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Understanding and quantifying entanglement entropy is crucial to characterize the quantum behaviors that drive phenomena in a variety of systems. Rare-earth spin complexes, with their unique magnetic properties, provide fertile ground for exploring these nonlocal correlations. In this work, we study Eu$^{2+}$ ions deposited on a Au(111) substrate, modeling finite clusters of large spin-moments using a Heisenberg Hamiltonian parameterized by first-principles calculations. Our analysis reveals a one-to-one correspondence between structures in the differential conductance profiles and changes in the von Neumann entanglement entropy of bipartite subsystems, influenced by probe-ion separation and applied magnetic fields. Distinct braiding patterns in the conductance profiles are shown to correspond to stepwise changes in the entanglement entropy, providing a new avenue for investigating quantum correlations. These results establish a foundation for experimentally probing and controlling entanglement in lanthanide-based systems, with potential applications in quantum technologies., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

This work investigates a system of three entangled qubits within the XXX model, subjected to an external magnetic field in the $z$-direction and incorporating an anisotropy term along the $y$-axis. We explore the thermodynamics of the system by calculating its magnetic susceptibility and analyzing how this quantity encodes information about entanglement. By deriving rigorous bounds for susceptibility, we demonstrate that their violation serves as an entanglement witness. Our results show that anisotropy enhances entanglement, extending the temperature range over which it persists. Additionally, by tracing over the degrees of freedom of two qubits, we examine the reduced density matrix of the remaining qubits and find that its entropy under the influence of the magnetic field can be mapped to an effective thermal bath at $(B,K) > 0$ K.

We study the interplay of attractive electron interactions and topological states in strained kagome lattices with spin-orbit coupling via a Hubbard Hamiltonian in the mean-field approximation. In the unstrained lattice, there is a topological phase transition from a quantum spin Hall state to a charge density wave (CDW) with increasing interaction strength. Upon applying a uniform uniaxial strain to the lattice, we find a new phase with coexisting CDWs and topological states. For increasing interaction strength or strain, the system is driven into a pure CDW, signaling topological phase transitions. The directionality (nematicity) of the CDW is controlled by the direction of the applied strain. When $s$ wave electronic pairing is allowed, the system develops a superconducting order beyond a threshold attraction, which is totally suppressed by the onset of a CDW with increasing interaction. Most interestingly, moderate strain allows the coexistence of superconductivity and CDWs for a range of interaction values. This illustrates how electronic interactions and single-particle topological structures compete to create unusual correlated phases in kagome systems.

This study investigates the anisotropic effects on a system of three qubits with chain and ring topology, described by the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg XXX model subjected to a homogeneous magnetic field. We explore the Stirling and Otto cycles and find that easy-axis anisotropy significantly enhances engine efficiency across all cases. At low temperatures, the ring configuration outperforms the chain on both work and efficiency during the Stirling cycle. Additionally, in both topologies, the Stirling cycle achieves Carnot efficiency with finite work at quantum critical points. In contrast, the quasistatic Otto engine also reaches Carnot efficiency at these points but yields no useful work. Notably, the Stirling cycle exhibits all thermal operational regimes engine, refrigerator, heater, and accelerator unlike the quasistatic Otto cycle, which functions only as an engine or refrigerator.

We study effects of strain on the electronic properties of the kagome lattice in a tight-binding formalism with spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The degeneracy at the $\Gamma$ point evolves into a pair of emergent tilted Dirac cones under uniaxial strain, where the anisotropy and tilting of the bands depend on the magnitude and direction of the strain field. SOC opens gaps at the emergent Dirac points, making the flatband topological, characterized by a nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_2$ index. Strains of a few percent drive the system into trivial or topological phases. This confirms that moderate strain can be used to engineer anisotropic Dirac bands with tunable properties to study new phases in kagome lattices.

High spin systems, like those that incorporate rare-earth $4f$ elements (REEs), are increasingly relevant in many fields. Although research in such systems is sparse, the large Hilbert spaces they occupy are promising for many applications. In this work, we examine a one-dimensional linear array of europium (Eu) atoms on a Au(111) surface and study their electronic and magnetic excitations. Ab initio calculations using VASP with PBE+U are employed to study the structure. We find Eu atoms to have a net charge when on gold, consistent with a net magnetic momemt of $\simeq 3.5 \mu_B$. Examining various spin-projection configurations, we can evaluate first and second neighbor exchange energies in an isotropic Heisenberg model between spin-$\frac{7}{2}$ moments to obtain $J_1 \approx -1.2 \, \mathrm{K}$ and $J_2 \approx 0.2 \, \mathrm{K}$ for the relaxed-chain atomic separation of $a \approx 5$ $\mathrm{\dot{A}}$. These parameters are used to obtain the full spin excitation spectrum of a physically realizable four-atom chain. The large $|J_1|/J_2$ ratio results in a highly degenerate ferromagnetic ground state that is split by a significant easy plane single ion anisotropy of $0.6$ K. Spin-flip excitations are calculated to extract differential conductance profiles as those obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy techniques. We uncover interesting behavior of local spin excitations, especially as we track their dispersion with applied magnetic fields.

