Absence Of Time-reversal Symmetry Research Articles

Linear and nonlinear spin current response of anisotropic spin-orbit coupled systems

We calculate the linear and the second harmonic (SH) spin current response of two anisotropic systems with spin–orbit (SO) interaction. General expressions of wide applicability for the these response functions are first derived for a generic two-band Hamiltonian. The first system is a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in the presence of Rashba and k-linear Dresselhaus SO couplings. The calculations show how narrow or wide the response spectra can be, what is their overall shape and size, and frequency shiftings, depending on which crystal orientation is selected. The quantitative knowing of this makes possible a comparative study for several orientations, which would allow to select a spectrum with particular characteristic. We find that vanishing linear and second order response tensors are achievable under SU(2) symmetry conditions, characterized by a collinear SO vector field. Additional conditions under which specific tensor components vanish are possible, without having such collinearity. Thus, a proper choice of the growth direction and SO strengths allows to select the polarization of the linear and SH spin currents according to the direction of flowing. The second system is an anisotropic 2D free electron gas with anisotropic Rashba interaction, which has been employed to study the optical conductivity of 2D puckered structures with anisotropic energy bands. The presence of mass anisotropy and an energy gap open several distinct scenarios for the allowed optical interband transitions, which manifest in the linear and SH response contrastingly. The linear response displays only out-of-plane spin polarized currents, while the SH spin currents flow with spin orientation lying parallel to the plane of the system strictly. The models illustrate the possibility of the nonlinear spin Hall effect in systems with SO interaction, under the presence or absence of time-reversal symmetry. The results suggest different ways to manipulate the linear and nonlinear optical generation of spin currents which could find spintronic applications.

Probing the dissipation process via a Fano resonance and collective effects in an x-ray cavity

In the absence of time-reversal symmetry, the asymmetric parameter $q$ of the Fano resonance is extended into the complex space, where its trajectory can be utilized to investigate the decoherence process. By embedding the ensemble of M$\stackrel{\ifmmode \ddot{}\else \"{}\fi{}}{\mathrm{o}}$ssbauer nuclei in the thin-film planar cavity in this work, the trajectories of asymmetric parameter $q$ are studied via the collective effect of the nuclear ensemble, which is regulated by the nuclear abundance and angle offset. Due to the diverse controllable methods of the collective resonant strength, there are different straight lines and arc-shaped trajectories in the complex plane, in which the slopes and the radius can be adjusted by the angle offset and nuclear abundance, respectively. It is demonstrated that the dissipation process can be ``suppressed'' equivalently by the strong energy exchange between the cavity and the nuclear ensemble. The present results could enrich the behaviors of the asymmetric parameter $q$ in the complex plane and would provide a new opportunity for decoherence research through the thin-film planar cavity.

Lattice distortion induced first- and second-order topological phase transition in a rectangular high- Tc superconducting monolayer

We theoretically study the lattice distortion induced first and second order topological phase transition in rectangular FeSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ monolayer. When compressing the lattice constant in one direction, our first principles calculation shows that the FeSe$_x$Te$_{1-x}$ undergoes a band inversion at $\Gamma$ point in a wide dopping range, say $x\in(0.0,0.7)$, which ensures coexistence of the topological band state and the high-T$_{\rm c}$ superconductivity. This unidirectional pressure also leads to the C$_4$ symmetry breaking which is necessary for the monolayer FeSe$_x$Te$_{1-x}$ to support Majorana corner states in the either presence or absence of time-reversal symmetry. Particularly, we use $k\cdot p$ methods to fit the band structure from the first principles calculation and found that the edge states along the $(100)$ and $(010)$ directions have different Dirac energy due to C$_4$ symmetry breaking. This is essential to obtain Majorana corner states in D class without concerning the details of the superconducting pairing symmetries and Zeeman form, which can potentially bring advantages in the experimental implementation.

