Interband Coupling Research Articles

Topological Floquet engineering of a three-band optical lattice with dual-mode resonant driving

We present a Floquet framework for controlling topological features of a one-dimensional optical lattice system with dual-mode resonant driving, in which both the amplitude and phase of the lattice potential are modulated simultaneously. We investigate a three-band model consisting of the three lowest orbitals and elucidate the formation of a crosslinked two-leg ladder through an indirect interband coupling via an off-resonant band. We numerically demonstrate the emergence of topologically nontrivial bands within the driven system, and a topological charge pumping phenomenon with cyclic parameter changes in the dual-mode resonant driving. Finally, we show that the band topology in the driven three-band system is protected by parity-time reversal symmetry. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Influence of magnon renormalization and interband coupling on the spin Seebeck effect in YIG

Influence of magnon renormalization and interband coupling on the spin Seebeck effect in YIG

Optical conductivity and linear dichroism in monolayer C[formula omitted]N

We theoretically study the optical properties of monolayer C3N within the framework of linear response theory by using a two band effective k⋅p Hamiltonian. We find that both the effective masses and optical conductivities are anisotropic arising from the anisotropic band structure at the M point. Although the inter-band coupling only exists in the armchair (x-)direction, the effective mass along the armchair direction is larger than that along the zigzag (y-)direction. Interestingly, the absorption part of the optical conductivity Re σxx excited by linearly polarized light along the armchair direction is an order of magnitude larger than Re σyy excited by linearly polarized light along the zigzag direction, resulting in a strong linear dichroism, because the inter-band optical conductivity is dominated by inter-band coupling which only exists in the armchair direction. Finite doping can adjust the optical conductivities i.e., Re σxx and Re σyy and modulate the linear dichroism, but the effects of n-type doping and p -type doping are different because of the electron–hole asymmetry. Our results provide further understanding of the electronic state of monolayer C3N and maybe useful to design polarized optical devices based on it.

Transition from Quasi‐Unidirectional to Unidirectional Guided Resonances in Leaky‐Mode Photonic Lattices

AbstractUnidirectional light emission from planar photonic structures is highly advantageous for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Recently, it has been demonstrated that unidirectional guided resonances (UGRs) can be realized by utilizing topological polarization singularities in momentum space. However, the practical application of these topological unidirectional emitters has been limited due to their intricate geometric configurations, requiring special efforts with high‐cost fabrication processes. In this study, it is demonstrated that unidirectional light emission can be achieved in conventional 1D zero‐contrast gratings (ZCGs), which can be easily fabricated using current nanofabrication technologies. In ZCGs, the interband coupling between even‐like and odd‐like waveguide modes leads to the formation of quasi‐UGRs, characterized by significantly higher decay rates in either the upward or downward direction compared to the opposite direction. It is demonstrated that these quasi‐UGRs evolve into genuine UGRs with an gradual increase in grating thickness. Moreover, the emission direction of UGRs can be selectively steered either upward or downward by adjusting the lattice parameters. In addition to quasi‐UGRs and UGRs, the study also reveals additional topological phenomena in ZCGs, including exceptional points and quasi‐BICs.

Excitonic enhancement of cavity-mediated interactions in a two-band Hubbard model

We study cavity-mediated interactions that are generated in a two-dimensional two-band Hubbard model coupled to an optical cavity, when it is driven in-gap by a strong laser. Starting from a Floquet description of the driven system, we derive effective low-energy Hamiltonians by projecting out the high-energy degrees of freedom and treating intrinsic interactions on a mean-field level. We then investigate how the emergence of high-energy Frenkel excitons from the electronic interband coupling, which form near the upper electronic band, affects the interactions as well as the laser-induced Floquet renormalization of the electronic band structure. Cavity-mediated interactions are enhanced strongly when the light couples to an excitonic transition. Additionally, the interaction as well as the Floquet renormalization are strongly broadened in reciprocal space, which could further boost the impact of cavity-mediated interactions on the driven-dissipative steady state. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Band-resolved Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon states of multiple-flux-quanta vortices in a multiband superconductor.

Superconductors are of type I or II depending on whether they form an Abrikosov vortex lattice. Although bulk lead (Pb) is classified as a prototypical type-I superconductor, we show that its two-band superconductivity allows for single-flux-quantum and multiple-flux-quanta vortices in the intermediate state at millikelvin temperature. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, the winding number of individual vortices is determined from the real space wave function of its Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon bound states. This generalizes the topological index theorem put forward by Volovik for isotropic electronic states to realistic electronic structures. In addition, the bound states due to the two superconducting bands of Pb can be separately detected and the two gaps close independently inside vortices. This yields strong evidence for a low interband coupling.

Moiré Enhanced Two-Band Superconductivity in a MnTe/NbSe2 Heterojunction.

Recent advances in creating moiré periods of two-dimensional heterostructures enable diverse and compatible tunability to modulate the conventional proximity effect involving superconductivity, magnetism, and topology. Here, by constructing a MnTe/NbSe2 heterojunction via molecular beam epitaxy growth, we report on a moiré-enhanced multiband superconductivity by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy measurements. We observe a distinct double-gap superconducting spectrum on monolayer MnTe that is absent on the NbSe2 substrate. The subgap character exhibits a moiré-related oscillation in real space, which can be well described by an effective two-band model. The restored two-gap feature and its rapid suppression under a small magnetic field are speculated to be mediated by the moiré superlattice, which is closely related to the enhanced interband coupling strength of quasiparticle scattering. Our work paves the way for engineering proximitized properties of heterostructures by a moiré landscape with spatial modulations.

Topological Unidirectional Guided Resonances Emerged from Interband Coupling.

Unidirectional guided resonances (UGRs) are optical modes in photonic crystal slabs that radiate toward one side without the need for mirrors on the other. In this Letter, we report a mechanism to realize UGRs by tuning the interband coupling effect originating from up-down symmetry breaking. We theoretically find that UGRs that reside along high-symmetric lines correspond to phase singularities of far-field radiation, depicted by phase winding numbers as a type of topological indices. We investigate the phase dislocation lines in three-dimensional parameter space and elaborate on the interplay between UGRs and non-Hermitian degeneracies accordingly. Our findings reveal the topological nature of UGRs about their generation, evolution, and annihilation in general parameter spaces, thus paving the way to new possibilities of light manipulation.

Destructive Interference of the Superconducting Subband Condensates in the Quasi-1D Multigap Material Nanostructures

This modelling work concerns the effects of the interference between two partial subband condensates in a quasi-one-dimensional superconducting superlattice. The iterative under-relaxation with phase control method is used to solve Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations in the envelope ansatz. This method—easily generalisable to a wide class of multiband superconducting systems—allows us to obtain both the constructive and the destructive interference solution. The discussion is centred on the latter case, with one of the condensates collapsing with increased inter-subband coupling strength, due to the other—the dominating one—imposing its symmetry on the overall order parameter. The in-depth qualitative analysis is made of underlying intra-subband and inter-subband dynamics, such as the possible factors determining the dominant subband condensate or the ones determining the region where the destructive solution coexists with the constructive one. A comprehensive discussion with the recent works concerning inter-band coupling effects follows, pointing that the destructive solution is nearly universally omitted.

Nanoscale Engineering of Optical Strong Coupling inside Metals

AbstractOptical polaritons appear when a material excitation strongly couples to an optical mode. Such strong coupling between molecular transitions and optical cavities results in far‐reaching opportunities in modifying fundamental properties of chemical matter. More recently an exciting prospect of self‐coupled polaritons has emerged by matter sustaining the optical mode with its geometry. Here, it is shown how strong coupling of the interband transition and surface plasmons can be engineered in nickel at the nanoscale to realize self‐coupled plasmon–interband polaritons inside metals. Using electron energy‐loss spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that in nickel thin films and nanoantennas the propagation and radiation losses result in a broadening of the plasmon linewidth and a transition from strong to weak coupling. Further, higher‐order plasmon resonances couple to the interband transition, and the multipolar‐coupled states acquire the field profile of the plasmon. The results provide a fundamental understanding of plasmon–interband coupling in metals and establish the base for the design of photocatalytic and magneto‐optical nanosystems.

Anisotropic magneto-optical transport properties in black phosphorus induced by in-plane magnetic field

We study the Landau levels and magneto-optical properties of bulk black phosphorus (BP) subjected to an in-plane magnetic field along the armchair direction based on an effective Hamiltonian. We analytically obtain the Landau levels by the perturbation method, which agrees well with the results of numerical diagonalization. By using the Kubo formula, we find the magneto-optical transition selection rules and conductance spectra for inter-band transitions are highly anisotropic. In particular, for linearly polarized light along the armchair direction, the magneto-optical transition selection rule is = 0, where n is the Landau level index. However, for linearly polarized light along the zigzag and stacking direction, the magneto-optical transition selection rules become = ±1. The magneto-optical conductance excited by linearly polarized light along the armchair direction is two order of magnitude larger than those excited by linearly polarized light along the zigzag and stacking direction because the inter-band coupling only exists in the armchair direction. Our results are useful to detect the band parameters of BP and design magnetically controlled optical devices based on it.

Contribution of collective excitations to third harmonic generation in two-band superconductors: The case of MgB2

Multiband superconductors can host collective excitations with marked differences with respect to their single-band counterpart. We first study the spectrum of collective amplitude fluctuations in a clean two-band superconductor, showing that the spectral weight of the Higgs mode rapidly deviates from the naive extension of the single band case as the interband coupling is turned on. These results are then used to critically analyze the nonlinear optical response in ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$, providing an explanation for the apparently contradictory results of recent experiments, pointing towards a selective relevance either of the Leggett mode or of the amplitude fluctuations at twice the lower gap. By using exact numerical simulations and realistic estimates of disorder we compute the relative contribution of the quasiparticle, amplitude, and phase fluctuations to the nonlinear optical response. We show that at low pumping frequency only the resonance at twice the smaller gap emerges, as due to the BCS response, while the Leggett mode dominates only in a narrow range of higher pumping frequencies matching its low-temperature value. Our findings provide a fresh perspective on the potential of nonlinear THz spectroscopy to detect collective modes in other multiband systems, such as iron-based superconductors.

Optical transitions, exciton radiative decay, and valley coherence in lead chalcogenide quantum dots

We propose the concept of valley coherence and superradiance in the reciprocal space and show that it leads to an $N$-fold decrease of the bright exciton radiative lifetime in quantum dots (QDs) of an $N$-valley semiconductor. Next we explain why, despite this, the exciton radiative lifetimes in PbX (X = S, Se, Te) QDs, measured from the photoluminescence decay, are in the microsecond range. We also address peculiarities of the light-matter interaction in nanostructures made of narrow-gap materials with strong inter-band coupling.

Chiriality in a Three-band Superconducting Prism in ZFC and FC Processes

In the present work, we will study the superconducting properties of a mesoscopic three-dimensional prism with square transversal section under an external magnetic field in both Zero-Field Cooling (ZFC) and Field-Cooling (FC) process. The studied sample is a three-band system (with three condensates \(\psi _{1}\), \(\psi _{2}\), \(\psi _{3}\)), in which we take a Josephson type inter-band coupling simulated via \(\gamma\) parameter. We analyze the magnetization, superconducting electronic density and free Gibbs energy considering both processes. As results, we found an interesting tunneling of vortex and anti-vortex between the bands, and vortex cluster configuration in the sample. This behaviour is due to the non-monotonic interaction between the bands.

Collective Excitations in Two-Band Superconductors

We investigate the eigen oscillations of internal degrees of freedom (Higgs mode and Goldstone mode) of two-band superconductors using the extended time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, formulated in a work Grigorishin (2021) \cite{grig2}, for the case of two coupled order parameters by both the internal proximity effect and the drag effect. It is demonstrated, that the Goldstone mode splits into two branches: common mode oscillations with the acoustic spectrum, which is absorbed by the gauge field, and anti-phase oscillations with the energy gap (mass) in the spectrum determined by the interband coupling, which can be associated with the Leggett mode. The Higgs mode splits into two branches also: a massive one, whose energy gap vanishes at the critical temperature $T_{c}$, another massive one, whose energy gap does not vanish at $T_{c}$. It is demonstrated, that the second branch of the Higgs mode is nonphysical, and it, together with the Leggett mode, can be removed by the special choice of coefficient at the "drag" term in the Lagrangian. In the same time, such a choice leaves only one coherence length, thereby prohibiting so-called type-1.5 superconductors. We analyze experimental data about the Josephson effect between two-band superconductors. In particular, it is demonstrated, that the resonant enhancement of the DC current through a Josephson junction at a resonant bias voltage $V_{\mathrm{res}}$, when the Josephson frequency matches the frequency of some internal oscillation mode in two-band superconductors (banks), can be explained with the coupling between AC Josephson current and Higgs oscillations. Thus, explanation of this effect does not need the Leggett mode.

Helical conducting edge states in narrow-gap semiconductors without band inversion

Band inversion accompanied by the emergence of gapless and helical edge states at the boundary is a hallmark of 2D topological insulators. However, a recent experiment reports the existence of edge states before band inversion in InAs/GaSb quantum wells [F. Nichele et al., New J. Phys. 18, 083005 (2016)]. The underlying physics remains an open problem. Here we provide a possible solution by showing that helical edge states emerge before band inversion as long as the bulk gap falls below a positive threshold determined by the particle-hole asymmetry and interband coupling. In the presence of quantum confinement or local electrostatic potential near the boundary, these edge states may enter the gap of bulk states and be detected as edge conductance in transport measurements. Our work reveals the possible existence of the helical conducting edge states in a large class of narrow-gap semiconductors.

Multiband superconductivity in V3Si determined from studying the response to controlled disorder

The London penetration depth, $\lambda(T)$, was measured in a single crystal V$_{3}$Si. The superfluid density obtained from this measurement shows a distinct signature of two almost decoupled superconducting gaps. This alone is insufficient to distinguish between $s_{\pm}$ and $s_{++}$ pairing states, but it can be achieved by studying the effect of a controlled non-magnetic disorder on the superconducting transition temperature, $T_{c}$. For this purpose, the same $\text{V}_{3}\text{Si}$ crystal was sequentially irradiated by 2.5 MeV electrons three times, repeating the measurement between the irradiation runs. A total dose of 10 C/cm$^{2}$ ($6.24\times10^{19}$ electrons/$\textrm{cm}^{2}$) was accumulated, for which $T_{c}$ has changed from 16.4 K in a pristine state to 14.7 K (9.3 $\%$). This substantial suppression is impossible for a single isotropic gap, but also it is not large enough for a sign-changing $s_{\pm}$ pairing state. Our electronic band-structure calculations show how five bands crossing the Fermi energy can be naturally grouped to support two effective gaps, not dissimilar from the iron pnictides physics. We analyze the results using two-gap models for both, $\lambda(T)$ and $T_{c}$, which describe the data very well. Thus, the experimental results and theoretical analysis provide strong support for an $s_{++}$ superconductivity with two unequal gaps, $\Delta_{1}\left(0\right)\approx2.53\;\textrm{meV}$ and $\Delta_{2}\left(0\right)\approx1.42\;\textrm{meV}$, and a very weak inter-band coupling in $\text{V}_{3}\text{Si}$ superconductor.

Quantum anomalous Hall state with Chern number C=2 in wurtzite quantum wells

Quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in topological insulators (TIs) is known to have involved energy bands with Chern numbers $C=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$. The QAH edge current would be electrically more accessible if one suppressed the edge-channel resistance, $h/C{e}^{2}$. That is why topological states $|C|>1$ are preferable for connecting them to an external circuit in device applications. The search for topological systems with a high Chern number is ongoing. This paper points to a semiconductor material system well developed for optoelectronic applications----III-nitrides. Polarization field in a compressed InN quantum well (QW) has two effects: it inverts conduction and valence energy bands, thus creating a prerequisite for topological insulator (TI), and generates Rashba spin splitting in conduction and valence bands. We calculate topological indexes in GaN/InN/GaN QW. In the QAH setting, value $|C|>1$ follows from the phase structure of interband coupling in III--V materials, providing Rashba and Zeeman fields act simultaneously. In nonmagnetic samples, explicitly calculated topological index ${Z}_{2}=1$ manifests the quantum spin Hall state.

Possible coexistence of charge density wave and superconductivity and enhancement of the transition temperature for the layered quasi-two-dimensional superconductor 2H-NbSe2

Starting with a two-band Hamiltonian with pairing interaction and interband coupling, and a charge density wave (CDW) Hamiltonian using Green’s function formalism, we demonstrate possible coexistence of superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW). The enhancement of the critical temperature with multi-band system is also established. The results are in broad agreement with experimental observations.

Missing Understanding of the Phase Factor between Valence-Electron and Hole Operators

This paper provides the long-missing foundation to connect semiconductor and atomic notations and to support results incorrectly obtained by doing as if semiconductor electrons possessed an orbital angular momentum. We here show that the phase factor between valence-electron destruction operator and hole creation operator is the same as the one between particle and antiparticle in quantum relativity, namely $\hat{a}_{m}=(-1)^{j-m} \hat{b}^\dag_{-m}$ provided that $m=(j,j-1\cdots,-j)$ labels the degenerate states of the $(2j+1)$-fold electron level at hand. This result is remarkable because $(i)$ the hole is definitely not a naive antiparticle due to the remaining valence electrons; $(ii)$ unlike atomic electrons in a central potential, semiconductor electrons in a periodic crystal do not have orbital angular momentum $\textbf{L}=\textbf{r}\wedge\textbf{p}$ nor angular momentum $\textbf{J}=\textbf{L}+\textbf{S}$. Consequently, $(j,m)$ for semiconductor electrons merely are convenient notations to label the states of a degenerate level. To illustrate the physical implications, we discuss the interband couplings between photons and semiconductor, in terms of valence electrons and of holes: the phase factor is crucial to establish that bright excitons are in a spin-singlet state.