Search

Superconductivity involving finite momentum pairing can lead to spatial gap and pair density modulations, as well as Bogoliubov Fermi states within the superconducting gap. However, the experimental realization of their intertwined relations has been challenging. Here, we detect chiral kagome superconductivity modulations with residual Fermi arcs in KV3Sb5 and CsV3Sb5 by normal and Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy down to 30mK with resolved electronic energy difference at microelectronvolt level. We observe a U-shaped superconducting gap with flat residual in-gap states. This gap exhibits chiral 2 by 2 spatial modulations with magnetic field tunable chirality, which align with the chiral 2 by 2 pair density modulations observed through Josephson tunneling. These findings demonstrate a chiral pair density wave (PDW) that breaks time-reversal symmetry. Quasiparticle interference imaging of the in-gap zero-energy states reveals segmented arcs, with high-temperature data linking them to parts of the reconstructed V d-orbital states within the charge order. The detected residual Fermi arcs can be explained by the partial suppression of these d-orbital states through an interorbital 2 by 2 PDW and thus serve as candidate Bogoliubov Fermi states. Additionally, we differentiate the observed PDW order from impurity-induced gap modulations. Our observations not only uncover a chiral PDW order with orbital-selectivity, but also illuminate the fundamental space-momentum correspondence inherent in finite momentum paired superconductivity., Comment: To appear in Nature (2024)

We study a one-dimensional lattice system of free fermions subjected to a generalized measurement process: the system exchanges particles with its environment, but each fermion leaving or entering the system is counted. In contrast to the freezing of dynamics due to frequent measurements of lattice-site occupation numbers, a high rate of fermion counts induces fast fluctuations in the state of the system. Still, through numerical simulations of quantum trajectories and an analytical approach based on replica Keldysh field theory, we find that instantaneous correlations and entanglement properties of free fermions subjected to fermion counting and local occupation measurements are strikingly similar. We explain this similarity through a generalized Zeno effect induced by fermion counting and a universal long-wavelength description in terms of an $\mathrm{SU}(R)$ nonlinear sigma model. Further, for both types of measurement processes, we present strong evidence against the existence of a critical phase with logarithmic entanglement and conformal invariance at finite measurement rates. Instead, we identify a well-defined and finite critical range of length scales on which signatures of conformal invariance are observable. While area-law entanglement is established beyond a scale that is exponentially large in the measurement rate, the upper boundary of the critical range is only algebraically large and thus numerically accessible., Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures

A phase of matter in which fermion quartets form a superconducting condensate, rather than the paradigmatic Cooper pairs, is a recurrent subject of experimental and theoretical studies. However, a comprehensive microscopic understanding of charge-4$e$ superconductivity as a quantum phase is lacking. Here, we propose and study a two-orbital tight-binding model with attractive Hubbard-type interactions. Such a model naturally provides the Bose-Einstein condensate as a limit for electron quartets and supports charge-4$e$ superconductivity, as we show by mapping it to a spin-1/2 chain in this perturbative limit. Using both exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group calculations for the one-dimensional case, we further establish that the ground state is indeed a superfluid phase of 4$e$ charge carriers and that this phase can be stabilized well beyond the perturbative regime. Importantly, we demonstrate that 4$e$ condensation dominates over 2$e$ condensation even for nearly decoupled orbitals, a scenario suitable for experiments with ultracold atoms in the form of almost decoupled chains. Our model paves the way for both experimental and theoretical exploration of 4$e$ superconductivity and provides a natural starting point for future studies beyond one dimension or more intricate 4$e$ states.

Twisted bilayer graphene is an exciting platform for exploring correlated quantum phases, extremely tunable with respect to both the single-particle bands and the interaction profile of electrons. Here, we investigate the phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene as described by an extended Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice with two fermionic orbitals (valleys) per site. Besides the special extended {\it cluster interaction} $Q$, we incorporate the effect of gating through an onsite Hubbard-interaction $U$. Within Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC), we find valence-bond-solid, N\'eel-valley antiferromagnetic or charge-density wave phases. Further, we elucidate the competition of these phases by noticing that the cluster interaction induces an exotic constraint on the Hilbert space, which we dub {\it the cluster rule}, in analogy to the famous pyrochlore spin-ice rule. Formulating the perturbative Hamiltonian by projecting into the cluster-rule manifold, we perform exact diagonalization and construct the fixed-point states of the observed phases. Finally, we compute the local electron density patterns as signatures distinguishing these phases, which could be observed with scanning tunneling microscopy. Our work capitalizes on the notion of cluster constraints in the extended Hubbard model of twisted bilayer graphene, and suggests a scheme towards realization of several symmetry-breaking insulating phases in a twisted-bilayer graphene sheet., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

