Structure In Momentum Space Research Articles

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer–type pairing in a spin- 12 Bose gas with spin-orbit coupling

We apply the functional path-integral approach to analyze how the presence of a spin-orbit coupling (SOC) affects the basic properties of a BCS-type paired state in a two-component Bose gas. In addition to a mean-field theory that is based on the saddle-point approximation for the inter-component pairing, we derive a Ginzburg-Landau theory by including the Gaussian fluctuations on top, and use them to reveal the crucial roles played by the momentum-space structure of an arbitrary SOC field in the stability of the paired state at finite temperatures. For this purpose, we calculate the critical transition temperature for the formation of paired bosons, and that of the gapless quasiparticle excitations for a broad range of interaction and SOC strengths. In support of our results for the many-body problem, we also benchmark our numerical calculations against the analytically-tractable limits, and provide a full account of the two-body limit including its non-vanishing binding energy for arbitrarily weak interactions and the anisotropic effective mass tensor.

Room-temperature angular-dependent topological Hall effect in chiral antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn

Chiral antiferromagnetic (AFM) Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn shows a large anomalous Hall effect (AHE) around room temperature, due to the Berry curvature generated by Weyl nodes in electronic dispersions. Here, we study the temperature- and angular-dependent Hall effect and magnetic measurement in single-crystalline Mn3Sn. There are some intriguing phenomena: first, a large hysteretic-type AHE has been observed only above 270 K, while the coercivity is around 300 Oe and independent of temperature. Second, the temperature- and angular-dependent topological Hall effect is obtained, which may stem from the real space topological spin texture. Third, the coercivity extracted from the angular-dependent AHE is well fitted with the Stoner-Wohlfarth model, which reflects the evolution of domain walls and magnetic anisotropy. Thus, it shows that not only the topological structure in momentum space but also the real space topological spin texture plays an important role in anomalous transport properties of Mn3Sn. Our work pushes forward to the realization of room temperature AFM spintronics and paves the way toward the possible devices based on the unconventional Hall effect.

Coulomb problem in iron-based superconductors

We discuss the role of strong Coulomb interactions in iron-based superconductors (FeSCs). The presumed $s^{\pm}$ character of these superconductors means that the condensate is not symmetry protected against Coulomb repulsion. Remarkably, the transition temperatures and the excitation gap are quite robust across the large family of iron based superconductors, despite drastic changes in Fermi surface geometry. The Coulomb problem is to understand how these superconductors avoid the strong onsite Coulomb interaction at the iron atoms, while maintaining a robust transition temperature. Within the dominant space of $t_{2g}$ orbitals, on-site repulsion in the FeSCs enforces two linearly independent components of the condensate to vanish. This raises the possibility that iron-based superconductors might adapt their condensate to the Coulomb constraints by rotating the pairing state within the large manifold of entangled, extended s-wave gap functions with different orbital and momentum space structure. We examine this "orbital and k-space flexibility" (OKF) mechanism using both Landau theory and microscopic calculations within a multi-orbital t-J model. Based on our results, we conclude that OKF necessitates a large condensate degeneracy. One interesting possibility raised by our results, is that a resolution to the Coulomb problem in FeSC might require a reconsideration of triplet pairing.

Crystal orientation-dependent polarization state of high-order harmonics.

We analyze the crystal orientation-dependent polarization state of extreme ultraviolet high-order harmonics from bulk magnesium oxide crystals subjected to intense linearly polarized laser fields. We find that only along high-symmetry directions do high-order harmonics follow the polarization direction of the laser field. In general, there are strong deviations that depend on harmonic order, strength of the laser field, and crystal orientation. We use a real-space electron trajectory picture to understand the origin of polarization deviations. These results have implications in all-optical probing of electronic band structure in momentum space and valence charge distributions in real space, and in producing attosecond pulses with time-dependent polarization in compact setups.

Autocorrelation of quasiparticle spectral intensities and its connection with quasiparticle scattering interference in cuprate superconductors

ABSTRACTThe quasiparticle excitation is one of the most fundamental and ubiquitous physical observables in cuprate superconductors, carrying information about the bosonic glue forming electron pairs. Here the autocorrelation of the quasiparticle excitation spectral intensities in cuprate superconductors and its connection with the quasiparticle scattering interference are investigated based on the framework of the kinetic-energy driven superconducting mechanism by taking into account the pseudogap effect. It is shown that the octet scattering model of the quasiparticle scattering processes with the scattering wave vectors connecting the hot spots on the constant energy contours is intrinsically related to the emergence of the highly anisotropic momentum-dependence of the pseudogap. Concomitantly, the sharp peaks in the autocorrelation of the quasiparticle excitation spectral intensities with the wave vectors are directly correlated to the regions of the highest joint density of states. Moreover, the momentum-space structure of the autocorrelation patterns of the quasiparticle excitation spectral intensities is well consistent with the momentum-space structure of the quasiparticle scattering interference patterns observed from Fourier-transform scanning tunnelling spectroscopy experiments. The theory therefore confirms an intimate connection between the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy autocorrelation and quasiparticle scattering interference in cuprate superconductors.

