arXiv subjects

Thomas Scaffidi

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Scaffidi.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Weak-coupling superconductivity in an anisotropic three-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model

We study a three-dimensional single-band repulsive Hubbard model at weak coupling. We establish the superconducting phase diagram in the parameter space of the chemical potential and the out-of-plane hopping strength. The model continuously connects the Hubbard model in two and three dimensions. We confirm previously-established results in these limits, and identify a rich structure of competing order parameters in between. Specifically, we find five types of $p$- and $d$-wave orders. In several regions of the phase diagram, even when the Fermi surface is a corrugated cylinder, the ground state is a time-reversal-symmetry-breaking superconductor with nodes, i.e. a Weyl superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Topologically-Protected Long Edge Coherence Times in Symmetry-Broken Phases

We argue that symmetry-broken phases proximate in phase space to symmetry-protected topological phases can exhibit dynamical signatures of topological physics. This dynamical, symmetry-protected "topological" regime is characterized by anomalously long edge coherence times due to the topological decoration of quasiparticle excitations, even if the underlying zero-temperature ground state is in a non-topological, symmetry-broken state. The dramatic enhancement of coherence can even persist at infinite temperature due to prethermalization. We find exponentially long edge coherence times that are stable to symmetry-preserving perturbations, and not the result of integrability.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Unconventional magneto-transport in ultrapure PdCoO2 and PtCoO2

We have studied magneto transport in the single-band, quasi-two-dimensional metals PdCoO2 and PtCoO2, which have extremely long mean free paths. We observer a strong temperature dependence of the Hall resistivity in small applied, fields, linked to a large violation of Kohler's rule in the magnetoresistance. We discuss the extent to which these observations can be accounted for by standard transport theory, and describe other possible, unconventional contributions to magnetotransport in very high purity metals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Thermoelectric signatures of the electron-phonon fluid in PtSn4

In most materials, transport can be described by the motion of distinct species of quasiparticles, such as electrons and phonons. Strong interactions between quasiparticles, however, can lead to collective behaviour, including the possibility of viscous hydrodynamic flow. In the case of electrons and phonons, an electron-phonon fluid is expected to exhibit strong phonon-drag transport signatures and an anomalously low thermal conductivity. The Dirac semi-metal PtSn4 has a very low resistivity at low temperatures and shows a pronounced phonon drag peak in the low temperature thermopower; it is therefore an excellent candidate for hosting a hydrodynamic electron-phonon fluid. Here we report measurements of the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the longitudinal and Hall electrical resistivities, the thermopower and the thermal conductivity of PtSn4. We confirm a phonon drag peak in the thermopower near 14 K and observe a concurrent breakdown of the Lorenz ratio below the Sommerfeld value. Both of these facts are expected for an electron-phonon fluid with a quasi-conserved total momentum. A hierarchy between momentum-conserving and momentum-relaxing scattering timescales is corroborated through measurements of the magnetic field dependence of the electrical and Hall resistivity and of the thermal conductivity. These results show that PtSn4 exhibits key features of hydrodynamic transport.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Gapless Symmetry Protected Topological Order

We introduce exactly solvable gapless quantum systems in $d$ dimensions that support symmetry protected topological (SPT) edge modes. Our construction leads to long-range entangled, critical points or phases that can be interpreted as critical condensates of domain walls "decorated" with dimension $(d-1)$ SPT systems. Using a combination of field theory and exact lattice results, we argue that such gapless SPT systems have symmetry-protected topological edge modes that can be either gapless or symmetry-broken, leading to unusual surface critical properties. Despite the absence of a bulk gap, these edge modes are robust against arbitrary symmetry-preserving local perturbations near the edges. In two dimensions, we construct wavefunctions that can also be interpreted as unusual quantum critical points with diffusive scaling in the bulk but ballistic edge dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Topological Luttinger Liquids from Decorated Domain Walls

We introduce a systematic construction of a gapless symmetry protected topological phase in one dimension by "decorating" the domain walls of Luttinger liquids. The resulting strongly interacting phases provide a concrete example of a gapless symmetry protected topological (gSPT) phase with robust symmetry-protected edge modes. Using boundary conformal field theory arguments, we show that while the bulks of such gSPT phases are identical to conventional Luttinger liquids, their boundary critical behavior is controlled by a different, strongly-coupled renormalization group fixed point. Our results are checked against extensive density matrix renormalization group calculations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Even odder after twenty-three years: the superconducting order parameter puzzle of Sr2RuO4

