arXiv subjects

Yu-Chen Zhuang

Publications and source records attributed to Yu-Chen Zhuang.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spin-textured orbitals in altermagnetic artificial atoms

Artificial atoms provide a versatile platform for engineering atomic-like orbitals, yet spin generally remains a passive degree of freedom in their orbital structure. Here, we introduce the concept of altermagnetic artificial atoms formed by confining electrons with momentum-dependent spin splitting. We show that altermagnetism reconstructs conventional confined orbitals into spin-textured orbitals, with spatially distinct distributions of opposite spin components. The resulting confined spectrum retains a twofold degeneracy protected by the combined $C_{4z}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry. These spin textures persist in higher-energy states, where additional radial structures combine with the characteristic angular spin pattern. Furthermore, strain resolves the degenerate orbital pairs into spin-polarized states, and continuously tunes their energy splitting. Our results establish altermagnetic artificial atoms as a route to engineering spin-dependent orbital structures in quantum-confined systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Current-induced re-entrant superconductivity and extreme nonreciprocal superconducting diode effect in valley-polarized systems

The superconducting diode effect (SDE) refers to the nonreciprocity of superconducting critical currents. Generally, the SDE has a positive and a negative critical currents jc+- corresponding to two opposite directions with unequal amplitudes. It is demonstrated that an extreme nonreciprocity where two critical currents can become both positive (or negative) has been observed in twisted graphene systems. In this work, we theoretically propose a possible mechanism to realize an extreme nonreciprocal SDE. Based on a simple microscopic model, we demonstrate that depairing currents required to dissolve Cooper pairs can be remodulated under the interplay between valley polarizations and applied currents. Near the disappearance of the superconductivity, the remodulation is shown to induce extreme nonreciprocity and also the current-induced re-entrant superconductivity where the system has two different critical current intervals. Our study may provide new horizons for understanding the coexistence of superconductivity and spontaneous valley polarizations, and pave a way for designing SDE with 100% efficiency

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Helimagnetic Josephson diode effect

We study the Josephson diode effect in the one-dimensional superconductor/helimagnet/superconductor junctions using the Green's function method. For the spin-singlet $s$-wave pairing in superconductors, it is found that the necessary conditions for the Josephson diode effect are the nonzero chemical potential and the conical magnetic configuration in the helimagnet. The diode efficiency is strongly dependent on the chemical potential, chirality, tilt angle and exchange coupling in the helimagnet. The high efficiency close to $40\%$ can be obtained for specific parameter values. The sign of the diode efficiency can be tuned by changing the chirality, tilt angle, exchange coupling and chemical potential. The dependence of the diode efficiency on the number of supercells in the helimagnet is also investigated. The characteristics of the supercurrent nonreciprocity and diode efficiency in the junctions are clarified through the symmetry analysis and the energy band calculations. The diode effect for the spin-triplet $p$-wave pairing in superconductors is also discussed and the nonzero chemical potential is no longer a necessary condition for the Josephson diode effect due to the equal-spin Cooper pair-mediated transport in the $p$-wave junctions. These results provide a scheme for the Josephson diode effect without spin-orbit coupling, which possesses the potential applications in the design of dissipationless electronic devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Orbital hybridization in graphene-based artificial atoms

Intraatomic orbital hybridization and interatomic bond formation are the two fundamental processes when real atoms are condensed to form matter. Artificial atoms mimic real atoms by demonstrating discrete energy levels attributable to quantum confinement. As such, they offer a solid-state analogue for simulating intraatomic orbital hybridization and interatomic bond formation. Signatures of interatomic bond formation has been extensively observed in various artificial atoms. However, direct evidence of the intraatomic orbital hybridization in the artificial atoms remains to be experimentally demonstrated. Here we, for the first time, realize the orbital hybridization in artificial atoms by altering the shape of the artificial atoms. The anisotropy of the confining potential gives rise to the hybridization between quasibound states with different orbital quantum numbers within the artificial atom. These hybridized orbits are directly visualized in real space in our experiment and are well reproduced by both numerical calculations and analytical derivations. Our study opens an avenue for designing artificial matter that cannot be accessed on real atoms through experiments. Moreover, the results obtained inspire the progressive control of quantum states in diverse systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Atomic collapse of high-order singular potentials in graphene

Artificial atoms in graphene hosting a series of quasi-bound states can serve as an excellent platform to explore atomic collapse and become a basis to design novel graphene nanodevices. We theoretically study behaviors of massless Dirac fermions in singular potentials with a general form of 1/r^γ. Different from the Coulomb potential that demands a supercritical charge Z > Zc, a high-order singular potential (γ > 1) is found to in principle induce atomic collapse with an infinitesimal charge Z. The energies of atomic collapse states (ACSs) within these potentials are arranged roughly as a power sequence. We also show that some special ACSs can exist even above the bulk Dirac point, which cannot appear in the Coulomb potential. These findings uncover the anomalies of massless Dirac fermions in diverse charge potentials and provide guidance for further experiments and graphene nanodevice applications.

