Wave Vector Research Articles

Bandgap engineering and amplification in photonic time crystals

Recently, there has been a growing interest in time-varying photonic media owing to their significant potential in the field of wave manipulation. Here, we explore the exotic characteristics of wave amplification in a photonic time crystal (PTC) made of a spatially homogeneous medium where the refractive index varies periodically in time. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the amplification, we show that the amplification not only depends on the choice of wave vector of a propagating light but also attains different values in different bandgaps. Our approach further extends towards achieving the minimum amount of variation of permittivity required to open momentum gaps to facilitate the phase-dependent amplification of PTCs. Further, we investigate the impact of permittivity variation and choice of number of temporal unit cells to truncate a PTC to mimic the properties of infinite PTC and offer new opportunities to manipulate and control the amplification of light for applications including highly tunable PTC lasers and devices.

Ultra-thin sub-diffraction metalens with a wide field-of-view for UV focusing.

In recent years, wide field-of-view imaging technology based on a metasurface has been widely applied. However, works on the reported sub-diffraction metalens with a wide field-of-view indicate that multiple structures are essential to effectively eliminate aberrations, which results in a heavy device thickness and weakens the advantage of an ultra-thin metasurface. To solve this problem, according to the super-oscillation theory and the translational symmetry of quadratic phase, as well as the principle of virtual aperture diaphragm based on wave vector filter, this Letter demonstrates a sub-diffraction metalens combined with a single quadratic metalens and a wave vector filter. Our design not only realizes the super-resolution effects of 0.74 to 0.75 times the diffraction limit in the wide field-of-view of nearly 180° for the first time to our knowledge but also compresses the device thickness to the subwavelength order in principle. The proposed ultra-thin sub-diffraction metalens with a wide field-of-view is expected to be applied in the fields of super-resolution fast scanning imaging, information detection, small target recognition, and so on.

Topological hyperbolic metamaterials

Abstract Hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) is a unique type of anisotropic material that can exhibit metal and dielectric properties at the same time. This unique characteristic results in it having unbounded isofrequency surface contours, leading to exotic phenomena such as spontaneous emission enhancement and applications such as super-resolution imaging. However, at optical frequencies, HMM must be artificially engineered and always requires a metal constituent, whose intrinsic loss significantly limits the experimentally accessible wave vector values, thus negatively impacting the performance of these applications. The need to reduce loss in HMM stimulated the development of the second-generation HMM, termed active HMM, where gain materials are utilized to compensate for metal’s intrinsic loss. With the advent of topological photonics that allows robust light transportation immune to disorders and defects, research on HMM also entered the topological regime. Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to exploring the topological transition from elliptical to hyperbolic dispersion and topologically protected edge states in HMM, which also prompted the invention of lossless HMM formed by all-dielectric material. Furthermore, emerging twistronics can also provide a route to manipulate topological transitions in HMMs. In this review, we survey recent progress in topological effects in HMMs and provide prospects on possible future research directions.

Symmetry-selective quasiparticle scattering and electric field tunability of the ZrSiS surface electronic structure

Three-dimensional Dirac semimetals with square-net non-symmorphic symmetry, such as ternary ZrXY (X = Si, Ge; Y = S, Se, Te) compounds, have attracted significant attention owing to the presence of topological nodal lines, loops, or networks in their bulk. Orbital symmetry plays a profound role in such materials as the different branches of the nodal dispersion can be distinguished by their distinct orbital symmetry eigenvalues. The presence of different eigenvalues suggests that scattering between states of different orbital symmetry may be strongly suppressed. Indeed, in ZrSiS, there has been no clear experimental evidence of quasiparticle scattering reported between states of different symmetry eigenvalues at small wave vector q⃗. Here we show, using quasiparticle interference, that atomic step-edges in the ZrSiS surface facilitate quasiparticle scattering between states of different symmetry eigenvalues. This symmetry eigenvalue mixing quasiparticle scattering is the first to be reported for ZrSiS and contrasts quasiparticle scattering with no mixing of symmetry eigenvalues, where the latter occurs with scatterers preserving the glide mirror symmetry of the crystal lattice, e.g. native point defects in ZrSiS. Finally, we show that the electronic structure of the ZrSiS surface, including its unique floating band surface state, can be tuned by a vertical electric field locally applied by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), enabling control of a spin–orbit induced avoided crossing near the Fermi level by as much as 300%.

Entropy driven incommensurate structures in the frustrated kagome staircase Co3V2O8

Co3V2O8 features spin-3/2 moments arrayed on a kagome staircase lattice. A spin density wave with a continuously evolving propagation vector of k⃗=(0,δ,0) , showing both incommensurate states and multiple commensurate lock-ins, is observed at temperatures above the ferromagnetic ground state. Previous work has suggested that this changing propagation vector could be driven by changes in exchange interactions due to Co atom displacements. We present a straightforward model showing that a Hamiltonian with competing (but temperature independent) interactions can semi-quantitatively reproduce this behavior using a mean field approximation. The simulated spin density wave magnetic structures feature buckled kagome planes that are either ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically ordered. Propagation vectors that differ from δ=1/2 will have multiple different ways of arranging these ferromagnetic layers that have very similar energies. This classical stacking entropy appears to be crucial in stabilizing the temperature-dependent propagation vector.

Microstructure and structural modulation of lutetium dihydride LuH2 as seen via transmission electron microscopy

Structural investigations conducted using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on LuH2 synthesized under atmospheric pressure (AP-LuH2) and nitrogen-doped LuH2 synthesized under high pressure (HP-LuH2) have revealed numerous microstructural phenomena. Both materials show a clear superstructure modulation with wave vector, q*=14(22¯0), and this modulation can be interpreted by the displacements of Lu atoms. Further investigations on the nitrogen-doped HP-LuH2 materials reveal the appearance of high-density antiphase boundaries, in particular, domain walls of a few atomic layer thickness without structural modulation can be observed, suggesting possible interface properties could be detected in this system. In-situ TEM observations of AP-LuH2 suggest that no evident structural phase transition occurs between 94 K and 673 K.

Pressure control of magnetic order and excitations in the pyrochlore antiferromagnet MgCr2O4

MgCr2O4 is one of the best-known realizations of the pyrochlore-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet. The strong antiferromagnetic exchange interactions are perturbed by small further-neighbor exchanges such that this compound may in principle realize a spiral spin liquid (SSL) phase in the zero-temperature limit. However, a spin Jahn-Teller transition below TN≈13 K yields a complicated long-range magnetic order with multiple coexisting propagation vectors. We present neutron scattering and thermomagnetic measurements of MgCr2O4 samples under applied hydrostatic pressure up to P=1.7 GPa demonstrating the existence of multiple close-lying nearly degenerate magnetic ground states. We show that the application of hydrostatic pressure increases the ordering temperature by around 0.8 K per GPa and increases the bandwidth of the magnetic excitations by around 0.5 meV per GPa. We also evidence a strong tendency for the preferential occupation of a subset of magnetic domains under pressure. In particular, we show that the k=(0,0,1) magnetic phase, which is almost negligible at ambient pressure, dramatically increases in spectral weight under pressure. This modifies the spectrum of magnetic excitations, which we interpret unambiguously as spin waves from multiple magnetic domains. Moreover, we report that the application of pressure reveals a feature in the magnetic susceptibility above the magnetostructural transition. We interpret this as the onset of a short-range ordered phase associated with k=(0,0,1), previously not observed in magnetometry measurements. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Linear-scale simulations of quench dynamics

The accurate description and robust computational modeling of the nonequilibrium properties of quantum systems remain a challenge in condensed matter physics. In this work, we develop a linear-scale computational simulation technique for the non-equilibrium dynamics of quantum quench systems. In particular, we report a polynomial-expansion of the Loschmidt echo to describe the dynamical quantum phase transitions of noninteracting quantum quench systems. An expansion-based method allows us to efficiently compute the Loschmidt echo for infinitely large systems without diagonalizing the system Hamiltonian. To demonstrate its utility, we highlight quantum quenching dynamics under tight-binding quasicrystals and disordered lattices in one spatial dimension. In addition, the role of the wave vector on the quench dynamics under lattice models is addressed. We observe wave vector-independent dynamical phase transitions in self-dual localization models.

Controlling Umklapp Scattering in a Bilayer Graphene Moiré Superlattice.

We present experimental findings on electron-electron scattering in two-dimensional moiré heterostructures with a tunable Fermi wave vector, reciprocal lattice vector, and band gap. We achieve this in high-mobility aligned heterostructures of bilayer graphene (BLG) and hBN. Around the half-full point, the primary contribution to the resistance of these devices arises from Umklapp electron-electron (Uee) scattering, making the resistance of graphene/hBN moiré devices significantly larger than that of non-aligned devices (where Uee is forbidden). We find that the strength of Uee scattering follows a universal scaling with Fermi energy and is nonmonotonically dependent on the superlattice period. The Uee scattering can be tuned with the electric field and is affected by layer polarization of BLG. It has a strong particle-hole asymmetry; the resistance when the chemical potential is in the conduction band is significantly lower than when it is in the valence band, making the electron-doped regime more practical for potential applications.

Er-driven incommensurate to commensurate magnetic phase transition of Fe in the spin-chain compound BaErFeO4

Magnetic phase transitions and structures of the spin-chain compound BaErFeO4 were investigated by measurements of magnetic properties (specific heat, magnetic susceptibility) and neutron diffraction. The lattice geometry of the orthorhombic crystal structure (space group ) of the BaRFeO4 compounds (R=Dy–Yb, Y) supports frustrations which lead to multiple magnetic phase transitions with complex magnetic structures. BaErFeO4 undergoes three successive magnetic phase transitions at TN1=49K, TN2=33.4K, and TN3=3.4K. In contrast with the previously investigated BaRFeO4 (R=Y, Tm, Yb) compounds, all with incommensurate magnetic propagation vectors k1=(0,0,kz), BaErFeO4 is the first member in this series that shows a phase transition from an incommensurate (k1 below TN1) to a commensurate magnetic structure with k2=(12,0,12) below TN2. In the crystal structure, all magnetic ions (Fe1, Fe2, Er1, and Er2) are part of chains propagating along the b axis. Below TN1, strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) Fe-Fe spin-exchange coupling between square pyramidal (Fe1) and octahedral (Fe2) centers generates a collinear AFM structure with a constant size of the ordered Fe moments and a constant magnetic phase inside each chain of Fe3+ cations. Exchange coupling between the Fe chains is much weaker. At TN2, 3d−4f exchange interactions induce an ordered moment at the Er3+ ions, which results in a change of the direction of the ordered Fe moments from the b direction (above TN2) to inside the ac plane (below TN2) and a change from an incommensurate (k1 above TN2) to a commensurate (k2 below TN2) AFM structure. Toward lower temperature, 4f−4f exchange interactions become stronger and create at TN3 a constant magnetic phase inside each chain of Er3+ cations. At TN2 and TN3, the magnetic susceptibility shows sharp decreases that coincide with large increases of the correlation length of the magnetic structure. The unique magnetic structures of BaErFeO4 are compared with those of other BaRFeO4 compounds by considering experimental and theoretical aspects. ©2024 American Physical Society 2024 American Physical Society

Propagation of Very Oblique Chorus Waves Near a Plasmaspheric Plume Boundary

AbstractIn a case study using Van Allen Probe B, we investigate chorus wave observations near the western edge of a plasmaspheric plume characterized by steep density gradients. Initially, wave vectors are oriented anti‐Earthward, but they become very oblique and eastward as the probe approaches the plume boundary. Treating the plume boundary as an azimuthal density gradient, ray tracing can reproduce the observed wave vector directions. Ray tracing shows that the azimuthal density gradient strongly inclines the wave vectors eastward. Consequently, waves are reflected upon reaching the Gendrin angle and cannot enter the plume. We establish an analytical criterion for the azimuthal density enhancement, determining the condition for chorus waves to enter plumes near the equatorial region. Our results partly explain the oblique chorus near plumes observed by Hartley, Chen et al. (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098710), offering insight into wave‐particle interactions by chorus waves with the influence of azimuthal density structures.

Effects of spin polarization on the propagation of surface waves on a quantum plasma half-space

The study explores the wave propagation characteristics of surface plasma waves in a semi-bounded plasma, incorporating the influence of spin polarization arising from spin mismatch. The formulated plasma model integrates the density correlation effect via Bohm's potential force, Fermi pressure employing Fermi-Dirac statistics, and the exchange potential. These factors are considered in spin-polarized form and interconnected through the spin polarization index κ. We derive a dispersion relation for surface plasma waves, delineating the propagation features of the configured wave mode. Our findings indicate that an increase in spin polarization among electron populations results in a decrease in the phase velocity of surface plasma waves compared to the usual electron-ion quantum plasma. Moreover, an increase in the exchange potential contributes to a decrease in the phase speed. However, the ratio of plasmon to Fermi energy leads to an increase in the phase velocity of surface plasma waves in a spin-polarized quantum plasma. We provide a comparative analysis of our work with an earlier model based on the gold–air interface, revealing that our model facilitates the propagation of surface plasma waves with higher frequencies across the wave vector. This study highlights the significance of quantum effects for electrostatic surface plasma waves in dense metallic plasmas at room temperature, with implications for signal transmission in metallic waveguides observed in a recent study [Guo et al., “Excitation of graphene magneto-plasmons in terahertz range and giant Kerr rotation,” J. Appl. Phys. 125(1), 013102 (2019)] and some of the references therein.

Anomalies in the magnetostrictive modulation of love surface acoustic waves

A magnetic surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor is built by growing a 100 nm galfenol (Fe72Ga28) film by sputtering between the interdigitated transducers of a SAW delay line. Love waves are produced when the shear waves excited on the piezoelectric substrate are guided by a 3.1 μm layer of amorphous SiO2. Due to the magnetostrictive nature of galfenol deposited on top, the application of magnetic fields modulates the propagation of the mechanical excitations along the sensor by the strain coupling. By introducing the delay line in a feedback loop circuit, these changes are studied as resonant frequency variations. Magnetic field cycles of ±40 mT are applied to the sample and the resonant frequency shift is tracked simultaneously. The sensor exhibited hysteretic frequency behavior that depends on the orientation of the applied magnetic field relative to the direction of Love wave propagation. In the configuration in which the wave vector and the applied field form an angle of 45°, the resonant frequency seems to increase with the magnetization induced by the external field. When the wave vector propagation is parallel to the field, two positive peaks appear close to the coercive field of the film, which has not been reported before. This is probably due to a more complex relationship between the acoustic wave and the magnetic state of the film which could be exploited to give rise to new models of magnetic sensors.

The suppression of finite size effect within a few lattice sites

Boundary modes localized on the boundaries of a finite-size lattice experience a finite size effect (FSE) that could result in unwanted couplings, crosstalks and formation of gaps even in topological boundary modes. It is commonly believed that the FSE decays exponentially with the size of the system and thus requires many lattice sites before eventually becoming negligibly small. Here we consider a two-dimensional strip geometry that is periodic along one direction and truncated along the other direction, in which we identify a special type of FSE of some boundary modes that apparently vanishes at some particular wave vectors along the periodic direction. Meanwhile, the number of wave vectors where the FSE vanishes equals the number of lattice sites across the strip. We analytically prove this type of FSE in a simple model and prove this peculiar feature. We also provide a physical system consisting of a plasmonic sphere array where this FSE is present. Our work points to the possibility of almost arbitrarily tunning of the FSE, which facilitates unprecedented manipulation of the coupling strength between modes or channels such as the integration of multiple waveguides and photonic non-abelian braiding.

Active Regulation of Elastic Waves in a Type of Two-Dimensional Periodic Structures With Piezoelectric Springs

Abstract Wave propagations exhibit direction and frequency selectivity in two-dimensional (2D) periodic structures, which provides possibilities to regulate wave dispersion and bandgap properties. Most of current researches focus on regulations of 1D waves, and there are few works about active regulations of 2D waves, especially in the structures with strong nonlinearities that have remarkable influences on dispersions. In this work, two types of 2D periodic nonlinear lattice structures with piezoelectric springs, which include a monatomic and a diatomic structure, are designed to implement controllable dispersion and propagation direction of 2D waves. Considering the strong nonlinearities caused by the cubic spring, dynamic models of the wave propagations in the two kinds of periodic structures are established, and an improved incremental harmonic balance (IHB) method is developed to implement efficient and accurate calculations of the 2D wave propagation. Influences of active and structural parameters on dispersion and bandgap properties are comprehensively studied, and the regulation ability of the piezoelectric springs is demonstrated where the proportional voltage constant is the active control parameter with particle displacements as the feedback. Results also show that a piezoelectric modulated bandgap and a critical wave vector region are created by positive and negative proportional constants, respectively, which indicate that the structures can be used to filter a wide range of low-frequency long-wavelength noises and waves at particular directions. The properties predicted by the improved IHB method are verified by numerical experiments.

Эффекты отрицательного преломления волн в металлических фотонных кристаллах

The paper considers the interaction of optical radiation with the boundaries of media formed by two-dimensionally periodic systems of well-conducting cylindrical elements of small cross-section – metal photonic crystals. It is shown that at band gap frequencies in the spectrum of the crystal's own electromagnetic states when waves propagate obliquely relative to the elements, such structures can be characterized by hyperbolic isofrequency diagrams in the space of wave vectors. A consequence of this is the possibility of negative refraction effects occurring when waves are incident on the boundary of such an anisotropic hyperbolic medium formed by a two-dimensional crystal with elements of limited length. The problem of incidence of a plane-wave Gaussian optical beam on the surface of a metal photonic crystal is solved using the finite-difference method in the time domain. It has been proven that negative refraction of waves occurs under certain conditions at the boundary of the medium formed by such a crystal.

Dimensional quantization in InSb and GaAs in three-zone model

Various cases of size quantization in narrow-gap crystals of cubic or tetrahedral symmetry in the three-band Kane approximation are analyzed. Expressions for the energy spectrum depending on the two-dimensional wave vector are obtained for two different cases, differing in the range of current carrier energy values. The size-quantized energy spectrum of electrons in the conduction band and holes in the subband of light holes in InSb and GaAs semiconductors is analyzed in the three-band Kane model.

Trivelpiece–Gould modes and low-frequency electron–ion instability of non-neutral plasma

The frequency spectra of the Trivelpiece–Gould modes of a waveguide partially filled with non-neutral plasma are determined numerically by solving the dispersion equation. The modes having azimuthal number $m = 1$ are considered. The results are presented for the entire acceptable range of electron densities, magnetic field strengths, for different values of the charge neutralization coefficient. The Cherenkov resonance condition of an ion with a diocotron mode having a finite value of the longitudinal wave vector was studied. The characteristics of resonant low-frequency electron–ion instability caused by relative azimuth motion of electrons and ions in crossed fields and by the anisotropy of the distribution function of ions are discussed. Ions are created by ionization of residual gas in the plasma volume. Due to the anisotropy, instability occurs not only in the vicinity of the resonance, but also outside it. For typical values of plasma parameters in experiments, estimations of the frequency growth rate are given. A conclusion is drawn that this instability can be the cause of the low-frequency oscillations observed in linear devices with non-neutral plasma produced in an electron beam channel.

To the theory of dimensional quantization in crystals in the Kane approximation

The microscopic mechanism of size quantization of the conduction band and valence band of semiconductors of cubic and tetrahedral symmetry has been theoretically studied in the Kane approximation. It is shown that the matrix Schrödinger equation obtained on the basis of the Kane model cannot be solved analytically for a potential well of an arbitrary profile. Therefore, expressions for the energy spectrum are obtained depending on the two-dimensional wave vector directed along the interface of the heterostructure for various cases that differ in the range of current carrier energy values.

Simulation of ion cyclotron wave heating in the EXL-50U spherical tokamak based on dispersion relations

This study investigates the single-pass absorption (SPA) of ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating in hydrogen plasma of the EXL-50U spherical tokamak, which is an upgraded EXL-50 device with a central solenoid and a stronger magnetic field. The reliability of the kinetic dispersion equation is confirmed by the one-dimensional full-wave code, and the applicability of Porkolab's simplified theoretical SPA model is discussed based on the kinetic dispersion equation. Simulations are conducted to investigate the heating effects of the fundamental and second harmonic frequencies. The results indicate that with the design parameters of the EXL-50U device, the SPA for second harmonic heating is 63%, while the SPA for fundamental heating is 13%. Additionally, the optimal injection frequencies are 23 MHz at 0.9 T and 31 MHz at 1.2 T. The wave vector of the antenna parallel to the magnetic field, with a value of , falls within the optimal heating region. Simulations reveal that the ICRF heating system can play an important role in the ion heating of the EXL-50U.