npj Quantum Materials最新文献

We present an exploration of the effect of electron-phonon coupling and broken inversion symmetry on the electronic and thermal properties of the semimetal LaRhGe₃. Our transport measurements reveal evidence for electron-hole compensation at low temperatures, resulting in a large magnetoresistance of 3000% at 1.8 K and 14 T. The carrier concentration is on the order of 10²¹/cm³ with high carrier mobilities of 2000 cm²/Vs. When coupled to our theoretical demonstration of symmetry-protected almost movable Weyl nodal lines, we conclude that LaRhGe₃ supports a Weyl semimetallic state. We discover superconductivity in this compound with a T_c of 0.39(1) K and B_c(0) of 2.2(1) mT, with evidence from specific heat and transverse-field muon spin relaxation. We find an exponential dependence in the normal state electrical resistivity below ~50 K, while Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity measurements each reveal a prominent peak at low temperatures, indicative of strong electron-phonon interactions. To this end, we examine the temperature-dependent Raman spectra of LaRhGe₃ and find that the lifetime of the lowest energy A₁ phonon is dominated by phonon-electron scattering instead of anharmonic decay. We conclude that LaRhGe₃ has strong electron-phonon coupling in the normal state, while the superconductivity emerges from weak electron-phonon coupling. These results open up the investigation of electron-phonon interactions in the normal state of superconducting non-centrosymmetric Weyl semimetals.

The dynamical Franz-Keldysh effect, indicative of the transient light-matter interaction regime between quantum and classical realms, is widely recognized as an essential signature in wide bandgap condensed matter systems such as dielectrics. In this theoretical study, we applied time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy to investigate ultrafast optical responses in graphene, a zero-bandgap system. We observed in the gate-tuned graphene that the massless Dirac materials notably enhance intraband light-driven transitions, significantly leading to the giant dynamical Franz-Keldysh effect compared to the massive Dirac materials, a wide bandgap system. In addition, employing the angle-resolved spectroscopy, it is found that the unique polarimetry orientation, i.e., perpendicular polarizations for the pump and the probe, further pronounces the optical spectra to exhibit the complete fishbone structure, reflecting quantum pseudospin natures of Dirac cones. Our findings expand the establishment of emergent transient spectroscopy frameworks into not only zero-bandgap systems but also pseudospin-mediated quantum phenomena, moving beyond dielectrics.

Exploring the ground state properties of many-body quantum systems conventionally involves adiabatic processes, alongside exact diagonalization, in the context of quantum annealing or adiabatic quantum computation. Shortcuts to adiabaticity by counter-diabatic driving serve to accelerate these processes by suppressing energy excitations. Motivated by this, we develop variational quantum algorithms incorporating the auxiliary counter-diabatic interactions, comparing them with digitized adiabatic algorithms. These algorithms are then implemented on gate-based quantum circuits to explore the ground states of the Fermi-Hubbard model on honeycomb lattices, utilizing systems with up to 26 qubits. The comparison reveals that the counter-diabatic inspired ansatz is superior to traditional Hamiltonian variational ansatz. Furthermore, the number and duration of Trotter steps are analyzed to understand and mitigate errors. Given the model’s relevance to materials in condensed matter, our study paves the way for using variational quantum algorithms with counterdiabaticity to explore quantum materials in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era.

Obstructed atomic insulator is recently proposed as an unconventional material, in which electric charge centers localized at sites away from the atoms. A half-filling surface state would emerge at specific interfaces cutting through these charge centers and avoid intersecting any atoms. In this article, we utilized photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations to study one of the obstructed atomic insulator candidates, NiP₂. A floating surface state with large effective mass that is close to the Fermi level and isolated from all bulk states is resolved on the (100) cleavage plane, implying better catalytic activity in this plane than the previously studied surfaces. Density functional theory calculation results elucidate that this floating surface state is originated from the obstructed Wannier charge centers, albeit underwent surface reconstruction. Our findings not only shed lights on the study of obstructed atomic insulators, but also provide possible route for development of new catalysts.

Topologically nontrivial magnetic structures such as skyrmion lattices are well known in materials lacking lattice inversion symmetry, where antisymmetric exchange interactions are allowed. Only recently, topological multi-q magnetic textures that spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, for example, three-dimensional hedgehog lattices, were discovered in centrosymmetric compounds, where they are instead driven by frustrated interactions. Here we show that the bilayer perovskite Sr₃Fe₂O₇, previously believed to adopt a simple single-q spin-helical order, hosts two distinct types of multi-q spin textures. Its ground state represents a novel multi-q spin texture with unequally intense spin modulations at the two ordering vectors. This is followed in temperature by a new “spin meta-cholesteric” phase, in which the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken along one of the crystal directions, but the weaker orthogonal modulation melts, giving rise to intense short-range dynamical fluctuations. Shortly before the transition to the paramagnetic state, vortex-crystal order spanned by two equivalent q vectors emerges. This renders Sr₃Fe₂O₇ an ideal material to study transitions among multiple-q spin textures in a centrosymmetric host.

Dynamic axion insulators feature a time-dependent axion field that can be induced by antiferromagnetic resonance. Here, we show that a Josephson junction incorporating this dynamic axion insulator between two superconductors exhibits striking doubled Shapiro steps wherein all odd steps are completely suppressed in the joint presence of a DC bias and a static magnetic field. The resistively shunted junction simulation confirms that these doubled Shapiro steps originate from the distinctive axion electrodynamics driven by the antiferromagnetic resonance, which thus not only furnishes a hallmark to identify the dynamic axion insulator but also provides a method to evaluate its mass term. Furthermore, the experimentally feasible differential conductance is also determined. Our work holds significant importance in condensed matter physics and materials science for understanding the dynamic axion insulator, paving the way for its further exploration and applications.

The incommensurate charge density wave states (CDWs) can exhibit steady motion in the flow limit after depinning, behaving as a nonequilibrium system with time-dependent states. Since the moving CDW, like an electric current, breaks both time-reversal and inversion symmetries, one may speculate the emergence of nonreciprocal nonlinear responses from such motion. However, the moving CDW order parameter is intrinsically time-dependent in the lab frame, and it is known to be challenging to evaluate the responses of such a time-varying system. In this work, following the principle of Galilean relativity, we resolve this time-dependent hard problem in the lab frame by mapping the system to the comoving frame with static CDW states through the Galilean transformation. We explicitly show that the nonreciprocal nonlinear responses would be generated by the movement of CDW states through violating Galilean relativity.

Phonon polaritons are hybrid states of light and matter that are typically realised when optically active phonons couple strongly to photons. We suggest a new approach to realising phonon polaritons, by employing a transverse-pumping Raman scheme, as used in experiments on cold atoms in optical cavities. This approach allows hybridisation between an optical cavity mode and any Raman-active phonon mode. Moreover, this approach enables one to tune the effective phonon–photon coupling by changing the strength of the transverse pumping light. We show that such a system may realise a phonon-polariton condensate. To do this, we find the stationary states and use Floquet theory to determine their stability. We thus identify distinct superradiant and lasing states in which the polariton modes are macroscopically populated. We map out the phase diagram of these states as a function of pump frequencies and strengths. Using parameters for transition metal dichalcogenides, we show that realisation of these phases may be practicably obtainable. The ability to manipulate phonon mode frequencies and attain steady-state populations of selected phonon modes provides a new tool for engineering correlated states of electrons.

An experimental study found superconductivity in bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇, with the highest superconducting transition temperature (T_c) ∼ 80 K under pressure. Recently, some reports claimed that there exists a competitive monolayer-trilayer structural phase in La₃Ni₂O₇ compounds. We perform the first-principles calculations and find that bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇ is energetically favorable under pressure. Although extensive studies have been done to investigate the electronic correlation and potential superconducting pairing mechanism in bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇, the phonon properties and electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in the high-pressure I4/mmm phase of La₃Ni₂O₇ are not reported. Using the density functional theory (DFT) combined with Wannier interpolation technique, we study the phonon properties and EPC in bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇ under 29.5 GPa. Our findings reveal that EPC is insufficient to explain the observed superconducting T_c ∼ 80 K. And the calculated Fermi surface nesting may explain the experimentally observed charge density wave (CDW) transition in bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇. Our calculations substantiate that bilayer phase of La₃Ni₂O₇ is an unconventional superconductor.

Nonlinear charge transport, such as nonreciprocal longitudinal resistance and nonlinear Hall effect, has attracted considerable interest in probing the symmetries and topological properties of new materials. Recent research has revealed significant nonreciprocal longitudinal resistance and nonlinear Hall effect in MnBi₂Te₄, an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, induced by the quantum metric dipole. However, the inconsistent response with charge density and conflicting C_3z symmetry requirement necessitate a thorough understanding of factors affecting the nonlinear transport measurement. This study uncovers an experimental factor leading to significant nonlinear transport signals in MnBi₂Te₄, attributed to gate voltage oscillation from the application of large alternating current. Additionally, a methodology is proposed to suppress this effect by individually grounding the voltage electrodes during second-harmonic measurements. The investigation underscores the critical importance of assessing gate voltage oscillation’s impact before determining the intrinsic nature of nonlinear transport in 2D material devices with an electrically connected operative gate electrode.