Direction Of Ring Research Articles

Sterically driven current reversal in a molecular motor model

Simulations can help unravel the complicated ways in which molecular structure determines function. Here, we use molecular simulations to show how slight alterations of a molecular motor's structure can cause the motor's typical dynamical behavior to reverse directions. Inspired by autonomous synthetic catenane motors, we study the molecular dynamics of a minimal motor model, consisting of a shuttling ring that moves along a track containing interspersed binding sites and catalytic sites. The binding sites attract the shuttling ring while the catalytic sites speed up a reaction between molecular species, which can be thought of as fuel and waste. When that fuel and waste are held in nonequilibrium steady-state concentrations, the free energy from the reaction drives directed motion of the shuttling ring along the track. Using this model and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, we show that the shuttling ring's direction can be reversed by simply adjusting the spacing between binding and catalytic sites on the track. We present a steric mechanism behind the current reversal, supported by kinetic measurements from the simulations. These results demonstrate how molecular simulation can guide future development of artificial molecular motors.

Effect of hopping anisotropy on the d-wave pairing in the Hubbard model: From two-leg ladder to square lattice

In the ladder-type cuprates, superconductivity is argued to be enhanced by increasing the electron hopping in the rung direction, while such an enhancement is not expected in the layered cuprates. Utilizing the quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the Hubbard model, we study the effect of the hopping anisotropy on the d-wave pairing, on the two-leg ladder, the square lattice and the coupled two-leg ladder lattice. On the square lattice, the hopping anisotropy monotonically suppresses the d-wave pairing; while on the two-leg ladder, an optimal hopping anisotropy for the d-wave pairing exists at tx/ty≈0.6. For the coupled two-leg ladder lattice, as the coupling strength ty′/ty decreases, the evolution of the d-wave pairing as a function of the hopping anisotropy behaves as a crossover from the square lattice to the two-leg ladder. Our results provide numerical proof for the possible enhancement of superconductivity in both the ladder-type and layered cuprates.

Synthesis, Structure and Properties of a New Strong‐Rung Spin Ladder Compound Cu(2‐Ethylpyrazine)Br2

AbstractWe report the structure and magnetism of a newly synthesized coordination polymer Cu(2‐ethylpyrazine)Br2. Its crystal structure was determined by both single crystal and powder X‐ray diffractions. We find the compound crystallizes in the space group C2 with a ladder structure in which the copper ions are bridged by bromide ions and 2‐ethylpyrazine molecules along the rung and rail direction, respectively. The magnetic susceptibility is consistent with the strong‐rung spin ladder model which yields Jrung/kB=−33.819(1) K, Jrail/kB=−25.206(3) K. The obtained spin gap is Δ=18.01 K. Both magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements show the absence of low range magnetic order down to 2 K, indicating weak inter‐ladder coupling in the compound.

Topological and dynamical features of periodically driven spin ladders

Studies of periodically driven one-dimensional many-body systems have advanced our understanding of complex systems and stimulated promising developments in quantum simulation. It is hence of interest to go one step further, by investigating the topological and dynamical aspects of periodically driven spin ladders as clean quasi-one-dimensional systems with spin-spin interaction in the rung direction. Specifically, we find that such systems display subharmonic magnetization dynamics reminiscent to that of discrete time crystals (DTCs) at finite system sizes. Through the use of generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation, this feature can be attributed to the presence of corner Majorana $\ensuremath{\pi}$ modes (MPMs), which are of topological origin, in the systems' equivalent Majorana lattice. Special emphasis is placed on how the coupling in the rung direction of the ladder prevents degeneracy from occurring between states differing by a single spin excitation, thus preserving the MPM-induced $\ensuremath{\pi}/T$ quasienergy spacing of the Floquet eigenstates in the presence of parameter imperfection. This feature, which is absent in their strict one-dimensional counterparts, may yield fascinating consequences in future studies of higher dimensional Floquet many-body systems.

A single active ring model with velocity self-alignment.

Cellular tissue behavior is a multiscale problem. At the cell level, out of equilibrium, biochemical reactions drive physical cell-cell interactions in a typical active matter process. Cell modeling computer simulations are a robust tool to explore countless possibilities and test hypotheses. Here, we introduce a two-dimensional, extended active matter model for biological cells. A ring of interconnected self-propelled particles represents the cell. Neighboring particles are subject to harmonic and bending potentials. Within a characteristic time, each particle's self-velocity tends to align with its scattering velocity after an interaction. Translational modes, rotational modes, and mixtures of these appear as collective states. Using analytical results derived from active Brownian particles, we identify effective characteristic time scales for ballistic and diffusive movements. Finite-size scale investigation shows that the ring diffusion increases linearly with its size when in collective movement. A study on the ring shape reveals that all collective states are present even when bending forces are weak. In that case, when in a translational mode, the collective velocity aligns with the largest ring's direction in a spontaneous polarization emergence.

Possible enhancement of superconductivity in ladder-type cuprates by longitudinal compression

We theoretically study the effect of uniaxial deformation of ladder-type cuprate superconductors. Model construction based on first principles calculation shows that the rung-to-leg ratio of the nearest neighbor hoppings counterintuitively increases when the lattice is compressed in the longitudinal (leg) direction. This leads to an enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature, which intuitively is expected when compressed in the rung direction. Such a trend is traced back to the on-site hybridization between Cu$4s$ and Cu$d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbitals, which varies and changes sign upon lattice deformation.

Polar state induced by block-type lattice distortions in BaFe2Se3 with quasi-one-dimensional ladder structure

Temperature dependent crystal structures of the quasi-one-dimensional ladder material BaFe2Se3 are examined. Combining the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) experiments and neutron diffraction measurements, we elucidate the crystal structure with Pmn2_1 space group in the low-temperature phase below Ts2 = 400 K, further above Neel temperature. This low-temperature phase loses the spatial inversion symmetry, where a resultant macroscopic polarization emerges along the rung direction. The transition is characterized by block-type lattice distortions with the magneto-striction mechanism. Change in the electrical resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility across the polar-nonpolar transition also suggests a modification of the electronic states reflecting the structural instability. Consistency and discrepancy with the existing theory are discussed.

Fractionally Quantized Berry Phases of Magnetization Plateaux in Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Multimer Chains

We study the fractionally quantized $Z_N$ Berry phase, $\gamma_N=0, {2\pi \over N}, {4\pi \over N},\ldots, {2(N-1)\pi \over N}$, to characterize local $N$-mer spin structures at magnetization plateaux in spin-1/2 Heisenberg multimer ($N$-mer) models, i.e., highly frustrated $N$-leg ladder models, which are generalizations of an orthogonal dimer chain and have exact ground states in the strong multimer coupling region. We demonstrate that all $N$ types of Berry phases, which characterize magnetization-plateau phases, appear in a magnetic phase diagram when $N=2$ and $4$. We show that magnetization plateau with magnetization $\langle m\rangle$ and $D$-fold degenerated states has $\gamma_N=\pi (\langle m\rangle-1) D$, except for the Haldane phase with $\gamma_N=0$. In addition, we find that a complementary $Z_N$ Berry phase becomes non-zero in the $S=N/2$ Haldane phase for $N=2$ and 4. Because the exact quantization of the $Z_N$ Berry phases is protected by the translational (or rotational) symmetry along the rung direction, the $Z_N$ Berry phase has the potential to be applied for a wide class of magnetization plateaux in coupled multimer systems.

Signatures of pairing in the magnetic excitation spectrum of strongly correlated two-leg ladders

Magnetic interactions are widely believed to play a crucial role in the microscopic mechanism leading to high critical temperature superconductivity. It is therefore important to study the signatures of pairing in the magnetic excitation spectrum of simple models known to show unconventional superconducting tendencies. Using the Density Matrix Renormalization Group technique, we calculate the dynamical spin structure factor $S({\bf k},\omega)$ of a generalized $t-U-J$ Hubbard model away from half-filling in a two-leg ladder geometry. The addition of $J$ enhances pairing tendencies. We analyze quantitatively the signatures of pairing in the magnetic excitation spectra. We found that the superconducting pair-correlation strength, that can be estimated independently from ground state properties, is closely correlated with the integrated low-energy magnetic spectral weight in the vicinity of $(\pi,\pi)$. In this wave-vector region, robust spin incommensurate features develop with increasing doping. The branch of the spectrum with rung direction wave-vector $k_{rung}=0$ does not change substantially with doping where pairing dominates, and thus plays a minor role. We discuss the implications of our results for neutron scattering experiments, where the spin excitation dynamics of hole-doped quasi-one dimensional magnetic materials can be measured, and also address implications for recent resonant inelastic X-ray scattering experiments.

Strong ferromagnetic exchange interaction under ambient pressure in BaFe2S3

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements have been performed to investigate the spin waves of the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetic ladder compound BaFe$_2$S$_3$, where a superconducting transition was observed under pressure [H. Takahashi {\it et al.}, Nat. Mater. 14, 1008-1012 (2015); T. Yamauchi {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 246402 (2015)]. By fitting the spherically averaged experimental data collected on a powder sample to a Heisenberg Hamiltonian, we find that the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic ladder exhibits a strong nearest neighbor ferromagnetic exchange interaction ($SJ_R=-71\pm4$ meV) along the rung direction, an antiferromagnetic $SJ_L=49\pm3$ meV along the leg direction and a ferromagnetic $SJ_2=-15\pm2$ meV along the diagonal direction. Our data demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic spin excitations are a common characteristic for the iron-based superconductors, while specific relative values for the exchange interactions do not appear to be unique for the parent states of the superconducting materials.

