Weak-coupling Theory Research Articles

Conventional single-gap $s-$wave superconductivity and hidden peak effect in single crystals of Mo$_8$Ga$_{41}$ superconductor

London and Campbell penetration depths were measured in single crystals of the endohedral gallide cluster superconductor, Mo_88Ga_4141. The full temperature range superfluid density, \rho_s(T)ρs(T), is consistent with the clean isotropic s-s−wave weak-coupling BCS theory without any signs of the second gap or strong coupling. The temperature dependence of the Campbell length is hysteretic between zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field-cooling (FC) protocols, indicating an anharmonic vortex pinning potential. The field dependence of the effective critical current density, j_{c}(H)jc(H), reveals an unusual result. While in the ZFC protocol, j_{c}(H)jc(H) is monotonically suppressed by the magnetic field, it exhibits a profound “hidden” peak effect in the FC protocol, that is, without a vortex density gradient. We suggest a possible novel mechanism for such a peak effect, which involves both static and dynamic aspects of vortex pinning.

Weak-coupling theory of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

Strong correlations occur in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) when the octet of flat moiré minibands centered on charge neutrality (CN) is partially occupied. The octet consists of a single valence band and a single conduction band for each of four degenerate spin-valley flavors. Motivated by the importance of Hartree electrostatic interactions in determining the filling-factor-dependent band structure, we use a time-dependent Hartree approximation to gain insight into electronic correlations. We find that the electronic compressibility is dominated by Hartree interactions, that paramagnetic states are stable over a range of density near CN, and that the dependence of energy on flavor polarization is strongly overestimated by mean-field theory. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Quantum Work Statistics at Strong Reservoir Coupling.

Determining the statistics of work done on a quantum system while strongly coupled to a reservoir is a formidable task, requiring the calculation of the full eigenspectrum of the combined system and reservoir. Here, we show that this issue can be circumvented by using a polaron transformation that maps the system into a new frame where weak-coupling theory can be applied. Crucially, this polaron approach reproduces the Jarzynski fluctuation theorem, thus ensuring consistency with the laws of stochastic thermodynamics. We apply our formalism to a system driven across the Landau-Zener transition, where we identify clear signatures in the work distribution arising from a non-negligible coupling to the environment. Our results provide a new method for studying the stochastic thermodynamics of driven quantum systems beyond Markovian, weak-coupling regimes.

Second Wilson number from third-order perturbation theory for the symmetric single-impurity Kondo model at low temperatures

We determine the impurity-induced free energy and the impurity-induced zero-field susceptibility of the symmetric single-impurity Kondo model from weak-coupling perturbation theory up to third order in the Kondo coupling at low temperatures and small magnetic fields. We reproduce the analytical structure of the zero-field magnetic susceptibility as obtained from Wilson’s renormalization group method. This permits us to obtain analytically the first two Wilson numbers.

Thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics of strongly coupled systems.

We further develop the strong-coupling theory of thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics for continuous systems, constructed in the previous work [Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 013015 (2022)2643-156410.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.013015]. A small system strongly interacting with a its environment, the dynamics of the system is assumed to be much slower than that of the bath. The system Hamiltonian is defined to be the Hamiltonian of mean force, whereas the system entropy is defined as the Gibbs-Shannon entropy. Equilibrium ensemble theories and thermodynamic theories are established for the system. Variations of three types of parameters are considered: (i) the system parameter λ which couples to the system and to the interaction, (ii) the bath parameter λ^{'} which couples to the bath only, and (iii) the temperature T=1/β. The work done to the system consists of three parts, proportional to dλ,dλ^{'}, and dβ respectively. The part proportional to dβ can be understood as the work done by the bath. As long as λ^{'} and β are not fixed, the work is not the change of total energy of the joint system. The differences between our strong-coupling equilibrium thermodynamics and the classical thermodynamics are discussed. The thermodynamic theory is promoted to the nonequilibrium level. Both the first and second laws of thermodynamics, as well as fluctuation theorems, are established for nonequilibrium processes. For processes with varying temperatures, fluctuation theorems cannot be expressed in terms of integrated work alone. Regardless of various subtleties, however, the stochastic thermodynamic theory is formulated in terms of system variables only, and dS-βd[over ¯]Q is the change of total entropy. Thermodynamic quantities of the system are related to those of the joint system, and the equivalence of theories at two levels of coarse-graining is explicitly demonstrated. Finally we show that there are infinite numbers of equivalent strong-coupling theories, each determined by its definition of system Hamiltonian. Our theory is distinguished by its maximal similarity with the weak-coupling theory.

Few-emitter lasing in single ultra-small nanocavities.

Lasers are ubiquitous for information storage, processing, communications, sensing, biological research and medical applications. To decrease their energy and materials usage, a key quest is to miniaturise lasers down to nanocavities. Obtaining the smallest mode volumes demands plasmonic nanocavities, but for these, gain comes from only a single or few emitters. Until now, lasing in such devices was unobtainable due to low gain and high cavity losses. Here, we demonstrate a form of 'few emitter lasing' in a plasmonic nanocavity approaching the single-molecule emitter regime. The few-emitter lasing transition significantly broadens, and depends on the number of molecules and their individual locations. We show this non-standard few-emitter lasing can be understood by developing a theoretical approach extending previous weak-coupling theories. Our work paves the way for developing nanolaser applications as well as fundamental studies at the limit of few emitters.

Weak-coupling theory of neutron scattering as a probe of altermagnetism

Weak-coupling theory of neutron scattering as a probe of altermagnetism

Ground-state instabilities in a Hubbard-type chain with particular correlated hopping at non-half-filling

At non-half-filling, a one-dimensional interacting electronic model (t–U–R) is studied analytically. The particular correlated hopping keeps particle–hole symmetry of the Hubbard model. Physically, the model involved is equivalent to an extended Hubbard chain incorporating a two-body (X) and a three-body (X˜) site-bond interactions with X˜=2X. The analysis of weak-coupling theory leads to the ground-state phase diagram, which consists of three types of metallic phases, characterized by the charge- (CDW) and spin-density-wave (SDW) and singlet-superconductivity (SS) instabilities.

Even-odd parity transition in strongly correlated locally noncentrosymmetric superconductors: Application to CeRh2As2

The discovery of the multiple $H$-$T$ phase diagram of CeRh$_2$As$_2$ offers a new route to designing topological superconductors. Although weak-coupling theories explain the experimental phase diagram qualitatively, a quantitative discrepancy between them has discouraged conclusive interpretation. In this Letter, we thoroughly study the effect of Coulomb interaction and the phase diagrams of locally noncentrosymmetric superconductors. We reveal even-odd parity transition and the enhancement of the parity transition field in strongly correlated superconductors, and an issue of CeRh$_2$As$_2$ is resolved.

Orbital-induced crossover of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase into Abrikosov-like states

The Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state can emerge in superconductors for which the orbital critical field exceeds the Pauli limit. Here, we present angular-resolved specific-heat data of the quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductor $\kappa$-(ET)$_2$Cu(NCS)$_2$, with a focus on high fields in the regime of the FFLO transition. For an increasing out-of-plane tilt of the applied magnetic field, which leads to an increase of orbital contributions, we found that the nature of the superconducting transition changes from second to first order and that a further transition appears within the high-field superconducting phase. However, the superconducting state above the Pauli limit is stable for field tilt of several degrees. Since any finite perpendicular component of the magnetic field necessarily leads to quantization of the orbital motion, the resulting vortex lattice states compete with the modulated order parameter of the FFLO state leading to complex high-field superconducting phases. By solving the linearized self-consistency equation within weak-coupling BCS theory, we show that our results are clear experimental evidence of an orbital-induced transformation of the FFLO order-parameter into Abrikosov-like states of higher Landau levels.

Critical fields of superconductors with magnetic impurities

The upper critical field ${H}_{c2}$, the field ${H}_{c3}$ for nucleation of the surface superconductivity, and the thermodynamic field ${H}_{c}$ are evaluated within the weak-coupling theory for the isotropic s-wave case with arbitrary transport, and pair-breaking scattering. We find that, for the standard geometry of a half-space sample in a magnetic field parallel to the surface, the ratio $\mathcal{R}={H}_{c3}/{H}_{c2}$ is within the window $1.55\ensuremath{\lesssim}\mathcal{R}\ensuremath{\lesssim}2.34$, regardless of temperature or the scattering type. While the nonmagnetic impurities tend to flatten the $\mathcal{R}(T)$ variation, magnetic scattering merely shifts the maximum of $\mathcal{R}(T)$ to lower temperatures. Surprisingly, while reducing the transition temperature, magnetic scattering has a milder impact on $\mathcal{R}$ than nonmagnetic scattering. The surface superconductivity is quite robust; in fact, the ratio $\mathcal{R}\ensuremath{\approx}1.7$ even in the gapless state. We used Eilenberger's energy functional to evaluate the condensation energy ${F}_{c}$ and the thermodynamic critical field ${H}_{c}$ for any temperature and scattering parameters. By comparing ${H}_{c2}$ and ${H}_{c}$, we find that, unlike transport scattering, the pair-breaking pushes materials toward type-I behavior. We find a peculiar behavior of ${F}_{c}$ as a function of the pair-breaking scattering parameter at the low-$T$ transition from gapped to gapless phases, which has recently been associated with the topological transition in the superconducting density of states.

On the Excitations of a Balian–Werthamer Superconductor

My contribution to this collection of articles in honor of David Lee and John Reppy on their 90th birthdays is a reflection on the remarkable phenomenology of the excitation spectra of superfluid $^3$He, in particular the B-phase which was identified by NMR and acoustic spectroscopy as Balian-Werthamer state shown in 1963 to be the ground state of a spin-triplet, p-wave superconductor within weak-coupling BCS theory. The superfluid phases of $^3$He provide paradigms for electronic superconductors with broken space-time symmetries and non-trivial ground-state topology. Indeed broken spin- and orbital rotation symmetries lead to a rich spectrum of collective modes of the order parameter that can be detected using NMR, acoustic and microwave spectroscopies. The topology of the BW state implies its low-temperature, low-energy transport properties are dominated by gapless Majorana modes confined on boundaries or interfaces. Given the central role the BW state played I discuss the acoustic and electromagnetic signatures of the BW state, the latter being relevant if an electronic analog of superfluid $^3$He-B is realized.

Center vortex and confinement in Yang–Mills theory and QCD with anomaly-preserving compactifications

Abstract We construct an anomaly-preserving compactification of 4D gauge theories, including SU(N) Yang–Mills theory, $\mathcal {N}=1$ supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory, and quantum chromodynamics (QCD), down to 2D by turning on the ’t Hooft flux through T2. This provides a new framework to analytically calculate nonperturbative properties such as confinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and the multi-branch structure of vacua. We give a semiclassical description of these phenomena based on the center vortex and show that it enjoys the same anomaly-matching condition as the original 4D gauge theory. We conjecture that the weak-coupling vacuum structure on small $T^2 \times \mathbb {R}^2$ is adiabatically connected to the strong-coupling regime on $\mathbb {R}^4$ without any phase transitions. In QCD with fundamental quarks as well, we can turn on the ’t Hooft flux either by activating the SU(Nf)V symmetry twist for Nf = N flavors or by introducing a magnetic flux of baryon number U(1)B for arbitrary Nf flavors. In both cases, the weak-coupling center-vortex theory gives a prediction consistent with the chiral Lagrangian of 4D QCD.

Strong system-bath coupling effects in quantum absorption refrigerators.

We study the performance of three-level quantum absorption refrigerators, paradigmatic autonomous quantum thermal machines, and reveal central impacts of strong couplings between the working system and the thermal baths. Using the reaction coordinate quantum master equationmethod, which treats system-bath interactions beyond weak coupling, we demonstrate that in a broad range of parameters the cooling window at strong coupling can be captured by a weak-coupling theory, albeit with parameters renormalized by the system-bath coupling energy. As a result, at strong system-bath couplings the window of cooling is significantly reshaped compared to predictions of weak-coupling treatments. We further show that strong coupling admits direct transport pathways between the thermal reservoirs. Such beyond-second-order transport mechanisms are typically detrimental to the performance of quantum thermal machines. Our study reveals that it is inadequate to claim for either a suppression or an enhancement of the cooling performance as one increases system-bath coupling-when analyzed against a single parameter and in a limited domain. Rather, a comprehensive approach should be adopted so as to uncover the reshaping of the operational window.

Strong coupling thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics from the unifying perspective of time-scale separation

Assuming time-scale separation, a simple and unified theory of thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics is constructed for small classical systems strongly interacting with their environments in a controllable fashion. The total Hamiltonian is decomposed into a bath part and a system part, the latter being the Hamiltonian of mean force. Both the conditional equilibrium of the bath and the reduced equilibrium of the system are described by canonical ensemble theories with respect to their own Hamiltonians. The bath free energy is independent of the system variables and the control parameter. Furthermore, the weak coupling theory of stochastic thermodynamics becomes applicable almost verbatim, even if the interaction and correlation between the system and its environment are strong and varied externally. We further discuss a simple scenario where the present theory fits better with the common intuition about system entropy and heat.

Influence of charged impurity screening and surface optical phonons on the n=0 Landau level splitting of graphene with polar substrate

The effect of charged Coulombic impurity screening on the n = 0 Landau level splitting of graphene with a polar substrate under a static magnetic field is investigated theoretically considering the electron-phonon Fröhlich interaction from surface optical phonons of the substrate. The screening is improved using a static dielectric function under the random-phase approximation. A method of linear combination operators is adopted to deal with the influence from a magnetic field and a weak electron-phonon coupling theory is used to discuss the effect from the surface optical phonons. It is found that the splitting due to phonons can be broadened by the charged impurity screening and the broadening increases as increasing of the magnetic field. Our results may provide a possible way to enlarge the energy gap of monolayer graphene. • The n = 0 Landau level splitting of graphene with a substrate under a magnetic field affected by Coulombic impurity screening is obtained. • The screening uses a static dielectric function under the random-phase approximation. • The splitting due to phonons can be broadened by the charged impurity screening. • The broadening increases as increasing of the magnetic field.

Underscreening and hidden ion structures in large scale simulations of concentrated electrolytes.

The electrostatic screening length predicted by Debye-Hückel theory decreases with increasing ionic strength, but recent experiments have found that the screening length can instead increase in concentrated electrolytes. This phenomenon, referred to as underscreening, is believed to result from ion-ion correlations and short-range forces such as excluded volume interactions among ions. We use Brownian Dynamics to simulate a version of the Restrictive Primitive Model for electrolytes over a wide range of ion concentrations, ionic strengths, and ion excluded volume radii for binary electrolytes. We measure the decay of the charge-charge correlation among ions in the bulk and compare it against scaling trends found experimentally and determined in certain weak coupling theories of ion-ion correlation. Moreover, we find that additional large scale ion structures emerge at high concentrations. In this regime, the frequency of oscillations computed from the charge-charge correlation function is not dominated by electrostatic interactions but rather by excluded volume interactions and with oscillation periods on the order of the ion diameter. We also find the nearest neighbor correlation of ions sharing the same charge transitions from negative at small concentrations to positive at high concentrations, representing the formation of small, like-charge ion clusters. We conclude that the increase in local charge density due to the formation of these clusters and the topological constraints of macroscopic charged surfaces can help explain the degree of underscreening observed experimentally.

Nonperturbative Dyson-Schwinger equation approach to strongly interacting Dirac fermion systems

Studying the strong correlation effects in interacting Dirac fermion systems is one of the most challenging problems in modern condensed matter physics. The long-range Coulomb interaction and the fermion-phonon interaction can lead to a variety of intriguing properties. In the strong-coupling regime, weak-coupling perturbation theory breaks down. The validity of $1/N$ expansion with $N$ being the fermion flavor is also in doubt since $N$ equals to 2 or 4 in realistic systems. Here, we investigate the interaction between $(1+2)$- and $(1+3)$-dimensional massless Dirac fermions and a generic scalar boson, and develop an efficient nonperturbative approach to access the strong-coupling regime. We first derive a number of self-consistently coupled Ward-Takahashi identities based on a careful symmetry analysis and then use these identities to show that the full fermion-boson vertex function is solely determined by the full fermion propagator. Making use of this result, we rigorously prove that the full fermion propagator satisfies an exact and self-closed Dyson-Schwinger integral equation, which can be solved by employing numerical methods. A major advantage of our nonperturbative approach is that there is no need to employ any small expansion parameter. Our approach provides a unified theoretical framework for studying strong Coulomb and fermion-phonon interactions. It may also be used to approximately handle the Yukawa coupling between fermions and order-parameter fluctuations around continuous quantum critical points. Our approach is applied to treat the Coulomb interaction in undoped graphene. We find that the renormalized fermion velocity exhibits a logarithmic momentum dependence but is nearly energy independent, and that no excitonic gap is generated by the Coulomb interaction. These theoretical results are consistent with experiments in graphene.

Stability of Mixed-Symmetry Superconducting States with Broken Time-Reversal Symmetry against Lattice Distortions

We examine the stability of mixed-symmetry superconducting states with broken time-reversal symmetry in spatial-symmetry-broken systems, including chiral states, on the basis of the free-energy functional derived in the weak-coupling theory. We consider a generic a_1 + i a_2 wave state, with a_1 and a_2 being different symmetry indices such as (a_1,a_2) = (d,s), (p_x,p_y), and (d,d').The time-reversal symmetry of the mixed-symmetry state with the a_1- and a_2-wave components is broken when the phases of these components differ, and such a state is called the time-reversal-symmetry breaking (TRSB) state. However, their phases are equated by Cooper-pair scattering between these components if it occurs; i.e., when the off-diagonal elements S_{a_1 a_2} = S_{a_2 a_1} of the scattering matrix are nonzero, they destabilize the TRSB state. Hence, it has often been believed that the TRSB state is stable only in systems with a spatial symmetry that guarantees S_{a_1 a_2}=0. We note that, contrary to this belief, the TRSB state can remain stable in systems without the spatial symmetry when the relative phase shifts so that S_{a_1 a_2} = 0 is restored, which results in a distorted TRSB (a_1 + a_2) + i a_2 wave state. Here, note that the restoration of S_{a_1 a_2} = 0 does not imply that the symmetry of the quasi-particle energy E_k is recovered. This study shows that such stabilization of the TRSB state occurs when the distortion is sufficiently small and \Delta_{a_1} \Delta_{a_2} is sufficiently large, where \Delta_a is the amplitude of the a-wave component in the TRSB state in the absence of the distortion. We clarify the manner in which the shift in the relative phase eliminates S_{a_1 a_2} and prove that such a state yields a free-energy minimum. We also propose a formula for the upper bound of the degree of lattice distortion, below which the TRSB state can be stable.

Time-reversal symmetry breaking and multigap superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric superconductor La7Ni3

The Th$_{7}$Fe$_{3}$ family of superconductors provides a rich playground for unconventional superconductivity. La$_7$Ni$_3$ is the latest member of this family, which we here investigate by means of thermodynamic and muon spin rotation and relaxation measurements. Our specific heat data provides evidence for two distinct and approximately isotropic superconducting gaps. The larger gap has a value slightly higher than that of weak-coupling BCS theory, indicating the presence of significant correlations. These observations are confirmed by transverse-field muon-rotation measurements. Furthermore, zero-field measurements reveal small internal fields in the superconducting state, which occur close to the onset of superconductivity and indicate that the superconducting order parameter breaks time-reversal symmetry. We discuss two possible microscopic scenarios -- an unconventional $E_{2}(1,i)$ state and an $s+i\,s$ superconductor, which is reached by two consecutive transitions -- and illustrate which interactions will favor these phases. Our results establish La$_{7}$Ni$_{3}$ as the first member of the Th$_{7}$Fe$_{3}$ family displaying both time-reversal-symmetry-breaking and multigap superconductivity.