In this short review, we aim to provide a topical update on the status of efforts to understand the superconductivity of Sr2RuO4. We concentrate on the quest to identify a superconducting order parameter symmetry that is compatible with all the major pieces of experimental knowledge of the material, and highlight some major discrepancies that have become even clearer in recent years. As the pun in the title suggests, we have tried to start the discussion from scratch, making no assumptions even about fundamental issues such as the parity of the superconducting state. We conclude that no consensus is currently achievable in Sr2RuO4, and that the reasons for this go to the heart of how well some of the key probes of unconventional superconductivity are really understood. This is therefore a puzzle that merits continued in-depth study.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Hydrodynamic Electron Flow and Hall Viscosity

In metallic samples of small enough size and sufficiently strong momentum-conserving scattering, the viscosity of the electron gas can become the dominant process governing transport. In this regime, momentum is a long-lived quantity whose evolution is described by an emergent hydrodynamical theory. Furthermore, breaking time-reversal symmetry leads to the appearance of an odd component to the viscosity called the Hall viscosity, which has attracted considerable attention recently due to its quantized nature in gapped systems but still eludes experimental confirmation. Based on microscopic calculations, we discuss how to measure the effects of both the even and odd components of the viscosity using hydrodynamic electronic transport in mesoscopic samples under applied magnetic fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Quasiparticle Interference and Strong Electron-Mode Coupling in the Quasi-One-Dimensional Bands of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

The single-layered ruthenate Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ has attracted a great deal of interest as a spin-triplet superconductor with an order parameter that may potentially break time reversal invariance and host half-quantized vortices with Majorana zero modes. While the actual nature of the superconducting state is still a matter of controversy, it has long been believed that it condenses from a metallic state that is well described by a conventional Fermi liquid. In this work we use a combination of Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (FT-STS) and momentum resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (M-EELS) to probe interaction effects in the normal state of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Our high-resolution FT-STS data show signatures of the β-band with a distinctly quasi-one-dimensional (1D) character. The band dispersion reveals surprisingly strong interaction effects that dramatically renormalize the Fermi velocity, suggesting that the normal state of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is that of a 'correlated metal' where correlations are strengthened by the quasi 1D nature of the bands. In addition, kinks at energies of approximately 10meV, 38meV and 70meV are observed. By comparing STM and M-EELS data we show that the two higher energy features arise from coupling with collective modes. The strong correlation effects and the kinks in the quasi 1D bands may provide important information for understanding the superconducting state. This work opens up a unique approach to revealing the superconducting order parameter in this compound.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Strong Peak in $T_c$ of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ Under Uniaxial Pressure

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study of the dependence of the superconductivity of the unconventional superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ on anisotropic strain. Novel piezoelectric apparatus is used to apply uniaxial pressures of up to $\sim$1~GPa along a $\langle 100 \rangle$ direction ($a$-axis) of the crystal lattice. $T_c$ increases from 1.5~K in unstrained material to 3.4~K at compression by $\approx$0.6\%, then falls steeply. The $c$-axis upper critical field for the strained $T_c$ = 3.4~K material is a factor of twenty larger than that of the unstrained crystal, whereas the in-plane ($a$-axis) critical field increases by only a factor of three. First-principles electronic structure calculations give evidence that the observed maximum $T_c$ occurs at or near a Lifshitz transition when the Fermi level passes through a van Hove singularity. Finally, we perform order parameter analyses using three-band renormalization group calculations. These, combined with the unexpectedly low in-plane critical field, open the possibility that the highly strained $T_c$=3.4~K Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ has an even- rather than an odd-parity order parameter. Potential implications such as a transition at nonzero strain between odd- and even-parity order parameters are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Leggett modes and multi-band superconductivity in Sr2RuO4

Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is a prototypical multi-band superconductor with three bands crossing the Fermi level. These bands exhibit distinct dimensional characteristics, with one quasi-2D $γ$-band and two quasi-1D $α$- and $β$-bands. This leads to the expectation that the superconductivity on the $γ$-band may be only weakly Josephson-coupled to that on the other two bands. Based on an explicit microscopic weak coupling calculation appropriate for Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, we study the collective Leggett modes associated with the relative phase oscillations between the bands and show that a relatively soft Leggett mode exists due to the comparatively weaker inter-band Josephson coupling. These calculations also provide insight into why the superconducting gap magnitudes may be comparable on all three bands, despite the noticeable differences between the $γ$ and $α, β$ bands. The analyses can be readily applied to other multi-band superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Wavefunctions of Symmetry Protected Topological Phases from Conformal Field Theories

We propose a method for analyzing two-dimensional symmetry protected topological (SPT) wavefunctions using a correspondence with conformal field theories (CFTs) and integrable lattice models. This method generalizes the CFT approach for the fractional quantum Hall effect wherein the wavefunction amplitude is written as a many-operator correlator in the CFT. Adopting a bottom-up approach, we start from various known microscopic wavefunctions of SPTs with discrete symmetries and show how the CFT description emerges at large scale, thereby revealing a deep connection between group cocyles and critical, sometimes integrable, models. We show that the CFT describing the bulk wavefunction is often also the one describing the entanglement spectrum, but not always. Using a plasma analogy, we also prove the existence of hidden quasi-long-range order for a large class of SPTs. Finally, we show how response to symmetry fluxes is easily described in terms of the CFT.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Large Chern Number and Edge Currents in Sr2RuO4

We show from a weak coupling microscopic calculation that the most favored chiral superconducting order parameter in Sr2RuO4 has Chern number |C|=7. The two dominant components of this order parameter are given by sin(3 kx) + i sin(3 ky) and sin(kx) cos(ky) + i sin(ky) cos(kx) and lie in the same irreducible representation Eu of the tetragonal point group as the usually assumed gap function sin(kx) + i sin(ky). While the latter gap function leads to C=1, the two former lead to C=-7, which is also allowed for an Eu gap function since the tetragonal symmetry only fixes C modulo 4. Since it was shown that the edge currents of a |C|>1 superconductor vanish exactly in the continuum limit, and can be strongly reduced on the lattice, this form of order parameter could help resolve the conflict between experimental observation of time-reversal symmetry breaking and yet the absence of observed edge currents in Sr2RuO4.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Exact Solutions of Fractional Chern Insulators: Interacting Particles in the Hofstadter Model at Finite Size

We show that all the bands of the Hofstadter model on the torus have an exactly flat dispersion and Berry curvature when a special system size is chosen. This result holds for any hopping and Chern number. Our analysis therefore provides a simple rule for choosing a particularly advantageous system size when designing a Hofstadter system whose size is controllable, like a qubit lattice or an optical cavity array. The density operators projected onto the flat bands obey exactly the Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman algebra, like for Landau levels in the continuum in the case of $C=1$, or obey its straightforward generalization in the case of $C>1$. This allows a mapping between density-density interaction Hamiltonians for particles in the Hofstatder model and in a continuum Landau level. By using the well-known pseudopotential construction in the latter case, we obtain fractional Chern insulator phases, the lattice counterpart of fractional quantum Hall phases, that are exact zero-energy ground states of the Hofstadter model with certain interactions. Finally, the addition of a harmonic trapping potential is shown to lead to an appealingly symmetric description in which a new Hofstadter model appears in momentum space.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Adiabatic continuation of Fractional Chern Insulators to Fractional Quantum Hall States

We show how the phases of interacting particles in topological flat bands, known as fractional Chern insulators, can be adiabatically connected to incompressible fractional quantum Hall liquids in the lowest Landau-level of an externally applied magnetic field. Unlike previous evidence suggesting the similarity of these systems, our approach enables a formal proof of the equality of their topological orders, and furthermore this proof robustly extends to the thermodynamic limit. We achieve this result using the hybrid Wannier orbital basis proposed by Qi [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 126803 (2011)] in order to construct interpolation Hamiltonians that provide continuous deformations between the two models. We illustrate the validity of our approach for the groundstate of bosons in the half filled Chern band of the Haldane model, showing that it is adiabatically connected to the $ν=1/2$ Laughlin state of bosons in the continuum fractional quantum Hall problem.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