More Like this

1. Deconfined quantum criticality of nodal $d$ -wave superconductivity, Néel order, and charge order on the square lattice at half-filling

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.033018  

   Christos, Maine; Shackleton, Henry; Sachdev, Subir; Luo, Zhu-Xi (July 2024, Physical Review Research)

   We consider a SU(2) lattice gauge theory on the square lattice, with a single fundamental complex fermion and a single fundamental complex boson on each lattice site. Projective symmetries of the gauge-charged fermions are chosen so that they match with those of the spinons of the $\pi$-flux spin liquid. Global symmetries of all gauge-invariant observables are chosen to match with those of the particle-hole symmetric electronic Hubbard model at half-filling. Consequently, both the fundamental fermion and fundamental boson move in an average background $\pi$-flux, their gauge-invariant composite is the physical electron, and eliminating gauge fields in a strong gauge-coupling expansion yields an effective extended Hubbard model for the electrons. The SU(2) gauge theory displays several confining/Higgs phases: a nodal $d$-wave superconductor, and states with Néel, valence-bond solid, charge, or staggered current orders. There are also a number of quantum phase transitions between these phases that are very likely described by $(2+1)$-dimensional deconfined conformal gauge theories, and we present large flavor expansions for such theories. These include the phenomenologically attractive case of a transition between a conventional insulator with a charge gap and Néel order, and a conventional $d$-wave superconductor with gapless Bogoliubov quasiparticles at four nodal points in the Brillouin zone. We also apply our approach to the honeycomb lattice, where we find a bicritical point at the junction of Néel, valence bond solid (Kekulé), and Dirac semimetal phases. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

   more » « less
2. Interplay of Nanoscale Strain and Smectic Susceptibility in Kagome Superconductors

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.021074  

   Wang, Yidi; Li, Hong; Cheng, Siyu; Zhao, He; Ortiz, Brenden R; Salinas, Andrea Capa; Wilson, Stephen D; Wang, Ziqiang; Zeljkovic, Ilija (May 2025, Physical Review X)

   Exotic quantum solids can host electronic states that spontaneously break rotational symmetry of the electronic structure, such as electronic nematic phases and unidirectional charge density waves (CDWs). When electrons couple to the lattice, uniaxial strain can be used to anchor and control this electronic directionality. Here, we reveal an unusual impact of strain on unidirectional “smectic” CDW orders in kagome superconductors ${\mathrm{AV}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy. We discover local decoupling between the smectic electronic director axis and the direction of anisotropic strain. While the two can generally be aligned along the same direction in regions of a small CDW gap, the tendency for alignment decreases in regions where the CDW gap is the largest. This feature, in turn, suggests nanoscale variations in smectic susceptibility, which we attribute to a combination of local strain and electron correlation strength. Overall, we observe an unusually high decoupling rate between the smectic electronic director of the three-state Potts order and anisotropic strain, revealing weak smectoelastic coupling in the CDW phase of kagome superconductors. This finding is phenomenologically different from the extensively studied nematoelastic coupling in the Ising nematic phase of Ising nematic phase of Fe-based superconductor bulk single crystals, providing a contrasting picture of how strain can control electronic unidirectionality in different families of quantum materials. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

   more » « less
3. Anomalous Landau Level Gaps Near Magnetic Transitions in Monolayer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.14.031018  

   Foutty, Benjamin A; Calvera, Vladimir; Han, Zhaoyu; Kometter, Carlos R; Liu, Song; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Hone, James C; Kivelson, Steven A; Feldman, Benjamin E (August 2024, Physical Review X)

   First-order phase transitions produce abrupt changes to the character of both ground and excited electronic states. Here we conduct electronic compressibility measurements to map the spin phase diagram and Landau level (LL) energies of monolayer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$in a magnetic field. We resolve a sequence of first-order phase transitions between completely spin-polarized LLs and states with LLs of both spins. Unexpectedly, the LL gaps are roughly constant over a wide range of magnetic fields below the transitions, which we show reflects spin-polarized ground states with opposite spin excitations. These transitions also extend into compressible regimes, with a sawtooth boundary between full and partial spin polarization. We link these observations to the important influence of LL filling on the exchange energy beyond a smooth density-dependent contribution. Our results show that ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$realizes a unique hierarchy of energy scales where such effects induce reentrant magnetic phase transitions tuned by density and magnetic field. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

   more » « less
4. Matrix product study of spin fractionalization in the one-dimensional Kondo insulator

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.023227  

   Chen, Jing; Stoudenmire, E Miles; Komijani, Yashar; Coleman, Piers (June 2024, Physical Review Research)

   The Kondo lattice is one of the classic examples of strongly correlated electronic systems. We conduct a controlled study of the Kondo lattice in one dimension, highlighting the role of excitations created by the composite fermion operator. Using time-dependent matrix product state methods, we compute various correlation functions and contrast them with both large-N mean-field theory and the strong-coupling expansion. We show that the composite fermion operator creates long-lived, charge-e and spin-1/2 excitations, which cover the low-lying single-particle excitation spectrum of the system. Furthermore, spin excitations can be thought to be composed of such fractionalized quasiparticles with a residual interaction which tend to disappear at weak Kondo coupling. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

   more » « less
5. Quantum Spin Ice in Three-Dimensional Rydberg Atom Arrays

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011025  

   Shah, Jeet; Nambiar, Gautam; Gorshkov, Alexey V; Galitski, Victor (February 2025, Physical review)

   Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of matter whose low-energy physics is described as the deconfined phase of an emergent gauge theory. With recent theory proposals and an experiment showing preliminary signs of ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$topological order [G. Semeghini , ], Rydberg atom arrays have emerged as a promising platform to realize a quantum spin liquid. In this work, we propose a way to realize a U(1) quantum spin liquid in three spatial dimensions, described by the deconfined phase of U(1) gauge theory in a pyrochlore lattice Rydberg atom array. We study the ground state phase diagram of the proposed Rydberg system as a function of experimentally relevant parameters. Within our calculation, we find that by tuning the Rabi frequency, one can access both the confinement-deconfinement transition driven by a proliferation of “magnetic” monopoles and the Higgs transition driven by a proliferation of “electric” charges of the emergent gauge theory. We suggest experimental probes for distinguishing the deconfined phase from ordered phases. This work serves as a proposal to access a confinement-deconfinement transition in three spatial dimensions on a Rydberg-based quantum simulator. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

   more » « less