Inelastic electron backscattering in a generic helical edge channel

We evaluate the low-temperature conductance of a weakly interacting one-dimensional helical liquid without axial spin symmetry. The lack of that symmetry allows for inelastic backscattering of a single electron, accompanied by forward scattering of another. This joint effect of weak interactions and potential scattering off impurities results in a temperature-dependent deviation from the quantized conductance, δG ∝ T4. In addition, δG is sensitive to the position of the Fermi level. We determine numerically the parameters entering our generic model for the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang Hamiltonian of a HgTe/CdTe quantum well in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling.     

Effective spin dephasing mechanism in confined two-dimensional topological insulators

A Kramers pair of helical edge states in quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) is robust against normal dephasing but not robust to spin dephasing. In our work, we provide an effective spin dephasing mechanism in the puddles of two-dimensional (2D) QSHE, which is simulated as quantum dots modeled by 2D massive Dirac Hamiltonian. We demonstrate that the spin dephasing effect can originate from the combination of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and electron-phonon interaction, which gives rise to inelastic backscattering in edge states within the topological insulator quantum dots, although the time-reversal symmetry is preserved throughout. Finally, we discuss the tunneling between extended helical edge states and local edge states in the QSH quantum dots, which leads to backscattering in the extended edge states. These results can explain the more robust edge transport in InAs/GaSb QSH systems.     

Helical liquid and the edge of quantum spin Hall systems

The edge states of the recently proposed quantum spin Hall systems constitute a new symmetry class of one-dimensional liquids dubbed the "helical liquid," where the spin orientation is determined by the direction of electron motion. We prove a no-go theorem which states that a helical liquid with an odd number of components cannot be constructed in a purely 1D lattice system. In a helical liquid with an odd number of components, a uniform gap in the ground state can appear when the time-reversal symmetry is spontaneously broken by interactions. On the other hand, a correlated two-particle backscattering term by an impurity can become relevant while keeping the time-reversal invariance.     

Quasiparticle interference around a magnetic impurity on a surface with strong spin-orbit coupling

On surfaces with strong spin-orbit coupling, backscattering is forbidden since it requires flipping of the spin of the electron. It has been proposed that the forbidden scattering channels in such systems can be activated if time reversal symmetry is locally broken, for example, by a magnetic scattering center. Scanning tunneling spectroscopic maps of quasiparticle interference patterns around a single magnetic MnPc molecule on a Bi(110) surface reveal only spin-conserving scattering events. Simulations based on the Green's functions approach confirm that the charge-density interference patterns are unaffected by the magnetic state of the impurity. A fingerprint of backscattering processes appears, however, in the magnetization patterns, suggesting that only spin-polarized measurements can access this information.     

Compass-anisotropy-modulated helical states and skyrmion crystals in chiral magnets

The compass-type anisotropy appears naturally in chiral magnets with strong spin-orbit coupling. In this work, we investigate the critical roles of compass anisotropy in modulating various spin textures of chiral magnets, by Monte Carlo simulations. The simulated results reveal a gradual helical reorientation and varying symmetry of skyrmion crystal structures as a function of compass anisotropy. Furthermore, an extended continuum spin model with the lattice discretization anisotropy is proposed to interpret the dependences of helical and skyrmion crystal structures on the compass anisotropy. It is demonstrated that specific helical propagating directions are favored by the high-order lattice anisotropy arising from spin interactions in discretized lattice. Besides that, some threshold values for the helical structures are identified by analytical approach.     

Spin Josephson current in a ferromagnet/noncentrosymmetric superconductor junction

We investigate the equilibrium spin transport in a ferromagnet/noncentrosymmetric superconductor (FM/NCS) junction where the NCS has a dominant triplet order parameter and helical edge state. Based on the symmetry analysis and numerical calculation, we demonstrate that there is a nonzero spin supercurrent flowing in the junction, which stems from the exchange coupling between the FM magnetization and triplet Cooper-pair spin. It is also found that a transverse spin current other than the helical edge spin current is flowing along the interface of the junction, and its polarization is related to the longitudinal spin supercurrent. Besides, an equilibrium Hall current is also shown to flow along the junction’s interface due to the broken time-reversal symmetry from the FM.     

Properties of specific electron helical states leads to spin filtering effect in dsDNA molecules

In a recent paper, Gohler et al. [1] report that a high efficiency electron spin filter can be constructed from an adsorbed monolayer of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Understanding the mechanisms responsible for spin filtering under these conditions has proven to be a challenge, as classical analysis fails to account for the high degree of polarization observed. In this paper we show that these observations can be understood since conduction electrons in the DNA molecule are characterized by specific helical states having a magnetic moment opposite to the direction of the electron wavevector. These helical states are fundamental to the quantum-mechanical properties of periodic structures with helical symmetry. Free electrons passing through the DNA monolayer interact with these helical states, but the strength of this interaction depends on the relative orientation of the electron spin and the magnetic moment associated with the possible helical states. One of these configurations leads to a negligible interaction resulting in high spin polarization in the transmitted electron beam. The overall effect is that the free electron flux component with a magnetic moment in an opposite direction to the magnetic moment of the helical states can pass through the dsDNA monolayer without absorption, while the other spin component is highly absorbed by dsDNA. This is consistent with the finding that a monolayer of single-stranded DNA does not exhibit similar spin filtering properties.     

Raman scattering study of anomalous spin, charge, and lattice dynamics in the charge-ordered phase of Bi1-xCaxMnO3 (x > 0.5)

We report an inelastic light scattering study of the effects of charge ordering on the spin, charge, and lattice dynamics of Bi1-xCaxMnO3 (x>0.5). We find that charge ordering results in anomalous phonon behavior, such as the appearance of "activated" modes. More significantly, however, the transition to the charge-ordered phase results in the appearance of a quasielastic scattering response with the symmetry of the spin-chirality operator ( T(1g)); this scattering response is thus indicative of magnetic or chiral spin fluctuations in the antiferromagnetic charge-ordered phase.     

Soft spin wave near nu=1: evidence for a magnetic instability in Skyrmion systems

The ground state of the two-dimensional electron gas near nu=1 is investigated by inelastic light scattering measurements carried down to very low temperatures. Away from nu=1, the ferromagnetic spin wave collapses and a new low-energy spin wave emerges below the Zeeman gap. The emergent spin wave shows soft behavior as its energy increases with temperature and reaches the Zeeman energy for temperatures above 2 K. The observed softening indicates an instability of the two-dimensional electron gas towards a magnetic order that breaks spin rotational symmetry. We discuss our findings in light of the possible existence of a Skyrme crystal.     

Theory of the helical spin crystal: a candidate for the partially ordered state of MnSi

MnSi is an itinerant magnet which at low temperatures develops a helical spin-density wave. Under pressure it undergoes a transition into an unusual partially ordered state whose nature is debated. Here we propose that the helical spin crystal (the magnetic analog of a solid) is a useful starting point to understand partial order in MnSi. We consider different helical spin crystals and determine conditions under which they may be energetically favored. The most promising candidate has bcc structure and is reminiscent of the blue phase of liquid crystals in that it has line nodes of magnetization protected by symmetry. We introduce a Landau theory to study the properties of these states, in particular, the effect of crystal anisotropy, magnetic field, and disorder. These results compare favorably with existing data on MnSi from neutron scattering and magnetic field studies. Future experiments to test this scenario are also proposed.     

Chiral spin pairing in helical magnets

A concept of chiral spin pairing is introduced to describe a vector-chiral liquid-crystal order in frustrated spin systems. It is found that the chiral spin pairing is induced by the coupling to phonons through the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and the four-spin exchange interaction of the Coulomb origin under the edge-sharing network of magnetic and ligand ions. This produces two successive second-order phase transitions upon cooling: an O(2) chiral spin nematic, i.e., spin cholesteric, order appears with an either parity, and then the O(2) symmetry is broken to yield a helical magnetic order. Possible candidate materials are also discussed as new multiferroic systems.     

Examination of Bragg backscattering from crystalline quartz

The backscattering silicon single crystals normally used for hard X-ray inelastic scattering experiments suffer from parasitic reflections and gaps in photon energy where no backscattering reflection exists. Sapphire has been proposed as a possible alternative, but quartz may have advantages over sapphire at low photon energies (5-12.5 keV). Calculations of energy widths of backscattering reflections up to 30 keV for silicon, sapphire, and quartz are compared. The quartz (11 6 0) reflection is examined at 0.03° from backscattering with 0.8 meV bandwidth beam, and its energy width is measured. Finally, the thermal expansions of quartz and silicon are compared.     

The topological quantum phase transitions in Lieb lattice driven by the Rashba SOC and exchange field

The quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect and the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in Lieblattice are investigated in the presence of both Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) anduniform exchange field. The Lieb lattice has a simple cubic symmetry, which ischaracterized by the single Dirac-cone per Brillouin zone and the middle flat band in theband structure. The intrinsic SOC is essentially needed to open the full energy gap in thebulk. The QSH effect could survive even in the presence of the exchange field. In terms ofthe first Chern number and the spin Chern number, we study the topological nature and thetopological phase transition from the time-reversal symmetry broken QSH effect to the QAHeffect. For Lieb lattice ribbons, the energy spectrum and the wave-function distributionsare obtained numerically, where the helical edge states and the chiral edge states revealthe non-trivial topological QSH and QAH properties, respectively.     

Helical edge transport in the presence of a magnetic impurity

We consider the effects of electron scattering off a quantum magnetic impurity on the current–voltage characteristics of the helical edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator. We compute the backscattering contribution to the current along the edge for a general form of the exchange interaction matrix and arbitrary value of the magnetic impurity spin. We find that the differential conductance may exhibit a nonmonotonic dependence on the voltage with several extrema.     

Exact SU(2) symmetry and persistent spin helix in a spin-orbit coupled system

Spin-orbit coupled systems generally break the spin rotation symmetry. However, for a model with equal Rashba and Dresselhauss coupling constants, and for the [110] Dresselhauss model, a new type of SU(2) spin rotation symmetry is discovered. This symmetry is robust against spin-independent disorder and interactions and is generated by operators whose wave vector depends on the coupling strength. It renders the spin lifetime infinite at this wave vector, giving rise to a persistent spin helix. We obtain the spin fluctuation dynamics at, and away from, the symmetry point and suggest experiments to observe the persistent spin helix.     

氢原子吸附对金表面金属酞菁分子的吸附位置、自旋和手征性的调控

实现单个功能有机分子构型、电子结构和自旋态的可逆调控, 是未来分子电子学和分子自旋电子学应用的关键. 近年来, 我们利用极低温强磁场超高真空扫描隧道显微镜系统, 结合第一性原理计算, 系统研究了氢原子吸附对金表面吸附的金属酞菁分子的自旋、手性和吸附位置的调控. 通过将金表面吸附的酞菁锰分子暴露于氢气或氢原子环境, 使得分子中心的磁性离子吸附单个氢原子, 从而实现了体系近藤效应由“开”到“关”的转变. 基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算表明, 氢原子吸附使得锰离子3d轨道内的电荷重排导致了分子的自旋由3/2降为1; 同时分子与金基底的间距增大, 使得近藤效应消失. 通过施加局域电压脉冲或者给样品加热, 可以实现单个或所有分子脱氢, 从而恢复体系的自旋态和近藤效应. 氢原子吸附还导致分子的优先吸附位置从金表面的面心立方堆垛区域变成了六角密排堆垛区域. 三个氢原子吸附于同一酞菁锰分子上, 可导致分子对称性的降低及分子镜面对称轴与金基底镜面对称轴的偏离, 从而导致手征性的出现. 这种分子吸附结构的手征性, 导致分子轨道也呈现出手征性. 这项工作为金属酞菁未来在分子电子学、自旋电子学、气体传感器等方面的应用提供了新思路.     

Proton spin conversion of coupled methyl groups in lithium acetate studied by inelastic neutron scattering

The temperature dependence of the tunneling spectrum of methyl groups in lithium acetate dihydrate has been studied in the temperature range between 1.2 and 8.0 K by inelastic neutron scattering. The results unambiguously prove that it is to a first order approximation correct to describe the tunneling motions by a model of coupled CH₃ pairs which are isolated from each other. However, from the fact that the tunneling frequencies shift to higher values with decreasing spin temperature, we conclude that coupling effects are important not only between nearest neighbour CH₃ groups. Quantitatively we can describe the observations by a model of coupled pairs with a fixed value for the interaction potentialW ₃ and a variable single particle potentialV ₃ which depends linearly on the concentration of the spin symmetry species.     

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of a single nuclear spin

Detection of a single nuclear spin constitutes an outstanding problem in different fields of physics such as quantum computing or magnetic imaging. Here we show that the energy levels of a single nuclear spin can be measured by means of inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS). We consider two different systems, a magnetic adatom probed with scanning tunneling microscopy and a single Bi dopant in a silicon nanotransistor. We find that the hyperfine coupling opens new transport channels which can be resolved at experimentally accessible temperatures. Our simulations evince that IETS yields information about the occupations of the nuclear spin states, paving the way towards transport-detected single nuclear spin resonance.     

磁原胞与化学原胞不一致的磁性晶体的磁结构

本文发展了一个讨论磁原胞与化学原胞不一致的磁性晶体的自旋位形的宏观方法。引进一个有限羣,其元素乃是分布于一个磁原胞内的空间羣的元素。该羣的对称元素作用于次晶格的自旋密度上,使热力势保持不变。利用这原理可以建立热力势按次晶格自旋密度的展式。由热力势取极小条件决定磁性晶体的自旋位形。应用这个方法具体地讨论了四类磁性晶体的自旋位形,对每一类情况得到了与中子衍射实验一致的结果。利用本方法在某些情况下,也可以得到螺旋形的自旋位形。     

Surface excitation effects in elastic peak electron spectroscopy

Surface electron inelastic excitations, a consequence of electron-surface interaction, effect the measured intensities in surface-sensitive electron spectroscopic methods and distort the quantitative information. This phenomenon is more pronounced at low electron energy and glancing emission angles. In this work we investigate quantitatively the influence of the surface excitation effects on the measured electron elastic backscattering probability. As a model system we used Si, Cu and Al, i.e. materials with different surface excitation properties. Results obtained show that properly corrected measured elastic electron backscattering probabilities lead to inelastic mean free path values which compare well with the theory.