Topological Fulde–Ferrell and Larkin–Ovchinnikov states in spin-orbit-coupled lattice system

The spin-orbit coupled lattice system under Zeeman fields provides an ideal platform to realize exotic pairing states. Notable examples range from the topological superfluid/superconducting (tSC) state, which is gapped in the bulk but metallic at the edge, to the Fulde–Ferrell (FF) state (having a phase-modulated order parameter with a uniform amplitude) and the Larkin–Ovchinnikov (LO) state (having a spatially varying order parameter amplitude). Here, we show that the topological FF state with Chern number (C=−1) (tFF₁) and topological LO state with C= 2 (tLO₂) can be stabilized in Rashba spin-orbit coupled lattice systems in the presence of both in-plane and out-of-plane Zeeman fields. Besides the inhomogeneous tSC states, in the presence of a weak in-plane Zeeman field, two topological BCS phases may emerge with C=−1 (tBCS₁) far from half filling and C= 2 (tBCS₂) near half filling. We show intriguing effects such as different spatial profiles of order parameters for FF and LO states, the topological evolution among inhomogeneous tSC states, and different non-trivial Chern numbers for the tFF₁ and tLO_1,2 states, which are peculiar to the lattice system. Global phase diagrams for various topological phases are presented for both half-filling and doped cases. The edge states as well as local density of states spectra are calculated for tSC states in a 2D strip.     

Inhomogeneous metallic phase in a disordered Mott insulator in two dimensions

We show that, with increasing randomness, the spectral gap in a 2D Mott-Hubbard insulator is destroyed first at a disorder V(c1), while antiferromagnetism persists up to a higher V(c2). Most unexpectedly, between V(c1) and V(c2) the system is metallic and is sandwiched between the Mott insulator below V(c1) and the Anderson insulator above V(c2). The metal is formed when the spectral gap gets destroyed locally in regions where the disorder potential is high enough to overcome the interelectron repulsion. This generates puddles with enhanced charge fluctuations that percolate with increasing disorder, resulting in a spatially inhomogeneous metallic phase.     

Interacting electrons in a two-dimensional disordered environment: effect of a zeeman magnetic field

The effect of a Zeeman magnetic field coupled to the spin of the electrons on the conducting properties of the disordered Hubbard model is studied. Using the determinant quantum Monte Carlo method, the temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent conductivity is calculated, as well as the degree of spin polarization. We find that the Zeeman magnetic field suppresses the metallic behavior present for certain values of interaction and disorder strength and is able to induce a metal-insulator transition at a critical field strength. It is argued that the qualitative features of magnetoconductance in this microscopic model containing both repulsive interactions and disorder are in agreement with experimental findings in two-dimensional electron and hole gases in semiconductor structures.     

Contribution of weak localization, electron-electron interaction, and Zeeman spin-splitting effects in corrective term “mT” of the metallic conductivity in n-type GaAs

We present measurements of the electrical conductivity of barely metallic n-type GaAs that are driven to the metal-insulator transition (MIT) by magnetic field. The experiments were carried out at low temperature in the range (4.2-0.066 K) and in magnetic field up to 4 T. We have determined the magnetic field for which the conductivity changes from the metallic behavior to insulator regime. On the metallic side of the MIT, the electrical conductivity is found to obey σ=σ₀+mT^1/2 down to 66 mK. Physical explanation to the temperature dependence of the conductivity is given in metallic side of the MIT using a competition between different effects involved in the mechanisms of conduction, like electron-electron interaction effect, Zeeman spin-splitting effect, and weak localization effect.     

Domain formation and orbital ordering transition in a doped Jahn-Teller insulator

The ground state of a double-exchange model for orbitally degenerate e(g) electrons with Jahn-Teller lattice coupling and weak disorder is found to be spatially inhomogeneous near half filling. Using a real-space Monte Carlo method we show that doping the half-filled orbitally ordered insulator leads to the appearance of hole-rich disordered regions in an orbitally ordered environment. The doping driven orbital order to disorder transition is accompanied by the emergence of metallic behavior. We present results on transport and optical properties along with spatial patterns for lattice distortions and charge densities, providing a basis for an overall understanding of the low-doping phase diagram of La1 - xCaxMnO3.     

Physics of metal–correlated barrier with disorder–metal heterostructure

A metal-disordered and correlated barrier–metal heterostructure is studied at half-filling using unrestricted Hartree Fock method. The corresponding clean system has been shown to be an insulator for any finite on site correlation. Interestingly we find that introduction of explicit disorder induces an inhomogeneous, plane dependent, modulated spin and charge order. There is a metal–insulator transition at a critical value of disorder. The critical value corresponds to the point at which disorder kills the gap at half filling due to onsite correlation and completely destroys the plane dependent antiferromagnetic order. The wavefunctions are found to delocalize by increasing disorder, thus rendering the system metallic.     

Field-induced antiferromagnetism in the Kondo insulator

The Kondo lattice model, augmented by a Zeeman term, serves as a useful model of a Kondo insulator in an applied magnetic field. A variational mean field analysis of this system on a square lattice, backed up by quantum Monte Carlo calculations, reveals an interesting separation of magnetic field scales. For Zeeman energy comparable to the Kondo energy, the spin gap closes and the system develops transverse staggered magnetic order. The charge gap, however, remains robust up to a higher hybridization energy scale, at which point the canted antiferromagnetism is exponentially suppressed and the system crosses over to a nearly metallic regime. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations support this mean field scenario. An interesting rearrangement of spectral weight with magnetic field is found.     

First-order transition between a small gap semiconductor and a ferromagnetic metal in the isoelectronic alloy FeSi1-xGex

The contrasting ground states of isoelectronic, isostructural FeSi and FeGe are explained within an extended local density approximation scheme (LDA+U) by an appropriate choice of the Coulomb repulsion U on the Fe sites. A minimal two-band model with interband interactions leads to a phase diagram for the alloys FeSi1-xGex. A mean field approximation gives a first-order transition between a small gap semiconductor and a ferromagnetic metal as a function of magnetic field, temperature, and concentration x. Unusually the transition from metal to insulator is driven by broadening, not narrowing, the bands and it is the metallic state that shows magnetic order.     

Hubbard model on an anisotropic checkerboard lattice at finite temperatures: Magnetic and metal–insulator transitions

We study magnetic and Mott transitions of the Hubbard model on the geometrically frustrated anisotropic checkerboard lattice at half filling using cellular dynamical mean-field theory. Phase diagrams over a wide area of the parameter space are obtained by varying the interparticle interaction strength, geometric frustration strength, and temperature. Our results show that frustration and thermal fluctuations play a competing role against the interactions and in general favor a metallic phase without antiferromagnetic order. Due to their interplay, the system exhibits competition between antiferromagnetic insulator, antiferromagnetic metal, paramagnetic insulator, and paramagnetic metal phases in the intermediateinteraction regime. In the strong-interaction limit, which reduces to the Heisenberg model, our result is consistent with previous studies.     

Transport and thermodynamic properties of a 2DEG in the presence of tilted magnetic field: the influence of Rashba interaction

The effects of Rashba spin-orbit coupling on the physical properties of a non-interacting two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in presence of a tilted magnetic field are investigated. The spin-orbit and Zeeman interactions depend on the intensity and direction of the external magnetic field and we study their influence on the physical properties of the system. We obtain the energy spectrum, the density of states, the Fermi energy, and we analyze the combined effect of the Zeeman and Rashba Spin-Orbit Interaction on the transport and thermodynamic properties.     

