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Ying Ran

Publications and source records attributed to Ying Ran.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Colossal Bulk Photovoltaic Effect in a Weyl Semimetal

Broadband, efficient and fast conversion of light to electricity is crucial for sensing and clean energy. Here we reveal the largest observed bulk photo-voltaic effect (BPVE), an intrinsic mechanism predicted to be ultrafast and exceed the Shockley-Quiesser limit. This discovery results from combining recent developments in the connection of BPVE to topology, Weyl semimetals and focused-ion beam fabrication. Our room temperature observation of the first BPVE in the mid-IR, is enabled by microscopic devices of the Weyl semimetal TaAs. Detailed symmetry analysis enables unambiguous separation of this response from competing photo-thermal effects. The size and wavelength range of the shift current offers new opportunities in optical detectors, clean energy, and topology, while directly demonstrating the utility of Weyl semimetals for applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Divergent bulk photovoltaic effect in Weyl semimetals

Weyl semimetals (WSM) have been discovered in time-reversal symmetric materials, featuring monopoles of Berry's curvature in momentum space. WSM have been distinguished between Type-I and II where the velocity tilting of the cone in the later ensures a finite area Fermi surface. To date it has not been clear whether the two types results in any qualitatively new phenomena. Here we focus on the shift-current response ($σ_{shift}(ω)$), a second order optical effect generating photocurrents. Surprisingly we find that up to an order unity constant, $σ_{shift}(ω)\sim \frac{e^3}{h^2}\frac{1}ω$ in Type-II WSM, diverging in the low frequency $ω\rightarrow 0$ limit. This is in stark contrast to the vanishing behavior ($σ_{shift}(ω)\propto ω$) in Type-I WSM. In addition, in both Type-I and Type-II WSM, a nonzero chemical potential $μ$ relative to nodes leads to a large peak of shift-current response with a width $\sim |μ|/\hbar$ and a height $\sim \frac{e^3}{h}\frac{1}{|μ|}$, the latter diverging in the low doping limit. We show that the origin of these divergences is the singular Berry's connections and the Pauli-blocking mechanism. Similar results hold for the real part of the second harmonic generation, a closely related nonlinear optical response.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Dyonic Lieb-Shultz-Mattis Theorem and Symmetry Protected Topological Phases in Decorated Dimer Models

We consider 2+1D lattice models of interacting bosons or spins, with both magnetic flux and fractional spin in the unit cell. We propose and prove a modified Lieb-Shultz Mattis (LSM) theorem in this setting, which applies even when the spin in the enlarged magnetic unit cell is integral. There are two nontrivial outcomes for gapped ground states that preserve all symmetries. In the first case, one necessarily obtains a symmetry protected topological (SPT) phase with protected edge states. This allows us to readily construct models of SPT states by decorating dimer models of Mott insulators to yield SPT phases, which should be useful in their physical realization. In the second case, exotic bulk excitations, i.e. topological order, is necessarily present. While both scenarios require fractional spin in the lattice unit cell, the second requires that the symmetries protecting the fractional spin is related to that involved in the magnetic translations. Our discussion encompasses the general notion of fractional spin (projective symmetry representations) and magnetic flux (magnetic translations tied to a symmetry generator). The resulting SPTs display a dyonic character in that they associate charge with symmetry flux, allowing the flux in the unit cell to screen the projective representation on the sites. We provide an explicit formula that encapsulates this physics, which identifies a specific set of allowed SPT phases.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Andreev Reflection without Fermi surface alignment in High T$_{c}$-Topological heterostructures

We address the controversy over the proximity effect between topological materials and high T$_{c}$ superconductors. Junctions are produced between Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+δ}$ and materials with different Fermi surfaces (Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ \& graphite). Both cases reveal tunneling spectra consistent with Andreev reflection. This is confirmed by magnetic field that shifts features via the Doppler effect. This is modeled with a single parameter that accounts for tunneling into a screening supercurrent. Thus the tunneling involves Cooper pairs crossing the heterostructure, showing the Fermi surface mis-match does not hinder the ability to form transparent interfaces, which is accounted for by the extended Brillouin zone and different lattice symmetries.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Anyon condensation and a generic tensor-network construction for symmetry protected topological phases

We present systematic constructions of tensor-network wavefunctions for bosonic symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases respecting both onsite and spatial symmetries. From the classification point of view, our results show that in spatial dimensions $d=1,2,3$, the cohomological bosonic SPT phases protected by a general symmetry group $SG$ involving onsite and spatial symmetries are classified by the cohomology group $H^{d+1}(SG,U(1))$, in which both the time-reversal symmetry and mirror reflection symmetries should be treated as anti-unitary operations. In addition, for every SPT phase protected by a discrete symmetry group and some SPT phases protected by continous symmetry groups, generic tensor-network wavefunctions can be constructed which would be useful for the purpose of variational numerical simulations. As a by-product, our results demonstrate a generic connection between rather conventional symmetry enriched topological phases and SPT phases via an anyon condensation mechanism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Ferromagnetism and d+id superconductivity in 1/2 doped correlated systems on triangular lattice

We investigate the quantum phase diagram of t-J model on triangular lattice at 1/2 doping with various lattice sizes by using a combination of density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), variational Monte Carlo and quantum field theories. To sharply distinguish different phases, we calculated the symmetry quantum numbers of the ground state wave functions, and the results are further confirmed by studying correlation functions. Our results show there is a first order phase transition from ferromagnetism to d+id superconductivity, with the transition taking place at $J/t=0.4\pm0.2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Featureless quantum insulator on the honeycomb lattice

We show how to construct fully symmetric, gapped states without topological order on a honey- comb lattice for S = 1/2 spins using the language of projected entangled pair states(PEPS). An explicit example is given for the virtual bond dimension D = 4. Four distinct classes differing by lattice quantum numbers are found by applying the systematic classification scheme introduced by two of the authors [S. Jiang and Y. Ran, Phys. Rev. B 92, 104414 (2015)]. Lack of topological degeneracy or other conventional forms of symmetry breaking, and the existence of energy gap in the proposed wave functions, are checked by numerical calculations of the entanglement entropy and various correlation functions. Our work provides the first explicit realization of a featureless quantum insulator for spin-1/2 particles on a honeycomb lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

When chiral photons meet chiral fermions - Photoinduced anomalous Hall effects in Weyl semimetals

The Weyl semimetal is characterized by three-dimensional linear band touching points called Weyl nodes. These nodes come in pairs with opposite chiralities. We show that the coupling of circularly polarized photons with these chiral electrons generates a Hall conductivity without any applied magnetic field in the plane orthogonal to the light propagation. This phenomenon comes about because with all three Pauli matrices exhausted to form the three-dimensional linear dispersion, the Weyl nodes cannot be gapped. Rather, the net influence of chiral photons is to shift the positions of the Weyl nodes. Interestingly, the momentum shift is tightly correlated with the chirality of the node to produce a net anomalous Hall signal. Application of our proposal to the recently discovered TaAs family of Weyl semimetals leads to an order-of-magnitude estimate of the photoinduced Hall conductivity which is within the experimentally accessible range.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Symmetric tensor networks and practical simulation algorithms to sharply identify classes of quantum phases distinguishable by short-range physics

Phases of matter are sharply defined in the thermodynamic limit. One major challenge of accurately simulating quantum phase diagrams of interacting quantum systems is due to the fact that numerical simulations usually deal with the energy density, a local property of quantum wavefunctions, while identifying different quantum phases generally rely on long-range physics. In this paper we construct generic fully symmetric quantum wavefunctions under certain assumptions using a type of tensor networks: projected entangled pair states, and provide practical simulation algorithms based on them. We find that quantum phases can be organized into crude classes distinguished by short-range physics, which is related to the fractionalization of both on-site symmetries and space-group symmetries. Consequently, our simulation algorithms, which are useful to study long-range physics as well, are expected to be able to sharply determine crude classes in interacting quantum systems efficiently. Examples of these crude classes are demonstrated in half-integer quantum spin systems on the kagome lattice. Limitations and generalizations of our results are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Generalized modular transformations in 3+1D topologically ordered phases and triple linking invariant of loop braiding

In topologically ordered quantum states of matter in 2+1D (space-time dimensions), the braiding statistics of anyonic quasiparticle excitations is a fundamental characterizing property which is directly related to global transformations of the ground-state wavefunctions on a torus (the modular transformations). On the other hand, there are theoretical descriptions of various topologically ordered states in 3+1D, which exhibit both point-like and loop-like excitations, but systematic understanding of the fundamental physical distinctions between phases, and how these distinctions are connected to quantum statistics of excitations, is still lacking. One main result of this work is that the three-dimensional generalization of modular transformations, when applied to topologically ordered ground states, is directly related to a certain braiding process of loop-like excitations. This specific braiding surprisingly involves three loops simultaneously, and can distinguish different topologically ordered states. Our second main result is the identification of the three-loop braiding as a process in which the worldsheets of the three loops have a non-trivial triple linking number, which is a topological invariant characterizing closed two-dimensional surfaces in four dimensions. In this work we consider realizations of topological order in 3+1D using cohomological gauge theory in which the loops have Abelian statistics, and explicitly demonstrate our results on examples with $Z_2\times Z_2$ topological order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Chiral spin density wave, spin-charge-Chern liquid and d+id superconductivity in 1/4-doped correlated electronic systems on the honeycomb lattice

Recently two interesting candidate quantum phases --- the chiral spin density wave state featuring anomalous quantum Hall effect and the d+id superconductor --- were proposed for the Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice at 1/4 doping. Using a combination of exact diagonalization, density matrix renormalization group, the variational Monte Carlo method and quantum field theories, we study the quantum phase diagrams of both the Hubbard model and t-J model on the honeycomb lattice at 1/4-doping. The main advantage of our approach is the use of symmetry quantum numbers of ground state wavefunctions on finite size systems (up to 32 sites) to sharply distinguish different quantum phases. Our results show that for $1\lesssim U/t< 40$ in the Hubbard model and for $0.1< J/t<0.80(2)$ in the t-J model, the quantum ground state is either a chiral spin density wave state or a spin-charge-Chern liquid, but not a d+id superconductor. However, in the t-J model, upon increasing $J$ the system goes through a first-order phase transition at $J/t=0.80(2)$ into the d+id superconductor. Here the spin-charge-Chern liquid state is a new type of topologically ordered quantum phase with Abelian anyons and fractionalized excitations. Experimental signatures of these quantum phases, such as tunneling conductance, are calculated. These results are discussed in the context of 1/4-doped graphene systems and other correlated electronic materials on the honeycomb lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Possible high temperature odd parity superconductivity in LaNi$_{7/8}$Co$_{1/8}$O$_3$ (111) bilayers

Using the functional renormalization group technique we demonstrate a route for potentially high-temperature odd-parity superconductivity in ferromagnetic materials caused by repulsive electron interactions, where the superconducting pairing is driven by charge-density wave fluctuations. Our model is directly applicable to a lightly cobalt-doped LaNiO$_3$ bilayer grown in the (111) direction. As the on-site repulsive interaction grows, a charge-density wave state with a charge pattern that respects all point-group symmetries of the bilayer is replaced by a superconducting state with an f-wave pairing.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Changing topology by topological defects in three-dimensional topologically ordered phases

A hallmark feature of topologically ordered states of matter is the dependence of ground state degeneracy (GSD) on the topology of the manifold determined by the global shape of the system. Although the topology of a physical system is practically hard to manipulate, recently it was shown that in certain topologically ordered phases, topological defects can introduce extra topological GSD. Here the topological defects can be viewed as effectively changing the topology of the physical system. Previous studies have been focusing on two spatial dimensions with point-like topological defects. In three dimensions, line-like topological defects can appear. They are closed loops in the bulk that can be linked and knotted, effectively leading to complex three dimensional manifolds in certain topologically ordered states. This paper studies the properties of such line-defects in a particular context: the lattice dislocations. We give an analytical construction, together with support from exact numerical calculations, for the dependence of the GSD on dislocations of certain doubled versions of the exactly solvable Kitaev's toric code models in both two and three dimensions. We find that the GSD of the 3d model depends only on the total number of dislocation loops, no matter how they are linked or knotted. The results are extended to Z_n generalizations of the model. Additionally, we consider the phases in which the crystalline orders are destroyed through proliferation of double dislocations. The resulting phases are shown to host topological orders described by non-Abelian gauge theories.

cond-mat.str-el↗

A classification of symmetry enriched topological phases with exactly solvable models

Recently a new class of quantum phases of matter: symmetry protected topological states, such as topological insulators, attracted much attention. In presence of interactions, group cohomology provides a classification of these [X. Chen et al., arXiv:1106.4772v5 (2011)]. These phases have short-ranged entanglement, and no topological order in the bulk. However, when long-range entangled topological order is present, it is much less understood how to classify quantum phases of matter in presence of global symmetries. Here we present a classification of bosonic gapped quantum phases with or without long-range entanglement, in the presence or absence of on-site global symmetries. In 2+1 dimensions, the quantum phases in the presence of a global symmetry group SG, and with topological order described by a finite gauge group GG, are classified by the cohomology group H^3(SGxGG,U(1)). Generally in d+1 dimensions, such quantum phases are classified by H^{d+1}(SGxGG,U(1)). Although we only partially understand to what extent our classification is complete, we present an exactly solvable local bosonic model, in which the topological order is emergent, for each given class in our classification. When the global symmetry is absent, the topological order in our models is described by the general Dijkgraaf-Witten discrete gauge theories. When the topological order is absent, our models become the exactly solvable models for symmetry protected topological phases [X. Chen et al., arXiv:1106.4772v5 (2011)]. When both the global symmetry and the topological order are present, our models describe symmetry enriched topological phases. Our classification includes, but goes beyond the previously discussed projective symmetry group classification. Measurable signatures of these symmetry enriched topological phases, and generalizations of our classification are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Visualizing Landau levels of Dirac electrons in a one dimensional potential

Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy we have measured the response of Dirac electrons in a magnetic field to the presence of a well-defined smoothly varying 1D periodic potential. We find that the lower index Landau level energies reliably trace the potential variations, while the higher index levels appear surprisingly homogeneous. Modeling the effects of the periodic potential on the Landau level spectra, we show that the Landau level behavior encodes information on the spatial extent of the wavefunctions. The lower index maps reveal Landau level stripes, which would act as traps for chiral one-dimensional modes. Our findings have important implications for transport and magneto-resistance measurements in Dirac materials with engineered potential landscapes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

One-dimensional channel for Dirac electrons in a 3D topological insulator

Topological insulators represent a new state of matter where the topological nature of the bulk bands dictates the existence of a surface state with unique properties. These materials are predicted to host exotic states such as Majorana Fermions and 1D chiral modes, many of which require a delicate tuning of the surface state properties near the Dirac point. Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on the prototypical topological insulator Bi2Te3, we have discovered one-dimensional topographic stripes which induce spatially modulated changes in the electronic structure. Direct magnetic field measurements reveal a striped pattern of Landau level energies, which can be used to realize spatial regions with alternating filling fractions. When the chemical potential is properly tuned, the observed modulation would dictate the existence of topological 1D chiral modes at the boundaries between the stripes, and provide a platform for the experimental realization of 1D dissipationless quantum wires in topological insulators. Our discovery that the surface state dispersion is modulated over nanometer length scales by an intrinsic topographic route represents a new paradigm for controlling the properties of Dirac electrons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Symmetry protected fractional Chern insulators and fractional topological insulators

In this paper we construct fully symmetric wavefunctions for the spin-polarized fractional Chern insulators (FCI) and time-reversal-invariant fractional topological insulators (FTI) in two dimensions using the parton approach. We show that the lattice symmetry gives rise to many different FCI and FTI phases even with the same filling fraction $ν$ (and the same quantized Hall conductance $σ_{xy}$ in FCI case). They have different symmetry-protected topological orders, which are characterized by different projective symmetry groups. We mainly focus on FCI phases which are realized in a partially filled band with Chern number one. The low-energy gauge groups of a generic $σ_{xy}=1/m\cdot e^2/h$ FCI wavefunctions can be either $SU(m)$ or the discrete group $Z_m$, and in the latter case the associated low-energy physics are described by Chern-Simons-Higgs theories. We use our construction to compute the ground state degeneracy. Examples of FCI/FTI wavefunctions on honeycomb lattice and checkerboard lattice are explicitly given. Possible non-Abelian FCI phases which may be realized in a partially filled band with Chern number two are discussed. Generic FTI wavefunctions in the absence of spin conservation are also presented whose low-energy gauge groups can be either $SU(m)\times SU(m)$ or $Z_m\times Z_m$. The constructed wavefunctions also set up the framework for future variational Monte Carlo simulations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Nearly flat band with Chern number C=2 on the dice lattice

We point out the possibility of nearly flat band with Chern number C=2 on the dice lattice in a simple nearest-neighbor tightbinding model. This lattice can be naturally formed by three adjacent $(111)$ layers of cubic lattice, which may be realized in certain thin films or artificial heterostructures, such as SrTiO$_3$/SrIrO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ trilayer heterostructure grown along $(111)$ direction. The flatness of two bands is protected by the bipartite nature of the lattice. Including the Rashba spin-orbit coupling on nearest-neighbor bonds separate the flat bands with others but maintains their flatness. Repulsive interaction will drive spontaneous ferromagnetism on the Kramer pair of flat bands and split them into two nearly flat bands with Chern number $C=\pm 2$. We thus propose that this may be a route to quantum anomalous Hall effect and further conjecture that partial filling of the C=2 band may realize exotic fractional quantum Hall effects.

cond-mat.str-el↗