arXiv subjects

Yuval Oreg

Publications and source records attributed to Yuval Oreg.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

One-dimensional topological superconductivity based entirely on phase control

Topological superconductivity in one dimension requires time-reversal symmetry breaking, but at the same time it is hindered by external magnetic fields. We offer a general prescription for inducing topological superconductivity in planar superconductor-normal-superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNSNS) Josephson junctions without applying any magnetic fields on the junctions. Our platform relies on two key ingredients: the three parallel superconductors form two SNS junctions with phase winding, and the Fermi velocities for the two spin branches transverse to the junction must be different from one another. The two phase differences between the three superconductors define a parameter plane which includes large topological regions. We analytically derive the critical curves where the topological phase transitions occur, and corroborate the result with a numerical calculation based on a tight-binding model. We further propose material platforms with unequal Fermi velocities, establishing the experimental feasibility of our approach.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Renormalization-group-inspired neural networks for computing topological invariants

We show that artificial neural networks (ANNs) can, to high accuracy, determine the topological invariant of a disordered system given its two-dimensional real-space Hamiltonian. Furthermore, we describe a "renormalization-group" (RG) network, an ANN which converts a Hamiltonian on a large lattice to another on a small lattice while preserving the invariant. By iteratively applying the RG network to a "base" network that computes the Chern number of a small lattice of set size, we are able to process larger lattices without re-training the system. We therefore show that it is possible to compute real-space topological invariants for systems larger than those on which the network was trained. This opens the door for computation times significantly faster and more scalable than previous methods.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2022

Extracting the scaling dimension of quantum Hall quasiparticles from current correlations

Fractional quantum Hall quasiparticles are generally characterized by two quantum numbers: electric charge $Q$ and scaling dimension $Δ$. For the simplest states (such as the Laughlin series) the scaling dimension determines the quasiparticle's anyonic statistics (the statistical phase $θ=2πΔ$). For more complicated states (featuring counterpropagating modes or non-Abelian statistics) knowing the scaling dimension is not enough to extract the quasiparticle statistics. Nevertheless, even in those cases knowing the scaling dimension facilitates distinguishing different candidate theories for describing the quantum Hall state at a particular filling (such as PH-Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian at $ν=5/2$). Here we propose a scheme for extracting the scaling dimension of quantum Hall quasiparticles from thermal tunneling noise produced at a quantum point contact. Our scheme makes only minimal assumptions about the edge structure and features the level of robustness, simplicity, and model independence comparable to extracting the quasiparticle charge from tunneling shot noise.

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arXiv2022

Domain Formation Driven by the Entropy of Topological Edge Modes

In this Letter we study interacting systems with spontaneous discrete symmetry breaking, where the degenerate symmetry-broken states are topologically distinct gapped phases. Edge modes appear at domain walls between the two topological phases. In the presence of a weak disorder field conjugate to the order parameter, we find that the entropy of the edge modes drives a thermal transition between a gapped uniform phase and a phase with a disorder-induced domain structure. We characterize this transition using a phenomenological Landau functional, and corroborate our conclusions with a concrete microscopic model. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of experimental signatures of this phase transition, and propose graphene-based moiré heterostructures as candidate materials in which such a phase transition can be detected.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Fluctuations in heat current and scaling dimension

In this work, we theoretically study the heat flow between two $1+1$d chiral gapless systems connected by a point contact. With a small temperature gradient between the two, we find that the ratio between fluctuations of the heat current and the heat current itself is proportional to the scaling dimension -- a universal number that characterizes the distribution of the particles tunneling through the point contact. We adopt two different approaches, scattering theory and conformal field theory, to calculate this ratio and see that their results agree. Our findings are useful for probing not only fractional charge excitations in fractional quantum Hall states but also neutral ones in non-Abelian phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Visualization of Topological Boundary Modes Manifesting Topological Nodal-Point Superconductivity

The extension of the topological classification of band insulators to topological semimetals gave way to the topology classes of Dirac, Weyl, and nodal line semimetals with their unique Fermi arc and drum head boundary modes. Similarly, there are several suggestions to employ the classification of topological superconductors for topological nodal superconductors with Majorana boundary modes. Here, we show that the surface 1H termination of the transition metal dichalcogenide compound 4Hb-TaS$_2$, in which 1T-TaS$_2$ and 1H-TaS$_2$ layers are interleaved, has the phenomenology of a topological nodal point superconductor. We find in scanning tunneling spectroscopy a residual density of states within the superconducting gap. An exponentially decaying bound mode is imaged within the superconducting gap along the boundaries of the exposed 1H layer characteristic of a gapless Majorana edge mode. The anisotropic nature of the localization length of the edge mode aims towards topological nodal superconductivity. A zero-bias conductance peak is further imaged within fairly isotropic vortex cores. All our observations are accommodated by a theoretical model of a two-dimensional nodal Weyl-like superconducting state, which ensues from inter-orbital Cooper pairing. The observation of an intrinsic topological nodal superconductivity in a layered material will pave the way for further studies of Majorana edge modes and its applications in quantum information processing.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Majorana zero modes induced by superconducting phase bias

Majorana zero modes in condensed matter systems have been the subject of much interest in recent years. Their non-Abelian exchange statistics, making them a unique state of matter, and their potential applications in topological quantum computation, earned them attention from both theorists and experimentalists. It is generally understood that in order to form Majorana zero modes in quasi-one-dimensional topological insulators, time-reversal symmetry must be broken. The straightforward mechanisms for doing so -- applying magnetic fields or coupling to ferromagnets -- turned out to have many unwanted side effects, such as degradation of superconductivity and the formation of sub-gap states, which is part of the reason Majorana zero modes have been eluding direct experimental detection for a long time. Here we review several proposal that rely on controlling the phase of the superconducting order parameter, either as the sole mechanism for time-reversal-symmetry breaking, or as an additional handy knob used to reduce the applied magnetic field. These proposals hold practical promise to improve Majorana formation, and they shed light on the physics underlying the formation of the topological superconducting state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Theory of correlated insulators and superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene

We introduce and analyze a model that sheds light on the interplay between correlated insulating states, superconductivity, and flavor-symmetry breaking in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene. Using a variational mean-field theory, we determine the normal-state phase diagram of our model as a function of the band filling. The model features robust insulators at even integer fillings, occasional weaker insulators at odd integer fillings, and a pattern of flavor-symmetry breaking at non-integer fillings. Adding a phonon-mediated inter-valley retarded attractive interaction, we obtain strong-coupling superconducting domes, whose structure is in qualitative agreement with experiments. Our model elucidates how the intricate form of the interactions and the particle-hole asymmetry of the electronic structure determine the phase diagram. It also explains how subtle differences between devices may lead to the different behaviors observed experimentally. A similar model can be applied with minor modifications to other moiré systems, such as twisted trilayer graphene.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Tunable proximity effects and topological superconductivity in ferromagnetic hybrid nanowires

Hybrid semiconducting nanowire devices combining epitaxial superconductor and ferromagnetic insulator layers have been recently explored experimentally as an alternative platform for topological superconductivity at zero applied magnetic field. In this proof-of-principle work we show that the topological regime can be reached in actual devices depending on some geometrical constraints. To this end, we perform numerical simulations of InAs wires in which we explicitly include the superconducting Al and magnetic EuS shells, as well as the interaction with the electrostatic environment at a self-consistent mean-field level. Our calculations show that both the magnetic and the superconducting proximity effects on the nanowire can be tuned by nearby gates thanks to their ability to move the wavefunction across the wire section. We find that the topological phase is achieved in significant portions of the phase diagram only in configurations where the Al and EuS layers overlap on some wire facet, due to the rather local direct induced spin polarization and the appearance of an extra indirect exchange field through the superconductor. While of obvious relevance for the explanation of recent experiments, tunable proximity effects are of interest in the broader field of superconducting spintronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Theory of Multi-Orbital Topological Superconductivity in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

We study possible superconducting states in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers, assuming an on-site pairing potential that includes both intra- and inter-orbital terms. We find that if the mirror symmetry with respect to the system's plane is broken (e.g., by a substrate), this type of pairing can give rise to unconventional superconductivity, including time-reversal-invariant nodal and fully gapped topological phases. Using a multi-orbital renormalization group procedure, we show how these phases may result from the interplay between the local Coulomb repulsion, Hund's rule coupling, and phonon-mediated attraction. In particular, for a range of interaction parameters, the system transitions from a trivial phase to a nodal phase and finally to a gapped topological phase upon increasing the strength of the mirror symmetry breaking term.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Phase-induced topological superconductivity in a planar heterostructure

Topological superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional systems is a novel phase of matter with possible implications for quantum computation. Despite years of effort, a definitive signature of this phase in experiments is still debated. A major cause of this ambiguity is the side effects of applying a magnetic field: induced in-gap states, vortices, and alignment issues. Here we propose a planar semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure as a platform for realizing topological superconductivity without applying a magnetic field to the 2D electron gas hosting the topological state. Time-reversal symmetry is broken only by phase-biasing the proximitizing superconductors, which can be achieved using extremely small fluxes or bias currents far from the quasi-one-dimensional channel. Our platform is based on interference between this phase biasing and the phase arising from strong spin-orbit coupling in closed electron trajectories. The principle is demonstrated analytically using a simple model, and then shown numerically for realistic devices. We show a robust topological phase diagram, as well as explicit wavefunctions of Majorana zero modes. We discuss experimental issues regarding the practical implementation of our proposal, establishing it as an accessible scheme with contemporary experimental techniques.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Three-phase Majorana zero modes at tiny magnetic fields

Proposals for realizing Majorana fermions in condensed matter systems typically rely on magnetic fields, which degrade the proximitizing superconductor and plague the Majoranas' detection. We propose an alternative scheme to realize Majoranas based only on phase-biased superconductors. The phases (at least three of them) can be biased by a tiny magnetic field threading macroscopic superconducting loops, focusing and enhancing the effect of the magnetic field onto the junction, or by supercurrents. We show how a combination of the superconducting phase winding and the spin-orbit phase induced in closed loops (Aharonov-Casher effect) facilitates a topological superconducting state with Majorana end states. We demontrate this scheme by an analytically tractable model as well as simulations of realistic setups comprising only conventional materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Energy relaxation in edge modes in the quantum Hall effect

Studies of energy flow in quantum systems complement the information provided by common conductance measurements. The quantum limit of heat flow in one dimensional (1D) ballistic modes was predicted, and experimentally demonstrated, to have a universal value for bosons, fermions, and fractionally charged anyons. A fraction of this value is expected in non-abelian states. Nevertheless, open questions about energy relaxation along the propagation length in 1D modes remain. Here, we introduce a novel experimental setup that measures the energy relaxation in chiral 1D modes of the quantum Hall effect (QHE). Edge modes, emanating from a heated reservoir, are partitioned by a quantum point contact (QPC) located at their path. The resulting noise allows a determination of the 'effective temperature' at the location of the QPC. We found energy relaxation in all the tested QHE states, being integers or fractional. However, the relaxation was found to be mild in particle-like states, and prominent in hole-conjugate states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Novel method distinguishing between competing topological orders

Quantum Hall states - the progenitors of the growing family of topological insulators -- are rich source of exotic quantum phases. The nature of these states is reflected in the gapless edge modes, which in turn can be classified as integer - carrying electrons, fractional - carrying fractional charges; and neutral - carrying excitations with zero net charge but a well-defined amount of heat. The latter two may obey anyonic statistics, which can be abelian or non-abelian. The most-studied putative non-abelian state is the spin-polarized filling factor ν=5/2, whose charge e/4 quasiparticles are accompanied by neutral modes. This filling, however, permits different possible topological orders, which can be abelian or non-abelian. While numerical calculations favor the non-abelian anti-Pfaffian (A-Pf) order to have the lowest energy, recent thermal conductance measurements suggested the experimentally realized order to be the particle-hole Pfaffian (PH-Pf) order. It has been suggested that lack of thermal equilibration among the different edge modes of the A-Pf order can account for this discrepancy. The identification of the topological order is crucial for the interpretation of braiding (interference) operations, better understanding of the thermal equilibration process, and the reliability of the numerical studies. We developed a new method that helps identifying the topological order of the ν=5/2 state. By creating an interface between the two 2D half-planes, one hosting the ν=5/2 state and the other an integer ν=3 state, the interface supported a fractional ν=1/2 charge mode with 1/2 quantum conductance and a neutral Majorana mode. The presence of the Majorana mode, probed by measuring noise, propagating in the opposite direction to the charge mode, asserted the presence of the PH-Pf order but not that of the A-Pf order.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Temperature enhancement of thermal Hall conductance quantization

The quest for non-Abelian quasiparticles has inspired decades of experimental and theoretical efforts, where the scarcity of direct probes poses a key challenge. Among their clearest signatures is a thermal Hall conductance with quantized half-integer value in natural units $ π^2 k_B^2 T /3 h$ ($T$ is temperature, $h$ the Planck constant, $k_B$ the Boltzmann constant). Such a value was indeed recently observed in a quantum-Hall system and a magnetic insulator. We show that a non-topological "thermal metal" phase that forms due to quenched disorder may disguise as a non-Abelian phase by well approximating the trademark quantized thermal Hall response. Remarkably, the quantization here improves with temperature, in contrast to fully gapped systems. We provide numerical evidence for this effect and discuss its possible implications for the aforementioned experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Electron pairing induced by repulsive interactions in tunable one-dimensional platforms

We present a scheme comprised of a one-dimensional system with repulsive interactions, in which the formation of bound pairs can take place in an easily tunable fashion.By capacitively coupling a primary electronic quantum wire of interest to a secondary strongly-correlated fermionic system, the intrinsic electron-electron repulsion may be overcome, promoting the formation of bound electron pairs in the primary wire. The intrinsic repulsive interactions tend to favor the formation of charge density waves of these pairs, yet we find that superconducting correlations are dominant in a limited parameter regime. Our analysis show that the paired phase is stabilized in an intermediate region of phase space, encompassed by two additional phases: a decoupled phase, where the primary wire remains gapless, and a trion phase, where a primary electron pair binds a charge carrier from the secondary system. Tuning the strength of the primary-secondary interaction, as well as the chemical potential of the secondary system, one can control the different phase transitions. Our approach takes into account the interactions among the secondary degrees of freedom, and strongly relies on their highly correlated nature. Extension of our proposal to two dimensions is discussed, and the conditions for a long-range superconducting order from repulsion only are found. Our physical description, given by a simple model with a minimal amount of ingredients, may help to shed some light on pairing mechanism in various low-dimensional strongly correlated materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Modulation induced transport signatures in correlated electron waveguides

Recent transport experiments in spatially modulated quasi-1D structures created on top of LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces have revealed some interesting features, including phenomena conspicuously absent without the modulation. In this work, we focus on two of these remarkable features and provide theoretical analysis allowing their interpretation. The first one is the appearance of two-terminal conductance plateaus at rational fractions of $e^2/h$. We explain how this phenomenon, previously believed to be possible only in systems with strong repulsive interactions, can be stabilized in a system with attraction in the presence of the modulation. Using our theoretical framework we find the plateau amplitude and shape, and characterize the correlated phase which develops in the system due to the partial gap, namely a Luttinger liquid of electronic trions. The second observation is a sharp conductance dip below a conductance of $1\times e^2/h$, which changes its value over a wide range when tuning the system. We theorize that it is due to resonant backscattering caused by a periodic spin-orbit field. The behavior of this dip can be reliably accounted for by considering the finite length of the electronic waveguides, as well as the interactions therein. The phenomena discussed in this work exemplify the intricate interplay of strong interactions and spatial modulations, and reveal the potential for novel strongly correlated phases of matter in systems which prominently feature both.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Coupled wire construction of a topological phase with chiral tricritical Ising edge modes

Tricritical Ising (TCI) phase transition is known to occur in several interacting spin and Majorana fermion models and is described in terms of a supersymmetric conformal field theory (CFT) with central charge $c=7/10$. The field content of this CFT is highly nontrivial and includes among its primary fields the Fibonacci anyon, making it of potential interest to strategies seeking to implement fault-tolerant topological quantum computation with non-Abelian phases of matter. In this paper we explore the possibility that a TCI CFT can occur at the edge of a gapped two-dimensional topological state as a stable phase. We discuss a possible realization of this 2D phase based on a coupled-wire construction using the Grover-Sheng-Vishwanath chain model of Majorana zero modes coupled to Ising spins which is known to undergo the TCI phase transition. From the combined analysis using mean-field theory, conformal field theory and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) on 2- and 4-leg ladders, we find that the left- and right-moving gapless TCI modes become spatially separated and reside on two opposite edges of the system, forming a precursor of the required 2D topological phase.

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