Spin waves and magnetic exchange interactions in the spin-ladder compoundRbFe2Se3

We report an inelastic neutron scattering study of the spin waves of the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin ladder compound RbFe$_2$Se$_3$. The results reveal that the products, $SJ$'s, of the spin $S$ and the magnetic exchange interactions $J$'s along the antiferromagnetic (leg) direction and the ferromagnetic (rung) direction are comparable with those for the stripe ordered phase of the parent compounds of the iron-based superconductors. The universality of the $SJ$'s implies nearly universal spin wave dynamics and the irrelevance of the fermiology for the existence of the stripe antiferromagnetic order among various Fe-based materials.

Analytical approach to a bosonic ladder subject to a magnetic field

We examine a bosonic two-leg ladder model subject to a magnetic flux and especially focus on a regime where the lower-energy band has two minima. By using a low-energy field theory approach, we study several issues discussed in the system: the existence of local patterns in density and current, chiral-current reversal, and the effect of a nearest-neighbor interaction along the rung direction. In our formalism, the local patterns are interpreted as a result of breaking of discrete symmetry. The chiral-current reversal occurs through a competition between a current component determined at a commensurate vortex density causing an enlargement of the unit cell and another component, which is proportional to the magnetic-field doping from the corresponding commensurate flux. The nearest-neighbor interaction along the rung direction available with the technique on a synthetic dimension is shown to favor a population-imbalance solution in an experimentally relevant regime.

Strongly interacting bosons on a three-leg ladder in the presence of a homogeneous flux

We perform a density-matrix renormalization-group study of strongly interacting bosons on a three-leg ladder in the presence of a homogeneous flux. Focusing on one-third filling, we explore the phase diagram in dependence of the magnetic flux and the inter-leg tunneling strength. We find several phases including a Meissner phase, vortex liquids, a vortex lattice, as well as a staggered-current (SC) phase. Moreover, there are regions where the chiral current reverses its direction, both in the Meissner and in the SC phase. While the reversal in the latter case can be ascribed to spontaneous breaking of translational invariance, in the first it stems from an effective flux increase in the rung direction. Interactions are a necessary ingredient to realize either type of chiral-current reversal.

Orbital control of effective dimensionality: from spin-orbital fractionalization to confinement in the anisotropic ladder system CaCu(2)O(3).

Fractionalization of an electronic quasiparticle into spin, charge, and orbital parts is a fundamental and characteristic property of interacting electrons in one dimension. However, real materials are never strictly one dimensional and the fractionalization phenomena are hard to observe. Here we studied the spin and orbital excitations of the anisotropic ladder material CaCu_{2}O_{3}, whose electronic structure is not one dimensional. Combining high-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering experiments with theoretical model calculations, we show that (i)spin-orbital fractionalization occurs in CaCu_{2}O_{3} along the leg direction x through the xz orbital channel as in a 1D system, and (ii)no fractionalization is observed for the xy orbital, which extends in both leg and rung direction, contrary to a 1D system. We conclude that the directional character of the orbital hopping can select different degrees of dimensionality. Using additional model calculations, we show that spin-orbital separation is generally far more robust than the spin-charge separation. This is not only due to the already mentioned selection realized by the orbital hopping, but also due to the fact that spinons are faster than the orbitons.

The ground state phase diagrams and low-energy excitation of dimer XXZ spin ladder

We study the ground state and low-energy excitation of dimer XXZ spin ladder with Heisenberg and XXZ interactions along the rung and rail directions, respectively. Using a bond operator method, we get low-energy effective Hamiltonians in different parameter regions. Based on those low-energy effective Hamiltonians, we set up the ground state phase diagrams and investigate the properties of low-energy excitation in each phase. We will show that the results are exact one when the XXZ interactions along rail reduce to the Ising type. The quantum Monte Carlo and exact diagonalization methods are also applied to the finite system to verify the exact nature of the phases, the phase transitions and the low-energy excitation. Of all the phases, we pay a special attention to the gapped antiferromagnetic phase, which is disclosed to be a non-trivial one that exhibits the time-reversal symmetry. We also discuss how our findings could be realized and detected by using cold atoms in optical lattice.

Thermal conductivity of anisotropic spin-1/2 two leg ladder: Green’s function approach

We study the thermal transport of a spin-1/2 two leg antiferromagnetic ladder in the direction of legs. The possible effect of spin-orbit coupling and crystalline electric field are investigated in terms of anisotropies in the Heisenberg interactions on both leg and rung couplings. The original spin ladder is mapped to a bosonic model via a bond-operator transformation where an infinite hard-core repulsion is imposed to constrain one boson occupation per site. The Green's function approach is applied to obtain the energy spectrum of quasi-particle excitations responsible for thermal transport. The thermal conductivity is found to be monotonically decreasing with temperature due to increased scattering among triplet excitations at higher temperatures. A tiny dependence of thermal transport on the anisotropy in the leg direction at low temperatures is observed in contrast to the strong one on the anisotropy along the rung direction, due to the direct effect of the triplet density. Our results reach asymptotically the ballistic regime of the spin - 1/2 Heisenberg chain and compare favorably well with exact diagonalization data.

Effects of frustration on magnetic excitations in a two-leg spin-ladder system

We theoretically study the magnetic excitations in a frustrated two-leg spin-ladder system, in which antiferromagnetic exchange interactions act on the nearest-neighbor and next-nearestneighbor bonds in the leg direction, and on the nearest-neighbor bonds in the rung direction. A dynamical spin correlation function at zero temperature is calculated by using the dynamical density-matrix renormalization-group method for possible magnetic phases, i.e., columnar-dimer and rung-singlet phases. The columnar-dimer phase is characterized by multi-spinon excitations with spin gap, while the rung-singlet phase is dominated by the triplet excitation in the rung direction. It is found that a major difference between these two phases appears in the spectral weight of magnetic excitations, in particular, of the bonding and anti-bonding modes in the rung direction. Therefore, we can distinguish one phase from the other by the difference of the spectral weight. Furthermore, we examine frustration effect on both modes in the rung-singlet phase with a perturbation theory from the strong coupling limit. It is shown that the anti-bonding mode is stable against the frustration, and a wavenumber with minimum excitation energy is shifted from the commensurate to incommensurate ones. On the other hand, the bonding mode is merged into the continuum excitation of multiple triplet excitations by increasing the frustration. By comparing our results with inelastic neutron scattering experiments for BiCu$_2$PO$_6$, the magnitude of the magnetic exchange interactions and the ground state will be determined.

Stripelike magnetism in a mixed-valence insulating state of the Fe-based ladder compound CsFe2Se3

Structural and electronic properties of the Fe-based spin-ladder compound CsFe${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$ was investigated by means of resistivity, susceptibility, specific heat, M\ossbauer, and neutron diffraction measurements. Despite the single-site nature in a mixed-valence state, the ground state is a magnetic insulator characterized by a charge gap \ensuremath{\sim}0.34 eV and an antiferromagnetic transition temperature 175 K. The magnetic structure was stripelike, with magnetic moments of 1.77(6)${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{B}}$ coupled ferromagnetically (antiferromagnetically) along the rung (leg) direction. Both the insulating behavior and stripelike ordering can be understood by assuming extra carriers delocalized on the rung. Our findings reveal that CsFe${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$ is an appealing compound with the stripelike magnetic structure in an insulating state among Fe-based compounds, and provide significant supplemental insight into the magnetism of Fe-based superconductors.

Exotic paired phases in ladders with spin-dependent hopping

Fermions in two-dimensions (2D) when subject to anisotropic spin-dependent hopping can potentially give rise to unusual paired states in {\it unpolarized} mixtures that can behave as non-Fermi liquids. One possibility is a fully paired state with a gap for fermion excitations in which the Cooper pairs remain uncondensed. Such a "Cooper-pair Bose-metal" phase would be expected to have a singular Bose-surface in momentum space. As demonstrated in the context of 2D bosons hopping with a frustrating ring-exchange interaction, an analogous Bose-metal phase has a set of quasi-1D descendent states when put on a ladder geometry. Here we present a density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) study of the attractive Hubbard model with spin-dependent hopping on a two-leg ladder geometry. In our setup, one spin species moves preferentially along the leg direction, while the other does so along the rung direction. We find compelling evidence for the existence of a novel Cooper-pair Bose-metal phase in a region of the phase diagram at intermediate coupling. We further explore the phase diagram of this model as a function of hopping anisotropy, density, and interaction strength, finding a conventional superfluid phase, as well as a phase of paired Cooper pairs with d-wave symmetry, similar to the one found in models of hard-core bosons with ring-exchange. We argue that simulating this model with cold Fermi gases on spin dependent optical lattices is a promising direction for realizing exotic quantum states.

CONTRACTOR RENORMALIZATION GROUP THEORY OF THE EVEN-LEG SPIN TORI

The contractor renormalization (CORE) group method is applied to the even-leg spin tori to reveal their ground-state energies and the lowest excitation gaps. The spin tori are referred to the spin ladders that are closed along the rung direction. We designed an improved iterative CORE algorithm and applied it to the even-leg tori. The improvement is made by introducing an extrapolation based on a sequence of hierarchical data that is obtained by varying the size of the elementary block. Quite good results are obtained and compared with the ones by other methods.