energy electronic structures and provides a natural framework for extending the analysis to the broader isostructural 1T-MX$_2$ family. We find that the pristine MLs possess a finite quantum metric, with the dominant contribution concentrated in the two highest occupied bands owing to the small near-gap energy separation and strong metal-chalcogen $p$-$d$ hybridization. Furthermore, we verify the interband $f$-sum rule, which directly relates the integrated optical spectral weight to the Brillouin-zone-averaged quantum metric. Our results establish optical spectral weight as an experimentally accessible probe of the quantum geometry of occupied Bloch states and provide a unified microscopic framework for connecting electronic structure, quantum geometry, and measurable optical responses across the 1T-MX$_2$ family.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Spin-phonon interaction in a symmetry-enforced spin-polarized state

Symmetry-governed magnetic materials have emerged as a promising platform for spintronic functionalities without net magnetization or stray magnetic fields, motivating the exploration of how lattice dynamics couple to symmetry-derived spin-polarized electronic states. Understanding spin-phonon coupling in these systems is therefore essential for uncovering the microscopic origin of spin-lattice interactions and for enabling their control in quantum materials. However, this mechanism remains poorly understood because spin polarization originates from crystal symmetry rather than conventional magnetic order. Here, we address this issue in the g-type altermagnet CoNb4Se8 using temperature- and polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy, complemented by measurements on a structurally analogous Co-deficient compound lacking well-defined long-range magnetic order. We observe pronounced symmetry-selective phonon renormalization across the magnetic transition in CoNb4Se8, while related phonon anomalies persist in the Co-deficient system, demonstrating that the lattice response cannot be explained solely by conventional exchange-striction associated with coherent magnetic ordering. First-principles calculations reveal that spin-orbit coupling establishes a symmetry-dependent interaction channel between lattice vibrations and symmetry-governed electronic states. Our results identify an alternative mechanism for spin-phonon coupling in symmetry-governed magnetic materials and demonstrate that phonons provide a sensitive probe of symmetry-driven spin polarization even without robust magnetic order. More broadly, this work provides a framework for understanding and engineering spin-lattice functionality in symmetry-driven quantum materials, offering design principles for coupling lattice dynamics to spin-polarized electronic states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Giant Spin Magnetization from Quantum Geometry in Altermagnets

Altermagnets host spin-split band structures while exhibiting vanishing equilibrium spin magnetization, making field-induced responses a direct probe of their quantum geometry. A central question, in this regard, is which quantum-geometric mechanism can generate a linear spin magnetization in centrosymmetric systems. Here we develop a unified framework based on a generalized quantum geometric tensor that incorporates both momentum translations and spin rotations of Bloch states, and decompose spin magnetization into equilibrium, electric-field-driven, and magnetic-field-driven contributions. We show that inversion symmetry forbids the linear electric-field response in centrosymmetric systems, while $C_n T$ symmetry further suppresses the equilibrium contribution in altermagnets. Consequently, centrosymmetric altermagnets provide a particularly clean realization in which the magnetic-field-induced spin magnetization emerges as the only symmetry-allowed linear quantum-geometric response. We demonstrate that this contribution originates entirely from the spin-rotation quantum metric, establishing it as the sole linear quantum-geometric mechanism in such systems. Using representative centrosymmetric altermagnets, including the $d$-wave compound $\mathrm{FeSb}_2$ and the $g$-wave compound $\mathrm{CrSb}$, we show that the spin-rotation quantum metric directly controls this response. Crucially, we predict a giant linear spin magnetization of order $10^{-2}\mu_B\,\mathrm{nm}^{-3}$ at magnetic fields of $\sim 10\,\mathrm{mT}$, exceeding typical experimental values for conventional magnets by several orders of magnitude. Our results identify a universal quantum geometric mechanism of spin magnetization operative in centrosymmetric systems in general, and establish centrosymmetric altermagnets as an ideal platform for its experimental detection with potential applications in spintronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Semiclassical theory of frequency dependent linear magneto-optical transport in Weyl semimetals