Thickness-induced violation of de Haas-van Alphen effect through exact analytical solutions at a one-electron and a one-composite fermion level

A systematic study of the energetics of electrons in an interface in a magnetic field is reported with exact analytical calculations based on a Landau level (LL) picture, by serious consideration of the finite thickness of the quantum well (QW). The approach is physically transparent and subtly different in its line of reasoning from standard methods avoiding any semi-classical approximation. We find “internal” phase transitions (at partial LL filling) for magnetisation and susceptibility that are not captured by other approaches and that give rise to nontrivial violations of the standard de Haas-van Alphen periods, in a manner that reproduces the exact quantal astrophysical behaviours in the limit of full three-dimensional (3D) space. Upon inclusion of Zeeman splitting, additional features are also found, such as global energy minima originating from the interplay of QW, Zeeman and LL Physics, while a corresponding calculation in a composite fermion picture with Λ-levels, leads to new predictions on magnetic properties of an interacting electron liquid. By pursuing the same line of reasoning for a topologically nontrivial system with a relativistic spectrum, we find evidence that similar effects might be operative in the dimensionality crossover of 3D strong topological insulators to 2D topological insulator quantum wells.     

Bulk band gap and surface state conduction observed in voltage-tuned crystals of the topological insulator Bi2Se3

We report a transport study of exfoliated few monolayer crystals of topological insulator Bi2Se3 in an electric field effect geometry. By doping the bulk crystals with Ca, we are able to fabricate devices with sufficiently low bulk carrier density to change the sign of the Hall density with the gate voltage V(g). We find that the temperature T and magnetic field dependent transport properties in the vicinity of this V(g) can be explained by a bulk channel with activation gap of approximately 50 meV and a relatively high-mobility metallic channel that dominates at low T. The conductance (approximately 2×7e2/h), weak antilocalization, and metallic resistance-temperature profile of the latter lead us to identify it with the protected surface state. The relative smallness of the observed gap implies limitations for electric field effect topological insulator devices at room temperature.     

Phase glass is a Bose metal: a new conducting state in two dimensions

In the quantum rotor model with random exchange interactions having a nonzero mean, three phases, a (i) phase (Bose) glass, (ii) superfluid, and (iii) Mott insulator, meet at a bicritical point. We demonstrate that proximity to the bicritical point and the coupling between the energy landscape and the dissipative degrees of freedom of the phase glass lead to a metallic state at T = 0. Consequently, the phase glass is unique in that it represents a concrete example of a metallic state that is mediated by disorder, even in 2D. We propose that the experimentally observed metallic phase which intervenes between the insulator and the superconductor in a wide range of thin films is in actuality a phase glass.     

Light scattering by a 2D electron system with spin-orbit interaction in a strong magnetic field

We theoretically investigate light scattering by electrons of a 2D system in a strong magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the system (the filling factor is smaller than two, i.e., only the states of the zeroth Landau level are filled). Analysis is carried out in the resonance approximation, in which the frequencies of the incident and scattered light are close to the effective separation between the conduction band and one of the branches of the valence band of the semiconductor. Spin splitting of the Landau level in the conduction band associated with Zeeman and the spin-orbit interactions is taken into account. The dynamic screening effects are considered in the random phase approximation (RPA).     

Nanoscale zeeman localization of charge carriers in diluted magnetic semiconductor-permalloy hybrids

We investigate the possibility of charge carrier localization in magnetic semiconductors due to the presence of a highly inhomogeneous external magnetic field. As an example, we study in detail the properties of a magnetic semiconductor-permalloy disk hybrid system. We find that the giant Zeeman response of the magnetic semiconductor in conjunction with the highly nonuniform magnetic field created by the vortex state of a permalloy disk can lead to Zeeman localized states at the interface of the two materials. These trapped states are chiral, with chirality controlled by the orientation of the core magnetization of the permalloy disk. We calculate the energy spectrum and the eigenstates of these Zeeman localized states, and discuss their experimental signatures in spectroscopic probes.     

