Quantum size effects of CO reactivity on metallic quantum dots

We study the reactivity of a metallic quantum dot when exposed to a gas phase CO molecule. First, we perform a Newns-Anderson model calculation in which the valence electrons of the quantum dot are confined by a finite potential well and the molecule is characterized by its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital in the gas phase. A pronounced quantum size effect regarding the charge transfer between the quantum dot and molecule is observed. We then perform a first-principles calculation for a selected size interval. The quantum dot is described within the jellium model and the molecule by pseudopotentials. Our results show that the charge transfer between the quantum dot and the molecule depends critically on the size of the quantum dot, and that this dependence is intimately connected with the electronic structure. The key factor for charge transfer is the presence of states with the symmetry of the chemically active molecular orbital at the Fermi level.     

Dilution effects in two-dimensional quantum orbital systems

Interacting orbital degrees of freedom in a Mott insulator are essentially directional and frustrated. In this Letter, the effect of dilution in a quantum-orbital system with this kind of interaction is studied by analyzing a minimal orbital model which we call the two-dimensional quantum compass model. We find that the decrease of the ordering temperature due to dilution is stronger than that in spin models, but it is also much weaker than that of the classical model. The difference between the classical and the quantum-orbital systems arises from the enhancement of the effective dimensionality due to quantum fluctuations.     

类氢离子的相对论康普顿轮廓（英文）

基于中心场近似得到Dirac径向轨道,并使用恰当的Fourier变换系统计算了类氢离子电子动量分布和康普顿轮廓。以H原子和Xe53+离子为例,探讨了相对论效应和原子核的有限体积效应对单电子康普顿轮廓的影响。同时,详细研究了单电子康普顿轮廓对主量子数n、轨道量子数l、单电子总角动量量子数j和核电荷数Z的依赖关系。结果表明,相对论效应可以扩展康普顿轮廓的分布,并且使给定nl的轨道随着Z的增加分裂得越来越明显。然而,相对论效应也会随着主量子数n和轨道量子数l的增加而减弱。同时,对于nl_j轨道,其康普顿轮廓还具有n-l个平台的结构。另外,原子核的有限体积几乎不会影响H原子和Xe53+离子的康普顿轮廓。The Compton profiles of the electron in the ground and excited states of H-like ions have been calculated systematically with one-electron Dirac radial orbitals by using the proper Fourier transformation. Taking the H atom and Xe53+ ion as examples, the effects of relativity and finite nuclear size on Compton profile have been discussed. Furthermore, the dependence of one-electron Compton profile on the principle quantum number n, orbital quantum number l, angular quantum number j and nuclear charge Z has also been discussed. It is found that the relativistic effect can expand the distribution of the Compton profile and split the orbital more and more obviously for given nl(l=0) as increasing Z. However, the relativistic effect can gradually weaken with the increase of the principal quantum number n and orbital quantum number l. Furthermore, the Compton profile of the orbital with quantum number nl_j has certain number of platforms that is n-l. In addition, the nuclear finite size hardly affects the Compton profile for H atom and Xe53+ ion.     

Phase transition and charge transport through a triple dot device beyond the Kondo regime

Semiconductor quantum dot structure provides a promising basis for quantum information processing, within which to reveal the quantum phase and charge transport is one of the most important issues. In this paper, by means of the numerical renormalization group technique, we study the quantum phase transition and the charge transport for a parallel triple dot device in the strongly correlated limit, focusing on the effect of inter-dot hopping t beyond the Kondo regime. We find the quantum behaviors depend closely on the initial electron number on the dots, and the present model may map to single,double, and side-coupled impurity models in different parameter spaces. An orbital spin-1/2 Kondo effect between the conduction leads and the bonding orbital, and several magnetic-frustration phases are demonstrated when t is adjusted to different regimes. To understand these phenomena, a canonical transformation of the energy levels is given, and important physical quantities with respect to increasing t and necessary theoretical discussions are shown.     

Optical spectroscopy on semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields

We review the recent literature on the use of optical spectroscopy of semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields. We address both self-assembled epitaxial dots and colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots, each of which has its own characteristic optical response. Combining simple theoretical models for quantum confinement with the effect of high magnetic fields we describe the basic optically allowed transitions expected for epitaxial and colloidal quantum dots. Within these models we discuss the effects of quantum confinement and orbital and spin Zeeman effects on the optical spectra, illustrated by experimental examples. Finally, effects of electron–electron and exchange interactions are addressed.     

