arXiv subjects

Zheng-Yu Weng

Publications and source records attributed to Zheng-Yu Weng.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Mottness, Phase String, and High-$T_c$ Superconductivity

It is a great discovery in physics of the twentieth century that the elementary particles in Nature are dictated by gauge forces, characterized by a nonintegrable phase factor that an elementary particle of charge $q$ acquires from A to B points: $$P \exp\left(i\frac{q}{\hbar c} \int_A^B A_μdx^μ\right)$$ where $A_μ$ is the gauge potential and $P$ stands for path ordering. In a many-body system of strongly correlated electrons, if the so-called Mott gap is opened up by interaction, the corresponding Hilbert space will be fundamentally changed. A novel nonintegrable phase factor known as phase-string will appear and replace the conventional Fermi statistics to dictate the low-lying physics. Protected by the Mott gap, which is clearly identified in the high-$T_c$ cuprate with a magnitude > 1.5 eV, such a singular phase factor can enforce a fractionalization of the electrons, leading to a dual world of exotic elementary particles with a topological gauge structure. A non-Fermi-liquid "parent" state will emerge, in which the gapless Landau quasiparticle is only partially robust around the so-called Fermi arc regions, while the main dynamics are dominated by two types of gapped spinons. Antiferromagnetism, superconductivity, and a Fermi liquid with full Fermi surface can be regarded as the low-temperature instabilities of this new parent state. Both numerics and experiments provide direct evidence for such an emergent physics of the Mottness, which lies in the core of a high-$T_c$ superconducting mechanism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Two-Hole Ground State: Dichotomy in Pairing Symmetry

A single-hole ground state Ansatz for the two-dimensional t-J model has been recently studied by the variational Monte Carlo (VMC) method. Such a doped hole behaves like a "twisted" non-Landau quasiparticle characterized by an emergent quantum number in agreement with exact numerics. In this work, we further investigate the ground state of two holes by VMC. It is found that the two holes strongly attract each other to form a pairing state with a new quantum number the same as obtained by the numerical exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations. A unique feature of this pairing state is a dichotomy in the pairing symmetry, i.e., a d-wave in terms of the electron c operators and an s-wave in terms of the new quasiparticles, as explicitly illustrated in the ground state wave function. A similar VMC study of a two-hole wave function for the t-J two-leg ladder also yields a good agreement with the DMRG result. We demonstrate that the pairing mechanism responsible for the strong binding here is not due to the long-range antiferromagnetic order nor the resonating-valence-bound pairing in the spin background but is the consequence of the quantum phase-strings created by the hopping of holes. The resulting spin-current pattern mediating the pairing force is explicitly illustrated in the VMC calculation. Physical implications to superconductivity at finite doping are also discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Spin Texture in Doped Mott Insulators with Spin-Orbit Coupling

A hole injected into a Mott insulator will gain an internal structure as recently identified by exact numerics, which is characterized by a nontrivial quantum number whose nature is of central importance in understanding the Mott physics. In this work, we show that a spin texture associated with such an internal degree of freedom can explicitly manifest after the spin degeneracy is lifted by a \emph{weak} Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). It is described by an emergent angular momentum $J_{z}=\pm3/2$ as shown by both exact diagonalization (ED) and variational Monte Carlo (VMC) calculations, which are in good agreement with each other at a finite size. In particular, as the internal structure such a spin texture is generally present in the hole composite even at high excited energies, such that a corresponding texture in momentum space, extending deep inside the Brillouin zone, can be directly probed by the spin-polarized angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). This is in contrast to a Landau quasiparticle under the SOC, in which the spin texture induced by SOC will not be protected once the excited energy is larger than the weak SOC coupling strength, away from the Fermi energy. We point out that the spin texture due to the SOC should be monotonically enhanced 1with reducing spin-spin correlation length in the superconducting/pseudogap phase at finite doping. A brief discussion of a recent experiment of the spin-polarized ARPES will be made.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic Field Induced Spin Liquids in S=1 Kitaev Honeycomb Model

We investigate the ground state properties of the spin S=1 Kitaev honeycomb model under a magnetic field based on the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculation. With the time reversal symmetry breaking due to the magnetic field, a gapped Kitaev spin liquid is identified for both ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) Kitaev couplings. The topological nature of such Kitaev spin liquid is manifested by the nearly quantized Wilson loop, degeneracy in the entanglement spectra and existence of edge modes. While the FM Kitaev spin liquid is destroyed by a weaker magnetic field $H_*^\text{FM}$, the AFM one demonstrates a robustness up to an order of magnitude larger critical field $H_*^\text{AFM}$. Moreover, an intermediate nonmagnetic phase appears only for the AFM case at larger fields, $H_*^\text{AFM} < H < H_{**}^\text{AFM}$, before the transition to a high-field polarized paramagnet. The stability of the Kitaev spin liquid against the Heisenberg interactions is also examined. Our findings may further inspire the investigation of recently proposed S=1 Kitaev materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Complex Phase Diagram of Doped XXZ Ladder: Localization and Pairing

How the ground state nature can be dramatically changed by the distinct underlying spin correlation is a central issue of doped Mott insulators. The two-leg XXZ ladder provides a prototypical spin background, which can be tuned from a long-range Néel order to a short-range ``spin liquid'' via the superexchange anisotropy, giving rise to a complex phase diagram at finite doping. By density matrix renormalization group method, we show that although the charge is always self-localized in the Néel ordered phase, a second insulating phase emerges, in which the doped holes become paired but remain localized while the transverse spin-spin correlation reduces to short-ranged one to make the Néel order classical. Only when the Néel order totally disappears by further reducing anisotropy, does the pairing become truly coherent as characterized by a Luther-Emery state. In sharp contrast, the pairing is totally absent in the in-plane ferromagnetic XXZ regime, where a direct transition from the charge self-localization in the Néel ordered phase to a Fermi-gas-like state in the spin liquid phase is found. A consistent physical picture is briefly discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Quantum entanglement in the t-J chain: From charge-spin separation to recombination

In contrast to the conventional von Neumann bipartite entanglement entropy (bEE), we show that a more appropriate description of the one-dimensional doped Mott insulator is a new kind of mutual entanglement entropy (mEE) between the charge and spin degrees of freedom. Such a charge-spin mEE can clearly distinguish the important and distinct features between the $t$-$J$ model and the so-called $σ\cdot{t}$-$J$ model. In the latter, the phase string sign structure is switched off such that a single doped hole always behaves like a Bloch wave in the whole regime of $J/t$, whereas in the former it exhibits a series of level crossing with the total momentum jumps in the single-hole ground state from spin-charge separation at $J/t\rightarrow{0}$ to spin-charge recombination at large $J/t$, which are failed to be detected by bEE. We further show that the distinctions between the two models persist to finite energy density, which can be similarly well characterized by mEE but not by bEE. By studying the dynamic time evolution of the states set out of equilibrium at the beginning, we show that mEE indeed always increases with the time, satisfying the common characteristic of entropy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Phenomenological Single-Particle Green's Function for the Pseudogap and Superconducting Phases of High-T$_c$ Cuprates

We present a phenomenological Green's function to characterize the superconducting and pseudogap phases of the cuprates based on a microscopic theory of doped Mott insulators. In this framework, the "Fermi arc" and "kink" phenomena observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments in the pseudogap phase can be systematically explained as a function of doping, which is further connected to the two-gap feature in the superconducting phase with dichotomy between the nodal and antinodal physics. We demonstrate that a phase-string-induced fractionalization plays the key role in giving rise to such a peculiar Green's function with a unique two-component structure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

In-plane ordering of O vacancies in a high-Tc cuprate superconductor with compressed Cu-O octahedrons: a first-principles cluster expansion study

A recently discovered high-Tc cuprate superconductor Ba2CuO$_{4-δ}$ exhibits exceptional Jahn-Teller distortion, wherein the CuO6 octahedrons are compressed along the c axis. As a consequence, the O vacancies prefer to reside in the CuO2 plane, but the exact structure is not known. By combining first-principles total energy calculation with the automated structure inversion method, the effective cluster interactions of O vacancies are mapped out. Around $δ$=0.8, where the 73K superconductivity was observed experimentally, we predict that the ordered O vacancies slice the CuO2 plane into not only 1D chains and but also two-leg ladders. A Monte Carlo simulation is performed based on the effective cluster interaction model, showing that such an ordering pattern is stable up to ~900 K. Our results put forth a concrete structural basis to discuss the underlying superconducting mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Critical role of the sign structure in the doped Mott insulator: Superconductivity vs. Fermi liquid

Mechanism of superconductivity (SC) in a purely interacting electron system has been one of the most challenging issues in condensed matter physics. In the BCS theory, the Landau's Fermi liquid is a normal state against which an SC instability occurs once an \emph{additional} pairing force is added. We show that in the doped Mott insulator an \emph{intrinsic} SC ground state (specifically a Luther-Emery state in a finite-doping two-leg $t$-$J$ ladder) can be directly turned into a Fermi-gas-like state by merely switching off the hidden statistical sign structure via two schemes. It points to a new pairing paradigm, %beyond the resonating-valence-bond scheme, which is an "Amperean-like pairing" with a "stringlike" pairing force as shown by an adiabatic continuity to a strong anisotropic limit of the model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Anomalous doping evolution of nodal dispersion revealed by in-situ ARPES on continuously doped cuprates

We study the systematic doping evolution of nodal dispersions by in-situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the continuously doped surface of a high-temperature superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$. We reveal that the nodal dispersion has three segments separated by two kinks, located at ~10 meV and roughly 70 meV, respectively. The three segments have different band velocities and different doping dependence. In particular, the velocity of the high-energy segment increases monotonically as the doping level decreases and can even surpass the bare band velocity. We propose that electron fractionalization is a possible cause for this anomalous nodal dispersion and may even play a key role in the understanding of exotic properties of cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Single-hole wave function in two dimensions: A case study of the doped Mott insulator

We study a ground-state ansatz for the single-hole doped $t$-$J$ model in two dimensions via a variational Monte Carlo (VMC) method. Such a single-hole wave function possesses finite angular momenta generated by hidden spin currents, which give rise to a novel ground state degeneracy in agreement with recent exact diagonalization (ED) and density matrix renormalization group (DMGR) results. We further show that the wave function can be decomposed into a quasiparticle component and an incoherent momentum distribution in excellent agreement with the DMRG results up to an $8\times 8 $ lattice. Such a two-component structure indicates the breakdown of Landau's one-to-one correspondence principle, and in particular, the quasiparticle spectral weight vanishes by a power law in the large sample-size limit. By contrast, turning off the phase string induced by the hole hopping in the so-called $σ\cdot t\text{-}J$ model, a conventional Bloch-wave wave function with a finite quasiparticle spectral weight can be recovered, also in agreement with the ED and DMRG results. The present study shows that a singular effect already takes place in the single-hole-doped Mott insulator, by which the bare hole is turned into a non-Landau quasiparticle with translational symmetry breaking. Generalizations to pairing and finite doping are briefly discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Two-hole ground state wavefunction: Non-BCS pairing in a $t$-$J$ two-leg ladder system

Superconductivity is usually described in the framework of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) wavefunction, which even includes the resonating-valence-bond (RVB) wavefunction proposed for the high-temperature superconductivity in the cuprate. A natural question is \emph{if} any fundamental physics could be possibly missed by applying such a scheme to strongly correlated systems. Here we study the pairing wavefunction of two holes injected into a Mott insulator/antiferromagnet in a two-leg ladder using variational Monte Carlo (VMC) approach. By comparing with density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculation, we show that a conventional BCS or RVB pairing of the doped holes makes qualitatively wrong predictions and is incompatible with the fundamental pairing force in the $t$-$J$ model, which is kinetic-energy-driven by nature. By contrast, a non-BCS-like wavefunction incorporating such novel effect will result in a substantially enhanced pairing strength and improved ground state energy as compared to the DMRG results. We argue that the non-BCS form of such a new ground state wavefunction is essential to describe a doped Mott antiferromagnet at finite doping.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Localization in a $t$-$J$ type ladder with translational symmetry

An explicit $\textit{spatial}$ localization of a hole is shown in a two-leg $t$-$J$ ladder in the presence of a staggered chemical potential, which still retains a translational symmetry, by density matrix renormalization group method. Delocalization can be recovered in the following cases, where either the hidden phase string effect is turned off or a finite next-nearest-neighbor hopping $t'$ is added to sufficiently weaken the phase string effect. In addition, two holes are always delocalized by forming a mobile bound pair, in contrast to the localized single holes, which points to a novel pairing mechanism as one of the essential properties of a doped Mott insulator.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Hidden spin current in doped Mott antiferromagnets

We investigate the nature of doped Mott insulators using exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group methods. Persistent spin currents are revealed in the ground state, which are concomitant with a nonzero total momentum or angular momentum associated with the doped hole. The latter determines a nontrivial ground state degeneracy. By further making superpositions of the degenerate ground states with zero or unidirectional spin currents, we show that different patterns of spatial charge and spin modulations will emerge. Such anomaly persists for the odd numbers of holes, but the spin current, ground state degeneracy, and charge/spin modulations completely disappear for even numbers of holes, with the two-hole ground state exhibiting a d-wave symmetry. An understanding of the spin current due to a many-body Berry-like phase and its impact on the momentum distribution of the doped holes will be discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Superconductivity in the doped $t$-$J$ model: results for four-leg cylinders

We report a density-matrix renormalization group study of the lightly doped $t$-$J$ model on a 4-leg cylinder with doped hole concentrations per site $δ=5\%\sim 12.5\%$. By keeping an unusually large number of states and long system sizes, we are able to accurately document the interplay between d-wave superconductivity (SC) and spin and charge-density-wave (CDW) orders. The long-distance behavior is consistent with that of a Luther-Emery liquid with a spin-gap, power-law CDW correlations with wave-length $λ=1/2δ$, and power-law SC correlations. This is the widest (most nearly 2D) such system for which power law SC correlations have been established.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Identifying the dominant pairing interaction in high-$T_c$ FeSe superconductors through Leggett modes

Heavily electron-doped and single-layer FeSe superconduct at much higher temperatures than bulk FeSe. There have been a number of proposals attempting to explain the origin of the enhanced transition temperature, including the proximity to magnetic, nematic and antiferro-orbital critical points, as well as possible strong interfacial phonon coupling in the case of single-layer FeSe. In this paper, we examine the effect of the various mechanisms in an effective two-band model. Within our model, the fluctuations associated with these instabilities contribute to different parts of the effective multiband interactions. We propose to use the collective phase fluctuation between the bands--the Leggett mode--as a tool to identify the dominant effective pairing interaction in these systems. The Leggett mode can be resolved by means of optical probes such as electronic Raman scattering. We point out that the Leggett mode in these systems, if present, shall manifest in the Raman $B_{1g}$ channel.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Pairing versus phase coherence of doped holes in distinct quantum spin backgrounds

We examine the pairing structure of holes injected into two \emph{distinct} spin backgrounds: a short-range antiferromagnetic phase versus a symmetry protected topological phase. Based on density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulation, we find that although there is a strong binding between two holes in both phases, \emph{phase fluctuations} can significantly influence the pair-pair correlation depending on the spin-spin correlation in the background. Here the phase fluctuation is identified as an intrinsic string operator nonlocally controlled by the spins. We show that while the pairing amplitude is generally large, the coherent Cooper pairing can be substantially weakened by the phase fluctuation in the symmetry-protected topological phase, in contrast to the short-range antiferromagnetic phase. It provides an example of a non-BCS mechanism for pairing, in which the paring phase coherence is determined by the underlying spin state self-consistently, bearing an interesting resemblance to the pseudogap physics in the cuprate.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Quantum Hall effect in ac driven graphene: from half-integer to integer case

We theoretically study the quantum Hall effect (QHE) in graphene with an ac electric field. Based on the tight-binding model, the structure of the half-integer Hall plateaus at $σ_{xy} = \pm(n + 1/2)4e^2/h$ ($n$ is an integer) gets qualitatively changed with the addition of new integer Hall plateaus at $σ_{xy} = \pm n(4e^2/h)$ starting from the edges of the band center regime towards the band center with an increasing ac field. Beyond a critical field strength, a Hall plateau with $σ_{xy} = 0$ can be realized at the band center, hence restoring fully a conventional integer QHE with particle-hole symmetry. Within a low-energy Hamiltonian for Dirac cones merging, we show a very good agreement with the tight-binding calculations for the Hall plateau transitions. We also obtain the band structure for driven graphene ribbons to provide a further understanding on the appearance of the new Hall plateaus, showing a trivial insulator behavior for the $σ_{xy} = 0$ state. In the presence of disorder, we numerically study the disorder-induced destruction of the quantum Hall states in a finite driven sample and find that qualitative features known in the undriven disordered case are maintained.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