Coexistence of antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic electronic phases in quasi-one-dimensional (TMTSF)<Subscript>2</Subscript>PF<Subscript>6</Subscript>

Phase transitions occuring in a quasi-one-dimensional organic compound (TMTSF)₂PF₆ near the boundaries between the paramagnetic metallic (PM), antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI), and superconducting (SC) states were studied experimentally. A controlled transition through the phase boundary was achieved by maintaining the sample at fixed temperature T and pressure P, while the critical pressure was tuned by varying a magnetic field B. When the PM/AFI phase boundary was crossed due to the variation of a magnetic field, history effects were observed: the resistance was found to depend on the trajectory described by the system before arriving at a given point (P-B-T) of the phase space. The results of the experiment give evidence for the formation of a macroscopically inhomogeneous state characterized by the inclusions of a minor phase that is spatially separated from the major phase. Away from the phase boundary, the homogeneous state is restored. After this, upon approaching the phase boundary in the back direction, the system exhibits no features of the minor phase up to the very boundary.     

Influence of electronic correlations on orbital polarizations in the parent and doped iron pnictides

Orbital polarization and electronic correlation are two essential aspects in understanding the normal-state and superconducting properties of multi-orbital FeAs-based superconductors. In this paper, we present a systematic study on the orbital polarization of iron pnictides from weak to strong Coulomb correlations within the Kotliar-Ruckenstein slave boson approach. The magnetic phase diagram of the two-orbital model for LaFeAsO clearly shows that a striped antiferromagnetic metallic phase with orbital polarization exists over a wide doping range, in addition to the Slater-type insulator, Mott insulator and paramagnetic phases. A reversal of the orbital polarization occurs in the intermediate correlation regime in the absence of the crystal field splitting; however, a small crystal field splitting considerably enhances the orbital polarization, and stabilizes the xz-type orbital order. We argue that the ferro-orbital polarization is characteristic of a density wave, and leads to a pseudogap-like behavior in the density of states.     

Topological superconductivity and the fractional Josephson effect in quasi-one dimensional wires on a plane

A time-reversal invariant topological superconductivity is suggested to be realized in a quasi-one-dimensional structure on a plane, which is fabricated by filling the superconducting materials into the periodic channel of dielectric matrices like zeolite and asbestos under high pressure. The topological superconducting phase sets up in the presence of large spin–orbit interactions when intra-wire s-wave and inter-wire d-wave pairings take place. Kramers pairs of Majorana bound states emerge at the edges of each wire. We analyze effects of the Zeeman magnetic field on Majorana zero-energy states. In-plane magnetic field was shown to make asymmetric the energy dispersion, nevertheless Majorana fermions survive due to protection of a particle–hole symmetry. Tunneling of Majorana quasiparticle from the end of one wire to the nearest-neighboring one yields edge fractional Josephson current with 4π-periodicity.     

The effect of exchange interaction on quasiparticle Landau levels in narrow-gap quantum well heterostructures

Using the 'screened' Hartree-Fock approximation based on the eight-band k·p Hamiltonian, we have extended our previous work (Krishtopenko et al 2011 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 23 385601) on exchange enhancement of the g-factor in narrow-gap quantum well heterostructures by calculating the exchange renormalization of quasiparticle energies, the density of states at the Fermi level and the quasiparticle g-factor for different Landau levels overlapping. We demonstrate that exchange interaction yields more pronounced Zeeman splitting of the density of states at the Fermi level and leads to the appearance of peak-shaped features in the dependence of the Landau level energies on the magnetic field at integer filling factors. We also find that the quasiparticle g-factor does not reach the maximum value at odd filling factors in the presence of large overlapping of spin-split Landau levels. We advance an argument that the behavior of the quasiparticle g-factor in weak magnetic fields is defined by a random potential of impurities in narrow-gap heterostructures.     

Anomalous Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillations from topological insulator surface states

We study Aharonov-Bohm (AB) conductance oscillations arising from the surface states of a topological insulator nanowire, when a magnetic field is applied along its length. With strong surface disorder, these oscillations are predicted to have a component with anomalous period Φ(0)=hc/e, twice the conventional period. The conductance maxima are achieved at odd multiples of 1/2Φ(0), implying that a π AB phase for electrons strengthens the metallic nature of surface states. This effect is special to topological insulators, and serves as a defining transport property. A key ingredient, the surface curvature induced Berry phase, is emphasized here. We discuss similarities and differences from recent experiments on Bi2Se3 nanoribbons, and optimal conditions for observing this effect.