SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Yang-hao Chan

Publications and source records attributed to Yang-hao Chan.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

{\it Ab initio} prediction of $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates

Infinite-layer nickelates have recently emerged as a new family of potential unconventional high critical temperature ($T_c$) superconductors. However, fundamental questions such as their superconducting (SC) pairing mechanism and gap symmetry remain under intense debate. Here we present a fully {\it ab initio} theoretical study on the SC properties of optimally doped nickelates $Re$$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ ($Re=$ La, Pr, Nd), based on the density functional theory for superconductors calculations with electron-phonon coupling (EPC), screened Coulomb repulsion and spin fluctuation (SF) interaction treated on an equal footing. We find that $Re_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ are two-band superconductors with sign reversal $d_{x^2-y^2}(\pm)$-wave gap functions on the different Fermi surface (FS) pockets. Interestingly, when the SF interaction is turned off, $T_c$ becomes negligibly small ($\sim$0.01 K), thus demonstrating that the superconductivity in $Re_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ is driven by SF interaction. Moreover, our {\it ab initio} calculations reveal that the SF interaction is an order of magnitude stronger than both EPC and Coulomb repulsion on the large quasi-two-dimensional FS pocket around the Brillouin zone (BZ) center, thus leading to the SF-mediated pairing mechanism, although the EPC dominates on the small three-dimensional electron FS pockets at the BZ corners. The emergence of nodal $d_{x^2-y^2}(\pm)$-wave gap structure is traced to the pronounced peaks in the Lindhard response function at the BZ corners. Our calculated FS, SC critical temperature, nodal gap structure and SC quasiparticle density of states are consistent with most available experiments. Furthermore, predicted unconventional SC properties such as scanning tunneling spectra of La$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ and Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ are ready for immediate experimental verifications.

cond-mat.supr-con

Photogeneration and signatures of coherent phonons in time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy: First-principles time-dependent adiabatic GW approach

Coherent lattice dynamics can be observed in pump-probe time-resolved and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES) as a periodic modulation of intensity and energy of photoelectrons over probe time. We present an ab initio time-dependent GW approach including electron-phonon (e-ph) couplings to simulate the photogeneration of coherent phonons and their effects on the TR-ARPES of monolayer MoS2. We demonstrate that state-resolved e-ph coupling strength can be obtained from analyzing coherent phonon modulations on TR-ARPES. Features of both the impulsive stimulated Raman scattering mechanism and the displacive excitation mechanism of coherent phonon generation are identified in our simulations. We clarify their origins and the coincident selection rule of coherent phonon generation and Raman scattering intensity. This method provides supports to analyze coherent phonon dynamics and e-ph couplings in TR-ARPES and enables quantitative engineering of band structure through coherent phonons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Exciton valley depolarization in monolayer MoS2: non-Markovian quantum dynamics, intervalley scattering, and the breakdown of the Dyakonov-Perel mechanism

In monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, exciton valley relaxation is typically attributed to the Dyakonov-Perel (DP) mechanism, where frequent intravalley scattering with phonons or defects suppresses the intervalley exchange-induced precession and the role of intervalley scattering is considered secondary. Employing a first-principles nonequilibrium exciton Green's function (NEGF) approach with the generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz (GKBA), which treats exchange-driven precession and exciton-phonon scattering on an equal footing across the full Brillouin zone, we demonstrate that even in the small momentum regime most favorable to DP physics, realistic exciton-phonon scattering is too weak to induce the motional narrowing that defines the DP regime. Upon accounting for excitons across the entire Brillouin zone, large momentum intervalley scattering becomes the dominant pathway for valley relaxation, shortening the depolarization by a factor of 3-4 relative to intravalley-only models. We find that valley depolarization and decoherence time are approximately 50 fs at 300 K and lengthen to 130 fs at 10 K. By comparing our results with a Lindblad-type collision framework, we explicitly demonstrate the role of non-Markovian effects and reveal that the Markovian Lindblad framework is highly basis dependent. In the valley-pseudospin basis underlying prior analyses, the Lindblad approach artificially amplifies scattering-induced equilibration, biasing the dynamics toward a DP interpretation. Our study provides a comprehensive picture of valley relaxation, and establishes the exciton density matrix approach derived from NEGF+GKBA as a powerful tool for investigating ultrafast exciton dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Evolution of topological phases in atomically thin WTe2 films