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arXiv2025

Tunneling Magnetoresistance Effect in Altermagnets

As an unconventional magnet, altermagnetism attracts great interest in condensed matter physics and applies a new research platform for the spintronics. Since the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect is an important research aspect in spintronics, we theoretically propose a universal altermagnetic sandwich device to achieve the TMR effect and investigate its transport properties. Using the nonequilibrium Green's function method and the Landauer-Büttiker formula, we obtain the conductance and the TMR ratio. By systematically rotating the orientations of the altermagnet and spin, we investigate how the altermagnetic orientations affect the conductance and the TMR ratio, and comprehensively demonstrate the dependence of the conductance and the TMR ratio on a range of parameters in the system. By tuning the altermagnetism strength and the Fermi energy, as well as rotating the orientations in the altermagnet, the TMR ratio can reach a value of over 1000%. In addition, we analyze the detailed symmetry relations of the conductance and the TMR ratio in our system. Our approach provides a new design concept for the next-generation information technologies based on the altermagnetic platform, paving the way for the development of spintronics applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Thermal dissipation of the quantum spin Hall edge states in HgTe/CdTe quantum well

Quantum spin Hall effect is characterized by topologically protected helical edge states. Here we study the thermal dissipation of helical edge states by considering two types of dissipation sources. The results show that the helical edge states are dissipationless for normal dissipation sources with or without Rashba spin-orbit coupling in the system, but they are dissipative for spin dissipation sources. Further studies on the energy distribution show that electrons with spin-up and spin-down are both in their own equilibrium without dissipation sources. Spin dissipation sources can couple the two subsystems together to induce voltage drop and nonequilibrium distribution, leading to thermal dissipation, while normal dissipation sources cannot. With the increase of thermal dissipation, the subsystems of electrons with spin-up and spin-down evolve from non-equilibrium finally to mutual equilibrium. In addition, the effects of disorder on thermal dissipation are also discussed. Our work provides clues to reduce thermal dissipation in the quantum spin Hall systems

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Absence of edge states at armchair edges in inhomogeneously strained graphene under a pseudomagnetic field

Nonuniform strain in graphene can induce a pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) preserving time-reversal symmetry, generating pseudo-Landau levels under zero real magnetic field (MF). The different natures between PMF and real MF lead to the counterpropagating valley-polarized edge states under the PMF and unidirectionally chiral edge states under the real MF. In this work, we find, due to the valley mixing on the armchair edges, the quantum valley Hall edge states only exist at the zigzag edges but not at armchair edges in a uniaxial strained graphene, very different from the case that chiral quantum Hall edge states exist at all edges in pristine graphene under a real MF. We theoretically demonstrate it through the wave function distributions, multi-terminal transport measurements and the electron local occupations, respectively. The interface state in a p-n junction under PMF is further proposed to transport electrons between the conductive zigzag boundaries, which could be used as a valley-polarized single pole double throw switch.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Phase diagrams and edge-state transitions in graphene with spin-orbit coupling and magnetic and pseudomagnetic fields

The quantum Hall (QH) effect, the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect and the quantum valley Hall (QVH) effect are three peculiar topological insulating phases in graphene. They are characterized by three different types of edge states. These three effects are caused by the external magnetic field, the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and the strain-induced pseudomagnetic field, respectively. Here we theoretically study phase diagrams when these effects coexist and analyze how the edge states evolve between the three. We find the real magnetic field and the pseudomagnetic field will compete above the SOC energy gap while the QSH effect is almost unaffected within the SOC energy gap. The edge states transition from the QH effect or the QVH effect to the QSH effect directly relies on the arrangement of the zeroth Landau levels. Using edge states transitions, we raise a device similar to a spin field effect transistor (spin-FET) and also design a spintronics multiple-way switch.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Wavefront dislocations in graphene systems revealed by transport measurement

The wavefront dislocation is an important and ubiquitous phenomenon in wave fields. It is closely related to the phase singularity in a wave function. Some recent studies have verified that the wavefront dislocations in the local density of states (LDOS) map can well manifest the intrinsic topological characteristics in graphene and some topological systems. Different from these previous schemes, we raise a transport method to measure such wavefront dislocations in monolayer and Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene. Combining analytical analysis and numerical calculation, we find phase singularities naturally appear in the transmission coefficients between different sublattices, due to the intervalley interference on the electron propagating paths. These phase singularities could contribute wavefront dislocations in the conductance map. Additionally, in bilayer graphene, the wavefront dislocations are found to remain robust even though the tip is coupled to multiple sublattices. Biased bilayer graphene is also explored. Our scheme provides a new transport routine to explore valley-related topological properties of materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Visualizing orbital angular momentum induced single wavefront dislocation in graphene

