Butterfly-Like Anisotropic Magnetoresistance and Angle-Dependent Berry Phase in a Type-Ⅱ Weyl Semimetal WP_2

The Weyl semimetal has emerged as a new topologically nontrivial phase of matter,hosting low-energy excitations of massless Weyl fermions.Here,we present a comprehensive study of a type-Ⅱ Weyl semimetal WP_2.Transport studies show a butterfly-like magnetoresistance at low temperature,reflecting the anisotropy of the electron Fermi surfaces.This four-lobed feature gradually evolves into a two-lobed variant with an increase in temperature,mainly due to the reduced relative contribution of electron Fermi surfaces compared to hole Fermi surfaces for magnetoresistance.Moreover,an angle-dependent Berry phase is also discovered,based on quantum oscillations,which is ascribed to the effective manipulation of extremal Fermi orbits by the magnetic field to feel nearby topological singularities in the momentum space.The revealed topological character and anisotropic Fermi surfaces of the WP_2 substantially enrich the physical properties of Weyl semimetals,and show great promises in terms of potential topological electronic and Fermitronic device applications.     

de Haas–van Alphen Quantum Oscillations in BaSn_3 Superconductor with Multiple Dirac Fermions

Characterization of Fermi surface of the BaSn_3 superconductor(Т_c ～ 4.4 K) by de Haas–van Alphen(dHvA)effect measurement reveals its non-trivial topological properties. Analysis of non-zero Berry phase is supported by the ab initio calculations, which reveals a type-Ⅱ Dirac point setting and tilting along the high symmetric ■–■ line of the Brillouin zone, about 0.13 eV above the Fermi level, and other two type-Ⅰ Dirac points on the high symmetric ■–■ direction, but slightly far below the Fermi level. The results demonstrate BaSn_3 as an excellent example hosting multiple Dirac fermions and an outstanding platform for studying the interplay between nontrivial topological states and superconductivity.     

Manipulation of Dirac Fermions in Nanochain-Structured Graphene

Graphene has afforded an ideal 2D platform for investigating a rich and fascinating behavior of Dirac fermions.Here,we develop a theoretical mechanism for manipulating the Dirac fermions in graphene,such as from type-Ⅰ to type-Ⅱ and type-Ⅲ,by a top-down nanopatterning approach.We demonstrate that by selective chemical adsorption to pattern the 2D graphene into coupled 1D armchair chains(ACs),the intrinsic isotropic upright Dirac cone becomes anisotropic and strongly tilted.Based on model analyses and first-principles calculations,we show that both the shape and tilt of Dirac cone can be tuned by the species of chemisorption,e.g.,halogen vs hydrogen,which modifies the strength of inter-AC coupling.Furthermore,the topological edge states and transport properties of the engineered Dirac fermions are investigated.Our work sheds lights on understanding the Dirac fermions in a nanopatterned graphene platform,and provides guidance for designing nanostructures with novel functionality.     

Photoemission Spectroscopic Evidence of Multiple Dirac Cones in Superconducting BaSn_3

Signatures of topological superconductivity(TSC) in superconducting materials with topological nontrivial states prompt intensive researches recently. Utilizing high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, we demonstrate multiple Dirac fermions and surface states in superconductor BaSn_3 with a critical transition temperature of about 4.4 K. We predict and then unveil the existence of two pairs of type-Ⅰ topological Dirac fermions residing on the rotational axis. Type-Ⅱ Dirac fermions protected by screw axis are confirmed in the same compound. Further calculation for the spin helical texture of the observed surface states originating from the Dirac fermions gives an opportunity for realization of TSC in one single material.Hosting multiple Dirac fermions and topological surface states, the intrinsic superconductor BaSn_3 is expected to be a new platform for further investigation of topological quantum materials as well as TSC.     

Spin-orbit coupling in Bose-Einstein condensate and degenerate Fermi gases

We review our recent experimental realization and investigation of a spin orbit （SO） coupled Bose Einstein condensate （BEC） and quantum degenerate Fermi gas. By using two counter-propagathlg Ranlan lasers and controlling the different frequency of two R,aman lasers to engineer the atom light interaction, we first study the SO coupling in BEC. Then we study SO coupling in Fermi gas. We, observe the spin dephasing in spin dynamics and momentum distribution asymmetry of the equilibrium state as halhnarks of SO coupling in a Fermi gas. To clearly reveal the, property of SO coupling Fermi gas, we also study the momentmn-resolved radio-frequency spectroscopy which characterizes the energy momentum dispersion and spin composition of the quantum states. We observe the change of errmion surfaces in different helieity branches with different atomic density, which indicates that a Lifshitz transition of the Fermi surface topology change can be found by further cooling the system. At last, we study the momentum-resolved Raman spectroscopy of an ultracoht Fermi gas.     

Bulk superconductivity in the Dirac semimetal TlSb

A feasible strategy for realizing the Majorana fermions is searching for a simple compound with both bulk superconductivity and Dirac surface states.In this paper,we perform calculations of electronic band structure,the Fermi surface,and the surface states,and measure the resistivity,magnetization,and specific heat of a TlSb compound with a CsCl-type structure.The band structure calculations show that TlSb is a Dirac semimetal when spin-orbit coupling is considered.TlSb is first determined to be a type-Ⅱsuperconductor with T_c=4.38 K,Hc1(0)=148 Oe,H_c2(0)=1.12 T,andκ_GL=10.6.We also confirm that TlSb is a moderately coupled s-wave superconductor.Although we cannot determine the band near the Fermi level EF that is responsible for superconductivity,its coexistence with topological surface states implies that the TlSb compound may be a simple material platform to realize the fault-tolerant quantum computations.     

Mott transition in ruby lattice Hubbard model

Mott transition in a ruby lattice with fermions described by the Hubbard model including on-site repulsive interaction is investigated by combining the cellular dynamical mean-field theory and the continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo algorithm. The effect of temperature and on-site repulsive interaction on the metallic–insulating phase transition in ruby lattice with fermions is discussed based on the density of states and double occupancy. In addition, the magnetic property of each phase is discussed by defining certain magnetic order parameters. Our results show that the antiferromagnetic metal is found at the low temperature and weak interaction region and the antiferromagnetic insulating phase is found at the low temperature and strong interaction region. The paramagnetic metal appears in whole on-site repulsive interaction region when the temperature is higher than a certain value and the paramagnetic insulator appears at the middle scale of temperature and on-site repulsive interaction.     

Contactless Microwave Detection of Shubnikov–De Haas Oscillations in Three-Dimensional Dirac Semimetal ZrTe_5

We report Shubnikov–de Haas(SdH)oscillations of a three-dimensional(3D) Dirac semimetal candidate of layered material ZrTe_5 single crystals through contactless electron spin resonance(ESR)measurements with the magnetic field up to 1.4 T.The ESR signals manifest remarkably anisotropic characteristics with respect to the direction of the magnetic field,indicating an anisotropic Fermi surface in ZrTe_5.Further experiments demonstrate that the ZrTe_5 single crystals have the signature of massless Dirac fermions with nontrivialBerry phase,key evidence for 3D Dirac/Weyl fermions.Moreover,the onset of quantum oscillation of our ZrTe_5 crystals revealed by the ESR can be derived down to 0.2 T,much smaller than the onset of SdH oscillation determined by conventional magnetoresistance measurements.Therefore,ESR measurement is a powerful tool to study the topologically nontrivial electronic structure in Dirac/Weyl semimetals and other topological materials with low bulk carrier density.     

Enhanced Quantum Reflection of Ultracold Atoms with Strong Interatomic Interaction

We calculate the reflection probability for ultracold alkali atoms incident on a solid surface. By considering the interatomic interaction and using the WKB method, it is shown that the repulsive interaction between atoms has the effect of increasing the reflection probability. The increasing amplitude is related with the interatomic interaction and the depth of atom-surface potential. In addition, we also perform a numerical calculation to testify the effect of the interatomic interaction, and the analytic result is proven by the numerical result.     

Isospin Effect of Coulomb Interaction on Momentum Dissipation in Intermediate Energy Heavy Ion Collisions

We investigate the isospin effect of Coulomb interaction on the momentum dissipation or nuclear stopping in the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions by using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. The calculated results show that the Coulomb interaction induces obviously the reductions of the momentum dissipation. We also find that the variation amplitude of momentum dissipation induced by the Coulomb interaction depends sensitively on the form and strength of symmetry potential. However, the isospin effect of Coulomb interaction on the momentum dissipation is less than that induced by the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section.In this case, Coulomb interaction does not change obviously the isospin effect of momentum dissipation induced by the in-medium two-body collision. In particular, the Coulomb interaction is preferable for standing up the isospin effect of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section on the momentum dissipation and reducing the isospin effect of symmetry potential on it, which is important for obtaining the feature about the sensitive dependence of momentum dissipation on the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section and weakly on the symmetry potential.     

Anomalous Nernst effect in type-II Weyl semimetals

Topological Weyl semimetals (WSM), a new state of quantum matter with gapless nodal bulk spectrum and open Fermi arc surface states, have recently sparked enormous interest in condensed matter physics. Based on the symmetry and fermiology, it has been proposed that WSMs can be broadly classified into two types, type-I and type-II Weyl semimetals. While the undoped, conventional, type-I WSMs have point like Fermi surface and vanishing density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy, the type-II Weyl semimetals break Lorentz symmetry explicitly and have tilted conical spectra with electron and hole pockets producing finite DOS at the Fermi level. The tilted conical spectrum and finite DOS at Fermi level in type-II WSMs have recently been shown to produce interesting effects such as a chiral anomaly induced longitudinal magnetoresistance that is strongly anisotropic in direction and a novel anomalous Hall effect. In this work, we consider the anomalous Nernst effect in type-II WSMs in the absence of an external magnetic field using the framework of semi-classical Boltzmann theory. Based on both a linearized model of time-reversal breaking WSM with a higher energy cut-off and a more realistic lattice model, we show that the anomalous Nernst response in these systems is strongly anisotropic in space, and can serve as a reliable signature of type-II Weyl semimetals in a host of magnetic systems with spontaneously broken time reversal symmetry.     

Lifshitz transitions via the type-II dirac and type-II Weyl points

The type-II Weyl and type-II Dirac points emerge in semimetals and in relativistic systems. In particular, the type-II Weyl fermions may emerge behind the event horizon of black holes. The type-II Weyl and Dirac points also emerge as the intermediate states of the topological Lifshitz transitions. In one case, the type-II Weyl point connects the Fermi pockets, and the Lifshitz transition corresponds to the transfer of the Berry flux between the Fermi pockets. In the other case, the type-II Weyl point connects the outer and inner Fermi surfaces. At the Lifshitz transition, the Weyl point is released from both Fermi surfaces. They loose their Berry flux, which guarantees the global stability, and without the topological support, the inner surface disappears after shrinking to a point at the second Lifshitz transition. These examples reveal the complexity and universality of topological Lifshitz transitions, which originate from the ubiquitous interplay of a variety of topological characters of the momentum-space manifolds.     

Intrinsic anomalous Hall effect in type-II Weyl semimetals

Recently, a new type of Weyl semimetal called type-II Weyl semimetal has been proposed. Unlike the usual (type-I) Weyl semimetal, which has a point-like Fermi surface, this new type of Weyl semimetal has a tilted conical spectrum around the Weyl point. Here we calculate the anomalous Hall conductivity of a Weyl semimetal with a tilted conical spectrum for a pair of Weyl points, using the Kubo formula. We find that the Hall conductivity is not universal and can change sign as a function of the parameters quantifying the tilts. Our results suggest that even for the case where the separation between the Weyl points vanishes, tilting of the conical spectrum could give rise to a finite anomalous Hall effect, if the tilts of the two cones are not identical.     

Chern semimetal and the quantized anomalous Hall effect in HgCr2Se4

In 3D momentum space, a topological phase boundary separating the Chern insulating layers from normal insulating layers may exist, where the gap must be closed, resulting in a "Chern semimetal" state with topologically unavoidable band crossings at the Fermi level. This state is a condensed-matter realization of Weyl fermions in (3+1)D, and should exhibit remarkable features, such as magnetic monopoles and Fermi arcs. Here we predict, based on first principles calculations, that such a novel quantum state can be realized in a known ferromagnetic compound HgCr2Se4, with a single pair of Weyl fermions separated in momentum space. The quantum Hall effect without an external magnetic field can be achieved in its quantum-well structure.     

The dynamics of quantum discord and entanglement of two atoms coupled to two spatially separate cavities in cavity QED

We demonstrate that a kind of highly excited state of strongly attractive Hubbard model, named of Fermi super-Tonks-Girardeau state, can be realized in the spin-1/2 Fermi optical lattice system by a sudden switch of interaction from the strongly repulsive regime to the strongly attractive regime. In contrast to the ground state of the attractive Hubbard model, such a state is the lowest scattering state with no pairing between attractive fermions. With the aid of Bethe-ansatz method, we calculate energies of both the Fermi Tonks-Girardeau gas and the Fermi super-Tonks-Girardeau state of spin-1/2 ultracold fermions and show that both energies approach to the same limit as the strength of the interaction goes to infinity. By exactly solving the quench dynamics of the Hubbard model, we demonstrate that the Fermi super-Tonks-Girardeau state can be transferred from the initial repulsive ground state very efficiently. This allows the experimental study of properties of Fermi super-Tonks-Girardeau gas in optical lattices.     

Type-III and IV interacting Weyl points

3+1-dimensional Weyl fermions in interacting systems are described by effective quasi-relativistic Green’s functions parametrized by a 16-element matrix e _α ^μ in an expansion around the Weyl point. The matrix e _α ^μ can be naturally identified as an effective tetrad field for the fermions. The correspondence between the tetrad field and an effective quasi-relativistic metric g_μν governing the Weyl fermions allows for the possibility to simulate different classes of metric fields emerging in general relativity in interacting Weyl semimetals. According to this correspondence, there can be four types of Weyl fermions, depending on the signs of the components g ⁰⁰ and g ₀₀ of the effective metric. In addition to the conventional type-I fermions with a tilted Weyl cone and type-II fermions with an overtilted Weyl cone for g ⁰⁰ > 0 and, respectively, g ₀₀ > 0 or g ₀₀ < 0, we find additional “type-III” and “type-IV” Weyl fermions with instabilities (complex frequencies) for g ⁰⁰ < 0 and g ₀₀ > 0 or g ₀₀ < 0, respectively. While the type-I and type-II Weyl points allow us to simulate the black hole event horizon at an interface where g ⁰⁰ changes sign, the type-III Weyl point leads to effective spacetimes with closed timelike curves.     

Unconventional interaction between vortices in a polarized Fermi gas

Recently, a homogeneous superfluid state with a single gapless Fermi surface was predicted to be the ground state of an ultracold Fermi gas with spin population imbalance in the regime of molecular Bose-Einstein condensation. We study vortices in this novel state using a symmetry-based effective field theory, which captures the low-energy physics of gapless fermions and superfluid phase fluctuations. This theory is applicable to all spin-imbalanced ultracold Fermi gases in the superfluid regime, regardless of whether the original fermion-pairing interaction is weak or strong. We find a remarkable, unconventional form of the interaction between vortices. The presence of gapless fermions gives rise to a spatially oscillating potential, akin to the RKKY indirect-exchange interaction in non-magnetic metals. We compare the parameters of the effective theory to the experimentally measurable quantities and further discuss the conditions for the verification of the predicted new feature. Our study opens up an interesting question as to the nature of the vortex lattice resulting from the competition between the usual repulsive logarithmic (2D Coulomb) and predominantly attractive fermion-induced interactions.     

Classification of Emergent Weyl Spinors in Multi-Fermion Systems

JETP Letters - In the fermionic systems with topologically stable Fermi points, the emergent two-component Weyl fermions appear. We propose the topological classification of these fermions based on...     

Black hole and hawking radiation by type-II Weyl fermions

The type-II Weyl and type-II Dirac fermions may emerge behind the event horizon of black holes. Correspondingly, the black hole can be simulated by creation of the region with overtilted Weyl or Dirac cones. The filling of the electronic states inside the “black hole” is accompanied by Hawking radiation. The Hawking temperature in the Weyl semimetals can reach the room temperature, if the black hole region is sufficiently small, and thus the effective gravity at the horizon is large.     

Repulsive Polarons in One-Dimensional Fermi Gases

Using the variational method, we study the properties of a spin-down impurity immersed in a onedimensional(1 D) spin-up Fermi sea. With repulsive interactions between them, the impurity is dressed up by surrounding particles in Fermi sea and forms a polaron. We clearly calculate the binding energy, effective mass, momentum distribution, Tan contact, and pair correlation. Even in strong repulsive regimes, the results can agree with the exact Bethe Ansatz results. The repulsive polaron energy E+ is below Fermi energy EF and no negative effective masses are found in whole interaction regimes, unequal masses polarons are also calculated. We show a clear momentum distribution and calculate the Tan contact from three different aspects. Furthermore, we explore the particle-hole excitation and find that the hole terms in Fermi sea have a great influence on the polaron energy and contact in repulsive regime. These results show that the variational method can still be used effectively in 1 D repulsive polaron system.