arXiv subjects

Utkarsh Bajpai

Publications and source records attributed to Utkarsh Bajpai.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Uncertainty-Informed Active Perception for Open Vocabulary Object Goal Navigation

Mobile robots exploring indoor environments increasingly rely on vision-language models to perceive high-level semantic cues in camera images, such as object categories. Such models offer the potential to substantially advance robot behaviour for tasks such as object-goal navigation (ObjectNav), where the robot must locate objects specified in natural language by exploring the environment. Current ObjectNav methods heavily depend on prompt engineering for perception and do not address the semantic uncertainty induced by variations in prompt phrasing. Ignoring semantic uncertainty can lead to suboptimal exploration, which in turn limits performance. Hence, we propose a semantic uncertainty-informed active perception pipeline for ObjectNav in indoor environments. We introduce a novel probabilistic sensor model for quantifying semantic uncertainty in vision-language models and incorporate it into a probabilistic geometric-semantic map to enhance spatial understanding. Based on this map, we develop a frontier exploration planner with an uncertainty-informed multi-armed bandit objective to guide efficient object search. Experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves ObjectNav success rates comparable to those of state-of-the-art approaches, without requiring extensive prompt engineering.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2025

Ultra-cold neutron simulation framework for the free neutron lifetime experiment $\tau$SPECT

The precise determination of the free neutron lifetime is of great significance in modern precision physics. This key observable is linked to the mixing of up and down quarks via the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ud}$, and the abundance of primordial elements after the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis. However, the two leading measurement techniques for the neutron lifetime currently yield incompatible results, a discrepancy referred to as the neutron lifetime puzzle. To address the systematic uncertainties arising from neutron interactions with material walls, the $\tau$SPECT experiment employs a fully magnetic trap for ultra-cold neutrons (UCNs). UCNs are extremely low-energy neutrons with typical velocities below $8\,\textrm{m/s}$, which can be manipulated using magnetic fields, gravity, and suitable material guides, whose surface can reflect them at any angle of incidence. To precisely study and characterize UCN behavior during production, guidance, storage, and detection in $\tau$SPECT, we have developed a dedicated simulation framework. This framework is built upon the externally developed UCN Monte Carlo software package PENTrack and is enhanced with two companion tools: one for flexible and parametrizable upstream configuration of PENTrack such that the simulation's input settings can be adjusted to reproduce the experimental observations. The second package is used for analyzing, visualizing, and animating simulation data. The simulation results align well with experimental data obtained with $\tau$SPECT at the Paul Scherrer Institute and serve as a powerful resource for identifying systematic uncertainties and guiding future improvements to the current experimental setup.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Unconventional Resistivity Scaling in Topological Semimetal CoSi

Nontrivial band topologies in semimetals lead to robust surface states that can contribute dominantly to the total conduction. This may result in reduced resistivity with decreasing feature size contrary to conventional metals, which may highly impact the semiconductor industry. Here we study the resistivity scaling of a representative topological semimetal CoSi using realistic band structures and Green's function methods. We show that there exists a critical thickness d_c dividing different scaling trends. Above d_c, when the defect density is low such that surface conduction dominates, resistivity reduces with decreasing thickness; when the defect density is high such that bulk conduction dominates, resistivity increases in as conventional metals. Below d_c, the persistent remnants of the surface states give rise to decreasing resistivity down to the ultrathin limit, unlike in topological insulators. The observed CoSi scaling can apply to broad classes of topological semimetals, providing guidelines for materials screening and engineering. Our study shows that topological semimetals bear the potential of overcoming the resistivity scaling challenges in back-end-of-line interconnect applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Witnessing Light-Driven Entanglement using Time-Resolved Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

Characterizing and controlling entanglement in quantum materials is crucial for the development of next-generation quantum technologies. However, defining a quantifiable figure of merit for entanglement in macroscopic solids is theoretically and experimentally challenging. At equilibrium the presence of entanglement can be diagnosed by extracting entanglement witnesses from spectroscopic observables and a nonequilibrium extension of this method could lead to the discovery of novel dynamical phenomena. Here, we propose a systematic approach to quantify the time-dependent quantum Fisher information and entanglement depth of transient states of quantum materials with time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Using a quarter-filled extended Hubbard model as an example, we benchmark the efficiency of this approach and predict a light-enhanced many-body entanglement due to the proximity to a phase boundary. Our work sets the stage for experimentally witnessing and controlling entanglement in light-driven quantum materials via ultrafast spectroscopic measurements.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Size-Dependent Grain Boundary Scattering in Topological Semimetals

We assess the viability of topological semimetals for application in advanced interconnect technology, where conductor size is on the order of a few nanometers and grain boundaries are expected to be prevalent. We investigate the electron transport properties and grain boundary scattering in thin films of the topological semimetals CoSi and CoGe using first-principles calculations combined with the Non-Equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) technique. Unlike conventional interconnect metals like Cu and Al, we find that CoSi and CoGe conduct primarily through topologically-protected surface states in thin film structures even in the presence of grain boundaries. The area-normalized resistance decreases with decreasing film thickness for CoSi and CoGe thin films both with and without grain boundaries; a trend opposite to that of the conventional metals Cu and Al. The surface-dominated transport mechanisms in thin films of topological semimetals with grain boundaries demonstrates a fundamentally new paradigm of the classical resistivity size-effect, and suggests that these materials may be promising candidates for applications as nano-interconnects where high electrical resistivity acts as a major bottleneck limiting semiconductor device performance.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Quantum many-body states and Green functions of nonequilibrium electron-magnon systems: Localized spin operators vs. their mapping to Holstein-Primakoff bosons

The operators of localized spins within a magnetic material commute at different sites of its lattice and anticommute on the same site, so they are neither fermionic nor bosonic operators. Thus, to construct diagrammatic many-body perturbation theory, the spin operators are usually mapped to the bosonic ones with Holstein-Primakoff (HP) transformation being the most widely used in magnonics and spintronics literature. However, to make calculations tractable, the square root of operators in the HP transformation is expanded into a Taylor series truncated to some low order. This poses a question on the range of validity of truncated HP transformation when describing nonequilibrium dynamics of localized spins interacting with each other or with conduction electron spins. Here we apply exact diagonalization techniques to Hamiltonian of fermions (i.e., electrons) interacting with HP bosons vs. Hamiltonian of fermions interacting with the original localized spin operators in order to compare their many-body states and one-particle equilibrium or nonequilibrium Green functions. The Hamiltonian of fermions interacting with HP bosons gives incorrect ground state and electronic spectral function, unless large number of terms are retained in truncated HP transformation. Furthermore, tracking nonequilibrium dynamics of localized spins over longer time intervals requires progressively larger number of terms in truncated HP transformation. Finally, we show that recently proposed [M. Vogl et al., Phys. Rev. Research 2, 043243 (2020); J. König et al., SciPost Phys. 10, 007 (2021)] resummed HP transformation resolves the trouble with truncated HP transformation, while allowing us to derive an exact (manifestly Hermitian) Hamiltonian consisting of finite and fixed number of boson-boson and electron-boson interacting terms.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Annihilation of topological solitons in magnetism with spin wave burst finale: The role of nonequilibrium electrons causing nonlocal damping and spin pumping over ultrabroadband frequency range

We not only reproduce burst of short-wavelength spin waves (SWs) observed in recent experiment [S. Woo et al., Nat. Phys. 13, 448 (2017)] on magnetic-field-driven annihilation of two magnetic domain walls (DWs) but, furthermore, we predict that this setup additionally generates highly unusual} pumping of electronic spin currents in the absence of any bias voltage. Prior to the instant of annihilation, their power spectrum is ultrabroadband, so they can be converted into rapidly changing in time charge currents, via the inverse spin Hall effect, as a source of THz radiation of bandwidth $\simeq 27$ THz where the lowest frequency is controlled by the applied magnetic field. The spin pumping stems from time-dependent fields introduced into the quantum Hamiltonian of electrons by the classical dynamics of localized magnetic moments (LMMs) comprising the domains. The pumped currents carry spin-polarized electrons which, in turn, exert backaction on LMMs in the form of nonlocal damping which is more than twice as large as conventional local Gilbert damping. The nonlocal damping can substantially modify the spectrum of emitted SWs when compared to widely-used micromagnetic simulations where conduction electrons are completely absent. Since we use fully microscopic (i.e., Hamiltonian-based) framework, self-consistently combining time-dependent electronic nonequilibrium Green functions with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, we also demonstrate that previously derived phenomenological formulas miss ultrabroadband spin pumping while underestimating the magnitude of nonlocal damping due to nonequilibrium electrons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Topological Semimetals for Scaled Back-End-Of-Line Interconnect Beyond Cu

The resistance bottleneck in metal-interconnect scaling calls for new interconnect materials. This paper explores topological semimetals as a potential solution. After reviewing the desirable properties of topological semimetals for back-end-of-line (BEOL) interconnects, we use CoSi as an example to demonstrate the decreasing resistance-area product with scaling and provide material-search guidelines.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Magnon versus electron mediated spin-transfer torque exerted by spin currents across antiferromagnetic insulator to switch magnetization of adjacent ferromagnetic metal

The recent experiment [Y. Wang et al., Science 366, 1125 (2019)] on magnon-mediated spin-transfer torque (MSTT) was interpreted in terms of a picture where magnons are excited within an antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI), by applying nonequilibrium electronic spin density at one of its surfaces, so that their propagation across AFI deprived of conduction electrons eventually leads to reversal of magnetization of a ferromagnetic metal (FM) attached to the opposite surface of AFI. We employ a recently developed time-dependent nonequilibrium Green functions combined with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (TDNEGF+LLG) formalism to evolve conduction electrons quantum-mechanically while they interact via self-consistent back-action with localized magnetic moments described classically by atomistic spin dynamics solving a system of LLG equations. Upon injection of square current pulse as the initial condition, TDNEGF+LLG simulations of FM-polarizer/AFI/FM-analyzer junctions show that reversal of localized magnetic moments within FM-analyzer is less efficient, in the sense of requiring larger pulse height and its longer duration, than conventional electron-mediated STT (ESTT) driving magnetization switching in standard FM-polarizer/normal-metal/FM-analyzer spin valve. Since both electronic, generated by spin pumping from AFI, and magnonic, generated by direct transmission from AFI, spin currents are injected into the FM-analyzer, its localized magnetic moments will experience combined MSTT and ESTT. Nevertheless, by artificially turning off ESTT we demonstrate that MSTT plays a dominant role whose understanding, therefore, paves the way for all-magnon-driven magnetization switching devices with no electronic parts.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Robustness of quantized transport through edge states of finite length: Imaging current density in Floquet topological vs. quantum spin and anomalous Hall insulators

The theoretical analysis of topological insulators (TIs) has been traditionally focused on infinite homogeneous crystals with band gap in the bulk and nontrivial topology of their wavefunctions, or infinite wires whose boundaries host surface or edge metallic states. However, experimental devices contain finite-size topological region attached to normal metal (NM) leads, which poses a question about how precise is quantization of longitudinal conductance and how electrons transition from topologically trivial NM leads into the edge states. This is particularly pressing issues for recently conjectured two-dimensional (2D) Floquet TI where electrons flow from time-independent NM leads into time-dependent edge states---the very recent experimental realization of Floquet TI using graphene irradiated by circularly polarized light did not exhibit either quantized longitudinal or Hall conductance. Here we employ charge conserving solution for Floquet-nonequlibrium Green functions (NEGFs) of irradiated graphene nanoribbon to compute longitudinal two-terminal conductance, as well as spatial profiles of local current density as electrons propagate from NM leads into the Floquet TI. In the case of Floquet TI both bulk and edge local current densities contribute equally to total current, which leads to longitudinal conductance below the expected quantized plateau that is slightly reduced by edge vacancies. We propose two experimental schemes to detect coexistence of bulk and edge current densities within Floquet TI: (i) drilling a nanopore in the interior of irradiated region of graphene will induce backscattering of bulk current density, thereby reducing longitudinal conductance by $\sim 28$%; (ii) imaging of magnetic field produced by local current density using diamond NV centers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Spintronics meets nonadiabatic molecular dynamics: Geometric spin torque and damping on noncollinear classical magnetism due to electronic open quantum system