Phase singularities are phase-indeterminate points where wave amplitudes are zero, which manifest as phase vertices or wavefront dislocations. In the realm of optical and electron beams, the phase singularity has been extensively explored, demonstrating a profound connection to orbital angular momentum. Direct local imaging of the impact of orbital angular momentum on phase singularities at the nanoscale, however, remains a challenge and has yet to be achieved. Here, we study the role of orbital angular momentum in phase singularities in graphene, particularly at the atomic level, through scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Our experiments demonstrate that the scatterings between different orbital angular momentum states, which are induced by local rotational symmetry-breaking potentials, can generate additional phase singularity, and result in robust single wavefront dislocation in real space. Our results pave the way for exploring the effects of orbital degree of freedom on quantum phases in quasiparticle interference processes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Relativistic artificial molecules with tunable coupling and orbitals

In a molecule formed by two atoms, energy difference between bonding and antibonding orbitals should depend on distance of the two atoms. However, exploring molecular orbitals of two natural atoms with tunable distance has remained an outstanding experimental challenge. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) can be viewed as relativistic artificial atoms, therefore, offering a unique platform to study molecular physics. Here, through scanning tunneling microscope (STM), we create and directly visualize the formation process of relativistic artificial molecules based on two coupled GQDs with tunable distance. Our study indicates that energy difference between the bonding and antibonding orbitals of the lowest quasibound state increases linearly with inverse distance of the two GQDs due to the relativistic nature of the artificial molecule. For quasibound states with higher orbital momenta, the coupling between these states leads to half-energy spacing of the confined states because the length of the molecular-like orbit is about twice that of the atomic-like orbit. Evolution from ring-like whispering-gallery modes in the artificial atoms to figure-eight orbitals in the artificial molecules is directly imaged. The ability to resolve the coupling and orbitals of the relativistic artificial molecule at the nanoscale level yields insights into the behavior of quantum-relativistic matter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Universal spin superconducting diode effect from spin-orbit coupling

We propose a universal spin superconducting diode effect (SDE) induced by spin-orbit coupling (SOC), where the critical spin supercurrents in opposite directions are unequal. By analysis from both the Ginzburg-Landau theory and energy band analysis, we show that the spin-$\uparrow \uparrow$ and spin-$\downarrow \downarrow$ Cooper pairs possess opposite phase gradients and opposite momenta from the SOC, which leads to the spin SDE. Two superconductors with SOC, a $p$-wave superconductor as a toy model and a practical superconducting nanowire, are numerically studied and they both exhibit spin SDE. In addition, our theory also provides a unified picture for both spin and charge SDEs. Besides, we propose spin-polarized detection and nonlocal spin transport, as mature experimental technologies, to confirm the spin SDE in superconducting nanowires.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Molecular Collapse States in Elliptical Graphene/WSe2 Heterostructure Quantum Dots

In relativistic physics, both atomic collapse in heavy nucleus and Hawking radiation in black hole are predicted to occur through Klein tunneling process that couples particles and antiparticles. Recently, atomic collapse states (ACSs) were explicitly realized in graphene because of its relativistic Dirac excitation with large fine structure constant. However, essential role of the Klein tunneling on the ACSs remains elusive in experiment. Here we systematically study the quasibound states in elliptical graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Bonding and antibonding molecular collapse states formed by two coupled ACSs are observed in the elliptical GQDs. Our experiments, supported by theoretical calculations, indicate that the antibonding state of the ACSs will change into a Klein-tunneling-induced quasibound state, revealing deep connection between the ACSs and the Klein tunneling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Magnetic field-tunable valley-contrasting pseudomagnetic confinement in graphene

Introducing quantum confinement has uncovered a rich set of interesting quantum phenomena and allows one to directly probe the physics of confined (quasi-)particles. In most experiments, however, electrostatic potential is the only available method to generate the quantum confinement in a continuous system. Here, we demonstrated experimentally that inhomogeneous pseudomagnetic fields in strained graphene can introduce exotic quantum confinement of massless Dirac fermions. The pseudomagnetic fields have opposite directions in the two distinct valleys of graphene. By tuning real magnetic field, the total effective magnetic fields in the two valleys are imbalanced. Then, we realized valley-contrasting spatial confinement, which lifts the valley degeneracy and results in field-tunable valley-polarized confined states in graphene. Our results provide a new avenue to manipulate the valley degree of freedom.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Coexistence of electron whispering-gallery modes and atomic collapse states in graphene WSe2 heterostructure quantum dots

The relativistic massless charge carriers with a Fermi velocity of about c300 in graphene enable us to realize two distinct types of resonances (c, the speed of light in vacuum). One is electron whispering-gallery mode in graphene quantum dots arising from the Klein tunneling of the massless Dirac fermions. The other is atomic collapse state, which has never been observed in experiment with real atoms due to the difficulty of producing heavy nuclei with charge Z 170, however, can be realized near a Coulomb impurity in graphene with a charge Z 1 because of the small velocity of the Dirac excitations. Here, unexpectedly, we demonstrate that both the electron whispering-gallery modes and atomic collapse states coexist in grapheneWSe2 heterostructure quantum dots due to the Coulomb-like potential near their edges. By applying a perpendicular magnetic field, evolution from the atomic collapse states to unusual Landau levels in the collapse regime are explored for the first time.

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