We develop a semiclassical Boltzmann theory for frequency-dependent magneto-optical transport in Weyl semimetals (WSMs), incorporating momentum-dependent relaxation via a scattering matrix approach. The interplay of orbital magnetic moment, Weyl cone tilt, intervalley scattering, and electromagnetic driving is analyzed to obtain the full conductivity tensor in the presence of a static magnetic field. For untilted WSMs with orbital magnetic moment, strong intervalley scattering in the weak ac regime induces a sign reversal of the longitudinal magneto-optical conductivity (LMOC), thereby suppressing the chiral anomaly. In contrast, in the strong ac regime, intervalley scattering fails to neutralize the chiral imbalance within a driving cycle, and no sign reversal is observed. Orbital magnetic moment induces linear magnetic-field contributions, while chiral anomaly yields quadratic response accompanied by expected angular profiles. Tilt direction and orientation strongly affect LMOC such as, transverse tilt gives symmetric non-monotonic behavior, whereas parallel tilt leads to asymmetric, nearly monotonic response. Notably, negative LMOC arises intrinsically for parallel tilt, but requires orbital magnetic moment for transverse tilt. These results highlight frequency-dependent conductivity as a sensitive probe of chiral relaxation in MHz-THz magneto-optical experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetic field Controlled Anderson Delocalization in a Spinful Non-Hermitian Chain

Anderson localization (AL) and the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) represent two paradigmatic localization phenomena driven, respectively, by disorder and non-Hermiticity. In one-dimensional (1D) non-Hermitian systems, these factors are known to compete and provide a smooth crossover between AL and NHSE upon parameter tuning. Here, we show that this interplay is fundamentally enriched in spinful systems, where an external magnetic field acts as an additional degree to manipulate the localization behavior. By investigating a disordered 1D spinful non-Hermitian chain, we demonstrate that under appropriately correlated disorder configurations across spin sectors, the magnetic field enhances the AL $\rightarrow$ NHSE crossover. Interestingly, this facilitates the Anderson delocalization transition even in strongly disordered systems where states would otherwise be Anderson localized. By analyzing the inverse participation ratio and the mean center of mass, we map the resulting triple interplay between disorder, non-Hermiticity, and the magnetic field strength, identifying regimes of Anderson localization and skin accumulation. We further reveal that this magnetic field driven delocalization phenomenon originates from an effective suppression of disorder strength via Zeeman-induced inter-chain coupling across the spin sectors.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Probing persistent spin textures through nonlinear magnetotransport

Persistent spin textures (PST) are special spin configurations in spin-orbit-coupled systems in which the spin polarization acquires a symmetry-enforced momentum-independent orientation, leading to exceptionally long spin lifetimes and persistent spin helices. Identifying direct experimental probes of PST, however, remains challenging because conventional quantum-geometric responses are strongly suppressed in this regime. Here, we show that PST systems isolate spin-rotation quantum geometry, which manifests through distinctive nonlinear magnetotransport responses. Using both a fine-tuned Rashba-Dresselhaus two-dimensional electron gas and a symmetry-enforced cubic spin-splitting model realizing PST, we demonstrate that PST suppresses conventional and Zeeman quantum-geometric contributions, leaving the spin-rotation quantum geometric tensor as the sole source of nonlinear magnetic-current and spin-magnetization responses. Remarkably, the nonvanishing response components exhibit identical direction-independent behavior as a function of chemical potential, providing a distinctive signature of PST. We further show that, in the Rashba-Dresselhaus two-dimensional electron gas at the PST point, these qualitative signatures remain robust even in the presence of a cubic Dresselhaus term that breaks the exact SU(2) symmetry. Our results establish nonlinear magnetotransport as an experimentally accessible probe of PST and their underlying spin-rotation quantum geometry.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Quantum geometry-driven photogalvanic responses in semi-Dirac systems

The photogalvanic effect (PGE), a fundamental nonlinear optical phenomenon in non-centrosymmetric materials, generates direct photocurrent under polarized light. Using quantum kinetic theory within the relaxation-time approximation, we theoretically investigate the PGE as a probe of quantum geometry in anisotropic type-I and type-II semi-Dirac (SD) systems, characterized by distinct electronic structures. We systematically analyse various microscopic contributions to the PGE conductivity, including injection, shift, resonance, higher-order pole, and anomalous terms, and emphasize their connections to different quantum geometric quantities, namely, Berry curvature, quantum metric, and metric connection. By studying the frequency and chemical-potential dependence of the PGE conductivity in SD systems, we find that the optical conductivities in the type-II case are significantly enhanced relative to those in type-I. For the circular PGE (CPGE), Berry-curvature-driven contributions remain qualitatively similar in both phases, whereas the linear PGE (LPGE) displays clear qualitative differences. In particular, the $xxx$ component of the shift conductivity in the type-II phase reverses sign upon tuning the perturbation parameter $\delta$, providing a direct signature of the Lifshitz transition. In contrast, other components remain sign-invariant, as in type-I SD systems. These combined CPGE and LPGE signatures provide an unambiguous distinction between the two SD phases. The predicted effects, realizable in TiO$_2$/VO$_2$ heterostructures, establish PGE as a sensitive probe of quantum geometry with potential applications in polarization-selective photodetection, optical rectification, and next-generation optoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Intrinsic Nonlinear Gyrotropic Magnetic Effect Governed by Spin-Rotation Quantum Geometry