We analyze a quantum-classical hybrid system of steadily precessing slow classical localized magnetic moments, forming a head-to-head domain wall, embedded into an open quantum system of fast nonequilibrium electrons. The electrons reside within a metallic wire connected to macroscopic reservoirs. The model captures the essence of dynamical noncollinear and noncoplanar magnetic textures in spintronics, while making it possible to obtain the exact time-dependent nonequilibrium density matrix of electronic system and split it into four contributions. The Fermi surface contribution generates dissipative (or damping-like in spintronics terminology) spin torque on the moments, and one of the two Fermi sea contributions generates geometric torque dominating in the adiabatic regime. When the coupling to the reservoirs is reduced, the geometric torque is the only nonzero contribution. Locally it has both nondissipative (or field-like in spintronics terminology) and damping-like components, but with the sum of latter being zero, which act as the counterparts of geometric magnetism force and electronic friction in nonadiabatic molecular dynamics. Such current-independent geometric torque is absent from widely used micromagnetics or atomistic spin dynamics modeling of magnetization dynamics based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, where previous analysis of Fermi surface-type torque has severely underestimated its magnitude.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Magnon-driven chiral charge and spin pumping and electron-magnon scattering from time-dependent quantum transport combined with atomistic spin dynamics theory

Using newly developed quantum-classical hybrid framework, we investigate interaction between spin-polarized conduction electrons and a single spin wave (SW) coherently excited within a metallic ferromagnetic nanowire. When the nanowire hosting SW is attached to two normal metal (NM) leads, with no dc bias voltage applied between them, the SW pumps chiral electronic charge and spin currents into the leads---their direction is tied to the direction of SW propagation and they scale linearly with the frequency of the precession. This is in contrast to: standard pumping by the uniform precession mode with identical spin currents flowing in both directions and no accompanying charge current; or experimentally observed [C.~Ciccarelli et al., Nat. Nanotech. 10, 50 (2014); M.~Evelt et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 024408 (2017)] magnonic charge pumping which requires spin-orbit coupling spin-orbit coupling. The mechanism behind our prediction is nonadiabaticity due to time-retardation effects---motion of localized magnetic moment affects conduction electron spin in a retarded way, so that it takes a finite time until the electron spin reacts to the motion of the classical vector. Upon injecting dc spin-polarized charge current from the left NM lead, electrons interact with SW where outflowing charge and spin current into the right NM lead are changed due to both scattering off time-dependent potential generated by the SW and superposition with the currents pumped by the SW itself. Using Lorentzian voltage pulse to excite leviton out of the Fermi sea, which carries one electron charge with no accompanying electron-hole pairs and behaves as soliton-like quasiparticle, we describe how a single electron interacts with a single SW.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Effective spin-mixing conductance of topological-insulator/ferromagnet and heavy-metal/ferromagnet spin-orbit-coupled interfaces: A first-principles Floquet-nonequilibrium-Green-function approach