Realization of quantum permutation algorithm in high dimensional Hilbert space

Quantum algorithms provide a more efficient way to solve computational tasks than classical algorithms. We experimentally realize quantum permutation algorithm using light's orbital angular momentum degree of freedom. By exploiting the spatial mode of photons, our scheme provides a more elegant way to understand the principle of quantum permutation algorithm and shows that the high dimension characteristic of light's orbital angular momentum may be useful in quantum algorithms. Our scheme can be extended to higher dimension by introducing more spatial modes and it paves the way to trace the source of quantum speedup.     

Two-particle Aharonov-Bohm effect and entanglement in the electronic Hanbury Brown-Twiss setup

We analyze a Hanbury Brown-Twiss geometry in which particles are injected from two independent sources into a mesoscopic conductor in the quantum Hall regime. All partial waves end in different reservoirs without generating any single-particle interference; in particular, there is no single-particle Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, exchange effects lead to two-particle Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the zero-frequency current cross correlations. We demonstrate that this is related to two-particle orbital entanglement, detected via violation of a Bell inequality. The transport is along edge states and only adiabatic quantum point contacts and normal reservoirs are employed.     

Orbital ordering and frustration of p-band Mott insulators

We investigate the general structure of orbital exchange physics in Mott-insulating states of p-orbital systems in optical lattices. Orbital orders occur in both the triangular and kagome lattices. In contrast, orbital exchange in the honeycomb lattice is frustrated as described by a novel quantum 120 degrees model. Its classical ground states are mapped into configurations of the fully packed loop model with an extra U(1) rotation degree of freedom. Quantum orbital fluctuations select a six-site plaquette ground state ordering pattern in the semiclassical limit from the "order from disorder" mechanism. This effect arises from the appearance of a zero energy flat band of orbital excitations.     

Orbital fluctuations in the different phases of LaVO(3) and YVO(3)

We investigate the importance of quantum orbital fluctuations in the orthorhombic and monoclinic phases of the Mott insulators LaVO(3) and YVO(3). First, we construct ab initio material-specific t(2g) Hubbard models. Then, by using dynamical mean-field theory, we calculate the spectral matrix as a function of temperature. Our Hubbard bands and Mott gaps are in very good agreement with spectroscopy. We show that in orthorhombic LaVO(3), quantum orbital fluctuations are strong and that they are suppressed only in the monoclinic 140 K phase. In YVO(3)the suppression happens already at 300 K. We show that Jahn-Teller and GdFeO3-type distortions are both crucial in determining the type of orbital and magnetic order in the low temperature phases.     

Orbital magnetic moment of a quantum well and a quantum dot in crossed magnetic and electric fields

A new physical effect, namely, oscillations of the orbital magnetic moment with a change in the electric field strength in two types of nanostructures, has been predicted. Explicit analytical expressions for the orbital magnetic moment of a quantum well and a quantum dot in crossed magnetic and electric fields have been derived. The oscillations of the orbital magnetic moment with a change in the electric and magnetic fields have been studied. The oscillation periods in both the electric and magnetic fields have been found and the limiting cases of the strong magnetic and quantum confinement effects have been considered.     

Electronic transport spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes in a magnetic field

We report magnetic field spectroscopy measurements in carbon nanotube quantum dots exhibiting fourfold shell structure in the energy level spectrum. The magnetic field induces a large splitting between the two orbital states of each shell, demonstrating their opposite magnetic moment and determining transitions in the spin and orbital configuration of the quantum dot ground state. We use inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy to accurately resolve the spin and orbital contributions to the magnetic moment. A small coupling is found between orbitals with opposite magnetic moment leading to anticrossing behavior at zero field.     

Narrowing of topological bands due to electronic orbital degrees of freedom

The fractional quantum Hall effect has been predicted to occur in the absence of magnetic fields and at high temperature in lattice systems that have flat bands with a nonzero Chern number. We demonstrate that orbital degrees of freedom in frustrated lattice systems lead to a narrowing of topologically nontrivial bands. This robust effect does not rely on fine-tuned long-range hopping parameters and is directly relevant to a wide class of transition-metal compounds.     

One-dimensional orbital excitations in vanadium oxides

The d electron orbital is a hidden but important degree of freedom controlling novel properties of transition-metal oxides. A one-dimensional orbital system is especially intriguing due to its enhanced quantum fluctuation. We present a combined experimental and theoretical study on the Raman scattering spectra in perovskite oxides NdVO(3) and LaVO(3) to prove that the quasi-one-dimensional orbital chain described by fermionic pseudospinons bears orbital excitations exchanging occupied orbital states on the neighboring sites, termed a two-orbiton in analogy with two-magnon.     

Semiclassical approach to orbital magnetism of interacting diffusive quantum systems

We study interaction effects on the orbital magnetism of diffusive mesoscopic quantum systems. By combining many-body perturbation theory with semiclassical techniques, we show that the interaction contribution to the ensemble-averaged quantum thermodynamic potential can be reduced to an essentially classical operator. We compute the magnetic response of disordered rings and dots for diffusive classical dynamics. Our semiclassical approach reproduces the results of previous diagrammatic quantum calculations.     

Theory for phase transitions in insulating V2O3.

We show that the recently proposed S = 2 bond model with orbital degrees of freedom for insulating V2O3 not only explains the anomalous magnetic ordering but also other mysteries of the magnetic phase transition. The model contains an additional orbital degree of freedom that exhibits a zero temperature quantum phase transition in the Ising universality class.     

An Anderson Impurity Interacting with the Helical Edge States in a Quantum Spin Hall Insulator

Using the natural orbitals renormalization group(NORG)method,we investigate the screening of the local spin of an Anderson impurity interacting with the helical edge states in a quantum spin Hall insulator.It is found that there is a local spin formed at the impurity site and the local spin is completel.y screened by electrons in the quantum spin Hall insulator.Meanwhile,the local spin is screened dominantly by a single active natural orbital.We then show that the Kondo screening mechanism becomes transparent and simple in the framework of the natural orbitals formalism.We project the active natural orbital respectively into real space and momentum space to characterize its structure.We conilrm the spin-momentum locking property of the edge states based on the occupancy of a Bloch state on the edge to which the impurity couples.Furthermore,we study the dynamical property of the active natural orbital represented by the local density of states,from which we observe the Kondo resonance peak.     

Zeeman energy and spin relaxation in a one-electron quantum dot

We have measured the relaxation time, T1, of the spin of a single electron confined in a semiconductor quantum dot (a proposed quantum bit). In a magnetic field, applied parallel to the two-dimensional electron gas in which the quantum dot is defined, Zeeman splitting of the orbital states is directly observed by measurements of electron transport through the dot. By applying short voltage pulses, we can populate the excited spin state with one electron and monitor relaxation of the spin. We find a lower bound on T1 of 50 micros at 7.5 T, only limited by our signal-to-noise ratio. A continuous measurement of the charge on the dot has no observable effect on the spin relaxation.     

Giant magnetoresistance in the variable-range hopping regime

We predict the universal power-law dependence of the localization length on the magnetic field in the strongly localized regime. This effect is due to the orbital quantum interference. Physically, this dependence shows up in an anomalously large negative magnetoresistance in the hopping regime. The reason for the universality is that the problem of the electron tunneling in a random media belongs to the same universality class as the directed polymer problem even in the case of wave functions of random sign. We present numerical simulations that prove this conjecture. We discuss the existing experiments that show anomalously large magnetoresistance. We also discuss the role of localized spins in real materials and the spin polarizing effect of the magnetic field.     

A Theoretic Approach to SU(4) Kondo Effect in Carbon Nanotube Quantum Dots

We propose a mean field approach to the transport properties of carbon nanotube quantum dots. Quantum interaction between spin and orbital pseudo-spin degrees of freedom results in an SU(4) Kondo effect at low temperatures. By calculating the chemical potentials and the tunnelling strengths, and hence the spectral functions for different coupling constants and applied magnetic fields, we find that this exotic Kondo effect manifests as a four-peak splitting in the non-linear conductance when an axial magnetic field is applied.     

Spin-orbital entanglement and violation of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules

We point out that large composite spin-orbital fluctuations in Mott insulators with t(2g) orbital degeneracy are a manifestation of quantum entanglement of spin and orbital variables. This results in a dynamical nature of the spin superexchange interactions, which fluctuate over positive and negative values, and leads to an apparent violation of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules.