arXiv subjects

Thierry Champel

Publications and source records attributed to Thierry Champel.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Superradiant Quantum Phase transition for Landau Polaritons with Rashba and Zeeman couplings

We develop a theory of cavity quantum electrodynamics for a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit and Zeeman couplings and perpendicular magnetic field, coupled to a spatially nonuniform quantum photon field. We show that the superradiant quantum phase transition (SQPT), also known as photon condensation, can in principle occur through a pure in-plane Zeeman coupling, but it requires extremely small (unrealistic) quantum well widths or extremely fine tuning of the effective Landé factor which makes two Landau levels coincide. Landau level crossings can also be induced by the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and they promote the SQPT which can be obtained for certain values of the effective Landé factor and filling factors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Rashba cavity QED: a route towards the superradiant quantum phase transition

We develop a theory of cavity quantum electrodynamics for a 2D electron gas in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling and perpendicular static magnetic field, coupled to spatially nonuniform multimode quantum cavity photon fields. We demonstrate that the lowest polaritonic frequency of the full Hamiltonian can vanish for realistic parameters, achieving the Dicke superradiant quantum phase transition. This singular behaviour originates from soft spin-flip transitions possessing a non-vanishing dipole moment at non-zero wave vectors and can be viewed as a magnetostatic instability.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

A solvable model of Landau quantization breakdown

Physics of two-dimensional electron gases under perpendicular magnetic field often displays three distinct stages when increasing the field amplitude: a low field regime with classical magnetotransport, followed at intermediate field by a Shubnikov-de Haas phase where the transport coefficients present quantum oscillations, and, ultimately, the emergence at high field of the quantum Hall effect with perfect quantization of the Hall resistance. A rigorous demonstration of this general paradigm is still limited by the difficulty in solving models of quantum Hall bars with macroscopic lateral dimensions and smooth disorder. We propose here the exact solution of a simple model exhibiting similarly two sharp transitions that are triggered by the competition of cyclotron motion and potential-induced drift. As a function of increasing magnetic field, one observes indeed three distinct phases showing respectively fully broken, partially smeared, or perfect Landau level quantization. This model is based on a non-rotationally invariant, inverted two-dimensional harmonic potential, from which a full quantum solution is obtained using 4D phase space quantization. The developed formalism unifies all three possible regimes under a single analytical theory, as well as arbitrary quadratic potentials, for all magnetic field values.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Signatures of Rashba Spin-Orbit Interaction in Charge and Spin Properties of Quantum Hall Systems

We study the local equilibrium properties of two-dimensional electron gases at high magnetic fields in the presence of random smooth electrostatic disorder, Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and the Zeeman interaction. Using a systematic magnetic length ($l_B$) expansion within a Green's function framework we derive quantum functionals for the local spin-resolved particle and current densities which can be useful for future studies combining disorder and mean-field electron-electron interaction in the quantum Hall regime. We point out that the spin polarization presents a peculiar spatial dependence which can be used to determine the strength of the Rashba coupling by local probes. The spatial structure of the current density, consisting of both compressible and incompressible contributions, also essentially reflects the effects of Rashba spin-orbit interaction on the energy spectrum. We show that in the semiclassical limit $l_B \rightarrow 0$ the local Hall conductivity remains, however, still quantized in units of $e^2/h$ for any finite strength of the spin-orbit interaction. In contrast, it becomes half-integer quantized when the latter is infinite, a situation which corresponds to a disordered topological insulator surface consisting of a single Dirac cone. Finally, we argue how to define at high magnetic fields a spin Hall conductivity related to a dissipationless angular momentum flow, which is characterized by a sequence of plateaus as a function of the inverse magnetic field (thus free of resonances).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Spectral Properties and Local Density of States of Disordered Quantum Hall Systems with Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling

We theoretically investigate the spectral properties and the spatial dependence of the local density of states (LDoS) in disordered two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) in the quantum Hall regime, taking into account the combined presence of electrostatic disorder, random Rashba spin-orbit in- teraction, and finite Zeeman coupling. To this purpose, we extend a coherent-state Green's function formalism previously proposed for spinless 2DEG in the presence of smooth arbitrary disorder, that here incorporates the nontrivial coupling between the orbital and spin degrees of freedom into the electronic drift states. The formalism allows us to obtain analytical and controlled nonperturbative expressions of the energy spectrum in arbitrary locally flat disorder potentials with both random electric fields and Rashba coupling. As an illustration of this theory, we derive analytical microscopic expressions for the LDoS in different temperature regimes which can be used as a starting point to interpret scanning tunneling spectroscopy data at high magnetic fields. In this context, we study the spatial dependence and linewidth of the LDoS peaks and explain an experimentally-noticed correlation between the spatial dispersion of the spin-orbit splitting and the local extrema of the potential landscape.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Transport via classical percolation at quantum Hall plateau transitions

We consider transport properties of disordered two-dimensional electron gases under high perpendicular magnetic field, focusing in particular on the peak longitudinal conductivity $σ_{xx}^\mathrm{peak}$ at the quantum Hall plateau transition. We use a local conductivity model, valid at temperatures high enough such that quantum tunneling is suppressed, taking into account the random drift motion of the electrons in the disordered potential landscape and inelastic processes provided by electron-phonon scattering. A diagrammatic solution of this problem is proposed, which leads to a rich interplay of conduction mechanisms, where classical percolation effects play a prominent role. The scaling function for $σ_{xx}^\mathrm{peak}$ is derived in the high temperature limit, which can be used to extract universal critical exponents of classical percolation from experimental data.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Diagrammatic Approach for the High-Temperature Regime of Quantum Hall Transitions

We use a general diagrammatic formalism based on a local conductivity approach to compute electronic transport in continuous media with long-range disorder, in the absence of quantum interference effects. The method allows us then to investigate the interplay of dissipative processes and random drifting of electronic trajectories in the high-temperature regime of quantum Hall transitions. We obtain that the longitudinal conductance σ_{xx} scales with an exponent κ=0.767\pm0.002 in agreement with the value κ=10/13 conjectured from analogies to classical percolation. We also derive a microscopic expression for the temperature-dependent peak value of σ_{xx}, useful to extract κ from experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Transmission coefficient through a saddle-point electrostatic potential for graphene in the quantum Hall regime

From the scattering of semicoherent-state wavepackets at high magnetic field, we derive analytically the transmission coefficient of electrons in graphene in the quantum Hall regime through a smooth constriction described by a quadratic saddle-point electrostatic potential. We find anomalous half-quantized conductance steps that are rounded by a backscattering amplitude related to the curvature of the potential. Furthermore, the conductance in graphene breaks particle-hole symmetry in cases where the saddle-point potential is itself asymmetric in space. These results have implications both for the interpretation of split-gate transport experiments, and for the derivation of quantum percolation models for graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

High magnetic field theory for the local density of states in graphene with smooth arbitrary potential landscapes

We study theoretically the energy and spatially resolved local density of states (LDoS) in graphene at high perpendicular magnetic field. For this purpose, we extend from the Schrödinger to the Dirac case a semicoherent-state Green's-function formalism, devised to obtain in a quantitative way the lifting of the Landau-level degeneracy in the presence of smooth confinement and smooth disordered potentials. Our general technique, which rigorously describes quantum-mechanical motion in a magnetic field beyond the semi-classical guiding center picture of vanishing magnetic length (both for the ordinary two-dimensional electron gas and graphene), is connected to the deformation (Weyl) quantization theory in phase space developed in mathematical physics. For generic quadratic potentials of either scalar (i.e., electrostatic) or mass (i.e., associated with coupling to the substrate) types, we exactly solve the regime of large magnetic field (yet at finite magnetic length - formally, this amounts to considering an infinite Fermi velocity) where Landau-level mixing becomes negligible. Hence, we obtain a closed-form expression for the graphene Green's function in this regime, providing analytically the discrete energy spectra for both cases of scalar and mass parabolic confinement. Furthermore, the coherent-state representation is shown to display a hierarchy of local energy scales ordered by powers of the magnetic length and successive spatial derivatives of the local potential, which allows one to devise controlled approximation schemes at finite temperature for arbitrary and possibly disordered potential landscapes. As an application, we derive general analytical non-perturbative expressions for the LDoS, which may serve as a good starting point for interpreting experimental studies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Local density of states in disordered two-dimensional electron gases at high magnetic field

Motivated by high-accuracy scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on disordered two-dimensional electron gases in strong magnetic field, we present an exact solution for the local density of states (LDoS) of electrons moving in an arbitrary potential smooth on the scale of the magnetic length, that can be locally described up to its second derivatives. We use a technique based on coherent state Green's functions, allowing us to treat on an equal footing confining and open quantum systems. The energy-dependence of the LDoS is found to be universal in terms of local geometric properties, such as drift velocity and potential curvature. We also show that thermal effects are quite important close to saddle points, leading to an overbroadening of the tunneling trajectories.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Microscopics of disordered two-dimensional electron gases under high magnetic fields: Equilibrium properties and dissipation in the hydrodynamic regime

We develop in detail a new formalism [as a sequel to the work of T. Champel and S. Florens, Phys. Rev. B 75, 245326 (2007)] that is well-suited for treating quantum problems involving slowly-varying potentials at high magnetic fields in two-dimensional electron gases. For an arbitrary smooth potential we show that electronic Green's function is fully determined by closed recursive expressions that take the form of a high magnetic field expansion in powers of the magnetic length l_B. For illustration we determine entirely Green's function at order l_B^3, which is then used to obtain quantum expressions for the local charge and current electronic densities at equilibrium. Such results are valid at high but finite magnetic fields and for arbitrary temperatures, as they take into account Landau level mixing processes and wave function broadening. We also check the accuracy of our general functionals against the exact solution of a one-dimensional parabolic confining potential, demonstrating the controlled character of the theory to get equilibrium properties. Finally, we show that transport in high magnetic fields can be described hydrodynamically by a local equilibrium regime and that dissipation mechanisms and quantum tunneling processes are intrinsically included at the microscopic level in our high magnetic field theory. We calculate microscopic expressions for the local conductivity tensor, which possesses both transverse and longitudinal components, providing a microscopic basis for the understanding of dissipative features in quantum Hall systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

0-pi Transitions in a Superconductor/Chiral Ferromagnet/Superconductor Junction induced by a Homogeneous Cycloidal Spiral

We study the pi phase in a superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson junction, with a ferromagnet showing a cycloidal spiral spin modulation with in-plane propagation vector. Our results reveal a high sensitivity of the junction to the spiral order and indicate the presence of 0-pi quantum phase transitions as function of the spiral wave vector. We find that the chiral magnetic order introduces chiral superconducting triplet pairs that strongly influence the physics in such Josephson junctions, with potential applications in nanoelectronics and spintronics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Quantum transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases under high magnetic fields

We study quantum transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases under high perpendicular magnetic fields. For this purpose, we reformulate the high-field expansion, usually done in the operatorial language of the guiding-center coordinates, in terms of vortex states within the framework of real-time Green functions. These vortex states arise naturally from the consideration that the Landau levels quantization can follow directly from the existence of a topological winding number. The microscopic computation of the current can then be performed within the Keldysh formalism in a systematic way at finite magnetic fields $B$ (i.e. beyond the semi-classical limit $B = \infty$). The formalism allows us to define a general vortex current density as long as the gradient expansion theory is applicable. As a result, the total current is expressed in terms of edge contributions only. We obtain the first and third lowest order contributions to the current due to Landau-levels mixing processes, and derive in a transparent way the quantization of the Hall conductance. Finally, we point out qualitatively the importance of inhomogeneities of the vortex density to capture the dissipative longitudinal transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Phase Diagrams of Ferromagnet-Superconductor Multilayers with Misaligned Exchange Fields

We study the influence of misalignment of the ferromagnetic exchange field on the equilibrium properties of hybrid structures, composed of superconducting (S) and ferromagnetic (F) parts. In particular, we study numerically the superconducting critical temperature Tc in F-S-F trilayers and in F-S-F-S-F Josephson junctions as a function of the misalignment angle theta of the ferromagnetic magnetization. We discuss the corresponding phase diagrams for these hybrid structures. For the Josephson junctions, a transition between the zero-phase and the pi-phase ground state as a function of theta takes place under certain conditions. Within the quasiclassical Green's function technique in the diffusive limit, we introduce a fast and effective method for calculating Tc in such multilayer structures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Interplay of Magnetic and Superconducting Proximity Effects in FSF Trilayers

We present theoretical results on the interplay of magnetic and superconducting orders in diffusive ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet trilayers. The induced triplet superconducting correlations throughout the trilayer lead to an induced spin magnetization. We include self-consistency of the order parameter in the superconducting layer at arbitrary temperatures, arbitrary interface transparency, and any relative orientation of the exchange fields in the two ferromagnets. We propose to use the torque on the trilayer in an external magnetic field as a probe of the presence of triplet correlations in the superconducting phase.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Origin of combination frequencies in quantum magnetization oscillations of two-dimensional multiband metals

The influence of chemical potential oscillations on the magnetization oscillations in two-dimensional multiband metals is investigated. In a first part, the analytical derivation of Alexandrov and Bratkovsky [Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63}, 033105 (2001)] of magnetic quantum oscillations in two-dimensional multiband metals with a fixed number of electrons is shown to be mathematically incorrect ; the chemical potential oscillations appearing in the arguments of the Fourier components were not taken into account. In a second part, we derive an approximative Fourier series of the magnetization oscillations in the regime of small chemical potential oscillations. The main result is that combination frequencies with significant amplitudes are found if the individual band frequencies differ significantly.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