The spin mixing conductance (SMC) is a key quantity determining efficiency of spin transport across interfaces. Thus, knowledge of its precise value is required for accurate measurement of parameters quantifying numerous effects in spintronics, such as spin-orbit torque, spin Hall magnetoresistance, spin Hall effect and spin pumping. However, the standard expression for SMC, provided by the scattering theory in terms of the reflection probability amplitudes, is inapplicable when strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is present directly at the interface. This is the precisely the case of topological-insulator/ferromagnet and heavy-metal/ferromagnet interfaces of great contemporary interest. We introduce an approach where first-principles Hamiltonian of these interfaces, obtained from noncollinear density functional theory (ncDFT) calculations, is combined with charge conserving Floquet-nonequilibrium-Green-function formalism to compute {\em directly} the pumped spin current $I^{S_z}$ into semi-infinite left lead of two-terminal heterostructures Cu/X/Co/Cu or Y/Co/Cu---where X=Bi$_2$Se$_3$ and Y=Pt or W---due to microwave-driven steadily precessing magnetization of the Co layer. This allows us extract an effective SMC as a prefactor in $I^{S_z}$ vs. precession cone angle $θ$ dependence, as long as it remains the same, $I^{S_z} \propto \sin^2 θ$, as in the case where SOC is absent. By comparing calculations where SOC in switched off vs. switched on in ncDFT calculations, we find that SOC consistently reduces the pumped spin current and, therefore, the effective SMC.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Time-retarded damping and magnetic inertia in the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation self-consistently coupled to electronic time-dependent nonequilibrium Green functions

The conventional Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation is a widely used tool to describe dynamics of local magnetic moments, viewed as classical vectors of fixed length, with their change assumed to take place simultaneously with the cause. Here we demonstrate that recently developed [M. D. Petrović {\em et al.}, {\tt arXiv:1802.05682}] self-consistent coupling of the LLG equation to time-dependent quantum-mechanical description of electrons microscopically generates time-retarded damping in the LLG equation described by a memory kernel which is also spatially dependent. For sufficiently slow dynamics of local magnetic moments, the memory kernel can be expanded to extract the Gilbert damping (proportional to first time derivative of magnetization) and magnetic inertia (proportional to second time derivative of magnetization) terms whose parameters, however, are time-dependent in contrast to time-independent parameters used in the conventional LLG equation. We use examples of single or multiple magnetic moments precessing in an external magnetic field, as well as field-driven motion of a magnetic domain wall (DW), to quantify the difference in their time evolution computed from conventional LLG equation vs. TDNEGF+LLG quantum-classical hybrid approach. The faster DW motion predicted by TDNEGF+LLG approach reveals that important quantum effects, stemming from finite amount of time which it takes for conduction electron spin to react to the motion of classical local magnetic moments, are missing from conventional classical micromagnetics simulations. We also demonstrate large discrepancy between TDNEGF+LLG-computed numerically exact and, therefore, nonperturbative result for charge current pumped by a moving DW and the same quantity computed by perturbative spin motive force formula combined with the conventional LLG equation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Spin and charge pumping by steady or pulse current-driven magnetic domain wall: A self-consistent multiscale time-dependent-quantum/time-dependent-classical approach

We introduce a multiscale framework which combines time-dependent nonequilibrium Green function (TD-NEGF) algorithms, scaling linearly in the number of time steps and describing quantum-mechanically conduction electrons in the presence of time-dependent fields of arbitrary strength or frequency, with classical time evolution of localized magnetic moments described by the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation. The TD-NEGF+LLG framework can be applied to a variety of problems where current-driven spin torque induces dynamics of magnetic moments as the key resource for next generation spintronics. Using magnetic domain wall (DW) as an example, we predict that its motion will pump time-dependent spin and charge currents (on the top of unpolarized DC charge current injected through normal metal leads to drive the DW motion). The conversion of AC components of spin current, whose amplitude increases (decreases) as the DW approaches (distances from) the normal metal lead, into AC voltage via the inverse spin Hall effect offers a tool to precisely track the DW position along magnetic nanowire. We also quantify the DW transient inertial displacement due to its acceleration and deceleration by pulse current and the entailed spin and charge pumping. Finally, TD-NEGF+LLG as a nonperturbative (i.e., numerically exact) framework allows us to establish the limits of validity of the so-called spin-motive force (SMF) theory for pumped charge current by time-dependent magnetic textures---the perturbative analytical formula of SMF theory becomes inapplicable for large frequencies (but unrealistic in magnetic system) and, more importantly, for increasing noncollinearity when the angles between neighboring magnetic moments exceed $\simeq 10^\circ$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