348 research outputs found
Dirac parameters and topological phase diagram of Pb1-xSnxSe from magneto-spectroscopy
Pb1-xSnxSe hosts 3D massive Dirac fermions across the entire composition
range for which the crystal structure is cubic. In this work, we present a
comprehensive experimental mapping of the 3D band structure parameters of
Pb1-xSnxSe as a function of composition and temperature. We cover a parameter
space spanning the band inversion that yields its topological crystalline
insulator phase. A non-closure of the energy gap is evidenced in the vicinity
of this phase transition. Using magnetooptical Landau level spectroscopy, we
determine the energy gap, Dirac velocity, anisotropy factor and topological
character of Pb1-xSnxSe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF2
(111). Our results are evidence that Pb1-xSnxSe is a model system to study
topological phases and the nature of the phase transition.Comment: Submitte
Massive and massless Dirac fermions in Pb1-xSnxTe topological crystalline insulator probed by magneto-optical absorption
Dirac fermions in condensed matter physics hold great promise for novel
fundamental physics, quantum devices and data storage applications. IV-VI
semiconductors, in the inverted regime, have been recently shown to exhibit
massless topological surface Dirac fermions protected by crystalline symmetry,
as well as massive bulk Dirac fermions. Under a strong magnetic field (B), both
surface and bulk states are quantized into Landau levels that disperse as
B^1/2, and are thus difficult to distinguish. In this work, magneto-optical
absorption is used to probe the Landau levels of high mobility Bi-doped
Pb0.54Sn0.46Te topological crystalline insulator (111)-oriented films. The high
mobility achieved in these thin film structures allows us to probe and
distinguish the Landau levels of both surface and bulk Dirac fermions and
extract valuable quantitative information about their physical properties. This
work paves the way for future magnetooptical and electronic transport
experiments aimed at manipulating the band topology of such materials.Comment: supplementary material included, to appear in Scientific Report
Hole-LO phonon interaction in InAs/GaAs quantum dots
We investigate the valence intraband transitions in p-doped self-assembled
InAs quantum dots using far-infrared magneto-optical technique with polarized
radiation. We show that a purely electronic model is unable to account for the
experimental data. We calculate the coupling between the mixed hole LO-phonon
states using the Fr\"ohlich Hamiltonian, from which we determine the polaron
states as well as the energies and oscillator strengths of the valence
intraband transitions. The good agreement between the experiments and
calculations provides strong evidence for the existence of hole-polarons and
demonstrates that the intraband magneto-optical transitions occur between
polaron states
Linear Temperature Variation of the Penetration Depth in YBCO Thin Films
We have measured the penetration depth on thin films from transmission at 120, 330 and 510~GHz,
between 5 and 50~K. Our data yield simultaneously the absolute value and the
temperature dependence of . In high quality films
exhibits the same linear temperature dependence as single crystals, showing its
intrinsic nature, and . In a lower quality one, the
more usual dependence is found, and . This
suggests that the variation is of extrinsic origin. Our results put the
-wave like interpretation in a much better position.Comment: 12 pages, revtex, 4 uuencoded figure
Miniband engineering and topological phase transitions in topological - normal insulator superlattices
Periodic stacking of topologically trivial and non-trivial layers with
opposite symmetry of the valence and conduction bands induces topological
interface states that, in the strong coupling limit, hybridize both across the
topological and normal insulator layers. Using band structure engineering, such
superlattices can be effectively realized using the IV-VI lead tin
chalcogenides. This leads to emergent minibands with a tunable topology as
demonstrated both by theory and experiments. The topological minibands are
proven by magneto-optical spectroscopy, revealing Landau level transitions both
at the center and edges of the artificial superlattice mini Brillouin zone.
Their topological character is identified by the topological phase transitions
within the minibands observed as a function of temperature. The critical
temperature of this transition as well as the miniband gap and miniband width
can be precisely controlled by the layer thicknesses and compositions. This
witnesses the generation of a new fully tunable quasi-3D topological state that
provides a template for realization of magnetic Weyl semimetals and other
strongly interacting topological phases.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure
Human larynx motor cortices coordinate respiration for vocal-motor control.
