arXiv subjects

Udit Khanna

Publications and source records attributed to Udit Khanna.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Magnetic Flux Periodicity in Second Order Topological Superconductors

The magnetic flux periodicity of $\frac{hc}{2e}$ is a well known manifestation of Cooper pairing in typical s-wave superconductors. In this paper we theoretically show that the flux periodicity of a two-dimensional second-order topological superconductor, which features zero-energy Majorana modes localized at the corners of the sample, is $\frac{hc}{e}$ instead. We further show that the periodicity changes back to $\frac{hc}{2e}$ at the transition to a topologically trivial superconductor, where the Majorana modes hybridize with the bulk states, demonstrating that the doubling of periodicity is a manifestation of the non-trivial topology of the state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Symmetry and correlation effects on band structure explain the anomalous transport properties of (111) LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$

The interface between the two insulating oxides SrTiO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$ gives rise to a two-dimensional electron system with intriguing transport phenomena, including superconductivity, which are controllable by a gate. Previous measurements on the (001) interface have shown that the superconducting critical temperature, the Hall density, and the frequency of quantum oscillations, vary nonmonotonically and in a correlated fashion with the gate voltage. In this paper we experimentally demonstrate that the (111) interface features a qualitatively distinct behavior, in which the frequency of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations changes monotonically, while the variation of other properties is nonmonotonic albeit uncorrelated. We develop a theoretical model, incorporating the different symmetries of these interfaces as well as electronic-correlation-induced band competition. We show that the latter dominates at (001), leading to similar nonmonotonicity in all observables, while the former is more important at (111), giving rise to highly curved Fermi contours, and accounting for all its anomalous transport measurements.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Spin Mode-Switching at the Edge of a Quantum Hall System

Quantum Hall states can be characterized by their chiral edge modes. Upon softening the edge potential, the edge has long been known to undergo spontaneous reconstruction driven by charging effects. In this paper we demonstrate a qualitatively distinct phenomenon driven by exchange effects, in which the ordering of the edge modes at $ν=3$ switches abruptly as the edge potential is made softer, while the ordering in the bulk remains intact. We demonstrate that this phenomenon is robust, and has many verifiable experimental signatures in transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

$0$-$π$ transitions in a Josephson junction of irradiated Weyl semimetal

We propose a setup for the experimental realization of unexpected and anisotropic $0$-$π$ transitions of the Josephson current, in a junction whose link is made of irradiated Weyl semi-metal (WSM), due to the presence of chiral nodes. We show using a Green's function technique that the Josephson current through a time-reversal symmetric WSM has anisotropic periodic oscillations as a function of $k_0L$, where $k_0$ is the (relevant) separation of the chiral nodes and $L$ is the length of the sample. This is unexpected, for time-reversal symmetric systems, although it has been shown earlier for time-reversal symmetry breaking WSMs. We then show that the effective value of $k_0$ can be tuned with precision by irradiating the sample with photons resulting in $0$-$π$ transitions of the critical current. Finally, we discuss the robustness of our setup.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Chiral nodes and oscillations in the Josephson current in Weyl semimetals

The separation of the Weyl nodes in a broken time-reversal symmetric Weyl semimetal leads to helical quasi-particle excitations at the Weyl nodes, which, when coupled with overall spin conservation allows only inter-nodal transport at the junction of the Weyl semimetal with a superconductor. This leads to an unusual periodic oscillation in the Josephson current as a function of $k_0L$, where $L$ is the length of the Weyl semimetal and $2k_0$ is the inter-nodal distance. This oscillation is robust and should be experimentally measurable, providing a direct path to confirming the existence of chiral nodes in the Weyl semimetal.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Proximity induced superconductivity in Weyl semi-metals

We introduce superconducting proximity effects in Weyl semi-metals (WSM) with broken time reversal symmetry by tunnel coupling one of its surfaces to an s-wave superconductor using the Green's function approach. We find that the band structure develops coherence peaks, but despite the presence of metallic states in the bulk, the coherence peaks do not extend far into the bulk and remain confined to a few layers close to the interface, similar to the proximity effect in the topological insulators (TI) which are gapped in the bulk. The Weyl nodes remain unaffected, and in that sense, no true gap develops. We also study the various induced p and s-wave pairing amplitudes classified by their symmetries, as a function of the various relevant parameters of the theory and note the exponential decay of the induced pairings in the bulk both in the TI and the WSM, even at finite chemical potential.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Transport and STM studies of hyperbolic surface states of topological insulators

Motivated by the transmission of topological surface states through atomic scale steps, we study the transport of gapless Dirac fermions on hyperbolic surfaces. We confirm that, independent of the curvature of the hyperbolae and the sharpness of the corners, no backward scattering takes place and transmission of the topological surface states is completely independent of the geometrical shape (within the hyperbolic model) of the surface. The density of states of the electrons, however, shows a dip at concave step edges which can be measured by an STM tip. We also show that the tunneling conductance measured by a polarized scanning tunneling probe exhibits an unconventional dependence on the polar and azimuthal angles of the magnetization of the tip as a function of the curvature of the surface and the sharpness of the edge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

A complete 3D numerical study of the effects of pseudoscalar-photon mixing on quasar polarizations

We present the results of three-dimensional simulations of quasar polarizations in the presence of pseudoscalar-photon mixing in the intergalactic medium. The intergalactic magnetic field is assumed to be uncorrelated in wave vector space but correlated in real space. Such a field may be obtained if its origin is primordial. Furthermore we assume that the quasars, located at cosmological distances, have negligible initial polarization. In the presence of pseudoscalar-photon mixing we show, through a direct comparison with observations, that this may explain the observed large scale alignments in quasar polarizations within the framework of big bang cosmology. We find that the simulation results give a reasonably good fit to the observed data.

astro-ph.CO↗