Topological materials ranging from topological insulators to semimetals host many novel quantum phenomena including quantum spin Hall effect and topological Fermi arcs. Transitions between these topological phases have attracted much research interest. We performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on WTe2 ranging from a monolayer to the bulk and reveal the evolution of the electronic structure and the band gap. Notably, the gap observed in the monolayer system is suppressed in the three layers, where the film becomes metallic. Variations in the topological properties with thickness are demonstrated by the first-principles calculations. Topological Z2 invariant is shown to oscillate between 1 and 0 with the addition of layers, originating from the interlayer coupling-induced change in band crossing. The system evolves into a Weyl semimetal when the conduction and valence bands touch near the Fermi level and the topological nature is described by the Chern number. Our findings demonstrate the non-monotonic dependence of topological states on dimensionality and how layer-driven electronic band reconfiguration leads to phase transitions in solids.

cond-mat.mes-hall

GPU acceleration of non-equilibrium Green's function calculation using OpenACC and CUDA FORTRAN

The numerical solution of the Kadanoff-Baym nonlinear integro-differential equations, which yields the non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGFs) of quantum many-body systems, poses significant computational challenges due to its high computational complexity. In this work, we present efficient implementations of a numerical method for solving these equations on distributed-memory architectures, including many-core CPUs and multi-GPU systems. For CPU-based platforms, we adopt a hybrid MPI/OpenMP programming model to exploit both inter-node and intra-node parallelism. On GPU-accelerated systems, we implement the method using two distinct approaches: MPI/OpenACC and MPI/CUDA FORTRAN. Several optimization strategies are employed to enhance GPU performance, including techniques to maximize computational resource utilization and minimize the overhead associated with kernel launches and memory management. Although OpenACC is easy to use, CUDA FORTRAN provides more advanced features for configuring and managing multiple levels of concurrency, while also simplifying memory allocation and data movement between host and device. This flexibility translates into significant performance improvements. We compare the performance of the three implementations and demonstrate that the GPU-based approaches achieve substantial speedups over CPU-based implementations. Furthermore, both CPU and GPU versions exhibit excellent strong and weak scaling, confirming the scalability and efficiency of our approach for large-scale NEGF computations.

cs.DC

Exciton-defect interaction and optical properties from a first-principles T-matrix approach

Understanding exciton-defect interactions is critical for optimizing optoelectronic and quantum information applications in many materials. However, ab initio simulations of material properties with defects are often limited to high defect density. Here, we study effects of exciton-defect interactions on optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra in monolayer MoS2 using a first-principles T-matrix approach. We demonstrate that exciton-defect bound states can be captured by the disorder-averaged Green's function with the T-matrix approximation and further analyze their optical properties. Our approach yields photoluminescence spectra in good agreement with experiments and provides a new, computationally efficient framework for simulating optical properties of disordered 2D materials from first-principles.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Orbital textures and evolution of correlated insulating state in monolayer 1T phase transition metal dichalcogenides

Strong electron-electron interaction can induce Mott insulating state, which is believed to host unusual correlated phenomena such as quantum spin liquid when quantum fluctuation dominates and unconventional superconductivity through doping. Transition metal compounds as correlated materials provide a versatile platform to engineer the Mott insulating state. Previous studies mostly focused on the controlling of the repulsive interaction and bandwidth of the electrons by gating or doping. Here, we performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on monolayer 1T phase NbSe2, TaSe2, and TaS2 and directly observed their band structures with characteristic lower Hubbard bands. By systematically investigating the orbital textures and temperature dependence of the energy gap of the materials in this family, we discovered that hybridization of the chalcogen p states with lower Hubbard band stabilizes the Mott phase via tuning of the bandwidth, as shown by a significant increase of the transition temperature (TC) at a stronger hybridization strength. Our findings reveal a mechanism for realizing a robust Mott insulating phase and establish monolayer 1T phase transition metal dichalcogenide family as a promising platform for exploring correlated electron problems.

cond-mat.str-el

Exciton thermalization dynamics in monolayer MoS2: a first-principles Boltzmann equation study

Understanding exciton thermalization is critical for optimizing optoelectronic and photocatalytic processes in many materials. However, it is hard to access the dynamics of such processes experimentally, especially on systems such as monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, where various low-energy excitations pathways can compete for exciton thermalization. Here, we study exciton dynamics due to exciton-phonon scattering in monolayer MoS2 from a first-principles, interacting Green's function approach, to obtain the relaxation and thermalization of low-energy excitons following different initial excitations at different temperatures. We find that the thermalization occurs on a picosecond timescale at 300 K but can increase by an order of magnitude at 100 K. The long total thermalization time, owing to the nature of its excitonic band structure, is dominated by slow spin-flip scattering processes in monolayer MoS2. In contrast, thermalization of excitons in individual spin-aligned and spin-anti-aligned channels can be achieved within a few hundred fs when exciting higher-energy excitons. We further simulate the intensity spectrum of time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES) experiments and anticipate that such calculations may serve as a map to correlate spectroscopic signatures with microscopic exciton dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Ultrafast Band Structure Dynamics in Bulk 1$T$-VSe$_2$

Complex materials encompassing different phases of matter can display new photoinduced metastable states differing from those attainable under equilibrium conditions. These states can be realized when energy is injected in the material following a non-equilibrium pathway, unbalancing the unperturbed energy landscape of the material. Guided by the fact that photoemission experiments allow for detailed insights in the electronic band structure of ordered systems, here we study bulk 1T-VSe$_2$ in its metallic and charge-density-wave phase by time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. After near-infrared optical excitation, the system shows a net increase of the density of states in the energy range of the valence bands, in the vicinity of the Fermi level, lasting for several picoseconds. We discuss possible origins as band shifts or correlation effects on the basis of a band structure analysis. Our results uncover the possibility of altering the electronic band structure of bulk 1T-VSe$_2$ for low excitation fluences, contributing to the understanding of light-induced electronic states.

cond-mat.str-el

Exciton-phonon coupling induces new pathway for ultrafast intralayer-to-interlayer exciton transition and interlayer charge transfer in WS2-MoS2 heterostructure: a first-principles study

Despite the weak, van-der-Waals interlayer coupling, photoinduced charge transfer vertically across atomically thin interfaces can occur within surprisingly fast, sub-50fs timescales. Early theoretical understanding of the charge transfer is based on a noninteracting picture, neglecting excitonic effects that dominate the optical properties of such materials. Here, we employ an ab initio many-body perturbation theory approach which explicitly accounts for the excitons and phonons in the heterostructure. Our large-scale first-principles calculations directly probe the role of exciton-phonon coupling in the charge dynamics of the WS$_2$/MoS$_2$ heterobilayer. We find that the exciton-phonon interaction induced relaxation time of photo-excited excitons at the $K$ valley of MoS$_2$ and WS$_2$ is 67 fs and 15 fs at 300 K, respectively, which sets a lower bound to the intralayer-to-interlayer exciton transfer time and is consistent with experiment reports. We further show that electron-hole correlations facilitate novel transfer pathways which are otherwise inaccessible to non-interacting electrons and holes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Observation of possible excitonic charge density waves and metal-insulator transitions in atomically thin semimetals

Charge density wave (CDW) is a collective quantum phenomenon with a charge modulation in solids1-2. Condensation of electron and hole pairs with finite momentum will lead to such an ordered state3-7. However, lattice symmetry breaking manifested as the softening of phonon modes can occur simultaneously, which makes it difficult to disentangle the origin of the transition8-14. Here, we report a condensed phase in low dimensional HfTe2, whereas angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements show a metal-insulator transition by lowering the temperature in single triatomic layer (TL) HfTe2. A full gap opening, renormalization of the bands, and emergence of replica bands at the M point are observed in the low temperatures, indicating formation of a CDW in the ground state.Raman spectroscopy shows no sign of lattice distortion within the detection limit. The results are corroborated by first-principles calculations, demonstrating the electronic origin of the CDW. By adding more layers, the phase transition is suppressed and completely destroyed at 3 TL because of the increased screening around the Fermi surface. Interestingly, a small amount of electron doping in 1 TL film during the growth significantly raises the transition temperature (TC), which is attributed to a reduced screening effect and a more balanced electron and hole carrier density. Our results indicate a CDW formation mechanism consistent with the excitonic insulator phase in low dimensional HfTe2 and open up opportunity for realization of novel quantum states based on exciton condensation.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Evidence of high-temperature exciton condensation in a two-dimensional semimetal

Electrons and holes can spontaneously form excitons and condense in a semimetal or semiconductor, as predicted decades ago. This type of Bose condensation can happen at much higher temperatures in comparison with dilute atomic gases. Two-dimensional (2D) materials with reduced Coulomb screening around the Fermi level are promising for realizing such a system. Here we report a change in the band structure accompanied by a phase transition at about 180 K in single-layer ZrTe2 based on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements. Below the transition temperature, gap opening and development of an ultra-flat band top around the zone center are observed. This gap and the phase transition are rapidly suppressed with extra carrier densities introduced by adding more layers or dopants on the surface. The results suggest the formation of an excitonic insulating ground state in single-layer ZrTe2, and the findings are rationalized by first principles calculations and a self-consistent mean-field theory. Our study provides evidence for exciton condensation in a 2D semimetal and demonstrates strong dimensionality effects on the formation of intrinsic bound electron-hole pairs in solids.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Exciton-Driven Renormalization of Quasiparticle Band Structure in Monolayer MoS2

Optical excitation serves as a powerful approach to control the electronic structure of layered Van der Waals materials via many-body screening effects, induced by photoexcited free carriers, or via light-driven coherence, such as optical Stark and Bloch-Siegert effects. Although theoretical work has also pointed to an exotic mechanism of renormalizing band structure via excitonic correlations in bound electron-hole pairs (excitons), experimental observation of such exciton-driven band renormalization and the full extent of their implications is still lacking, largely due to the limitations of optical probes and the impact of screening effects. Here, by using extreme-ultraviolet time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy together with excitonic many-body theoretical calculations, we directly unmask the band renormalization effects driven by excitonic correlations in a monolayer semiconductor. We revealed a surprising bandgap opening, increased by 40 meV, and a simultaneous enhancement of band effective mass. Our findings unmask the novel exciton-driven mechanism towards the band engineering in photoexcited semiconducting materials, opening a new playground to manipulate the transient energy states in layered quantum materials via optical controls of excitonic many-body correlations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Using dynamic mode decomposition to predict the dynamics of a two-time non-equilibrium Green's function

Computing the numerical solution of the Kadanoff-Baym equations, a set of nonlinear integral differential equations satisfied by two-time Green's functions derived from many-body perturbation theory for a quantum many-body system away from equilibrium, is a challenging task. Recently, we have successfully applied dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) to construct a data driven reduced order model that can be used to extrapolate the time-diagonal of a two-time Green's function from numerical solution of the KBE within a small time window. In this paper, we extend the previous work and use DMD to predict off-diagonal elements of the two-time Green's function. We partition the two-time Green's function into a number of one-time functions along the diagonal and subdiagonls of the two-time window as well as in horizontal and vertical directions. We use DMD to construct separate reduced order models to predict the dynamics of these one-time functions in a two-step procedure. We extrapolate along diagonal and several subdiagonals within a subdiagonal band of a two-time window in the first step. In the second step, we use DMD to extrapolate the Green's function outside of the sub-diagonal band. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of this approach by applying it to a two-band Hubbard model problem.

cond-mat.str-el

Nature of novel moiré exciton states in WSe$_2$/WS$_2$ heterobilayers

Moiré patterns of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers have proven to be an ideal platform to host unusual correlated electronic phases, emerging magnetism, and correlated exciton physics. While the existence of novel moiré excitonic states is established through optical measurements, the microscopic nature of these states is still poorly understood, often relying on empirically fit models. Here, combining large-scale first-principles GW-BSE calculations and micro-reflection spectroscopy, we identify the nature of the exciton resonances in WSe$_2$/WS$_2$ moiré superlattices, discovering a surprisingly rich set of moiré excitons that cannot be even qualitatively captured by prevailing continuum models. Our calculations reveal moiré excitons with distinct characters, including modulated Wannier excitons and previously unindentified intralayer charge-transfer excitons. Signatures of these distinct excitonic characters are confirmed experimentally via the unique carrier-density and magnetic-field dependences of different moiré exciton resonances. Our study highlights the highly non-trivial exciton states that can emerge in TMD moiré superlattices, and suggests novel ways of tuning many-body physics in moiré systems by engineering excited-states with specific spatial characters.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Analyzing and predicting non-equilibrium many-body dynamics via dynamic mode decomposition

Simulating the dynamics of a nonequilibrium quantum many-body system by computing the two-time Green's function associated with such a system is computationally challenging. However, we are often interested in the time diagonal of such a Green's function or time dependent physical observables that are functions of one time. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of using dynamic model decomposition (DMD), a data-driven model order reduction technique, to characterize one-time observables associated with the nonequilibrium dynamics using snapshots computed within a small time window. The DMD method allows us to efficiently predict long time dynamics from a limited number of trajectory samples. We demonstrate the effectiveness of DMD on a model two-band system. We show that, in the equilibrium limit, the DMD analysis yields results that are consistent with those produced from a linear response analysis. In the nonequilibrium case, the extrapolated dynamics produced by DMD is more accurate than a special Fourier extrapolation scheme presented in this paper. We point out a potential pitfall of the standard DMD method caused by insufficient spatial/momentum resolution of the discretization scheme. We show how this problem can be overcome by using a variant of the DMD method known as higher order DMD.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Photonic quantum simulation of ground state configurations of Heisenberg square and checkerboard lattice spin systems

Photonic quantum simulators are promising candidates for providing insight into other small- to medium-sized quantum systems. The available photonic quantum technology is reaching the state where significant advantages arise for the quantum simulation of interesting questions in Heisenberg spin systems. Here we experimentally simulate such spin systems with single photons and linear optics. The effective Heisenberg-type interactions among individual single photons are realized by quantum interference at the tunable direction coupler followed by the measurement process. The effective interactions are characterized by comparing the entanglement dynamics using pairwise concurrence of a four-photon quantum system. We further show that photonic quantum simulations of generalized Heisenberg interactions on a four-site square lattice and a six-site checkerboard lattice are in reach of current technology.

quant-ph

Tensor network simulation of phase diagram of frustrated J1-J2 Heisenberg model on a checkerboard lattice

We use the recently developed tensor network algorithm based on infinite projected entangled pair states (iPEPS) to study the phase diagram of frustrated antiferromagnetic J1-J2 Heisenberg model on a checkerboard lattice. The simulation indicates a Neel ordered phase when J2 < 0.88J1, a plaquette valence bond solid state when 0.88 < J2/J1 < 1.11, and a stripe phase when J2 > 1.11J1, with two first-order transitions across the phase boundaries. The calculation shows the cross-dimer state proposed before is unlikely to be the ground state of the model, although such a state indeed arises as a metastable state in some parameter region.

cond-mat.str-el