Vocal flexibility is a hallmark of the human species, most particularly the capacity to speak and sing. This ability is supported in part by the evolution of a direct neural pathway linking the motor cortex to the brainstem nucleus that controls the larynx the primary sound source for communication. Early brain imaging studies demonstrated that larynx motor cortex at the dorsal end of the orofacial division of motor cortex (dLMC) integrated laryngeal and respiratory control, thereby coordinating two major muscular systems that are necessary for vocalization. Neurosurgical studies have since demonstrated the existence of a second larynx motor area at the ventral extent of the orofacial motor division (vLMC) of motor cortex. The vLMC has been presumed to be less relevant to speech motor control, but its functional role remains unknown. We employed a novel ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging paradigm that combined singing and whistling simple melodies to localise the larynx motor cortices and test their involvement in respiratory motor control. Surprisingly, whistling activated both 'larynx areas' more strongly than singing despite the reduced involvement of the larynx during whistling. We provide further evidence for the existence of two larynx motor areas in the human brain, and the first evidence that laryngeal-respiratory integration is a shared property of both larynx motor areas. We outline explicit predictions about the descending motor pathways that give these cortical areas access to both the laryngeal and respiratory systems and discuss the implications for the evolution of speech
Interband mixing between two-dimensional states localized in a surface quantum well and heavy hole states of the valence band in narrow gap semiconductor
Theoretical calculations in the framework of Kane model have been carried out
in order to elucidate the role of interband mixing in forming the energy
spectrum of two-dimensional carriers, localized in a surface quantum well in
narrow gap semiconductor. Of interest was the mixing between the 2D states and
heavy hole states in the volume of semiconductor. It has been shown that the
interband mixing results in two effects: the broadening of 2D energy levels and
their shift, which are mostly pronounced for semiconductors with high doping
level. The interband mixing has been found to influence mostly the effective
mass of 2D carriers for large their concentration, whereas it slightly changes
the subband distribution in a wide concentration range.Comment: 12 pages (RevTEX) and 4 PostScript-figure
Human larynx motor cortices coordinate respiration for vocal-motor control
Vocal flexibility is a hallmark of the human species, most particularly the capacity to speak and sing. This ability is supported in part by the evolution of a direct neural pathway linking the motor cortex to the brainstem nucleus that controls the larynx the primary sound source for communication. Early brain imaging studies demonstrated that larynx motor cortex at the dorsal end of the orofacial division of motor cortex (dLMC) integrated laryngeal and respiratory control, thereby coordinating two major muscular systems that are necessary for vocalization. Neurosurgical studies have since demonstrated the existence of a second larynx motor area at the ventral extent of the orofacial motor division (vLMC) of motor cortex. The vLMC has been presumed to be less relevant to speech motor control, but its functional role remains unknown. We employed a novel ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging paradigm that combined singing and whistling simple melodies to localise the larynx motor cortices and test their involvement in respiratory motor control. Surprisingly, whistling activated both âlarynx areasâ more strongly than singing despite the reduced involvement of the larynx during whistling. We provide further evidence for the existence of two larynx motor areas in the human brain, and the first evidence that laryngeal-respiratory integration is a shared property of both larynx motor areas. We outline explicit predictions about the descending motor pathways that give these cortical areas access to both the laryngeal and respiratory systems and discuss the implications for the evolution of speech
Magnetooptical determination of a topological index
When a Dirac fermion system acquires an energy-gap, it is said to have either
trivial (positive energy-gap) or non-trivial (negative energy-gap) topology,
depending on the parity ordering of its conduction and valence bands. The
non-trivial regime is identified by the presence of topological surface or
edge-state dispersing in the energy gap of the bulk and is attributed a
non-zero topological index. In this work, we show that such topological indices
can be determined experimentally via an accurate measurement of the effective
velocity of bulk massive Dirac fermions. We demonstrate this analytically
starting from the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang Hamiltonian (BHZ) to show how the
topological index depends on this velocity. We then experimentally extract the
topological index in Pb1-xSnxSe and Pb1-xSnxTe using infrared magnetooptical
Landau level spectroscopy. This approach is argued to be universal to all
material classes that can be described by a BHZ-like model and that host a
topological phase transition.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nature Partner Journal Quantum Material
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