Superconductivity in graphene-based systems has recently attracted much attention, as either intrinsic behavior or induced by proximity to a superconductor may lead to interesting topological phases and symmetries of the pairing function. A prominent system considers the pairing to have chiral symmetry. The question arises as to the effect of possible spin-orbit coupling on the resulting superconducting quasiparticle spectrum. Utilizing a Bogolyubov-de Gennes (BdG) Hamiltonian, we explore the interplay of different interaction terms in the system, and their role in generating complex Berry curvatures in the quasiparticle spectrum, as well as non-trivial topological behavior. We demonstrate that the topology of the BdG Hamiltonian in these systems may result in the appearance of edge states along the zigzag edges of nanoribbons in the appropriate regime., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

The growth and exfoliation of two-dimensional (2D) materials have led to the creation of edges and novel interfacial states at the juncture between crystals with different composition or phases. These hybrid heterostructures (HSs) can be built as vertical van der Waals \emph{stacks}, resulting in a 2D interface, or as \emph{stitched} adjacent monolayer crystals, resulting in one-dimensional (1D) interfaces. Although most attention has been focused on vertical HSs, increasing theoretical and experimental interest in 1D interfaces is evident. In-plane interfacial states between different 2D materials inherit properties from both crystals, giving rise to robust states with unique 1D non-parabolic dispersion and strong spin-orbit effects. With such unique characteristics, these states provide an exciting platform for realizing 1D physics. Here, we review and discuss advances in 1D heterojunctions, with emphasis on theoretical approaches for describing those between semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides $MX_{2}$ (with $M$=Mo, W and $X$= S, Se, Te), and how the interfacial states can be characterized and utilized. We also address how the interfaces depend on edge geometries (such as zigzag and armchair) or strain, as lattice parameters differ across the interface, and how these features affect excitonic/optical response. This review is intended to serve as a resource for promoting theoretical and experimental studies in this rapidly evolving field., Comment: 34 pages, 21 figures. Invited review

We study in-plane lateral heterostructures of commensurate transition-metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS$_{2}$-WS$_{2}$ and MoSe$_{2}$-WSe$_{2}$, and find interfacial and edge states that are highly localized to these regions of the heterostructure. These are one-dimensional (1D) in nature, lying within the bandgap of the bulk structure and exhibiting complex orbital and spin structure. We describe such heteroribbons with a three-orbital tight-binding model that uses first principles and experimental parameters as input, allowing us to model realistic systems. Analytical modeling for the 1D interfacial bands results in long-range hoppings due to the hybridization along the interface, with strong spin-orbit couplings. We further explore the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida indirect interaction between magnetic impurities located at the interface. The unusual features of the interface states result in effective long-range exchange non-collinear interactions between impurities. These results suggest that transition-metal dichalcogenide interfaces could serve as stable, tunable 1D platform with unique properties for possible use in exploring Majorana fermions, plasma excitations and spintronics applications., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

Kondo physics in doped monolayer graphene is predicted to exhibit unusual features due to the linear vanishing of the pristine material's density of states at the Dirac point. Despite several attempts, conclusive experimental observation of the phenomenon remains elusive. One likely obstacle to identification is a very small Kondo temperature scale $T_K$ in situations where the chemical potential lies near the Dirac point. We propose tailored mechanical deformations of monolayer graphene as a means of revealing unique fingerprints of the Kondo effect. Inhomogeneous strains are known to produce specific alternating changes in the local density of states (LDOS) away from the Dirac point that signal sublattice symmetry breaking effects. Small LDOS changes can be amplified in an exponential increase or decrease of $T_K$ for magnetic impurities attached at different locations. We illustrate this behavior in two deformation geometries: a circular 'bubble' and a long fold, both described by Gaussian displacement profiles. We calculate the LDOS changes for modest strains and analyze the relevant Anderson impurity model describing a magnetic atom adsorbed in either a 'top-site' or a 'hollow-site' configuration. Numerical renormalization-group solutions of the impurity model suggest that higher expected $T_K$ values, combined with distinctive spatial patterns under variation of the point of graphene attachment, make the top-site configuration the more promising for experimental observation of signatures of the Kondo effect. The strong strain sensitivity of $T_K$ may lift top-site Kondo physics into the range experimentally accessible using local probes such as scanning tunneling microscopy., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures (added Figs. 6 and 7 to version 1)

Depositing monolayer graphene on a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductor substrate has been shown to change the dynamics of the electronic states in graphene, inducing spin orbit coupling (SOC) and staggered potential effects. Theoretical studies on commensurate supercells have demonstrated the appearance of interesting phases, as different materials and relative gate voltages are applied. Here we address the effects of the real incommensurability between lattices by implementing a continuum model approach that does not require small-period supercells. The approach allows us to study the role of possible relative twists of the layers, and verify that the SOC transfer is robust to twists, in agreement with observations. We characterize the nature of the different phases by studying an effective Hamiltonian that fully describes the graphene-TMD heterostructure. We find the system supports topologically non-trivial phases over a wide range of parameter ranges, which require the dominance of the intrinsic SOC over the staggered and Rashba potentials. This tantalizing result suggests the possible experimental realization of a tunable quantum spin Hall phase under suitable conditions. We estimate that most TMDs used to date likely result in weak intrinsic SOC that would not drive the heterostructure into topologically non-trivial phases. Additional means to induce a larger intrinsic SOC, such as strain fields or heavy metal intercalation may be required., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

