arXiv subjects

Stephan Rachel

Publications and source records attributed to Stephan Rachel.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Quantum Engineering of Majorana Fermions

Chiral superconductors have the ability to host topologically protected Majorana zero modes which have been proposed as future qubits for topological quantum computing. The recently introduced magnet--superconductor hybrid (MSH) systems consisting of magnetic adatoms deposited on the surface of conventional $s$-wave superconductors represent a promising candidate for the creation, detection, and manipulation of Majorana modes via scanning tunneling microscopy techniques. Here, we present four examples demonstrating the ability to engineer Majorana fermions in nanoscopic MSH systems by using atomic manipulation techniques to change the system's shape or magnetic structure. This allows for the dimensional tuning of Majorana modes between one and two dimensions, the identification of the system's topological invariant -- the Chern number -- in real space, the creation of chiral Majorana modes of arbitrary length and shape along magnetic domain boundaries, and the creation of a topological switch using magnetic skyrmions. These examples of Majorana fermion engineering can be realised with current experimental techniques and will promise new avenues for the first prototypes of Majorana-based quantum devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Interacting topological insulators: a review

The discovery of the quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators more than a decade ago has revolutionized modern condensed matter physics. Today, the field of topological states of matter is one of the most active and fruitful research areas for both experimentalists and theorists. The physics of topological insulators is typically well described by band theory and systems of non-interacting fermions. In contrast, several of the most fascinating effects in condensed matter physics merely exist due to electron-electron interactions, examples include unconventional superconductivity, the Kondo effect, and the Mott-Hubbard transition. The aim of this review article is to give an overview of the manifold directions which emerge when topological bandstructures and correlation physics interfere and compete. These include the study of the stability of topological bandstructures and correlated topological insulators. Interaction-induced topological phases such as the topological Kondo insulator provide another exciting topic. More exotic states of matter such as topological Mott insulator and fractional Chern insulators only exist due to the interplay of topology and strong interactions and do not have any bandstructure analogue. Eventually the relation between topological bandstructures and frustrated quantum magnetism in certain transition metal oxides is emphasized.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Atomic-Scale Interface Engineering of Majorana Edge Modes in a 2D Magnet-Superconductor Hybrid System

Topological superconductors are predicted to harbor exotic boundary states - Majorana zero-energy modes - whose non-Abelian braiding statistics present a new paradigm for the realization of topological quantum computing. Using low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), we here report on the direct real-space visualization of chiral Majorana edge states in a monolayer topological superconductor, a prototypical magnet-superconductor hybrid system comprised of nano-scale Fe islands of monoatomic height on a Re(0001)-O(2$\times$1) surface. In particular, we demonstrate that interface engineering by an atomically thin oxide layer is crucial for driving the hybrid system into a topologically non-trivial state as confirmed by theoretical calculations of the topological invariant, the Chern number.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Exact Excited States of Non-Integrable Models

We discuss a method of numerically identifying exact energy eigenstates for a finite system, whose form can then be obtained analytically. We demonstrate our method by identifying and deriving exact analytic expressions for several excited states, including an infinite tower, of the one dimensional spin-1 AKLT model, a celebrated non-integrable model. The states thus obtained for the AKLT model can be interpreted as one-to-an extensive number of quasiparticles on the ground state or on the highest excited state when written in terms of dimers. Included in these exact states is a tower of states spanning energies from the ground state to the highest excited state. To our knowledge, this is the first time that exact analytic expressions for a tower of excited states have been found in non-integrable models. Some of the states of the tower appear to be in the bulk of the energy spectrum, allowing us to make conjectures on the strong Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH). We also generalize these exact states including the tower of states to the generalized integer spin AKLT models. Furthermore, we establish a correspondence between some of our states and those of the Majumdar-Ghosh model, yet another non-integrable model, and extend our construction to the generalized integer spin AKLT models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Cluster-glass phase in pyrochlore XY antiferromagnets with quenched disorder

We study the impact of quenched disorder (random exchange couplings or site dilution) on easy-plane pyrochlore antiferromagnets. In the clean system, order-by-disorder selects a magnetically ordered state from a classically degenerate manifold. In the presence of randomness, however, different orders can be chosen locally depending on details of the disorder configuration. Using a combination of analytical considerations and classical Monte-Carlo simulations, we argue that any long-range-ordered magnetic state is destroyed beyond a critical level of randomness where the system breaks into magnetic domains due to random exchange anisotropies, becoming, therefore, a glass of spin clusters, in accordance with the available experimental data. These random anisotropies originate from off-diagonal exchange couplings in the microscopic Hamiltonian, establishing their relevance to other magnets with strong spin-orbit coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Pressure-tuned magnetic interactions in honeycomb Kitaev materials

A range of honeycomb-lattice compounds has been proposed and investigated in the search for a topological Kitaev spin liquid. However, sizable Heisenberg interactions and additional symmetry-allowed exchange anisotropies in the magnetic Hamiltonian of these potential Kitaev materials push them away from the pure Kitaev spin-liquid state. Particularly the Kitaev-to-Heisenberg coupling ratio is essential in this respect. With the help of advanced quantum-chemistry methods, we explore how the magnetic coupling ratios depend on pressure in several honeycomb compounds (Na$_2$IrO$_3$, $β$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, and $α$-RuCl$_3$). We find that the Heisenberg and Kitaev terms are affected differently by uniform pressure or strain: the Kitaev component increases more rapidly than the Heisenberg counterpart. This provides a scenario where applying pressure or strain can stabilize a spin liquid in such materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Signatures of a gearwheel quantum spin liquid in a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ pyrochlore molybdate Heisenberg antiferromagnet

We theoretically investigate the low-temperature phase of the recently synthesized Lu$_2$Mo$_2$O$_5$N$_2$ material, an extraordinarily rare realization of a $S=1/2$ three-dimensional pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet in which Mo$^{5+}$ are the $S=1/2$ magnetic species. Despite a Curie-Weiss temperature ($Θ_{\rm CW}$) of $-121(1)$ K, experiments have found no signature of magnetic ordering $or$ spin freezing down to $T^*\approx0.5$ K. Using density functional theory, we find that the compound is well described by a Heisenberg model with exchange parameters up to third nearest neighbors. The analysis of this model via the pseudofermion functional renormalization group method reveals paramagnetic behavior down to a temperature of at least $T=|Θ_{\rm CW}|/100$, in agreement with the experimental findings hinting at a possible three-dimensional quantum spin liquid. The spin susceptibility profile in reciprocal space shows momentum-dependent features forming a "gearwheel" pattern, characterizing what may be viewed as a molten version of a chiral noncoplanar incommensurate spiral order under the action of quantum fluctuations. Our calculated reciprocal space susceptibility maps provide benchmarks for future neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of Lu$_2$Mo$_2$O$_5$N$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Three-band Hubbard model for Na$_2$IrO$_3$: Topological insulator, zigzag antiferromagnet, and Kitaev-Heisenberg material

Na$_2$IrO$_3$ was one of the first materials proposed to feature the Kane-Mele type topological insulator phase. Contemporaneously it was claimed that the very same material is in a Mott insulating phase which is described by the Kitaev-Heisenberg (KH) model. First experiments indeed revealed Mott insulating behavior in conjunction with antiferromagnetic long-range order. Further refined experiments established antiferromagnetic order of zigzag type which is not captured by the KH model. Since then several extensions and modifications of the KH model were proposed in order to describe the experimental findings. Here we suggest that adding charge fluctuations to the KH model represents an alternative explanation of zigzag antiferromagnetism. Moreover, a phenomenological three-band Hubbard model unifies all the pieces of the puzzle: topological insulator physics for weak and KH model for strong electron-electron interactions as well as a zigzag antiferromagnet at intermediate interaction strength.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Quantized charge transport in chiral Majorana edge modes

Majorana fermions can be realized as quasiparticles in topological superconductors, with potential applications in topological quantum computing. Recently, lattices of magnetic adatoms deposited on the surface of s-wave superconductors - Shiba lattices - have been proposed as a new platform for topological superconductivity. These systems possess the great advantage that they are accessible via scanning-probe techniques, and thus enable the local manipulation and detection of Majorana modes. Realizing quantum bits on this basis will rely on the creation of nanoscopic Shiba lattices, so-called Shiba islands. Here, we demonstrate that the topological Majorana edge modes of such islands display universal electronic and transport properties. Most remarkably, these Majorana modes possess a quantized charge conductance that is proportional to the topological Chern number, C, and carry a supercurrent whose chirality reflects the sign of C. These results establish nanoscopic Shiba islands as promising components in future topology-based devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Strain-induced Landau Levels in arbitrary dimensions with an exact spectrum

Certain non-uniform strain applied to graphene flakes has been shown to induce pseudo-Landau levels in the single-particle spectrum, which can be rationalized in terms of a pseudo-magnetic field for electrons near the Dirac points. However, this Landau level structure is in general approximate and restricted to low energies. Here we introduce a family of strained bipartite tight-binding models in arbitrary spatial dimension d and analytically prove that their entire spectrum consists of perfectly degenerate pseudo-Landau levels. This construction generalizes the case of triaxial strain on graphene's honeycomb lattice to arbitrary d; in d=3 our model corresponds to tetraxial strain on the diamond lattice. We discuss general aspects of pseudo-Landau levels in arbitrary d.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Density wave instabilities and surface state evolution in interacting Weyl semimetals

We investigate the interplay of many-body and band structure effects of interacting Weyl semimetals (WSM). Attractive and repulsive Hubbard interactions are studied within a model for a time-reversal-breaking WSM with tetragonal symmetry, where we can approach the limit of weakly coupled planes and coupled chains by varying the hopping amplitudes. Using a slab geometry, we employ the variational cluster approach to describe the evolution of WSM Fermi arc surface states as a function of interaction strength. We find spin and charge density wave instabilities which can gap out Weyl nodes. We identify scenarios where the bulk Weyl nodes are gapped while the Fermi arcs still persist, hence realizing a quantum anomalous Hall state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Majorana Landau Level Raman Spectroscopy

The unambiguous experimental detection of quantum spin liquids and, in particular, of the long-sought Kitaev quantum spin liquid (KQSL) with its Majorana fermion excitations remains an outstanding challenge. One of the major obstacles is the absence of signatures that definitively characterize this phase. Here we propose the Landau levels known to form in the Majorana excitation spectrum of the KQSL when certain strain fields are applied as a direct signature of Majorana fermions with Dirac-like dispersion. In particular, we show that the Majorana Landau level quantization of strained films of the KQSL can be directly probed by Raman spectroscopy. Such experiments are feasible in thin films of $α$-RuCl$_3$, which are a promising place to search for the KQSL.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Functional renormalization group for three-dimensional quantum magnetism

We formulate a pseudofermion functional renormalization group (PFFRG) scheme to address frustrated quantum magnetism in three dimensions. In a scenario where many numerical approaches fail due to sign problem or small system size, three-dimensional (3D) PFFRG allows for a quantitative investigation of the quantum spin problem and its observables. We illustrate 3D PFFRG for the simple cubic $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_3$ quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet, and benchmark it against other approaches, if available.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Quantum phase transitions of topological insulators without gap closing

We consider two-dimensional Chern insulators and time-reversal invariant topological insulators and discuss the effect of perturbations breaking either particle-number conservation or time-reversal symmetry. The appearance of trivial mass terms is expected to cause quantum phase transitions into trivial phases when such a perturbation overweights the topological term. These phase transitions are usually associated with a bulk-gap closing. In contrast, the chiral Chern insulator is unaffected by particle-number breaking perturbations. Moreover, the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological insulator undergoes phase transitions into topologically trivial phases without bulk-gap closing in the presence of any of such perturbations. In certain cases, these phase transitions can be circumvented and the protection restored by another U(1) symmetry, e.g. due to spin conservation. These findings are discussed in the context of interacting topological insulators.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Transport through a quantum spin Hall antidot as a spectroscopic probe of spin textures

We investigate electron transport through an antidot embedded in a narrow strip of two-dimensional topological insulator. We focus on the most generic and experimentally relevant case with broken axial spin symmetry. Spin-non-conservation allows additional scattering processes which change the transport properties profoundly. We start from an analytical model for noninteracting transport, which we also compare with a numerical tight-binding simulation. We then extend this model by including Coulomb repulsion on the antidot, and we study the transport in the Coulomb-blockade limit. We investigate sequential tunneling and cotunneling regimes, and we find that the current-voltage characteristic allows a spectroscopic measurement of the edge-state spin textures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Landau levels of Majorana fermions in a spin liquid

Majorana fermions were originally proposed as elementary particles acting as their own antiparticles. In recent years, it has become clear that Majorana fermions can instead be realized in condensed-matter systems as emergent quasiparticles, a situation often accompanied by topological order. Here we propose a physical system which realizes Landau levels - highly degenerate single-particle states usually resulting from an orbital magnetic field acting on charged particles - for Majorana fermions. This is achieved in a variant of a quantum spin system due to Kitaev which is distorted by triaxial strain. This strained Kitaev model displays a spin-liquid phase with charge-neutral Majorana-fermion excitations whose spectrum corresponds to that of Landau levels, here arising from a tailored pseudo-magnetic field. We show that measuring the dynamic spin susceptibility reveals the Landau-level structure by a remarkable mechanism of probe-induced bound-state formation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Quantum disordered insulating phase in the frustrated cubic-lattice Hubbard model

In the quest for quantum spin liquids in three spatial dimensions (3D), we study the half-filled Hubbard model on the simple cubic lattice with hopping processes up to third neighbors. Employing the variational cluster approach (VCA), we determine the zero-temperature phase diagram: In addition to a paramagnetic metal at small interaction strength $U$ and various antiferromagnetic insulators at large $U$, we find an intermediate-$U$ antiferromagnetic metal. Most interestingly, we also identify a non-magnetic insulating region, extending from intermediate to strong $U$. Using VCA results in the large-$U$ limit, we establish the phase diagram of the corresponding $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_3$ Heisenberg model. This is qualitatively confirmed - including the non-magnetic region - using spin-wave theory. Further analysis reveals a striking similarity to the behavior of the $J_1$-$J_2$ square-lattice Heisenberg model, suggesting that the non-magnetic region hosts a 3D spin-liquid phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Phase Diagram and Quantum Order by Disorder in the Kitaev $K_1$-$K_2$ Honeycomb Magnet

We show that the topological Kitaev spin liquid on the honeycomb lattice is extremely fragile against the second-neighbor Kitaev coupling $K_2$, which has recently been shown to be the dominant perturbation away from the nearest-neighbor model in iridate Na$_2$IrO$_3$, and may also play a role in $α$-RuCl$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$. This coupling naturally explains the zigzag ordering (without introducing unrealistically large longer-range Heisenberg exchange terms) and the special entanglement between real and spin space observed recently in Na$_2$IrO$_3$. Moreover, the minimal $K_1$-$K_2$ model that we present here holds the unique property that the classical and quantum phase diagrams and their respective order-by-disorder mechanisms are qualitatively different due to the fundamentally different symmetries of the classical and quantum counterparts.

cond-mat.str-el↗