Renormalised CFT 3-point functions of scalars, currents and stress tensors

We discuss the renormalisation of mixed 3-point functions involving tensorial and scalar operators in conformal field theories of general dimension. In previous work we analysed correlators of either purely scalar or purely tensorial operators, in each case finding new features and new complications: for scalar correlators, renormalisation leads to beta functions, novel conformal anomalies of type B, and unexpected analytic structure in momentum space; for correlators of stress tensors and/or conserved currents, beta functions vanish but anomalies of both type B and type A (associated with a 0/0 structure) are present. Mixed correlators combine all these features: beta functions and anomalies of type B, plus the possibility of new type A anomalies. Following a non-perturbative and general momentum-space analysis, we present explicit results in dimensions d = 3, 4 for all renormalised 3-point functions of stress tensors, conserved currents and scalars of dimensions Δ = d and Δ = d − 2. We identify all anomalies and beta functions, and explain the form of the anomalous conformal Ward identities. In d = 3, we find a 0/0 structure but the corresponding type A anomaly turns out to be trivial. In addition, the correlators of two currents and a scalar, and of two stress tensors and a scalar, both feature universal tensor structures that are independent of the scalar dimension and vanish for opposite helicities.

Weyl Semimetal to Metal Phase Transitions Driven by Quasiperiodic Potentials.

We explore the stability of three-dimensional Weyl and Dirac semimetals subject to quasiperiodic potentials. We present numerical evidence that the semimetal is stable for weak quasiperiodic potentials, despite being unstable for weak random potentials. As the quasiperiodic potential strength increases, the semimetal transitions to a metal, then to an "inverted" semimetal, and then finally to a metal again. The semimetal and metal are distinguished by the density of states at the Weyl point, as well as by level statistics, transport, and the momentum-space structure of eigenstates near the Weyl point. The critical properties of the transitions in quasiperiodic systems differ from those in random systems: we do not find a clear critical scaling regime in energy; instead, at the quasiperiodic transitions, the density of states appears to jump abruptly (and discontinuously to within our resolution).

Inclusive prompt photon production in electron-nucleus scattering at small x

We compute the differential cross-section for inclusive prompt photon production in deeply inelastic scattering (DIS) of electrons on nuclei at small x in the framework of the Color Glass Condensate (CGC) effective theory. The leading order (LO) computation in this framework resums leading logarithms in x as well as power corrections to all orders in Qs, A2/Q2, where Qs,A(x) is the nuclear saturation scale. This LO result is proportional to universal dipole and quadrupole Wilson line correlators in the nucleus. In the soft photon limit, the Low-Burnett-Kroll theorem allows us to recover existing results on inclusive DIS dijet production. The k⊥ and collinearly factorized expressions for prompt photon production in DIS are also recovered in a leading twist approximation to our result. In the latter case, our result corresponds to the dominant next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD contribution at small x. We next discuss the computation of the NLO corrections to inclusive prompt photon production in the CGC framework. In particular, we emphasize the advantages for higher order computations in inclusive photon production, and for fully inclusive DIS, arising from the simple momentum space structure of the dressed quark and gluon “shock wave” propagators in the “wrong” light cone gauge A− = 0 for a nucleus moving with PN+ → ∞.

Chiral spin condensation in a one-dimensional optical lattice

We study a spinor (two-component) Bose gas confined in a one-dimensional double-valley optical lattice which has a double-well structure in momentum space. Based on field theory analysis, it is found that spinor bosons in the double-valley band may form a spin-charge mixed chiral spin quasicondensate under certain conditions. Our numerical calculations in a concrete $\pi$-flux triangular ladder system confirm the robustness of the chiral spin order against interactions and quantum fluctuations. This exotic atomic Bose-Einstein condensate exhibits spatially staggered spin loop currents without any charge dynamics despite the complete absence of spin-orbit coupling in the system, creating an interesting approach to atom spintronics. The entanglement entropy scaling allows us to extract conformal-field-theory central charge and establish the low-energy effective field theory for the chiral spin condensate as a two-component Luttinger liquid. Our predictions should be detectable in atomic experiments through spin-resolved time-of-flight techniques.

Dynamics in quantum Ising chain driven by inhomogeneous transverse magnetization

We study the dynamics caused by transport of transverse magnetization in one dimensional transverse Ising chain at zero temperature. We observe that a class of initial states having product structure in fermionic momentum-space and satisfying certain criteria, produce spatial variation in transverse magnetization. Starting from such a state, we obtain the transverse magnetization analytically and then observe its dynamics in presence of a homogeneous constant field $\Gamma$. In contradiction with general expectation, whatever be the strength of the field, the magnetization of the system does not become homogeneous even after infinite time. At each site, the dynamics is associated with oscillations having two different timescales. The envelope of the larger timescale oscillation decays algebraically with an exponent which is invariant for all such special initial states. The frequency of this oscillation varies differently with external field in ordered and disordered phases. The local magnetization after infinite time also characterizes the quantum phase transition.

Kondo screening in two-dimensional p -type transition-metal dichalcogenides

Systems with strong spin orbit coupling support a number of new phases of matter and novel phenomena. This work focuses on the interplay of spin orbit coupling and interactions in yielding correlated phenomena in two dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. In particular we explore the physics of Kondo screening resulting from the lack of centro-symmetry, large spin splitting and spin valley locking in hole doped systems. The key ingredients are i) valley dependent spin-momentum locking perpendicular to the two dimensional crystal; ii) single nondegenerate Fermi surface per valley, and iii) nontrivial Berry curvature associated with the low energy bands. The resulting Kondo resonance has a finite triplet component and nontrivial momentum space structure which facilitates new approaches to both probe and manipulate the correlated state. Using a variational wave function and the numerical renormalization group approaches we study the nature of the Kondo resonance both in the absence and presence of circularly polarized light. The latter induces an imbalance in the population of the two valleys leading to novel magnetic phenomena in the correlated state.

Deformed phase spaces with group valued momenta

We introduce a general framework for describing deformed phase spaces with group valued momenta. Using techniques from the theory of Poisson-Lie groups and Lie bi-algebras we develop tools for constructing Poisson structures on the deformed phase space starting from the minimal input of the algebraic structure of the generators of the momentum Lie group. The tools developed are used to derive Poisson structures on examples of group momentum space much studied in the literature such as the $n$-dimensional generalization of the $\kappa$-deformed momentum space and the $SL(2, \mathbb{R})$ momentum space in three space-time dimensions. We discuss classical momentum observables associated to multi-particle systems and argue that these combine according the usual four-vector addition despite the non-abelian group structure of momentum space.

Momentum-space structure of surface states in a topological semimetal with a nexus point of Dirac lines

Three-dimensional topological semimetals come in different variants, either containing Weyl points or Dirac lines. Here we describe a more complicated momentum-space topological defect where several separate Dirac lines connect with each other, forming a momentum-space equivalent of the real-space nexus considered before for helium-3. Close to the nexus the Dirac lines exhibit a transition from type I to type II lines. We consider a general model of stacked honeycomb lattices with the symmetry of Bernal (AB) stacked graphite and show that the structural mirror symmetries in such systems protect the presence of the Dirac lines, and also naturally lead to the formation of the nexus. By the bulk-boundary correspondence of topological media, the presence of Dirac lines lead to the formation of drumhead surface states at the side surfaces of the system. We calculate the surface state spectrum, and especially illustrate the effect of the nexus on these states.

Bipartite electronic superstructures in the vortex core of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ.

The central issue in the physics of cuprate superconductivity is the mutual relationship among superconductivity, pseudogap and broken-spatial-symmetry states. A magnetic field B suppresses superconductivity, providing an opportunity to investigate the competition among these states. Although various B-induced electronic superstructures have been reported, their energy, spatial and momentum-space structures are unclear. Here, we show using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunnelling microscopy on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ that there are two distinct B-induced electronic superstructures, both being localized in the vortex core but appearing at different energies. In the low-energy range where the nodal Bogoliubov quasiparticles are well-defined, we observe the so-called vortex checkerboard that we identify as the B-enhanced quasiparticle interference pattern. By contrast, in the high-energy region where the pseudogap develops, the broken-spatial-symmetry patterns that pre-exist at B=0 T is locally enhanced in the vortex core. This evidences the competition between superconductivity and the broken-spatial-symmetry state that is associated with the pseudogap.

Topological superconducting phases from inversion symmetry breaking order in spin-orbit-coupled systems

We analyze the superconducting instabilities in the vicinity of the quantum-critical point of an inversion symmetry breaking order. We first show that the fluctuations of the inversion symmetry breaking order lead to two degenerate superconducting (SC) instabilities, one in the $s$-wave channel, and the other in a time-reversal invariant odd-parity pairing channel (the simplest case being the same as the of $^3$He-B phase). Remarkably, we find that unlike many well-known examples, the selection of the pairing symmetry of the condensate is independent of the momentum-space structure of the collective mode that mediates the pairing interaction. We found that this degeneracy is a result of the existence of a conserved fermionic helicity, $\chi$, and the two degenerate channels correspond to even and odd combinations of SC order parameters with $\chi=\pm1$. As a result, the system has an enlarged symmetry $U(1)\times U(1)$, with each $U(1)\times U(1)$ corresponding to one value of the helicity $\chi$. Because of the enlarged symmetry, this system admits exotic topological defects such as a fractional quantum vortex, which we show has a Majorana zero mode bound at its core. We discuss how the enlarged symmetry can be lifted by small perturbations, such as the Coulomb interaction or Fermi surface splitting in the presence of broken inversion symmetry, and we show that the resulting superconducting state can be topological or trivial depending on parameters. The $U(1)\times U(1)$ symmetry is restored at the phase boundary between the topological and trivial SC states, and allows for a transition between topologically distinct SC phases without the vanishing of the order parameter. We present a global phase diagram of the superconducting states and discuss possible experimental implications.

Existence of zero-energy impurity states in different classes of topological insulators and superconductors and their relation to topological phase transitions

We consider the effects of impurities on topological insulators and superconductors. We start by identifying the general conditions under which the eigenenergies of an arbitrary Hamiltonian H belonging to one of the Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes undergo a robust zero energy crossing as a function of an external parameter which can be, for example, the impurity strength. We define a generalized root of \det H, and use it to predict or rule out robust zero-energy crossings in all symmetry classes. We complement this result with an analysis based on almost degenerate perturbation theory, which allows a derivation of the asymptotic low-energy behavior of the ensemble averaged density of states $\rho \sim E^\alpha$ for all symmetry classes, and makes it transparent that the exponent \alpha\ does not depend on the choice of the random matrix ensemble. Finally, we show that a lattice of impurities can drive a topologically trivial system into a nontrivial phase, and in particular we demonstrate that impurity bands carrying extremely large Chern numbers can appear in different symmetry classes of two-dimensional topological insulators and superconductors. We use the generalized root of \det H(k) to reveal a spiderweblike momentum space structure of the energy gap closings that separate the topologically distinct phases in p_x + i p_y superconductors in the presence of an impurity lattice.

Fractality in momentum space: A signal of criticality in nuclear collisions

We show that critical systems of finite size develop a fractal structure in momentum space with anomalous dimension given in terms of the isotherm critical exponent delta of the corresponding infinite system. The associated power laws of transverse momentum correlations, in high-energy nuclear collisions, provide us with a signature of a critical point in strongly interacting matter according to the laws of QCD.

Response to Comment on “Broken translational and rotational symmetry via charge stripe order in underdoped YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+y ”

Fine questions our interpretation of unidirectional stripes over a bidirectional checkerboard and illustrates his criticism by simulating a momentum space structure consistent with our data and corresponding to a checkerboard-looking real space density. Here, we use a local rotational-symmetry analysis to demonstrate that the simulated image is actually composed of locally unidirectional modulations of the charge density, consistent with our original conclusions.

Fibonacci optical lattices for tunable quantum quasicrystals

We describe a quasiperiodic optical lattice, created by a physical realization of the abstract cut-and-project construction underlying all quasicrystals. The resulting potential is a generalization of the Fibonacci tiling. Calculation of the energies and wavefunctions of ultracold atoms loaded into such a lattice demonstrate a multifractal energy spectrum, a singular continuous momentum-space structure, and the existence of controllable edge states. These results open the door to cold atom quantum simulation experiments in tunable or dynamic quasicrystalline potentials, including topological pumping of edge states and phasonic spectroscopy.

Two-state Bogoliubov theory of a molecular Bose gas

We present an analytic Bogoliubov description of a BEC of polar molecules trapped in a quasi-2D geometry and interacting via internal state-dependent dipole-dipole interactions. We derive the mean-field ground-state energy functional, and we derive analytic expressions for the dispersion relations, Bogoliubov amplitudes, and dynamic structure factors. This method can be applied to any homogeneous, two-component system with linear coupling, and direct, momentum-dependent interactions. The properties of the mean-field ground state, including polarization and stability, are investigated, and we identify three distinct instabilities: a density-wave rotonization that occurs when the gas is fully polarized, a spin-wave rotonization that occurs near zero polarization, and a mixed instability at intermediate fields. These instabilities are clarified by means of the real-space density-density correlation functions, which characterize the spontaneous fluctuations of the ground state, and the momentum-space structure factors, which characterize the response of the system to external perturbations. We find that the gas is susceptible to both density-wave and spin-wave response in the polarized limit but only a spin-wave response in the zero-polarization limit. These results are relevant for experiments with rigid rotor molecules such as RbCs, $\Lambda$-doublet molecules such as ThO that have an anomalously small zero-field splitting, and doublet-$\Sigma$ molecules such as SrF where two low-lying opposite-parity states can be tuned to zero splitting by an external magnetic field.