Effect of surface disorder on the chiral surface states of a three-dimensional quantum Hall system

We investigate the effect of surface disorder on the chiral surface states of a three-dimensional quantum Hall system. Utilizing a transfer-matrix method, we find that the localization length of the surface state along the magnetic field decreases with the surface disorder strength in the weak disorder regime but increases anomalously in the strong disorder regime. In the strong disorder regime, the surface states mainly locate at the first inward layer to avoid the strong disorder in the outmost layer. The anomalous increase of the localization length can be explained by an effective model, which maps the strong disorder on the surface layer to the weak disorder on the first inward layer. Our work demonstrates that surface disorder can be an effective way to control the transport behavior of the surface states along the magnetic field. We also investigate the effect of surface disorder on the full distribution of conductances $P(g)$ of the surface states in the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) regime for various surface disorder strengths. In particular, we find that $P(g)$ is Gaussian in the quasi-1D metal regime and log-normal in the quasi-1D insulator regime. In the crossover regime, $P(g)$ exhibits highly nontrivial forms, whose shapes coincide with the results obtained from the Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar equation of a weakly disordered quasi-1D wire in the absence of time-reversal symmetry. Our results suggest that $P(g)$ is fully determined by the average conductance, independent of the details of the system, in agreement with the single-parameter scaling hypothesis.

Superconducting Properties and Absence of Time Reversal Symmetry Breaking in the Noncentrosymmetric Superconducting Compounds Ta x Re1 – x (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.25)* *Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFA0704300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U1732162, 11974061, 11704047, U1832147 and 11674054), and the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the

Unconventional superconductivity, in particular, in noncentrosymmetric systems, has been a long-sought topic in condensed matter physics. Recently, Re-based superconductors have attracted great attention owing to the potential time-reversal symmetry breaking in their superconducting states. We report the superconducting properties of noncentrosymmetric compounds Ta x Re1 – x with 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.25, and find that the superconducting transition temperature reaches a maximum of ∼8 K at the optimal level x = 0.15. Nevertheless, muon-spin rotation and relaxation measurements reveal no time-reversal symmetry breaking existing in its superconducting state, which is in sharp contrast to both centrosymmetric Re metal and many other noncentrosymmetric Re-based superconductors.

Quantum state transfer of electrons in chaotic quantum dots

Abstract In this paper, we study theoretically the transmission of the two-electron quantum state between the leads of a chaotic quantum dot in the presence or absence of time-reversal symmetry. The system we consider in this work is constituted by two-channel non-ideal leads connecting the cavity to two reservoirs of electrons. Quantum fidelity was used to quantify the success of the transference of states between the leads. We show that the quantum fidelity of the system is equal to the product of the transmission eigenvalues. We obtained its average and probability density function via random matrix theory by two approaches: sample simulation and exact integration. The results show that the quantum state transference is enhanced for ideal leads with broken time-reversal symmetry.

Phonon dynamics in the Kitaev spin liquid

The search for fractionalization in quantum spin liquids largely relies on their decoupling with the environment. However, the spin-lattice interaction is inevitable in a real setting. While the Majorana fermion evades a strong decay due to the gradient form of spin-lattice coupling, the study of the phonon dynamics may serve as an indirect probe of fractionalization of spin degrees of freedom. Here we propose that the signatures of fractionalization can be seen in the sound attenuation and the Hall viscosity. Despite the fact that both quantities can be related to the imaginary part of the phonon self-energy, their origins are quite different, and the time-reversal symmetry breaking is required for the Hall viscosity. First, we compute the sound attenuation due to a phonon scattering off of a pair of Majorana fermions and show that it is linear in temperature ($\sim T$). We argue that it has a particular angular dependence providing the information about the spin-lattice coupling and the low-energy Majorana fermion spectrum. The observable effects in the absence of time-reversal symmetry are then analyzed. We obtain the phonon Hall viscosity term from the microscopic Hamiltonian with time-reversal symmetry breaking term. Importantly, the Hall viscosity term mixes the longitudinal and transverse phonon modes and renormalize the spectrum in a unique way, which may be probed in spectroscopy measurement.

Observation of backscattering induced by magnetism in a topological edge state

The boundary modes of topological insulators are protected by the symmetries of the nontrivial bulk electronic states. Unless these symmetries are broken, they can give rise to novel phenomena, such as the quantum spin Hall effect in one-dimensional (1D) topological edge states, where quasiparticle backscattering is suppressed by time-reversal symmetry (TRS). Here, we investigate the properties of the 1D topological edge state of bismuth in the absence of TRS, where backscattering is predicted to occur. Using spectroscopic imaging and spin-polarized measurements with a scanning tunneling microscope, we compared quasiparticle interference (QPI) occurring in the edge state of a pristine bismuth bilayer with that occurring in the edge state of a bilayer, which is terminated by ferromagnetic iron clusters that break TRS. Our experiments on the decorated bilayer edge reveal an additional QPI branch, which can be associated with spin-flip scattering across the Brioullin zone center between time-reversal band partners. The observed QPI characteristics exactly match with theoretical expectations for a topological edge state, having one Kramer's pair of bands. Together, our results provide further evidence for the nontrivial nature of bismuth and in particular, demonstrate backscattering inside a helical topological edge state induced by broken TRS through local magnetism.

Correlation Between Magnetic Ordering and Crossover from Weak Anti-Localization (WAL) to Weak Localization (WL) in Cobalt- and Manganese-Doped Bi0.94Sb0.06 Topological Insulator Nanoparticles

The discovery of magnetically doped topological insulators (TIs) provides a strong platform for investigating the correlation between long-range ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic (FM/AFM) ordering and low temperature electron interference phenomena like weak anti-localization (WAL) or weak localization (WL). One such TI material Bi1−xSbx, which has recently been realised as a potential topological material for spintronics, has been studied in the present work. Influence of magnetic doping such as cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn) in structural, morphological and magneto-transport properties on Bi0.94Sb0.06 nanoparticles has been investigated. The focus was on studying the correlation between magnetic ordering and WAL/WL. In undoped sample for temperatures up to 5K, field dependent magneto resistance (MR) shows a prominent WAL dip around zero field demonstrating the presence of surface states. In both the Co- and Mn-doped samples, the WAL feature is destroyed indicating the absence of time reversal symmetry (TRS) in the system on doping. Interestingly, in the case of 49% manganese (Mn) doping, a clear crossover from WAL to WL has been observed in the MR alongside magnetic ordering and is evident from magnetic force microscopy as well.

Unified Description of the Classical Hall Viscosity.

In the absence of time-reversal symmetry, viscous electron flow hosts a number of interesting phenomena, of which we focus here on the Hall viscosity. Taking a step beyond the hydrodynamic definition of the Hall viscosity, we derive a generalized relation between the Hall viscosity and the transverse electric field using a kinetic equation approach. We explore two different geometries where the Hall viscosity is accessible to measurement. For hydrodynamic flow of electrons in a narrow channel, we find that the viscosity may be measured by a local probe of the transverse electric field near the center of the channel. Ballistic flow, on the other hand, is dominated by boundary effects. In a Corbino geometry, viscous effects arise not from boundary friction but from the circular flow pattern of the Hall current. In this geometry, we introduce a viscous Hall angle that remains well defined throughout the crossover from ballistic to hydrodynamic flow and captures the bulk viscous response of the fluid.

Model of spin liquids with and without time-reversal symmetry

We study a model in (2+1)-dimensional spacetime that is realized by an array of chains, each of which realizes relativistic Majorana fields in (1+1)-dimensional spacetime, coupled via current-current interactions. The model is shown to have a lattice realization in an array of two-leg quantum spin-1/2 ladders. We study the model both in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry, within a mean-field approximation. We find regimes in coupling space where Abelian and non-Abelian spin liquid phases are stable. In the case when the Hamiltonian is time-reversal symmetric, we find regimes where gapped Abelian and non-Abelian chiral phases appear as a result of spontaneous breaking of time-reversal symmetry. These gapped phases are separated by a discontinuous phase transition. More interestingly, we find a regime where a non-chiral gapless non-Abelian spin liquid is stable. The excitations in this regime are described by relativistic Majorana fields in (2+1)-dimensional spacetime, much as those appearing in the Kitaev honeycomb model, but here emerging in a model of coupled spin ladders that does not break SU(2) spin-rotation symmetry.

Statistics of orbital entanglement for the full scattering state in a chaotic quantum dot

We study the statistical properties of orbital entanglement for the full scattering state in a chaotic quantum dot attached to two nonideal two-channel leads via random matrix theory. Using the entanglement entropy as the entanglement quantifier, we obtain its average and probability density function varying the opacity of each lead in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry by two methods: (a) exact integration over random matrix ensembles when one contact is ideal and (b) random matrix simulations for arbitrary opacity values. All results show that these two methods are in agreement with each other. The Person correlation coefficient between the entanglement entropy and the entanglement production factor was also analyzed. We verify that the latter predicts a good level of entanglement of the full scattering state.

Path-integral Monte Carlo simulation of time-reversal noninvariant bulk systems with a case study of rotating Yukawa gases.

We elaborate on the methodology to simulate bulk systems in the absence of time-reversal symmetry by the phase-fixed path-integral Monte Carlo method under (possibly twisted) periodic boundary conditions. Such systems include two-dimensional electrons in the quantum Hall regime and rotating ultracold Bose and Fermi gases; time-reversal symmetry is broken by an external magnetic field and the Coriolis force, respectively. We provide closed-form expressions in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions for the thermal density matrix (or the Euclidean propagator) of a single particle on a flat torus under very general conditions. We then modify the multislice sampling method in order to sample paths by the magnitude of the complex-valued thermal density matrix. Finally, we demonstrate that these inventions let us study the vortex melting process of a two-dimensional Yukawa gas in terms of the de Boer interaction strength parameter, temperature, and rotation (Coriolis force). The bosonic case is relevant to ultracold Fermi-Fermi mixtures of widely different masses under rotation.

Topological phase transitions in square-octagon lattice with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Motivated by the square-octagon lattice which supports topological phases over a wide range of parameters and a number of interesting quantum phase transitions in the phase diagram when considering the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling, we investigate the topological phase transitions in the isotropic square-octagon lattice combining the effects of both spin-orbit couplings and exchange field. The inversion symmetry and time-reversal symmetry are broken when both Rashba spin-orbit coupling and exchange field are present. The <i>Z</i><sub>2</sub> index is not applicable for quantum spin Hall systems without time-reversal symmetry, but the spin Chern number remains valid even in the absence of time-reversal symmetry. Therefore, we use the Chern number and spin Chern number to describe the topological properties of the system. We explore that a variety of topologically nontrivial states appear with changing the exchange field, including time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall states and quantum anomalous Hall states. The phase transition between these topological phases is accompanied by the closing of band gaps. Interestingly, the quantum spin Hall effect described by nonzero spin Chern number is found to remain intact when the time-reversal symmetry is broken. Furthermore, the variation of the amplitude of the exchange field and filling factor drive interesting topological phase transitions from the time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall phase to spin-filtered quantum anomalous Hall phase. A spin-filtered quantum anomalous Hall phase is characterized by the presence of edge states with only one spin component, which provides an interesting route towards quantum spin manipulation. We also present the band structures, edge state wave functions, and spin polarizations of the different topological phases in the system. It is demonstrated that the energy spectra of edge states are in good agreement with the topological characterization based on the Chern number and spin Chern number. In particular, we observe that gapless edge states can appear in a time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall system, but the corresponding spin spectrum gap remains open on the edges. Recently, an important functional material ZnO with quasi square-octagon lattice has been found experimentally. Consequently, the results found in our work are helpful for understanding the property of square-octagon lattice and studying the real materials with square-octagon structure.

Coherent wave transmission in quasi-one-dimensional systems with Lévy disorder.

We study the random fluctuations of the transmission in disordered quasi-one-dimensional systems such as disordered waveguides and/or quantum wires whose random configurations of disorder are characterized by density distributions with a long tail known as Lévy distributions. The presence of Lévy disorder leads to large fluctuations of the transmission and anomalous localization, in relation to the standard exponential localization (Anderson localization). We calculate the complete distribution of the transmission fluctuations for a different number of transmission channels in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry. Significant differences in the transmission statistics between disordered systems with Anderson and anomalous localizations are revealed. The theoretical predictions are independently confirmed by tight-binding numerical simulations.

Tunable spin-polarized edge transport in inverted quantum-well junctions

Inverted HgTe/CdTe quantum wells have been used as a platform for the realization of 2D topological insulators, bulk insulator materials with spin-helical metallic edges states protected by time-reversal symmetry. This work investigates the spectrum and the charge transport in HgTe/CdTe quantum well junctions both in the topological regime and in the absence of time-reversal symmetry. We model the system using the BHZ effective Hamiltonian and compute the transport properties using recursive Green's functions with a finite differences' method. Specifically, we have studied the material's spatially-resolved conductance in a set-up with a gated central region, forming monopolar (n-n$^{\prime}$-n) and heteropolar (n-p-n, n-TI-n) double junctions, which have been recently realized in experiments. We find regimes in which the edge states carry spin-polarized currents in the central region even in the presence of a small magnetic field, which breaks TRS. More interestingly, the conductance displays spin-dependent, Fabry-Per\'ot-like oscillations as a function of the central gate voltage producing tunable, fully spin-polarized currents through the device.

Extended Kitaev chain with longer-range hopping and pairing

We consider the Kitaev chain model with finite and infinite range in the hopping and pairing parameters, looking in particular at the appearance of Majorana zero-energy modes and massive edge modes. We study the system both in the presence and in the absence of time-reversal symmetry, by means of topological invariants and exact diagonalization, disclosing very rich phase diagrams. In particular, for extended hopping and pairing terms, we can get as many Majorana modes at each end of the chain as the neighbors involved in the couplings. Finally, we generalize the transfer matrix approach useful to calculate the zero-energy Majorana states at the edges for a generic number of coupled neighbors.

Topological Fermi-liquid theory for interacting Weyl metals with time reversal symmetry breaking

Introducing both Berry curvature and chiral anomaly into Landau's Fermi-liquid theory, we construct a topological Fermi-liquid theory, applicable to interacting Weyl metals in the absence of time reversal symmetry. Following the Landau's Fermi-liquid theory, we obtain an effective free-energy functional in terms of the density field of chiral fermions. The density field of chiral fermions is determined by a self-consistent equation, minimizing the effective free-energy functional with respect to the order-parameter field. Beyond these thermodynamic properties, we construct Boltzmann transport theory to encode both the Berry curvature and the chiral anomaly in the presence of forward scattering of a Fermi-liquid state, essential for understanding dynamic correlations in interacting Weyl metals. This generalizes the Boltzmann transport theory for the Landau's Fermi-liquid state in the respect of incorporating the topological structure and extends that for noninteracting Weyl metals in the sense of introducing the forward scattering. Finally, we justify this topological Fermi-liquid theory, generalizing the first-quantization description for noninteracting Weyl metals into the second-quantization representation for interacting Weyl metals. First, we derive a topological Fermi-gas theory, integrating over high-energy electronic degrees of freedom deep inside a pair of chiral Fermi surfaces. As a result, we reproduce a topological Drude model with both the Berry curvature and the chiral anomaly. Second, we take into account interactions between such low-energy chiral fermions on the pair of chiral Fermi surfaces. We perform the renormalization group analysis, and find that only forward scattering turns out to be marginal above possible superconducting transition temperatures, justifying the topological Fermi-liquid theory of interacting Weyl metals with time reversal symmetry breaking.

High-Chern-number bands and tunable Dirac cones inβ-graphyne

Graphynes represent an emerging family of carbon allotropes that recently attracted much interest due to the tunability of the Dirac cones in the band structure. Here, we show that the spin-orbit couplings in $\beta$-graphyne could produce various effects related to the topological properties of its electronic bands. Intrinsic spin-orbit coupling yields high- and tunable Chern-number bands, which may host both topological and Chern insulators, in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry, respectively. Furthermore, Rashba spin-orbit coupling can be used to control the position and the number of Dirac cones in the Brillouin zone. These findings suggest that spin-orbit-related physics in $\beta$-graphyne is very rich, and, in particular, that this system could provide a platform for the realization of a two-dimensional material with tunable topological properties.

Detecting Majorana fermions in quasi-one-dimensional topological phases using nonlocal order parameters

Topological phases which host Majorana fermions can not be identified via local order parameters. We give simple nonlocal order parameters to distinguish quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological superconductors of spinless fermions, for any interacting model in the absence of time reversal symmetry. These string or ``brane'' order parameters are natural for measurements in cold atom systems using quantum gas microscopy. We propose them as a way to identify symmetry-protected topological phases of Majorana fermions in cold atom experiments via bulk rather than edge degrees of freedom. Subsequently, we study two-dimensional (2D) topological superconductors via the quasi-1D limit of coupling $N$ identical chains on the cylinder. We classify the symmetric, interacting topological phases protected by the additional ${\mathbb{Z}}_{N}$ translation symmetry. The phases include quasi-1D analogs of (i) the $p+ip$ chiral topological superconductor, which can be distinguished up to the 2D Chern number mod 2, and (ii) the 2D weak topological superconductor. We devise general rules for constructing nonlocal order parameters which distinguish the phases. These rules encode the signature of the fermionic topological phase in the symmetry properties of the terminating operators of the nonlocal string or brane. The nonlocal order parameters for some of these phases simply involve a product of the string order parameters for the individual chains. Finally, we give a physical picture of one of the topological phases as a condensate of certain defects, which motivates the form of the nonlocal order parameter and is reminiscent of higher dimensional constructions of topological phases.