Konzorcium, fő p.: Kvantum fázisok és fázisátalakulások hangolható korrelált rendszerekben = Consortional main: Quantum phases and phase transitions in tunable correlated systems

A pályázat célja egyfelől mezoszkópikus áramkörökbeli korrelált állapotok tanulmányozása volt nem egyensúlyi körülmények között, másfelől pedig ultrahideg atomi rendszerek illetve korrelált modellek egzotikus állapotainak feltérképezését tűztük ki célul. Kiemelkedőek a rendezetlen kvantum rendszerek lokalizált illetve üveg állapotainak leírására vonatkozó eredmények, az SU(N) Mott szigetelők kvantum fázisaira vontakozó eredményeink, a kölcsönható rendszerekbeli kvantum kvencs számítások eredményei, az U(1) spin folyadékokra vonatkozó eredményeink, valamint a nem egyensúlyi rendszerek zaj spektrumára vonatkozó - kísérletileg is igazolt eredmények. A kutatás eredményeképp többek között 11 Physical Review Letters közlemény, 1 Physical Review X, 1 Nanoscale publikáció és 39 Physical Review cikk született. A kutatómunkába 11 diák kapcsolódott be, munkájuk nyomán 7 díjazott TDK dolgozat, 4 BSc diplomamunka, 4 MSc diplomamunka és 3 doktori disszertáció született. | The goal of this proposal was to study correlated states of mesoscopic circuits under non-equilibrium conditions, on the one hand, and to search for novel exotic quantum states of tunable cold atomic systems and other correlated systems, and to characterize these states, on the other hand. Of special importance are our results regarding the various quantum phases of SU(N) Mott insulators, the results concerning the description of localized and glassy states of disordered quantum systems, the characterization of U(1) spin liquid states, our studies of quantum quench in interacting many-body systems, and finally, the theoretical results regarding the non-equilibrium noise spectrum in correlated mesoscopic circuits - also confirmed experimentally. Among others, the research project resulted in 11 Physical Review Letters, one Physical Review X, one Nanoscale, and 39 Physical Review publications. Eleven students were integrated into this project, and their devoted research resulted so far in 7 (awarded) student's research project (TDK), 4 BSc theses, 4 MSc theses, and 3 PhD dissertations

Exceptional dynamics of interacting spin liquids

We show that interactions in quantum spin liquids can result in non-Hermitian phenomenology that differs qualitatively from mean-field expectations. We demonstrate this in two prominent cases through the effects of phonons and disorder on a Kitaev honeycomb model. Using analytic and numerical calculations, we show the generic appearance of exceptional points and rings depending on the symmetry of the system. Their existence is reflected in dynamical observables including the dynamic structure function measured in neutron scattering. The results point to different phenomenological features in realizable spin liquids that must be incorporated into the analysis of experimental data and also indicate that spin liquids could be generically stable to wider classes of perturbations

Evidence for topological surface states in amorphous Bi2_{2}Se3_{3}

Crystalline symmetries have played a central role in the identification of topological materials. The use of symmetry indicators and band representations have enabled a classification scheme for crystalline topological materials, leading to large scale topological materials discovery. In this work we address whether amorphous topological materials, which lie beyond this classification due to the lack of long-range structural order, exist in the solid state. We study amorphous Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ thin films, which show a metallic behavior and an increased bulk resistance. The observed low field magnetoresistance due to weak antilocalization demonstrates a significant number of two dimensional surface conduction channels. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data is consistent with a dispersive two-dimensional surface state that crosses the bulk gap. Spin resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows this state has an anti-symmetric spin-texture resembling that of the surface state of crystalline Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$. These experimental results are consistent with theoretical photoemission spectra obtained with an amorphous tight-binding model that utilizes a realistic amorphous structure. This discovery of amorphous materials with topological properties uncovers an overlooked subset of topological matter outside the current classification scheme, enabling a new route to discover materials that can enhance the development of scalable topological devices.Comment: 40 pages (21 main + 19 supplemental), 15 figures (4 main + 11 supplemental

Isotropic 3D topological phases with broken time-reversal symmetry

<p>Simulation code for 3D amorphous statistical topological insulators relying on spatial symmetries while systematically breaking time-reversal symmetry.</p>This work was supported by NWO VIDI grant 016.Vidi.189.18

Topological defects in a double-mirror quadrupole insulator displace diverging charge

We show that topological defects in quadrupole insulators do not host quantized fractional charges, contrary to what their Wannier representation indicates. In particular, we test the charge quantization hypothesis based on the Wannier representation of a disclination and a parametric defect. Since disclinations necessarily strain the lattice and parametric defects require closed curves in parameter space, both defects break four-fold rotation symmetry, even away from their origin. The Wannier representation of the defects is thus determined by local reflection symmetries. Contrary to the hypothesis, we find that the local charge density decays as ∼ 1/r2 with distance, leading to a diverging defect charge. Because topological defects are incompatible with four-fold rotation symmetry, we conclude that defect charge quantization is protected by sublattice symmetry, and not higher order topology.</p

Topological lattice models with constant Berry curvature

Band geometry plays a substantial role in topological lattice models. The Berry curvature, which resembles the effect of magnetic field in reciprocal space, usually fluctuates throughout the Brillouin zone. Motivated by the analogy with Landau levels, constant Berry curvature has been suggested as an ideal condition for realizing fractional Chern insulators. Here we show that while the Berry curvature cannot be made constant in a topological two-band model, lattice models with three or more degrees of freedom per unit cell can support exactly constant Berry curvature. However, contrary to the intuitive expectation, we find that making the Berry curvature constant does not always improve the properties of bosonic fractional Chern insulator states. In fact, we show that an "ideal flatband" cannot have constant Berry curvature, equivalently, we show that the density algebra of Landau levels cannot be realised in any tight-binding lattice system.Comment: 7 + 3 pages, 7 figure

Computation of topological phase diagram of disordered Pb_1−xSn_xTe using the kernel polynomial method

We present an algorithm to determine topological invariants of inhomogeneous systems, such as alloys, disordered crystals, or amorphous systems. Based on the kernel polynomial method, our algorithm allows us to study samples with more than 107 degrees of freedom. Our method enables the study of large complex compounds, where disorder is inherent to the system. We use it to analyze Pb1−xSnxTe and tighten the critical concentration for the phase transition. Moreover, we obtain the topological phase diagram for related alloys in the family of three-dimensional mirror Chern insulators