Nonlinear magnetic response driven by time-periodic magnetic fields offers a distinct route to probe spin-resolved quantum geometry beyond conventional electric-field-driven nonlinear effects. While linear magnetic responses depend on the Zeeman quantum geometric tensor, the influence of generalized spin-rotation quantum geometries on nonlinear responses has not been established. Here, we develop a microscopic quantum-kinetic framework to elucidate how the Zeeman and spin-rotation quantum geometric tensors govern nonlinear gyrotropic magnetic transport in two-dimensional systems. We derive second-order gyrotropic magnetic currents and reveal a distinct geometric separation: the off-diagonal sector is controlled by the Zeeman symplectic and metric connections, whereas the diagonal sector is dictated by the spin-rotation quantum metric and Berry curvature. This identifies the spin-rotation quantum geometric tensor as a fundamental geometric quantity unique to the nonlinear regime. Applying our theory to massless Dirac fermions, hexagonally warped topological insulator surface states, tilted massive Dirac fermions, and parity-time symmetric CuMnAs, we demonstrate how specific symmetries selectively activate conduction and displacement channels. Our findings link spin-resolved quantum geometry to nonlinear magnetic transport, offering design principles for engineering tailored nonlinear magnetic responses in optoelectronic and spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Gyrotropic Fingerprints of Magnetic Topological Insulator-Unconventional Magnet Interfaces

Unambiguously identifying unconventional magnetic orders requires probes that are directly sensitive to their momentum-dependent spin-split band structures. Here, we employ a framework based on Zeeman quantum geometry to study magnetotransport at the interface between a magnetic topological insulator and an unconventional magnetic insulator. By choosing the magnetic layer to be insulating, we ensure that the transport response originates solely from the proximity-induced magnetic exchange field, eliminating contributions from itinerant magnetic carriers. We focus on the linear intrinsic gyrotropic magnetic (IGM) response, which naturally decomposes into conduction and displacement current components governed by the Zeeman Berry curvature and the Zeeman quantum metric, respectively. We uncover a universal hierarchy in which the transverse displacement IGM response exhibits characteristic even-fold angular harmonics for magnetic orders ranging from $p$- to $i$-wave, while the longitudinal IGM response distinguishes the parity of the magnetic order through robust sign-reversal patterns. In contrast, the conduction IGM component remains largely insensitive to the underlying magnetic symmetry. Consequently, the displacement IGM current emerges as a high-fidelity symmetry fingerprint of unconventional magnetic order. Using realistic parameter estimates for experimentally accessible heterostructures, we demonstrate that these signatures are well within measurable ranges, establishing Zeeman quantum geometry as a powerful and general framework for characterizing unconventional magnetic insulators via their gyrotropic transport responses.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Approximate half-integer quantization in anomalous planar transport in $d$-wave altermagnets

We investigate anomalous planar transport phenomena in a recently identified class of collinear magnetic materials known as $d$-wave altermagnets. The anomalous planar effects manifest in a configuration when the applied electric field/temperature gradient, magnetic field, and the measured Hall voltage are all co-planar, but the planar magnetic field is instrumental in breaking $\hat{C}_{4z}\hat{\mathcal{T}}$ symmetry of the $d$-wave altermagnet, where $\hat{\mathcal{T}}$ is the time reversal operator, resulting in a Zeeman gap at a shifted Dirac node and a nonzero Berry curvature monopole. We demonstrate that these systems exhibit nearly half-quantized anomalous planar Hall and planar thermal Hall effects at low temperatures that persist over a range of magnetic fields. The angular dependence of the planar transport reveals a $\cos2ϕ$ dependence on the magnetic field direction, where $ϕ$ is the azimuthal angle made by the magnetic field. We also discuss the anomalous planar Nernst effect, or transverse thermopower, and demonstrate that the Nernst conductivity peaks when the chemical potential lies just outside the induced Zeeman gap and vanishes within the gap. We further explore the dependence of all three coefficients on the polar and the azimuthal angle of the magnetic field when it is rotated in the full $3D$ space. Our results reveal the presence of approximately half-quantized anomalous planar thermal Hall plateau for a range of in-plane magnetic fields without requiring topological superconductivity and conducting Majorana modes, and can be probed in experiments in $d$-wave altermagnets.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Electric field induced Berry curvature dipole and non-linear anomalous Hall effects in higher wave symmetric unconventional magnets

We investigate the second-order anomalous Hall response in two-dimensional higher-wave symmetric magnets, including the recently discovered class of collinear magnets known as altermagnets, when subjected to a symmetry-breaking external electric field. In these systems, the first- and second-order anomalous Hall responses mediated by the first- and second-order multipoles of the Berry curvature over the occupied states vanish by symmetry. However, a symmetry-breaking dc electric field can induce a nonzero Berry curvature dipole by coupling to a non-vanishing quantum metric, also known as the Berry connection polarizability. An applied ac electric field can then generate a finite nonlinear transverse Hall effect characterized by a second harmonic response. In addition, the dc field itself can generate a finite third-order transverse Hall response. We discuss this remarkable effect in a class of higher-order symmetric unconventional magnets (of $p$, $d$, $f$, $g$, $i$ symmetry), including the subclass of altermagnets. We demonstrate that the electric-field-induced anomalous Hall effect in the higher-wave-symmetric magnets can serve not only as a probe of the underlying quantum metric of the occupied states but also as a means to distinguish the even ($d$-,$g$-wave) and odd ($p$-wave) order parameter symmetries defined on the square lattice.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Zeeman Quantum Geometry as a Probe of Unconventional Magnetism

Unconventional magnets with momentum-dependent spin-splitting but zero net magnetization form a recently identified class of collinear magnets that are challenging to probe via conventional means. We show that these systems can be distinguished through their intrinsic gyrotropic magnetic (IGM) currents, enabled by the Zeeman quantum geometry, which captures the coupled response of electronic states to momentum translation and spin rotation. Examining two prototypical two-dimensional unconventional magnets with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, a time-reversal-broken $d$-wave altermagnet and a time-reversal-symmetric $p$-wave magnet, we uncover a direct link between crystalline symmetry, spin-split band structures, and transport signatures. The $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave altermagnet exhibits both transverse conduction and longitudinal displacement IGM currents, whereas the $p$-wave magnet supports only a transverse conduction IGM current. Remarkably, the mixed $d$-wave altermagnet supports all four types of IGM currents, including a longitudinal conduction current enabled by symmetric (Zeeman) Berry curvature that is forbidden in conventional quantum geometry. These responses, measurable via Hall transport and optical probes, persist even when conventional quantum geometry-driven linear responses vanish, offering unique access to hidden spin-split band structures. Our results establish Zeeman quantum geometry as both a diagnostic tool and a design principle for novel magnetic materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Gauge Field Induced Unconventional Skin Effect in Spinful Non-Hermitian Systems

The non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE), a hallmark of non-Hermitian systems, stems from the topological nature of complex energy spectra, typically characterized by a non-zero spectral winding number. Beyond the spinless frameworks considered so far, here we realize a generic, tunable spinful NHSE in a 1D tight-binding lattice endowed with spin-dependent Abelian gauge fields. With proper tuning of the gauge parameter, we uncover an emergence of bidirected, spin-polarized zero-winding skin states, appearing in the absence of transpose-type time-reversal symmetry (T RS†) and featuring scale-restricted localization with non-Bloch spectral stability. While clearly distinct from the known Z2 and Critical NHSEs, these unconventional skin states evolve into them upon enforcing TRS† and introducing inter-spin coupling via magnetic fields, respectively. The magnetic field further drives a transition from a bidirectional to a unidirectional skin configuration. Our work unifies the previously known zero-winding NHSEs within a broader framework and provides experimentally accessible routes for realization in photonic and ultracold atomic systems with synthetic gauge fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Unveiling Novel Resonant Interband Contribution to Polarizability in three-dimensional systems

Polarizability plays an essential role in characterizing key phenomena, such as the screening effects, collective excitations, and dielectric functions present in the system. In three-dimensional materials, it typically comprises an intraband contribution, dependent on the chemical potential, and an interband contribution, largely independent of it. In this study, within the random phase approximation framework, we uncover a novel interband contribution that, unlike the conventional case, exhibits an explicit dependence on the chemical potential, which has no counterpart in two dimensions. In the long-wavelength limit, this term introduces a resonance feature with cubic wave-vector dependence when the chemical potential approaches the band edge, in contrast to the quadratic behavior characteristic of standard intraband and interband processes. Focusing on three-dimensional Dirac nodal line semimetals, we show that the polarizability is intraband-dominated at low frequencies, while interband processes prevail at intermediate and high frequencies, with the overall response being tunable via the chemical potential. Material-specific estimates for Ca$_3$P$_2$ and ZrSiS reveal a strong tunability of both contributions. These findings open new directions for probing frequency-dependent dielectric properties and hold promise for applications in tunable plasmonic and optoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Fingerprint of Non-Hermiticity in d-wave Altermagnet

We develop the non-Hermitian counterpart of a new class of collinear magnets, dubbed altermagnets, delineated by net zero magnetization with momentum-dependent spin-splitting bands. The application of an imaginary gauge field in a two-dimensional $d$-wave altermagnet injects a non-reciprocal intercell hopping without hosting exceptional points (EPs). This non-Hermitian phase hosts a point gap which remains robust in the presence and absence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling. By attaching a ferromagnetic lead with the altermagnet, we uncover the emergence of two pairs of second-order EPs. We establish that each of the EPs is associated with a half-integer quantized topological charge, a hallmark signature of the non-Hermitian topology. The existence of this non-Hermitian exceptional phase has been further confirmed by linear variation with the respective momentum and coalescence of the spin expectation value at the EPs. Finally, we demonstrate that the application of a planar magnetic field to the junction not only tunes the location of the EPs but also can annihilate a single pair or even all pairs of EPs with opposite topological charges depending upon the field strength and direction.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Role of Disorder in Third-order Anomalous Hall Effect in Time-reversal Symmetric Systems

The third-order anomalous Hall effect (TOAHE) driven by Berry connection polarizability in Dirac materials offers a promising avenue for exploring quantum geometric phenomena. We investigate the role of impurity scattering on TOAHE using the semiclassical Boltzmann framework, via a comparison of the intrinsic contributions (stemming from the Berry connection polarizability) with the extrinsic contributions caused by the disorder. To validate our theoretical findings, we employ a generalized two-dimensional low-energy Dirac model to analytically assess the intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the TOAHE. Our analysis reveals distinct disorder-mediated effects, including skew-scattering and side-jump contributions. We also elucidate their intriguing dependencies on Fermi surface anisotropy and discuss opportunities for experimental exploration.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Topological Optical Pseudospin Injection Beyond Weyl Semimetals

Photoinduced effects are now reckoned to be important tools to reveal a rich gamut of entrancing physics in topological materials, which are normally inaccessible to conventional probes. Here we investigate one of these intriguing effects, namely, optical pseudospin injection (OPI) beyond ordinary Weyl semimetals (WSMs), specifically in multi-WSMs (mWSMs) and higher-order WSMs. Remarkably, we demonstrate that OPI in mWSMs is independent of the frequency of the light and linearly proportional to the quantized topological charge as a consequence of the inherent band linearity in their dispersions. Interestingly, while the response does not depend on the tilting of a type-I node, it is a decreasing function of the same in type-II mWSMs. We also reveal that the frequency independence can be destroyed either by going beyond a certain cutoff frequency under lattice regularization or by going to a higher-order Weyl phase. The predicted signatures of OPI beyond the ordinary WSM could be experimentally exploited, leading to effective access as well as distinguishing between different nontrivial Weyl topologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Nonlinear anomalous transverse responses induced by Berry curvature quadrupole in systems with broken time-reversal symmetry

Recent theoretical work has shown that higher-order moments of the Berry curvature, e.g., Berry curvature quadrupole and hexapole moments, can produce the leading order nonlinear anomalous Hall response (NLAH) in systems with special magnetic point group symmetry. Recent experimental work has reported the observation of the Berry curvature quadrupole-induced third-order NLAH (i.e., Hall voltage proportional to the third power of the external electric field) from cryogenic conditions to room temperature in an epitaxially grown material platform with broken time-reversal symmetry. In this paper, using semiclassical Boltzmann formalism in the relaxation time approximation, we compute the Berry curvature quadrupole-induced nonlinear anomalous thermal Hall and Nernst coefficients in time-reversal broken systems. In systems where Berry curvature monopole and dipole moments vanish by symmetry, our results predict the behavior of the leading order anomalous thermal Hall and Nernst coefficients proportional to the third power of the applied longitudinal temperature gradient. They are guaranteed to exist in systems that have already exhibited the third-order nonlinear anomalous Hall effect in recent experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall