Quasiparticle Excitation Spectrum Research Articles

Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2

Topological superconductivity is a promising concept for generating fault-tolerant qubits. Early experimental studies looked at hybrid systems and doped intrinsic topological or superconducting materials at very low temperatures. However, higher critical temperatures are indispensable for technological exploitation. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy results have revealed that superconductivity in the type-I Weyl semimetal—trigonal PtBi2 (t-PtBi2)—is located at the Fermi-arc surface states, which renders the material a potential candidate for intrinsic topological superconductivity. Here we show, using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, that t-PtBi2 presents surface superconductivity at elevated temperatures (5 K). The gap magnitude is elusive: it is spatially inhomogeneous and spans from 0 to 20 meV. In particular, the large gap value and the shape of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum resemble the phenomenology of high-Tc superconductors. To our knowledge, this is the largest superconducting gap so far measured in a topological material. Moreover, we show that the superconducting state at 5 K persists in magnetic fields up to 12 T.

Effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction on quantum speed limit and orthogonality catastrophe

We study the effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction on the quantum speed limit (QSL) and orthogonality catastrophe (OC) in XY spin chains. With an initial sudden quench, the general expressions of fidelity and QSL time are derived in terms of the antisymmetric quasiparticle excitation spectra. The numerical and analytical studies show that depending on the system parameters, the DM interaction has various influences on QSL and fidelity. In general, the OC is witnessed and QSL time vanishes in the thermodynamic limit as the variance of the quenched Hamiltonian in ground states scales with the system size, and the conclusion is independent of the DM interaction strength. However, it is interesting to note that the QSL can uniquely detect the critical points and lines induced by the DM interaction. We further analyze the actual evolution speed, a measure of the criticality, and find its direct correspondence with the OC. We also study an interesting phenomenon arising from the magnetic field and DM interaction in the presence of classical noise. Notably, we find that the system dynamic is fault tolerant when the system is subject to a uniform classical noise in the DM interaction strength.

Dirac Bands in the Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 Mapped by Time‐Resolved Momentum Microscopy

AbstractThe energy dispersion of the unoccupied Dirac bands of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 has been studied up to large parallel momenta and intermediate state energies using a setup for laser‐based time‐resolved momentum microscopy with 6 eV probe‐photons. A strongly momentum‐dependent evolution of the topologically protected Dirac states into a conduction band resonance is observed, highlighting the anisotropy dictated by the symmetry of the surface. The results are in remarkable agreement with the theoretical surface spectrum obtained from a GW‐corrected tight‐binding model, suggesting the validity of the approach in the prediction of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of large systems with non‐trivial topology. After photoexcitation with 0.97 eV photons, assigned to a bulk valence band‐conduction band transition, the out‐of‐equilibrium population of the surface state evolves on a multi‐picosecond time scale, in agreement with a simple thermodynamical model with a fixed number of particles, suggesting a significant decoupling between bulk and surface states.

Influence of impurities on the electronic structure in cuprate superconductors

The impurity is inherently manifest in cuprate superconductors, as cation substitution or intercalation is necessary for the introduction of charge carriers, and its influence on the electronic state is at the heart of a great debate in physics. Here based on the microscopic octet scattering model, the influence of the impurity scattering on the electronic structure of cuprate superconductors is investigated in terms of the self-consistent $T$-matrix approach. The impurity scattering self-energy is evaluated firstly in the Fermi-arc-tip approximation of the quasiparticle excitations and scattering processes, and the obtained results show that the decisive role played by the impurity scattering self-energy in the particle-hole channel is the further renormalization of the quasiparticle band structure with a reduced quasiparticle lifetime, while the impurity scattering self-energy in the particle-particle channel induces a strong deviation from the $d$-wave behavior of the superconducting gap, leading to the existence of a finite gap over the entire electron Fermi surface. Moreover, these impurity scattering self-energies are employed to study the exotic features of the line shape in the quasiparticle excitation spectrum and the autocorrelation of the quasiparticle excitation spectra, and the obtained results are then compared with the corresponding experimental data. The theory therefore also indicates that the unconventional features of the electronic structure in cuprate superconductors is generated by both the strong electron correlation and impurity scattering.

Dynamical quantum phase transition in periodic quantum Ising chains

The dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) after a sudden quench in periodic quantum Ising chains (QICs) are studied. We obtain the formulas of the Loschmidt echo and the Fisher zeros of the Loschmidt amplitude in the periodic QIC. It is found that for the quench across the quantum phase transitions (QPTs), the periodic QICs have richer DQPTs than that in the homogeneous QIC, and the number of critical times of the DQPTs are dependent on the specifical parameter of the pre- and post-quench Hamiltonian. For instance, in the period-two QIC, there is one critical time for the quench from the FM phase to the PM phase, and three critical times for the quench from the PM phase to the FM phase. In the period-three QIC, there may have three or four critical times for the quench from FM phase to the PM phase, but may have two or three critical times for the quench from PM to the FM phase. The reason is that the periodic QICs have multiple quasiparticle excitation spectra, and the Fisher zeros of the periodic systems consist of several separated branches, which is different from that in the homogeneous QIC. For different quenches across the QPTs, different branches will intersect with the imaginary axis, which correspond to different critical times. Our conclusion also provides insight in the property of the DQPT in the inhomogeneous systems.

Dynamical quantum phase transition in XY chains with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and XZY–YZX three-site interactions

We study the dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in the XY chains with the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and the XZY–YZX type of three-site interaction after a sudden quench. Both the models can be mapped to the spinless free fermion models by the Jordan–Wigner and Bogoliubov transformations with the form , where the quasiparticle excitation spectra εk may be smaller than 0 for some k and are asymmetrical (εk ≠ ε –k ). It is found that the factors of Loschmidt echo equal 1 for some k corresponding to the quasiparticle excitation spectra of the pre-quench Hamiltonian satisfying εk ⋅ ε –k < 0, when the quench is from the gapless phase. By considering the quench from different ground states, we obtain the conditions for the occurrence of DQPTs for the general XY chains with gapless phase, and find that the DQPTs may not occur in the quench across the quantum phase transitions regardless of whether the quench is from the gapless phase to gapped phase or from the gapped phase to gapless phase. This is different from the DQPTs in the case of quench from the gapped phase to gapped phase, in which the DQPTs will always appear. Moreover, we analyze the different reasons for the absence of DQPTs in the quench from the gapless phase and the gapped phase. The conclusion can also be extended to the general quantum spin chains.

Anisotropic dressing of electrons in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

The recent experiments revealed a remarkable possibility for the absence of the disparity between the phase diagrams of the electron- and hole-doped cuprate superconductors, while such an aspect should be also reflected in the dressing of the electrons. Here the phase diagram of the electron-doped cuprate superconductors and the related exotic features of the anisotropic dressing of the electrons are studied based on the kinetic-energy driven superconductivity. It is shown that although the optimized Tc in the electron-doped side is much smaller than that in the hole-doped case, the electron- and hole-doped cuprate superconductors rather resemble each other in the doping range of the superconducting dome, indicating an absence of the disparity between the phase diagrams of the electron- and hole-doped cuprate superconductors. In particular, the anisotropic dressing of the electrons due to the strong electron's coupling to a strongly dispersive spin excitation leads to that the electron Fermi surface is truncated to form the disconnected Fermi arcs centered around the nodal region. Concomitantly, the dip in the peak-dip-hump structure of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum is directly associated with the corresponding peak in the quasiparticle scattering rate, while the dispersion kink is always accompanied by the corresponding inflection point in the total self-energy, as the dip in the peak-dip-hump structure and dispersion kink in the hole-doped counterparts. The theory also predicts that both the normal and anomalous self-energies exhibit the well-pronounced low-energy peak-structures.

Dephasing–rephasing dynamics of one-dimensional tunneling quasicondensates

We study the quantum tunneling of two one-dimensional quasi-condensates made of alkali-metal atoms, considering two different tunneling configurations: side-by-side and head-to-tail. After deriving the quasiparticle excitation spectrum, we discuss the dynamics of the relative phase following a sudden coupling of the independent subsystems. In particular, we calculate the coherence factor of the system, which, due to the nonzero tunneling amplitude, it exhibits dephasing–rephasing oscillations instead of pure dephasing. These oscillations are enhanced by a higher tunneling energy, and by higher system densities. Our predictions provide a benchmark for future experiments at temperatures below T ≲ 5 nK.

Anomalous electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Within the framework of the kinetic energy-driven superconductivity, the complicated line shape in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is studied. It is shown that as in the hole-doped counterparts, the momentum and energy dependence of the quasiparticle scattering rate in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors has a well-pronounced peak structure at around the antinodal and nodal regions. However, this peak structure is absent from the hot spots. This special momentum and energy dependence of the quasiparticle scattering rate therefore generates a remarkable peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the electron-doped cuprate superconductors at around the antinodal and nodal regions except for at around the hot spots, where the peak-dip-hump structure is absent. The theory also indicates that there is a common physical origin for the peak-dip-hump structure both in the hole- and electron-doped cuprate superconductors.

Renormalization of electrons in bilayer cuprate superconductors

Cuprate superconductors have a layered structure, and then the physical properties are significantly enriched when two or more two copper-oxide layers are contained in a unit cell. Here the characteristic features of the renormalization of the electrons in the bilayer cuprate superconductors are investigated within the framework of the kinetic-energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum is split into its bonding and antibonding components due to the presence of the bilayer coupling, with each component that is independent. However, in the underdoped and optimally doped regimes, although the bonding and antibonding electron Fermi surface contours deriving from the bonding and antibonding layers are truncated to form the disconnected bonding and antibonding Fermi arcs, almost all spectral weights in the bonding and antibonding Fermi arcs are reduced to the tips of the bonding and antibonding Fermi arcs, which in this case coincide with the bonding and antibonding hot spots. These hot spots connected by the scattering wave vectors qi construct an octet scattering model, and then the enhancement of the quasiparticle scattering processes with the scattering wave vectors qi is confirmed via the result of the autocorrelation of the electron quasiparticle excitation spectral intensities. Moreover, the peak-dip-hump structure developed in each component of the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum along the corresponding electron Fermi surface is directly related with the peak structure in the quasiparticle scattering rate except for at around the hot spots, where the peak-dip-hump structure is caused mainly by the pure bilayer coupling. Although the kink in the electron quasiparticle dispersion is present all around the electron Fermi surface, when the momentum moves away from the node to the antinode, the kink energy smoothly decreases, while the dispersion kink becomes more pronounced, and in particular, near the cut close to the antinode, develops into a break separating of the fasting dispersing high-energy part of the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum from the slower dispersing low-energy part. By comparing with the corresponding results in the single-layer case, the theory also indicates that the characteristic features of the renormalization of the electrons are particularly obvious due to the presence of the bilayer coupling.

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate in noncentrosymmetric superconductors Y2C3

For a noncentrosymmetric superconductor such as Y2C3, we consider a parity-mixing model composed of spin-singlet s-wave and spin-triplet f-wave pairing components. The d-vector in f-wave state is chosen to be parallel to the Dresselhaus asymmetric spin-orbit coupling vector. It is found that, the quasiparticle excitation spectrum exhibits distinct nodal structure as a consequence of parity-mixing. We demonstrate particularly that such a model can qualitatively account for the existing experimental results of the temperature dependence of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate T1−1 in Y2C3.

Fermion condensation and super pivotal categories

We study fermionic topological phases using the technique of fermion condensation. We give a prescription for performing fermion condensation in bosonic topological phases that contain a fermion. Our approach to fermion condensation can roughly be understood as coupling the parent bosonic topological phase to a phase of physical fermions and condensing pairs of physical and emergent fermions. There are two distinct types of objects in the resulting fermionic fusion categories, which we call “m-type” and “q-type” objects. The endomorphism algebras of q-type objects are complex Clifford algebras, and they have no analogs in bosonic theories. We construct a fermionic generalization of the tube category, which allows us to compute the quasiparticle excitations arising from the condensed theories. We prove a series of results relating data in fermionic theories to data in their parent bosonic theories; for example, if C is a modular tensor category containing a fermion, then the tube category constructed from the condensed theory satisfies Tube(C/ψ)≅C×(C/ψ). We also study how modular transformations, fusion rules, and coherence relations are modified in the fermionic setting, prove a fermionic version of the Verlinde dimension formula, construct a commuting projector lattice Hamiltonian for fermionic theories, and write down a fermionic version of the Turaev-Viro-Barrett-Westbury state sum. A large portion of this work is devoted to three detailed examples of performing fermion condensation to produce fermionic topological phases: we condense fermions in the Ising theory, the SO(3)6 theory, and the 12E6 theory and compute the quasiparticle excitation spectrum in each of the condensed theories.

Quantum Vortex Core and Missing Pseudogap in the Multiband BCS-BEC Crossover Superconductor FeSe.

FeSe is argued as a superconductor in the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer Bose-Einstein condensation crossover regime where the superconducting gap size and the superconducting transition temperature T_{c} are comparable to the Fermi energy. In this regime, vortex bound states should be well quantized and the preformed pairs above T_{c} may yield a pseudogap in the quasiparticle-excitation spectrum. We performed spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy to search for these features. We found Friedel-like oscillations near the vortex, which manifest the quantized levels, whereas the pseudogap was not detected. These apparently conflicting observations may be related to the multiband nature of FeSe.

Pseudogap in the c-axis (along the ladder) optical conductivity of t − J ladders and its quasiparticle interpretation

Motivated by similarities between cuprate superconductors and two-leg ladder copper-oxide compounds and in order to obtain a better understanding of optical properties of cuprate superconductors we have studied the c-axis (along the ladder) optical conductivity of a doped two-leg ladder. Using exact diagonalization, we have calculated the conductivity and related quantities for cyclic ladders of up to 13 rungs. In agreement with results of an early study by Hayward and coworkers (Hayward et al 1996 Phys. Rev. B 53 8863) we find that consists of a Drude peak at zero frequency and an absorption band in the infrared region that is separated from the former by a pseudogap. The width of the pseudogap increases with increasing J/t, in parallel with an increase of the magnitude of the gap in the quasiparticle excitation spectra. Our central finding is that , where is the magnitude of the gap in the spin excitation spectra. We demonstrate that this approximate relation can be understood in terms of a phenomenological model involving a superconducting ladder and a coupling between charged quasiparticles and spin excitations. The relation is remarkably similar to the one between experimental values of the energy scale of a dip in the in-plane optical conductivity, the superconducting gap and the energy of the spin-resonance in cuprate superconductors (for a recent discussion of the optical data, see Šopík et al 2015 New J. Phys. 17 053022). Our findings support the point of view that low energy infrared active excited states of cuprate superconductors can be viewed as consisting of two charged quasiparticles connected with pair-breaking and a spin excitation.

Landau damping and frequency-shift of (0, 0, 2) scissors mode in a disc-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate

应用哈特里-福克-博戈留波夫平均场理论近似和基于托马斯-费米近似的解析方法, 研究碟形玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体中(0, 0, 2)剪刀模的朗道阻尼和频移, 计算阻尼系数和频移大小以及它们的温度依赖. 计算中, 在集体激发本征频移微扰关系中考虑元激发弛豫及其弛豫之间的正交关系以获得阻尼和频移的计算公式, 把凝聚体基态波函数取为高斯分布函数的一级近似以消除托马斯-费米近似中三模耦合矩阵元的发散. 采用与相关实验研究相同的粒子数、囚禁频率和各向异性参量, 理论计算结果与相关实验测量结果相符合. 由于理论的复杂性和计算的困难性, 在大多数基于平均场理论的单分量和两分量玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚集体激发阻尼和频移的研究中采用半经典近似, 把准粒子激发能谱看成是连续的来积分计算各个准粒子跃迁对阻尼和频移的贡献, 而本文和本文前期工作按分立的准粒子激发频谱计算阻尼或频移, 并在研究过程中提出了考虑元激发弛豫及弛豫之间正交关系的改进方法, 希望这种方法对今后的工作有一定参考价值.

Excitations of a vortex line in an elongated dipolar condensate

We characterise the properties of a vortex line in an elongated dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate. Increasing the strength of the dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs) relative to the short ranged contact interactions we find that the system crosses over to a self-bound vortex droplet stabilized from collapse by quantum fluctuations. We calculate the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the vortex state, which is important in characterizing the vortex response, and assessing its stability. When the DDIs are sufficiently strong we find that the vortex is dynamically unstable to quadrupolar modes.

Dynamical quasiparticle properties of gapped monolayer graphene in the presence of Holstein phonons

We have calculated the quasiparticle particle self-energy and spectral function in a graphene plane when a symmetry breaking of the sublattice is occurred. Holstein model Hamiltonian has been applied to describe the electron dynamics in the presence of lattice vibrations. This model Hamiltonian takes into account the effects of interaction between electrons and Einstein phonons beyond the usual Dirac-cone approximation. Specially, the effects of gap parameter and electron-phonon coupling strength on spectral function, inelastic scattering lifetime and band gap renormalization have been studied. Also the electron density dependence of inelastic scattering lifetime for different values of gap parameter has been investigated. In order to find the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the interacting electronic system, we have studied the frequency dependence of spectral function for different physical parameters. Our results show the intensity of broad peak in frequency dependence of spectral function reduces with electron-phonon coupling strength. However the intensity of quasiparticle particle peak increases with coupling strength. The increase of gap parameter leads to appear sharp quasiparticle peak with high intensity in spectral function. The frequency dependence of sharp peak goes to higher frequency with gap parameter. Also the gap parameter dependence of inverse of scattering life time shows a sudden change for all values of coupling constant. Finally band gap renormalization enhances with electron-phonon coupling constant at fixed electron density.

The study of dynamical quasiparticle properties of undoped graphene nanoribbon

We have calculated the quasiparticle particle self-energy and spectral function in an undoped graphene nanoribbon when a symmetry breaking of the sublattice is occurred. Hubbard model Hamiltonian has been applied to describe the electron dynamics in the structure. Using the many body G0W approach and Green's function technique, we have found the dynamical quasiparticle properties of electrons on nanoribbon structure. Also random phase approximation has been exploited to calculate electronic self-energy of the system. The difference between on-site energies of atoms on two sublattices is named gap parameter. Specially, the effects of gap parameter and Hubbard parameter on spectral function, inelastic scattering lifetime and band gap renormalization have been studied. Also the wave vector dependence of inelastic scattering lifetime for different values of gap parameter has been investigated. In order to find the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the interacting electronic system, we have studied the frequency dependence of spectral function for different physical parameters.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with quantum gas microscopes

Quantum gas microscopes are a promising tool to study interacting quantum many-body systems and bridge the gap between theoretical models and real materials. So far they were limited to measurements of instantaneous correlation functions of the form $\langle \hat{O}(t) \rangle$, even though extensions to frequency-resolved response functions $\langle \hat{O}(t) \hat{O}(0) \rangle$ would provide important information about the elementary excitations in a many-body system. For example, single particle spectral functions, which are usually measured using photoemission experiments in electron systems, contain direct information about fractionalization and the quasiparticle excitation spectrum. Here, we propose a measurement scheme to experimentally access the momentum and energy resolved spectral function in a quantum gas microscope with currently available techniques. As an example for possible applications, we numerically calculate the spectrum of a single hole excitation in one-dimensional $t-J$ models with isotropic and anisotropic antiferromagnetic couplings. A sharp asymmetry in the distribution of spectral weight appears when a hole is created in an isotropic Heisenberg spin chain. This effect slowly vanishes for anisotropic spin interactions and disappears completely in the case of pure Ising interactions. The asymmetry strongly depends on the total magnetization of the spin chain, which can be tuned in experiments with quantum gas microscopes. An intuitive picture for the observed behavior is provided by a slave-fermion mean field theory. The key properties of the spectra are visible at currently accessible temperatures.

Color superfluidity of neutral ultracold fermions in the presence of color-flip and color-orbit fields

We describe how color superfluidity is modified in the presence of color-flip and color-orbit fields in the context of ultra-cold atoms, and discuss connections between this problem and that of color superconductivity in quantum chromodynamics. We consider s-wave contact interactions between different colors, and we identify superfluid phases, with five being nodal and one being fully gapped. When our system is described in a mixed color basis, the superfluid order parameter tensor is characterized by six independent components with explicit momentum dependence induced by color-orbit coupling. The nodal superfluid phases are topological in nature, and the low temperature phase diagram of color-flip field versus interaction parameter exhibits a pentacritical point, where all five nodal color superfluid phases converge. These results are in sharp contrast to the case of zero color-flip and color-orbit fields, where the system has perfect U(3) symmetry and possess a superfluid phase that is characterized by fully gapped quasiparticle excitations with a single complex order parameter with no momentum dependence and by inert unpaired fermions representing a non-superfluid component. Furthermore, we analyse the order parameter tensor in a total pseudo-spin basis, investigate its momentum dependence in the singlet, triplet and quintet sectors, and compare the results with the simpler case of spin-1/2 fermions in the presence of spin-flip and spin-orbit fields. Finally, we analyse in detail spectroscopic properties of color superfluids in the presence of color-flip and color-orbit fields, such as the quasiparticle excitation spectrum, momentum distribution, and density of states to help characterize all the encountered topological quantum phases, which can be realized in fermionic isotopes of Lithium, Potassium and Ytterbium atoms with three internal states trapped.