Graphene/MoS2 heterostructures are formed by combining the nanosheets of graphene and monolayer MoS2. The electronic features of both constituent monolayers are rather well-preserved in the resultant heterostructure due to the weak van der Waals interaction between the layers. However, the proximity of MoS2 induces strong spin orbit coupling effect of strength ~1 meV in graphene, which is nearly three orders of magnitude larger than the intrinsic spin orbit coupling of pristine graphene. This opens a bandgap in graphene and further causes anticrossings of the spin-nondegenerate bands near the Dirac point. Lattice incommensurate graphene/MoS2 heterostructure exhibits interesting moire' patterns which have been observed in experiments. The electronic bandstructure of heterostructure is very sensitive to biaxial strain and interlayer twist. Although the Dirac cone of graphene remains intact and no charge-transfer between graphene and MoS2 layers occurs at ambient conditions, a strain-induced charge-transfer can be realized in graphene/MoS2 heterostructure. Application of a gate voltage reveals the occurrence of a topological phase transition in graphene/MoS2 heterostructure. In this chapter, we discuss the crystal structure, interlayer effects, electronic structure, spin states, and effects due to strain and substrate proximity on the electronic properties of graphene/MoS2 heterostructure. We further present an overview of the distinct topological quantum phases of graphene/MoS2 heterostructure and review the recent advancements in this field., Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures

We present a detailed analysis of the role of native point defects in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases of bulk chromium nitride (CrN). We perform first-principles calculations using local spin-density approximation, including local interaction effects (LSDA+U), to study the two lowest energy AFM models expected to describe the low-temperature phase of the material. We study the formation energies, lattice deformations and electronic and magnetic structure introduced by native point defects. We find that, as expected, nitrogen vacancies are the most likely defect present in the material at low temperatures. Nitrogen vacancies present different charged states in the cubic AFM model, exhibiting two transition energies, which could be measurable by thermometry experiments and could help identify the AFM structure in a sample. These vacancies also result in partial spin polarization of the induced impurity band, which would have interesting consequences in transport experiments. Other point defects have also signature electronic and magnetic structure that could be identified in scanning probe experiments., Comment: 8 pages

We study the band structure of phases induced by depositing bilayer graphene on a transition metal dichalcogenide monolayer. Tight-binding and low-energy effective Hamiltonian calculations show that it is possible to induce topologically nontrivial phases that should exhibit spin Hall effect in these systems. We classify bulk insulating phases through calculation of the Z$_2$ invariant, which unequivocally identifies the topology of the structure. The study of these and similar hybrid systems under applied gate voltage opens the possibility for tunable topological structures in real experimental systems., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We present a theoretical analysis of the role that strain plays on the electronic structure of chromium nitride crystals. We use LSDA+U calculations to study the elastic constants, deforma- tion potentials and strain dependence of electron and hole masses near the fundamental gap. We consider the lowest energy antiferromagnetic models believed to describe CrN at low temperatures, and apply strain along different directions. We find relatively large deformation potentials for all models, and find increasing gaps for tensile strain along most directions. Most interestingly, we find that compressive strains should be able to close the relatively small indirect gap (' 100 meV) at moderate amplitudes ' 1.3%. We also find large and anisotropic changes in the effective masses with strain, with principal axes closely related to the magnetic ordering of neighboring layers in the antiferromagnet. It would be interesting to consider the role that these effects may have on typical film growth on different substrates, and the possibility of monitoring optical and transport properties of thin films as strain is applied.

The possibility to effect valley splitting of an electronic current in graphene represents the essential component in the new field of valleytronics in such two-dimensional materials. Based on a symmetry analysis of the scattering matrix, we show that if the spatial distribution of multiple potential scatterers breaks mirror symmetry about the axis of incoming electrons, then a splitting of the current between two valleys is observed. This leads to the appearance of the valley Hall effect. We illustrate the effect of mirror symmetry breaking in a minimal system of two symmetric impurities, demonstrating the splitting between valleys via the differential cross sections and non-vanishing skew parameter. We further discuss the role that these effects may play in transport experiments.

The transport properties of nanostructured systems are deeply affected by the geometry of the effective connections to metallic leads. In this work we derive a conductance expression for interacting systems whose connectivity geometries do not meet the Meir-Wingreen proportional coupling condition. As an interesting application, we consider a quantum dot connected coherently to tunable electronic cavity modes. The structure is shown to exhibit a well-defined Kondo effect over a wide range of coupling strengths between the two subsystems. In agreement with recent experimental results, the calculated conductance curves exhibit strong modulations and asymmetric behavior as different cavity modes are swept through the Fermi level. These conductance modulations occur, however, while maintaining robust Kondo singlet correlations of the dot with the electronic reservoir, a direct consequence of the lopsided nature of the device., Comment: Version published in PRL. 18 pages (4+1 pages + 13 pages of supplementary material)

We study the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction between magnetic impurities embedded in $p$-doped transition metal dichalcogenide triangular flakes. The role of underlying symmetries is exposed by analyzing the interaction as a function of impurity separation along zigzag and armchair trajectories, in specific parts of the sample. The large spin-orbit coupling in these materials produces strongly anisotropic interactions, including a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya component that can be sizable and tunable. We consider impurities hybridized to different orbitals of the host transition-metal and identify specific characteristics for onsite and hollow site adsorption. In the onsite case, the different components of the interaction have similar magnitude, while for the hollow site, the Ising component dominates. We also study the dependence of the interaction with the level of hole doping, which supplies a further degree of tunability. Our results could provide ways of controlling helical long range spin order in magnetic impurity arrays embedded in these materials., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures

Proximity effects resulting from depositing a graphene layer on a TMD substrate layer change the dynamics of the electronic states in graphene, inducing spin orbit coupling (SOC) and staggered potential effects. An effective Hamiltonian that describes different symmetry breaking terms in graphene, while preserving time reversal invariance, shows that an inverted mass band gap regime is possible. The competition of different perturbation terms causes a transition from an inverted mass phase to a staggered gap in the bilayer heterostructure, as seen in its phase diagram. A tight-binding calculation of the bilayer validates the effective model parameters. A relative gate voltage between the layers may produce such phase transition in experimentally accessible systems. The phases are characterized in terms of Berry curvature and valley Chern numbers, demonstrating that the system may exhibit quantum spin Hall and valley Hall effects., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We study the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction between two magnetic impurities connected to the edges of zigzag-terminated MoS$_{2}$ flakes. When the impurities lie on the edges of the flake, the effective exchange interaction exhibits sizable noncollinear Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya character that competes with a strong Ising coupling. We analyze the characteristic decay exponent for doping levels inside the band gap of the infinite layer, corresponding to edge states of the flake at the Fermi level. The characteristic exponents show sub-two-dimensional (sub-2D) behavior for these band fillings, with decays much slower than quadratic. The Ising interaction has effectively one-dimensional (1D) long range, while the noncollinear component that grows for short impurity separation becomes comparable in magnitude. The resulting tunable exchange interaction on these systems opens the way for the study of interesting phases of impurity arrays with long-range stable helical order., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We characterize numerically and analytically the signatures of the spin-orbit interaction in a two-electron GaAs double quantum dot in the presence of an external magnetic field. In particular, we obtain the return probability of the singlet state by simulating Landau-Zener voltage detuning sweeps which traverse the singlet-triplet ($S-T_+$) resonance. Our results indicate that non-spin-conserving interdot tunneling processes arising from the spin-orbit interaction have well defined signatures. These allow direct access to the spin-orbit interaction scales and are characterized by a frequency shift and Fourier amplitude modulation of the Rabi flopping dynamics of the singlet-triplet qubits $S-T_0$ and $S-T_+$. By applying the Bloch-Feshbach projection formalism, we demonstrate analytically that the aforementioned effects originate from the interplay between spin-orbit interaction and processes driven by the hyperfine interaction between the electron spins and those of the GaAs nuclei.

We consider a two-orbital impurity system with intra and inter-level Coulomb repulsion that is coupled to a single conduction channel. This situation can generically occur in multilevel quantum dots or in systems of coupled quantum dots. For finite energy-spacing between spin-degenerate orbitals, an in-plane magnetic field drives the system from a local singlet ground state to a "mixed-level" Kondo regime, where the Zeeman-split levels are degenerate for opposite spin states. We use the numerical renormalization group approach to fully characterize this mixed level Kondo state and discuss its properties in terms of the applied Zeeman field, temperature and system parameters. Under suitable conditions, the total spectral function is shown to develop a Fermi level resonance, so that the linear conductance of the system peaks at a finite Zeeman field while it decreases as function of temperature. These features, as well as the local moment and entropy contribution of the impurity system are commensurate with Kondo physics, which can be studied in suitably tuned quantum dot systems., Comment: A new section II discusses the low-energy effective model. Figure 1 has been replaced by a new version

We study the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida effective exchange interaction between magnetic impurities embedded on the edges of transition-metal dichalcogenide flakes, using a three-orbital tight-binding model. Electronic states lying midgap of the bulk structure have strong one-dimensional (1D) character, localized on the edges of the crystallite. This results in exchange interactions with $1/r$ (or slower) decay with distance $r$, similar to other 1D systems. Most interestingly, however, the strong spin-orbit interaction in these materials results in sizable non-collinear Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions between impurities, comparable in size to the usual Ising and in-plane components. Varying the relevant Fermi energy by doping or gating may allow one to modulate the effective interactions, controlling the possible helical ground state configurations of multiple impurities., Comment: 5 pages and 4 figures

An Anderson model for a magnetic impurity in a two-dimensional electron gas with bulk Rashba spin-orbit interaction is solved using the numerical renormalization group under two different experimental scenarios. For a fixed Fermi energy, the Kondo temperature T_K varies weakly with Rashba coupling \alpha, as reported previously. If instead the band filling is low and held constant, increasing \alpha can drive the system into a helical regime with exponential enhancement of T_K. Under either scenario, thermodynamic properties at low temperatures T exhibit the same dependences on T/T_K as are found for \alpha = 0. Unlike the conventional Kondo effect, however, the impurity exhibits static spin correlations with conduction electrons of nonzero orbital angular momentum about the impurity site. We also consider a magnetic field that Zeeman splits the conduction band but not the impurity level, an effective picture that arises under a proposed route to access the helical regime in a driven system. The impurity contribution to the system's ground-state angular momentum is found to be a universal function of the ratio of the Zeeman energy to a temperature scale that is not T_K (as would be the case in a magnetic field that couples directly to the impurity spin), but rather is proportional to T_K divided by the impurity hybridization width. This universal scaling is explained via a perturbative treatment of field-induced changes in the electronic density of states., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. v2: clarifying remarks added

The decoration of graphene samples with adatoms or nanoparticles leads to the enhancement of spin-orbit interactions as well as to the introduction of symmetry-breaking effects that could have drastic effects on spin and electronic transport phenomena. We present an analysis based on symmetry considerations and examine the impact on the scattering matrix for graphene systems containing defects that enhance spin-orbit interactions, while conserving the electronic total angular momentum. We show that the appearance and dominance of skew scattering, and the related observation of valley and/or spin Hall effect in decorated graphene samples, suggests the set of symmetries that adatom perturbations should satisfy. We further show that detailed measurements of the transport and elastic times as a function of carrier concentration make it possible to not only extract the strength of the spin-orbit interaction, as suggested before, but also obtain the amplitude of the symmetry-breaking terms introduced. To examine how different terms would affect measurements, we also present calculations for typical random distributions of impurities with different perturbations, illustrating the detailed energy dependence of different observables

We investigate the optical response of quantum dot molecules coherently driven by polarized laser light. Our description includes the splitting in excitonic levels caused by isotropic and anisotropic exchange interactions. We consider interdot transitions mediated by hole tunneling between states with the same total angular momentum and between bright and dark exciton states, as allowed by spin-flip hopping between the dots in the molecule. Using realistic experimental parameters we demonstrate that the excitonic states coupled by tunneling exhibit a rich and controllable optical response. We show that through the appropriate control of an external electric field and light polarization, the tunneling coupling establishes an efficient destructive quantum interference path that creates a transparency window in the absorption spectra, whenever states of appropriate symmetry are mixed by the carrier tunneling. We explore the relevant parameter space that allows probing this phenomenon in experiments. Controlled variation of applied field and laser detuning would allow the optical characterization of spin-preserving and spin-flip hopping amplitudes in such systems, by measuring the width of the tunneling-induced transparency windows., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

We present a study of the correlated transport regimes of a double quantum impurity system with mutual capacitive interactions. Such system can be implemented by a double quantum dot arrangement or by a quantum dot and nearby quantum point contact, with independently connected sets of metallic terminals. Many--body spin correlations arising within each dot--lead subsystem give rise to the Kondo effect under appropriate conditions. The otherwise independent Kondo ground states may be modified by the capacitive coupling, decisively modifying the ground state of the double quantum impurity system. We analyze this coupled system through variational methods and the numerical renormalization group technique. Our results reveal a strong dependence of the coupled system ground state on the electron--hole asymmetries of the individual subsystems, as well as on their hybridization strengths to the respective reservoirs. The electrostatic repulsion produced by the capacitive coupling produces an effective shift of the individual energy levels toward higher energies, with a stronger effect on the `shallower' subsystem (that closer to resonance with the Fermi level), potentially pushing it out of the Kondo regime and dramatically changing the transport properties of the system. The effective remote gating that this entails is found to depend nonlinearly on the capacitive coupling strength, as well as on the independent subsystem levels. The analysis we present here of this mutual interaction should be important to fully characterize transport through such coupled systems., Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. B. 11 pages, 10 figures

We calculate the static longitudinal polarizability of single-wall carbon nanotubes in the long wavelength limit taking into account spin-orbit effects. We use a four-orbital orthogonal tight-binding formalism to describe the electronic states and the random phase approximation to calculate the dielectric function. We study the role of both the Rashba as well as the intrinsic spin-orbit interactions on the longitudinal dielectric response, i.e. when the probing electric field is parallel to the nanotube axis. The spin-orbit interaction modifies the nanotube electronic band dispersions, which may especially result in a small gap opening in otherwise metallic tubes. The bandgap size and state features, the result of competition between Rashba and intrinsic spin-orbit interactions, result in drastic changes in the longitudinal static polarizability of the system. We discuss results for different nanotube types, and the dependence on nanotube radius and spin-orbit couplings., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Comments/Suggestion are highly welcome

Broken symmetries in graphene affect the massless nature of its charge carriers. We present an analysis of scattering by defects in graphene in the presence of spin-orbit interactions (SOIs). A characteristic constant ratio ($\simeq 2$) of the transport to elastic times for massless electrons signals the anisotropy of the scattering. We show that SOIs lead to a drastic decrease of this ratio, especially at low carrier concentrations, while the scattering becomes increasingly isotropic. As the strength of the SOI determines the energy (carrier concentration) where this drop is more evident, this effect could help evaluate these interactions through transport measurements.

The perfect transmission of charge carriers through potential barriers in graphene (Klein tunneling) is a direct consequence of the Dirac equation that governs the low-energy carrier dynamics. As a result, localized states do not exist in unpatterned graphene, but quasi-bound states \emph{can} occur for potentials with closed integrable dynamics. Here, we report the observation of resonance states in photo-switchable self-assembled molecular(SAM)-graphene hybrid. Conductive AFM measurements performed at room temperature reveal strong current resonances, the strength of which can be reversibly gated \textit{on-} and \textit{off-} by optically switching the molecular conformation of the mSAM. Comparisons of the voltage separation between current resonances ($\sim 70$--$120$ mV) with solutions of the Dirac equation indicate that the radius of the gating potential is $\sim 7 \pm 2$ nm with a strength $\geq 0.5$ eV. Our results and methods might provide a route toward \emph{optically programmable} carrier dynamics and transport in graphene nano-materials.

We study the effect of an external magnetic field in the Kondo regime of a double-quantum-dot system in which a strongly correlated dot (the "hanging dot") is coupled to a second, noninteracting dot that also bridges the gap between two external leads. In zero field, the spectral function of the hanging dot has previously been shown to exhibit a split-peak structure near the Fermi level due to "Kondo resonance filtering" by the bridging dot. We show using the numerical renormalization group that application of a magnetic field leads to a subtle interplay between electronic interference, Kondo physics, and Zeeman splitting with nontrivial consequences for the spectral and transport properties. The value of the hanging-dot spectral function at the Fermi level exhibits a nonuniversal field dependence that can be explained using a generalized Friedel sum rule for a Kondo system with energy-dependent hybridization. The magnetic field also accentuates the exchange-mediated interdot coupling, which dominates the ground state at intermediate fields leading to the formation of antiparallel magnetic moments on the dots. By tuning gate voltages and the magnetic field, one can achieve complete spin polarization of the linear conductance between the leads, raising the prospect of applications of the device as a highly tunable spin filter. The system's low-energy properties are qualitatively unchanged by the presence of weak on-site Coulomb repulsion within the bridging dot., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Published version

Electron optics exploits the analogies between rays in geometrical optics and electron trajectories, leading to interesting insights and potential applications. Graphene, with its two-dimensionality and photon-like behavior of its charge carriers, is the perfect candidate for the exploitation of electron optics. We show that a circular gate-controlled region in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction in graphene may indeed behave as a Veselago electronic lens but with two different indices of refraction. We demonstrate that this birefringence results in complex caustics patterns for a circular gate, selective focusing of different spins, and the possible direct measurement of the Rashba coupling strength in scanning probe experiments.

We study the electronic transport through a spin-1 molecule in which mechanical stretching produces a magnetic anisotropy. In this type of device, a vibron mode along the stretching axis will couple naturally to the molecular spin. We consider a single molecular vibrational mode and find that the electron-vibron interaction induces an effective correction to the magnetic anisotropy that shifts the ground state of the device toward a non-Fermi liquid phase. A transition into a Fermi liquid phase could then be achieved, by means of mechanical stretching, passing through an underscreened spin-1 Kondo regime. We present numerical renormalization group results for the differential conductance, the spectral density, and the magnetic susceptibility across the transition., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures

We report detailed transport measurements in a quantum dot in a spin-flip co-tunneling regime, and a quantitative comparison of the data to microscopic theory. The quantum dot is fabricated by lateral gating of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure, and the conductance is measured in the presence of an in-plane Zeeman field. We focus on the ratio of the nonlinear conductance values at bias voltages exceeding the Zeeman threshold, a regime that permits a spin flip on the dot, to those below the Zeeman threshold, when the spin flip on the dot is energetically forbidden. The data obtained in three different odd-occupation dot states show good quantitative agreement with the theory with no adjustable parameters. We also compare the theoretical results to the predictions of a phenomenological form used previously for the analysis of non-linear co-tunneling conductance, specifically the determination of the heterostructure g-factor, and find good agreement between the two., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We study a strongly interacting "quantum dot 1" and a weakly interacting "dot 2" connected in parallel to metallic leads. Gate voltages can drive the system between Kondo-quenched and non-Kondo free-moment phases separated by Kosterlitz-Thouless quantum phase transitions. Away from the immediate vicinity of the quantum phase transitions, the physical properties retain signatures of first-order transitions found previously to arise when dot 2 is strictly noninteracting. As interactions in dot 2 become stronger relative to the dot-lead coupling, the free moment in the non-Kondo phase evolves smoothly from an isolated spin-one-half in dot 1 to a many-body doublet arising from the incomplete Kondo compensation by the leads of a combined dot spin-one. These limits, which feature very different spin correlations between dot and lead electrons, can be distinguished by weak-bias conductance measurements performed at finite temperatures., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B

We analyze the physics of a one-orbital Anderson impurity model in a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit (RSO) interactions in the Kondo regime. The spin SU(2) symmetry breaking results in an effective two-band electron gas coupled to the impurity. The Kondo regime is obtained by a Schrieffer-Wolff transformation revealing the existence of a parity breaking term with the form of the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interaction. The DM term vanishes at the particle-hole symmetric point of the system, but it has important effects otherwise. Performing a renormalization group (RG) analysis we find that the model describes a two-channel Kondo system with ferro- and anti-ferromagnetic couplings. Furthermore, the DM term renormalizes the antiferromagnetic Kondo coupling producing an exponential enhancement of the Kondo temperature. We suggest that these effects can be observed in semiconducting systems, as well as in graphene and topological insulators., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. Final published version

We investigate the statistical properties of wave functions in chaotic nanostructures with spin-orbit coupling (SOC), focussing in particular on spatial correlations of eigenfunctions. Numerical results from a microscopic model are compared with results from random matrix theory in the crossover from the gaussian orthogonal to the gaussian symplectic ensembles (with increasing SOC); one- and two-point distribution functions were computed to understand the properties of eigenfunctions in this crossover. It is found that correlations of wave function amplitudes are suppressed with SOC; nevertheless, eigenfunction correlations play a more important role in the two-point distribution function(s), compared to the case with vanishing SOC. Experimental consequences of our results are discussed., Comment: Submitted to PRB

We present studies of the Coulomb blockade and Kondo regimes of transport through a quantum dot connected to current leads through spin-polarizing quantum point contacts (QPCs). This structure, arising from the effect of lateral spin-orbit fields defining the QPCs, results in spin-polarized currents even in the absence of external magnetic fields and greatly affects the correlations in the dot. Using equation-of-motion and numerical renormalization group calculations we obtain the conductance and spin polarization for this system under different parameter regimes. We find that the system exhibits spin-polarized conductance in both the Coulomb blockade and Kondo regimes, all in the absence of applied magnetic fields. We analyze the role that the spin-dependent tunneling amplitudes of the QPC play in determining the charge and net magnetic moment in the dot. These effects, controllable by lateral gate voltages, may provide an alternative approach for exploring Kondo correlations, as well as possible spin devices

We propose an optoelectronic scheme to define and manipulate an indirect neutral exciton qubit within a quantum dot molecule. We demonstrate coherent dynamics of indirect excitons resilient against decoherence effects, including direct exciton spontaneous recombination. For molecules with large interdot separation, the exciton dressed spectrum yields an often overlooked avoided crossing between spatially indirect exciton states. Effective two level system Hamiltonians are extracted by Feshbach projection over the multilevel exciton configurations. An adiabatic manipulation of the qubit states is devised using time dependent electric field sweeps. The exciton dynamics yields the necessary conditions for qubit initialization and near unitary rotations in the picosecond time scale, driven by the system internal dynamics. Despite the strong influence of laser excitation, charge tunneling, and interdot dipole-dipole interactions, the effective relaxation time of indirect excitons is much longer than the direct exciton spontaneous recombination time, rendering indirect excitons as potential elemental qubits in more complex schemes., Comment: Submitted to PRB, 11 pages and 6 figures

We use a combination of first principles many-body methods and the numerical renormalization-group technique to study the Kondo regime of cobalt-porphyrin compounds adsorbed on a Cu(111) surface. We find the Kondo temperature to be highly sensitive to both molecule charging and distance to the surface, which can explain the variations observed in recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements. We discuss the importance of many-body effects in the molecular electronic structure controlling this phenomenon and suggest scenarios where enhanced temperatures can be achieved in experiments., Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. B; Revised version (8 pages, 5 figs)

We study two quantum dots embedded in the arms of an Aharonov-Bohm ring threaded by a magnetic flux. The system can be described by an effective one-impurity Anderson model with an energy- and flux-dependent density of states. For specific values of the flux, this density of states vanishes at the Fermi energy, yielding a controlled realization of the pseudogap Kondo effect. The conductance and transmission phase shifts reflect a nontrivial interplay between wave interference and interactions, providing clear signatures of quantum phase transitions between Kondo and non-Kondo ground states., Comment: Published version

The Forster resonant energy transfer mechanism (FRET) is investigated in optically driven and electrically gated tunnel coupled quantum dot molecules. Two novel FRET induced optical signatures are found in the dressed excitonic spectrum. This is constructed from exciton level occupation as function of pump laser energy and applied bias, resembling a level anticrossing spectroscopy measurement. We observe a redistribution of spectral weight and splitting of the exciton spectral lines. FRET among single excitons induces a splitting in the spatially-direct exciton lines, away from the anticrossing due to charge tunneling in the molecule. However, near the anticrossing, a novel signature appears as a weak satellite line following an indirect exciton line. FRET signatures may also occur among indirect excitons, appearing as split indirect lines. In that case, the signatures appear also in the direct biexciton states, as the indirect satellite mixes in near the tunneling anticrossing region.

Theoretical results for a single electron in multi-level system given by a lens-shape self-assembled quantum dot in the presence of an intense harmonic electric field are presented. A non-perturbative Floquet approach is used to study the dynamical localization of the particle when going beyond the two-level approach by introducing the full spectral level structure. It is discussed the role of the different quasi-energy sidebands as the parameters of the system change. It is found that the contribution of different drive harmonics is controlled by fine tuning of field intensity. It is also shown that avoided crossings in the quasi-energy spectrum are correlated with the spectral force of the sidebands and dynamical state localization., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We investigate the spin-dependent transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) systems formed in diluted magnetic semiconductors and in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction in the framework of the scattering matrix approach. We focus on nanostructures consisting of realistic magnetic barriers produced by the deposition of ferromagnetic strips on heterostructures. We calculate spin-dependente conductance of such barrier systems and show that the magnetization pattern of the strips, the tunable spin-orbit coupling, and the enhanced Zeeman splitting have a strong effect on the conductance of the structure. We describe how these effects can be employed in the efficient control of spin polarization via the application of moderate fields.

An interesting approach to achieve quantum gate operations in a solid state device is to implement an optically driven quantum gate using two vertically coupled self-assembled quantum dots, a quantum dot molecule (QDM). We present a realistic model for exciton dynamics in InGaAs/GaAs QDMs under intense laser excitation and applied electric fields. The dynamics is obtained by solutions of the Lindblad master equation. A map of the dressed ground state as function of laser energy and applied electric field exhibits rich structure that includes excitonic anticrossings that permit the identification of the relevant couplings. The optical signatures of the dipole-dipole Forster energy transfer mechanism show as splittings of several (spatially) indirect excitonic lines. Moreover, we construct a model for exciton qubit rotations by adiabatic electric field cyclic sweeps into a Forster-tunneling regime which induces level anticrossings. The proposed qubit exhibits Rabi oscillations among two well defined exciton pairs as function of the residence time at the anticrossing., Comment: Paper presented in the International Conference on Electronic Properties of Two-dimensional Systems and Modulated Semiconductor Structures Genova Magazzini del Cotone, July 15-20 2007

We study the transmission through a double quantum-dot system in the Kondo regime. An exact expression for the transmission coefficient in terms of fully interacting many-body Green's functions is obtained. By mapping the system into an effective Anderson impurity model, one can determine the transmission using numerical renormalization-group methods. The transmission exhibits signatures of the different Kondo regimes of the effective model, including an unusual Kondo phase with split peaks in the spectral function, as well as a pseudogapped regime exhibiting a quantum critical transition between Kondo and unscreened phases., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; Submitted to Physica E (EP2DS-17 proceedings, oral presentation), updated Refs

We discuss the influence of electrical effects on spin transport, and in particular the propagation and relaxation of spin polarized electrons in the presence of inhomogeneous electric fields. We show that the spin relaxation length strongly depends on electric field gradients, and that significant suppression of electron spin polarization can occur as a result thereof. A discussion in terms of a drift-diffusion picture, and self-consistent numerical calculations based on a Boltzmann-Poisson approach shows that the spin relaxation length in fact can be of the order of the charge screening length., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be presented at PASPSIV

Based on the random dimer model, we study correlated disorder in a one dimensional system driven by a strong AC field. As the correlations in a random system may generate extended states and enhance transport in DC fields, we explore the role that AC fields have on these properties. We find that similar to ordered structures, AC fields renormalize the effective hopping constant to a smaller value, and thus help to localize a state. We find that AC fields control then a localization-delocalization transition in a given one dimensional systems with correlated disorder. The competition between band renormalization (band collapse/dynamic localization), Anderson localization, and the structure correlation is shown to result in interesting transport properties., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

We show that the propagation of spin polarized carriers may be dramatically affected by {\em inhomogeneous} electric fields. Surprisingly, the spin diffusion length is found to strongly depend on the sign and magnitude of electric field \emph{gradients}, in addition to the previously reported dependence on the sign and magnitude of the electric field [Yu & Flatt\'e, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 66}, 201202(R) 2002; {\em ibid.} {\bf 66}, 235302 (2002)]. This indicates that purely electrical effects may play a crucial role in spin polarized injection, transport and detection in semiconductor spintronics. A generalized drift-diffusion equation that describes our findings is derived and verified by numerical calculations using the Boltzmann transport equation., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; updated and extended version, added figure, updated reference list

We calculate the spin Hall conductivity driven by Rashba spin-orbit interaction in $p$-type two-dimensional semiconductors in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. For a highly confined quantum well, the system is described by a $k$-cubic Rashba term for two-dimensional heavy holes. The eigenstates of the system can be described by Landau spinor states. First we consider the conventional spin Hall conductivity. The contribution of the interband transitions to the Kubo-Greenwood formula gives the density dependent intrinsic spin Hall conductivity, which approaches its universal value $\sigma^z_{xy}=9e/8\pi$ for weak spin-orbit coupling and low Fermi energies, in agreement with previous work. However two intraband contribution terms cancel this effect leading to zero conventional spin Hall conductivity. Adding the torque dipole contribution to the definition of spin current, we also study the {\it effective} spin conductivity. This is shown to be proportional to the total magnetization plus surface terms which exactly cancel it for small spin-orbit coupling. If in low magnetic field the intraband transitions evolve to vertex corrections, the fact that both {effective} and conventional spin Hall conductivities vanish is unexpected. This suggests that the zero magnetic field limit of the model is singular., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. will appear in PRB 73