npj Quantum Materials最新文献

Co-based honeycomb magnets have been actively studied recently for the potential realization of emergent quantum magnetism therein such as the Kitaev spin liquid. Here we employ density functional and dynamical mean-field theory methods to examine a family of the Kitaev magnet candidates BaCo₂(XO₄)₂ (X = P, As, Sb), where the compound with X = Sb being not synthesized yet. Our study confirms the formation of Mott insulating phase and the J_eff = 1/2 spin moments at Co²⁺ sites despite the presence of a sizable amount of trigonal crystal field in all three compounds. The pnictogen substitution from phosphorus to antimony significantly changes the in-plane lattice parameters and direct overlap integral between the neighboring Co ions, leading to the suppression of the Heisenberg interaction. More interestingly, the marginal antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor Kitaev term changes sign into a ferromagnetic one and becomes sizable at the X = Sb limit. Our study suggests that the pnictogen substitution can be a viable route to continuously tune magnetic exchange interactions and to promote magnetic frustration for the realization of potential spin liquid phases in BaCo₂(XO₄)₂.

In two dimensions, intrinsic second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) are characterized by topological corner states that emerge at the intersections of distinct edges with reversed mass signs, enforced by spatial symmetries. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation within the class BDI to clarify the symmetry conditions ensuring the presence of intrinsic SOTIs in two dimensions. We reveal that the (anti-)commutation relationship between spatial symmetries and chiral symmetry is a reliable indicator of intrinsic corner states. Through first-principles calculations, we identify several ideal candidates within carbon-based polymorphic graphyne structures for realizing intrinsic SOTIs under sublattice approximation. Furthermore, we show that the corner states in these materials persist even in the absence of sublattice approximation. Our findings not only deepen the understanding of higher-order topological phases but also open new pathways for realizing topological corner states that are readily observable.

Motivated by recent advancements in theoretical and experimental studies of the high-energy excitations on an antiferromagnetic trimer chain, we numerically investigate the quantum phase transition and composite dynamics in this system by applying a magnetic field. The numerical methods we used include the exact diagonalization, density matrix renormalization group, time-dependent variational principle, and cluster perturbation theory. From calculating the entanglement entropy, we have revealed the phase diagram which includes the XY-I, 1/3 magnetization plateau, XY-II, and ferromagnetic phases. Both the critical XY-I and XY-II phases are characterized by the conformal field theory with a central charge c ≃ 1. By analyzing the dynamic spin structure factor, we elucidate the distinct features of spin dynamics across different phases. In the regime with weak intertrimer interaction, we identify the intermediate-energy and high-energy modes in the XY-I and 1/3 magnetization plateau phases as internal trimer excitations, corresponding to the propagating of doublons and quartons, respectively. Notably, applying a magnetic field splits the high-energy spectrum into two branches, labeled as the upper quarton and lower quarton. Furthermore, we explore the spin dynamics of a frustrated trimerized model closely related to the quantum magnet Na₂Cu₃Ge₄O₁₂. In the end, we extend our discuss on the possibility of the quarton Bose-Einstein condensation in the trimer systems. Our results are expected to be further verified through the inelastic neutron scattering and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, and also provide valuable insights for exploring high-energy exotic excitations.

Van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials are comprised of layers of atomically thin sheets, making them ideal platforms for studying magnetism at the two-dimensional (2D) limit. These materials are at the center of a host of novel types of experiments, however, there are notably few pathways to directly probe their magnetic structure. We confirm the magnetic order within a single crystal of NiPS₃ and show it can be accessed with resonant elastic X-ray diffraction along the edge of the vdW planes in a carefully grown crystal by detecting structurally forbidden resonant magnetic X-ray scattering. We find the magnetic order parameter has a critical exponent of β ~ 0.36, indicating that the magnetism of these vdW crystals is more adequately characterized by the three-dimensional (3D) Heisenberg universality class. We verify these findings with first-principles density functional theory, Monte-Carlo simulations, and density matrix renormalization group calculations.

Variational Monte Carlo (VMC) studies of extended Kitaev honeycomb models reveal a series of multinode quantum spin liquids (QSLs). They have an emergent Z₂ gauge structure, a discrete number of symmetry-protected Majorana cones, and form Abelian or non-Abelian chiral spin liquids in applied magnetic fields. The large number of Z₂ projective symmetry groups for spin–orbit-coupled states on the honeycomb lattice suggests that multinode QSLs can be found experimentally in future work on proximate Kitaev materials.

Josephson tunneling across a planar junction generally depends on the relative twist angle, θ, between the two layers. However, if under a discrete rotation, the order parameter in one layer is odd and the other is even (as, e.g., for a s-wave to ({d}_{{x}^{2}-{y}^{2}})-wave junction under a π/2 rotation) then the bulk Josephson current vanishes for all θ. Even in this case, we show that for a finite junction, the Josephson current, J, has a nonzero edge contribution that depends on θ and the orientation of the junction edges in ways that can serve as an unambiguous probe of the order parameter symmetry of any time-reversal preserving system (including multiband systems and those in which spin-orbit coupling is significant). We also analyze the microscopic considerations that determine the magnitude of J.

The discovery of 80 K superconductivity in bilayer La₃Ni₂O₇ at pressures greater than 14 GPa presents a unique opportunity to study a novel class of high-temperature superconductors. Therefore, other bilayer nickelates following the classical (T⁴⁺) Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) series of Sr₃Ni₂O₇ would present an interesting new candidate. In this work, we study the stabilization of RP n = 2 phase in Sr₃Ni_2−xAl_xO_7−δ, via floating zone growth of crystals. With powder and single-crystal XRD, we study the stability range of the RP-type phase. Our Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and gas extraction studies reveal a remarkably high oxidation state of Ni⁴⁺ stabilized by chemical strain from Al. The obtained black crystals are insulating in transport and show a magnetic transition around 12 K.

Uranium ditelluride (UTe₂) is the strongest contender to date for a p-wave superconductor in bulk form. Here we perform a spectroscopic study of the ambient pressure superconducting phase of UTe₂, measuring conductance through point-contact junctions formed by metallic contacts on different crystalline facets down to 250 mK and up to 18 T. Fitting a range of qualitatively varying spectra with a Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) model for p-wave pairing, we can extract gap amplitude and interface barrier strength for each junction. We find good agreement with the data for a dominant p_y-wave gap function with amplitude 0.26 ± 0.06 meV. Our work provides spectroscopic evidence for a gap structure consistent with the proposed spin-triplet pairing in the superconducting state of UTe₂.

Light-matter interactions have emerged as a new research focus recently offering promises of unveiling novel physics and leading to applications under nonequilibrium conditions. The quantized Hall conductivities predicted by Floquet theory assuming a Fermi-Dirac distribution however deviate from experimental observations. To resolve these puzzles, we consider the effect of nonequilibrium electron occupation to study the anomalous, valley, and spin Hall effects of a prototype monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide MoS₂. We find that spin Hall conductivity can be effectively suppressed approaching zero value by linearly polarized light under near resonant excitations. In contrast, it is substantially enhanced by circularly polarized light, originating from optical selection rules and topological phase transitions. Besides, the quantized anomalous Hall conductivity is much reduced if nonequilibrium occupations of Floquet bands are considered. Our study provides a novel avenue for engineering various Hall effects in two-dimensional materials using light, holding great promises for future device applications.

We explore the optical properties of La₃Ni₂O₇ bilayer nickelates by using density functional theory including a Coulomb repulsion term. Convincing agreement with recent experimental ambient-pressure spectra is achieved for U ~ 3 eV, which permits tracing the microscopic origin of the characteristic features. Simultaneous consistency with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction suggests the notion of rather moderate electronic correlations in this novel high-T_c superconductor. Oxygen vacancies form predominantly at the inner apical sites and renormalize the optical spectrum quantitatively, while the released electrons are largely accommodated by a defect state. We show that the structural transition occurring under high pressure coincides with a significant enhancement of the Drude weight and a reduction of the out-of-plane interband contribution that acts as a fingerprint of the emerging hole pocket. We further calculate the optical spectra for various possible magnetic phases including spin-density waves and discuss the results in the context of experiment. Finally, we investigate the role of the 2–2 versus 1–3 layer stacking and compare the bilayer nickelate to La₄Ni₃O₁₀, La₃Ni₂O₆, and NdNiO₂, unveiling general trends in the optical spectrum as a function of the formal Ni valence in Ruddlesden–Popper versus reduced Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates.