磁场中拓扑物态的量子输运

拓扑物态包括拓扑绝缘体、拓扑半金属以及拓扑超导体.拓扑物态奇异的能带结构以及受拓扑保护的新奇表面态,使其具有了独特的输运性质.拓扑半金属作为物质的一种三维拓扑态具有无能隙的准粒子激发,根据导带和价带的接触类型分为外尔半金属、狄拉克半金属和节线半金属.本文以拓扑半金属为主回顾了在磁场下拓扑物态中量子输运的最新工作,在不同的磁场范围内分别给出了描述拓扑物态输运行为的主要理论.     

外尔超构材料里频率分离外尔点的数值设计

外尔半金属是指三维能带结构具有手性拓扑点简并特征的无能隙固体材料,并且简并点附近的色散关系遵从外尔方程的描述.它具有很多独特的电子输运性质,比如:费米弧表面态、负磁阻效应、手性朗道能级等.类比电子系统的外尔半金属材料,人们设计出理想外尔超构材料,在电磁波体系里实现了频率一致的外尔点简并.本文打破这种超构材料的镜面对称性,通过数值计算发现了原本频率一致的外尔点出现了依赖手性的频移,频移的正负由外尔点的手性决定,因此实现了手性不同的外尔点在频率上的分离,同时也检验了001晶面上外尔点之间的费米弧表面态.     

层状磁性拓扑材料中的物理问题与实验进展

层状磁性材料与拓扑材料的交汇点同时结合了二者的优势,形成了在最小二维单元下同时具有磁序和拓扑性的材料体系,即层状磁性拓扑材料.这类材料的电子结构中可能存在狄拉克点、外尔点、节线等具有螺旋性或手性的拓扑电子态,同时涵盖了绝缘体、半金属和金属等的材料分类,导致新物性、新现象成为可能,因此引起了广泛的关注.本文主要以具有层状结构的本征磁性拓扑绝缘体、磁性外尔半金属、磁性狄拉克半金属等为例简要综述磁序与拓扑序之间的相互作用和近期部分的重要实验结果.此交叉材料领域方兴未艾,候选材料仍然非常缺乏,亟待进一步的开发和研究,是当前一个富有挑战的凝聚态物理前沿.     

在重费米子体系中发现外尔费米子激发

<正>凝聚态物质中的拓扑序和拓扑相变是物理学中的一个重要发现,它突破了基于对称性破缺的经典朗道理论,解释了包括涡旋激发、量子霍尔效应等在内的许多新现象。近年来,人们在凝聚态材料中发现了一系列受对称性保护的拓扑量子物态,例如拓扑绝缘体、狄拉克半金属、外尔半     

纳米尺度下超导体和拓扑绝缘体的电输运特性

超导体和拓扑绝缘体研究是当前凝聚态物理领域中的重大课题.文章重点介绍了作者所在实验室在纳米超导和拓扑绝缘体电输运领域的实验进展,其中包括金属和铁磁纳米线中的超导近邻效应、半金属纳米线中的新奇超导特性、拓扑绝缘体薄膜中的量子输运以及超导态-拓扑量子态的相互作用等,并对该领域的进一步发展进行了展望.     

第一类与第二类外尔半金属界面上的菲涅尔反射系数

作为一种新型拓扑材料,外尔半金属及其光学性质是当前凝聚态物理以及光学领域的研究热点。根据人们的最新研究成果,介绍了第一类与第二类外尔半金属界面上菲涅尔反射系数的计算方法,模拟并揭示了不同化学势下菲涅尔反射系数随入射角θ_i和狄拉克锥倾斜度α_t的演变规律。研究结果表明,随着化学势和狄拉克锥倾斜度α_t的变化,第一类与第二类外尔半金属的反射系数以及布儒斯特角呈现出不同的演变规律。理论上可以通过化学掺杂并测量外尔半金属界面上的菲涅尔反射系数来判断外尔半金属的种类。     

拓扑半金属-超导体异质结的约瑟夫森效应

拓扑半金属是一类受对称性保护的无能隙量子材料.因其相对论性能带色散关系,拓扑半金属中涌现出丰富的量子态和量子效应,例如费米弧表面态和手征反常.近年来,因在拓扑量子计算的潜在应用,拓扑与超导的耦合体系受到广泛关注.本文从两方面回顾拓扑半金属-超导体异质结体系近年来的实验进展:1)超导电流对拓扑量子态的模式过滤; 2)拓扑超导和Majorana零能模的探测与调控.对于前者,利用约瑟夫森电流对电磁场的响应,拓扑半金属中费米弧表面态的弹道输运被揭示,高阶拓扑半金属相被证实,有限动量配对及超导二极管效应被实现.对于后者,通过交流约瑟夫森效应,狄拉克半金属中4π周期的拓扑超导态被发现,纯电学栅压调控的拓扑相变被实现.本文最后展望了拓扑半金属-超导体异质结体系的发展前景和在Majorana零能模编织和拓扑量子计算上的潜在应用.     

层状手性拓扑磁材料Cr_(1/3)NbS_2的磁学特性

伴随着拓扑材料的出现,拓扑物理学成为了当代凝聚态物理的前沿与热点之一.拓扑特性是描述材料的物理量在连续变换下会保持不变的性质(如陈数Chern number),种类包括拓扑绝缘体、外尔和狄拉克等拓扑半金属、拓扑磁材料等.一维手性磁孤子(chiral magnetic solitons),类似于磁性斯格明子(skyrmions),是一类具有拓扑性和准粒子性的磁结构,具有丰富的物理特性和潜在应用价值.本文详细总结了一种具有一维手性磁孤子结构的晶体Cr_(1/3)NbS_2,包括其晶体构型、磁相互作用、磁结构、维度调控以及相变物理等物理特性.希望本综述能为研究拓扑磁材料的科研人员提供详实的参考,为将拓扑和手性磁性引入到二维层状材料家族提供研究思路,促进拓扑磁电子学的发展,为相关器件提供更多的材料选择和理论基础.     

应变调控下Tl2Ta2O7中的拓扑相变

拓扑电子材料因为具有非平庸的拓扑态,所以会展现出许多奇异的物理性质.本文通过第一性原理计算对应变调控下的烧绿石三元氧化物Tl₂Ta₂O₇中的拓扑相变进行了研究.首先分析了原子轨道投影能带,发现体系费米能级附近O原子的(px+py)与pz轨道发生了能带反转,再构造了紧束缚模型计算得到体系的Z₂拓扑不变量确定了其拓扑非平庸性,最后研究了表面态等拓扑性质.研究发现未施加应变的Tl₂Ta₂O₇是一个在费米能级处具有二次能带交叉点的半金属,而平面内应变会破缺晶体对称性进而使体系发生拓扑相变.当对体系施加–1%的压缩应变时,它会转变为狄拉克半金属;当对体系施加1%的拉伸应变时,体系相变为拓扑绝缘体.本研究对于在三维材料中调控拓扑相变有着较重要的指导意义,并且为低能耗电子器件的设计提供了良好的材料平台.     

二维光子拓扑绝缘体研究进展

受凝聚态拓扑绝缘体研究的启发,整数量子霍尔效应、量子自旋霍尔效应、拓扑半金属、高阶拓扑绝缘体等拓扑物理相继在光学系统中实现。光子系统因能带干净,样品设计简单且制作精度高等优势,逐渐成为研究物理拓扑模型和新型拓扑效应的重要平台。拓扑光子学提供了全新的调控光场和操控光子的方法,其拓扑保护的边界态可实现光子对材料杂质缺陷免疫的传播,这种传统光子系统不具备的理想的传输态有望驱动新型光学集成器件的变革。本文将从二维光学体系出发,简要介绍几种典型的光拓扑绝缘体的最新进展,例如光整数量子霍尔效应、光量子自旋霍尔效应、光Floquet拓扑绝缘体、拓扑安德森绝缘体和高阶拓扑绝缘体。文中重点介绍了上述几种光拓扑绝缘体的拓扑模型及其新型的拓扑现象,并在最后展望了新型光学拓扑效应及其在光学器件中的应用前景。     

Quantum transport in topological semimetals under magnetic fields

Topological semimetals are three-dimensional topological states of matter, in which the conduction and valence bands touch at a finite number of points, i.e., the Weyl nodes. Topological semimetals host paired monopoles and antimonopoles of Berry curvature at the Weyl nodes and topologically protected Fermi arcs at certain surfaces. We review our recent works on quantum transport in topological semimetals, according to the strength of the magnetic field. At weak magnetic fields, there are competitions between the positive magnetoresistivity induced by the weak anti-localization effect and negative magnetoresistivity related to the nontrivial Berry curvature. We propose a fitting formula for the magnetoconductivity of the weak anti-localization. We expect that the weak localization may be induced by inter-valley effects and interaction effect, and occur in double-Weyl semimetals. For the negative magnetoresistance induced by the nontrivial Berry curvature in topological semimetals, we show the dependence of the negative magnetoresistance on the carrier density. At strong magnetic fields, specifically, in the quantum limit, the magnetoconductivity depends on the type and range of the scattering potential of disorder. The high-field positive magnetoconductivity may not be a compelling signature of the chiral anomaly. For long-range Gaussian scattering potential and half filling, the magnetoconductivity can be linear in the quantum limit. A minimal conductivity is found at the Weyl nodes although the density of states vanishes there.     

Photoinduced Weyl semimetal phase and anomalous Hall effect in a three-dimensional topological insulator

Motivated by the fact that Weyl fermions can emerge in a three-dimensional topological insulator on breaking either time-reversal or inversion symmetries, we propose that a topological quantum phase transition to a Weyl semimetal phase occurs under the off-resonant circularly polarized light, in a three-dimensional topological insulator, when the intensity of the incident light exceeds a critical value. The circularly polarized light effectively generates a Zeeman exchange field and a renormalized Dirac mass, which are highly controllable. The phase transition can be exactly characterized by the first Chern number. A tunable anomalous Hall conductivity emerges, which is fully determined by the location of the Weyl nodes in momentum space, even in the doping regime. Our predictions are experimentally realizable through pump-probe angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and raise a new way for realizing Weyl semimetals and quantum anomalous Hall effects.     

Topological nodal line semimetals predicted from first-principles calculations

Topological semimetals are newly discovered states of quantum matter, which have extended the concept of topological states from insulators to metals and attracted great research interest in recent years. In general, there are three kinds of topological semimetals, namely Dirac semimetals, Weyl semimetals, and nodal line semimetals. Nodal line semimetals can be considered as precursor states for other topological states. For example, starting from such nodal line states, the nodal line structure might evolve into Weyl points, convert into Dirac points, or become a topological insulator by introducing the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) or mass term. In this review paper, we introduce theoretical materials that show the nodal line semimetal state, including the all-carbon Mackay–Terrones crystal (MTC), anti-perovskite Cu₃PdN, pressed black phosphorus, and the CaP₃ family of materials, and we present the design principles for obtaining such novel states of matter.     

Weyl semimetal in a topological insulator multilayer

We propose a simple realization of the three-dimensional (3D) Weyl semimetal phase, utilizing a multilayer structure, composed of identical thin films of a magnetically doped 3D topological insulator, separated by ordinary-insulator spacer layers. We show that the phase diagram of this system contains a Weyl semimetal phase of the simplest possible kind, with only two Dirac nodes of opposite chirality, separated in momentum space, in its band structure. This Weyl semimetal has a finite anomalous Hall conductivity and chiral edge states and occurs as an intermediate phase between an ordinary insulator and a 3D quantum anomalous Hall insulator. We find that the Weyl semimetal has a nonzero dc conductivity at zero temperature, but Drude weight vanishing as T(2), and is thus an unusual metallic phase, characterized by a finite anomalous Hall conductivity and topologically protected edge states.     

Topological transport in Dirac electronic systems:A concise review

Various novel physical properties have emerged in Dirac electronic systems, especially the topological characters protected by symmetry. Current studies on these systems have been greatly promoted by the intuitive concepts of Berry phase and Berry curvature, which provide precise definitions of the topological phases. In this topical review, transport properties of topological insulator(Bi2Se3), topological Dirac semimetal(Cd3As2), and topological insulator-graphene heterojunction are presented and discussed. Perspectives about transport properties of two-dimensional topological nontrivial systems,including topological edge transport, topological valley transport, and topological Weyl semimetals, are provided.     

Chiral Anomaly-Enhanced Casimir Interaction between Weyl Semimetals

We theoretically study the Casimir interaction between Weyl semimetals.When the distance a between semiinfinite Weyl semimetals is in the micrometer regime,the Casimir attraction can be enhanced by the chiral anomaly.The Casimir attraction depends sensitively on the relative orientations between the separations(b_1,b_2)of Weyl nodes in the Brillouin zone and show anisotropic behavior for the relative orientation of these separations(b_1,b_2) when they orient parallel to the interface.This anisotropy is quite larger than that in conventional birefringent materials.The Casimir force can be repulsive in the micrometer regime if the Weyl semimetal slabs are sufficiently thin and the direction of Weyl nodes separations(b_1,b_2) is perpendicular to the interface.The Casimir attraction between Weyl semimetal slabs decays slower than 1/a4 when the Weyl nodes separations b_1 and b_2 are both parallel to the interface.     

Low-energy electronic properties of a Weyl semimetal quantum dot

We investigate the low-energy electronic structure of a Weyl semimetal quantum dot(QD) with a simple model Hamiltonian with only two Weyl points. Distinguished from the semiconductor and topological insulator QDs, there exist both surface and bulk states near the Fermi level in Weyl semimetal QDs. The surface state, distributed near the side surface of the QD, contributes a circular persistent current, an orbital magnetic moment, and a chiral spin polarization with spin-current locking. There are always surface states even for a strong magnetic field, even though a given surface state gradually evolves into a Landau level with increasing magnetic field. It indicates that these unique properties can be tuned via the QD size. In addition, we show the correspondence to the electronic structures of a three-dimensional Weyl semimetal, such as Weyl point and Fermi arc. Because a QD has the largest surface-to-volume ratio, it provides a new platform to verify Weyl semimetal by separating and detecting the signals of surface states. Besides, the study of Weyl QDs is also necessary for potential applications in nanoelectronics.     

Recent observations of negative longitudinal magnetoresistance in semimetal

The discovery of Dirac semimetal and Weyl semimetal has motivated a growing passion for investigating the unique magneto-transport properties in the topological materials.A Weyl semimetal can host Weyl fermions as its low-energy quasi-particle excitations,and therefore perform exotic features analogous to those in high-energy physics,such as the violation of the chiral charge conservation known as the chiral anomaly.One of the electrical transport signatures of the chiral anomaly is the Adler-Bell-Jackiw(ABJ) anomaly which presents as a negative magnetoresistance when the magnetic field and the current are parallel.Very recently,numerous experiments reported negative longitudinal magnetoresistance(NLMR) in topological materials,but the details of the measurement results are various.Here the materials and the corresponding experiment results are briefly reviewed.Besides the plausible explanation of the ABJ anomaly,some other origins of the NLMR are also discussed.     

Holographic topological semimetals

The holographic duality allows to construct and study models of strongly coupled quantum matter via dual gravitational theories.In general such models are characterized by the absence of quasiparticles, hydrodynamic behavior and Planckian dissipation times. One particular interesting class of quantum materials are ungapped topological semimetals which have many interesting properties from Hall transport to topologically protected edge states. We review the application of the holographic duality to this type of quantum matter including the construction of holographic Weyl semimetals, nodal line semimetals, quantum phase transition to trivial states(ungapped and gapped), the holographic dual of Fermi arcs and how new unexpected transport properties,such as Hall viscosities arise. The holographic models promise to lead to new insights into the properties of this type of quantum matter.