Recent experiments observed a phase transition within the superconducting regime of the heavy-fermion system CeRh$_2$As$_2$ when subjected to a $c$-axis magnetic field. This phase transition has been interpreted as a parity switching from even to odd parity as the field is increased, and is believed to be of first order. If correct, this scenario provides a unique opportunity to study the phenomenon of local nucleation around inhomogeneities in a superconducting context. Here, we study such nucleation in the form of sharp domain walls emerging on a background of spatially varying material properties and hence, critical magnetic field. To this end, we construct a spatially inhomogeneous Ginzburg-Landau functional and apply numerical minimization to demonstrate the existence of localized domain wall solutions and study their physical properties. Furthermore, we propose ultrasound attenuation as an experimental bulk probe of domain wall physics in the system. In particular, we predict the appearance of an absorption peak due to domain wall percolation upon tuning the magnetic field across the first-order transition line. We argue that the temperature dependence of this peak could help identify the nature of the phase transition., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

Despite much experimental and theoretical work, the nature of the charge order in the kagome metals belonging to the family of materials AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=Cs,Rb,K) remains controversial. A crucial ingredient for the identification of the ordering in these materials is their response to external perturbations, such as strain or magnetic fields. To this end, we provide a comprehensive symmetry classification of the possible charge orders in kagome materials with a $2\times2$ increase of the unit cell. Motivated by the experimental reports of time-reversal-symmetry breaking and rotational anisotropy, we consider the interdependence of flux and bond orders. Deriving the relevant Landau free energy for possible orders, we study the effect of symmetry-breaking perturbations such as strain and magnetic fields. Our results, thus, provide a roadmap for future tests of these intricate orders., Comment: 15 pages (+7 pages appendix), 4 figures (+6 figures appendix)

The kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K,Rb,Cs) present an ideal sandbox to study the interrelation between multiple coexisting correlated phases such as charge order and superconductivity. So far, no consensus on the microscopic nature of these states has been reached as the proposals struggle to explain all their exotic physical properties. Among these, field-switchable electric magneto-chiral anisotropy (eMChA) in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ provides intriguing evidence for a rewindable electronic chirality, yet the other family members have not been likewise investigated. Here, we present a comparative study of magneto-chiral transport between CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ and KV$_3$Sb$_5$. Despite their similar electronic structure, KV$_3$Sb$_5$ displays negligible eMChA, if any, and with no field switchability. This is in stark contrast to the non-saturating eMChA in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ even in high fields up to 35 T. In light of their similar band structures, the stark difference in eMChA suggests its origin in the correlated states. Clearly, the V kagome nets alone are not sufficient to describe the physics and the interactions with their environment are crucial in determining the nature of their low-temperature state.

Recently, unusual $\pi$ phase shifts in Little-Parks experiments performed on two systems derived from the layered superconductor 2H-TaS$_2$ were reported. These systems share the common feature that additional layers have been inserted between the 1H-TaS$_2$ layers. In both cases, the $\pi$ phase shift has been interpreted as evidence for the emergence of exotic superconductivity in the 1H layers. Here, we propose an alternative explanation assuming that superconductivity in the individual 1H layers is of conventional $s$-wave nature derived from the parent 2H-TaS$_2$. We show that a negative Josephson coupling between otherwise decoupled neighboring 1H layers can explain the observations. Furthermore, we find that the negative coupling can arise naturally assuming a tunneling barrier containing paramagnetic impurities. An important ingredient is the suppression of non-spin-flip tunneling due to spin-momentum locking of Ising type in a single 1H layer together with the inversion symmetry of the double layer. In the exotic superconductivity scenario, it is challenging to explain why the critical temperature is almost the same as in the parent material and, in the 4Hb case, the superconductivity's robustness to disorder. Both are non-issues in our picture, which also exposes the common features that are special in these two systems.

Spontaneously broken symmetries are at the heart of many phenomena of quantum matter and physics more generally. However, determining the exact symmetries broken can be challenging due to imperfections such as strain, in particular when multiple electronic orders form complex interactions. This is exemplified by charge order in some kagome systems, which are speculated to show nematicity and flux order from orbital currents. We fabricated highly symmetric samples of a member of this family, CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, and measured their transport properties. We find the absence of measurable anisotropy at any temperature in the unperturbed material, however, a striking in-plane transport anisotropy appears when either weak magnetic fields or strains are present. A symmetry analysis indicates that a perpendicular magnetic field can indeed lead to in-plane anisotropy by inducing a flux order coexisting with more conventional bond order. Our results provide a unifying picture for the controversial charge order in kagome metals and highlight the need for microscopic materials control in the identification of broken symmetries.

Topological quantum chemistry (TQC) is a successful framework for identifying (noninteracting) topological materials. Based on the symmetry eigenvalues of Bloch eigenstates at maximal momenta, which are attainable from first principles calculations, a band structure can either be classified as an atomic limit, in other words adiabatically connected to independent electronic orbitals on the respective crystal lattice, or it is topological. For interacting systems, there is no single-particle band structure and hence, the TQC machinery grinds to a halt. We develop a framework analogous to TQC, but employing $n$-particle Green's function to classify interacting systems. Fundamentally, we define a class of interacting reference states that generalize the notion of atomic limits, which we call Mott atomic limits, and are symmetry protected topological states. Our formalism allows to fully classify these reference states (with $n=2$), which can themselves represent symmetry protected topological states. We present a comprehensive classification of such states in one-dimension and provide numerical results on model systems. With this, we establish Mott atomic limit states as a generalization of the atomic limits to interacting systems.

Removal or cancellation of noise has wide-spread applications for imaging and acoustics. In every-day-life applications, denoising may even include generative aspects, which are unfaithful to the ground truth. For scientific use, however, denoising must reproduce the ground truth accurately. Here, we show how data can be denoised via a deep convolutional neural network such that weak signals appear with quantitative accuracy. In particular, we study X-ray diffraction on crystalline materials. We demonstrate that weak signals stemming from charge ordering, insignificant in the noisy data, become visible and accurate in the denoised data. This success is enabled by supervised training of a deep neural network with pairs of measured low- and high-noise data. We demonstrate that using artificial noise does not yield such quantitatively accurate results. Our approach thus illustrates a practical strategy for noise filtering that can be applied to challenging acquisition problems., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures; extended study, additional supplementary information, results unchanged

Finding unambiguous evidence of non-trivial pairing states is one of the greatest experimental challenges in the field of unconventional superconductivity. Such evidence requires phase-sensitive probes susceptible to the internal structure of the order parameter. We measure the Little-Parks effect to provide clear evidence of an unconventional superconducting order parameter in 4Hb-TaS$_2$. Namely, we find a $\pi$-shift in the transition-temperature oscillations of rings made of a single crystal. We argue that such an effect can only occur if the underlying order parameter belongs to a two-dimensional representation, in other words there are two degenerate order parameters right at the transition. Additionally, we show that $T_c$ is enhanced as a function of the out-of-plane field when a constant in-plane field is applied. Such an increase is consistent with a chiral state, which again, in general only emerges from a two-component order parameter. In combination with previous experiments, our results strongly indicate that 4Hb-TaS$_2$ indeed realizes a chiral superconductor.

Inversion and time reversal are essential symmetries for the structure of Cooper pairs in superconductors. The loss of one or both leads to modifications to this structure and can change the properties of the superconducting phases in profound ways. Lacking inversion, superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric materials has become an important topic, in particular, in the context of topological superconductivity as well as unusual magnetic and magneto-electric properties. Recently, crystal structures with local, but not global inversion-symmetry breaking have attracted attention, as superconductivity can exhibit phenomena not naively expected in centrosymmetric materials. After introducing the concept of locally noncentrosymmetric crystals and different material realizations, we discuss consequences of such local symmetry breaking on the classification, the expected and, in parts, already observed phenomenology of unconventional superconductivity, and possible topological superconducting phases., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Annual Reviews of Condensed Matter Physics

When electric conductors differ from their mirror image, unusual chiral transport coefficients appear that are forbidden in achiral metals, such as a non-linear electric response known as electronic magneto-chiral anisotropy (eMChA). While chiral transport signatures are by symmetry allowed in many conductors without a center of inversion, it reaches appreciable levels only in rare cases when an exceptionally strong chiral coupling to the itinerant electrons is present. So far, observations of chiral transport have been limited to materials in which the atomic positions strongly break mirror symmetries. Here, we report chiral transport in the centro-symmetric layered Kagome metal CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, observed via second harmonic generation under in-plane magnetic field. The eMChA signal becomes significant only at temperatures below $T'\sim$ 35 K, deep within the charge-ordered state of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ ($T_{\mathrm{CDW}}\sim$ 94 K). This temperature dependence reveals a direct correspondence between electronic chirality, unidirectional charge order, and spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking due to putative orbital loop currents. We show that the chirality is set by the out-of-plane field component and that a transition from left- to right-handed transport can be induced by changing the field sign. CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is the first material in which strong chiral transport can be controlled and switched by small magnetic-field changes, in stark contrast to structurally chiral materials -- a prerequisite for their applications in chiral electronics.

The bulk-boundary correspondence guarantees topologically protected edge states in a two-dimensional topological superconductor. Unlike in topological insulators, these edge states are, however, not connected to a quantized (spin) current as the electron number is not conserved in a Bogolyubov-de Gennes Hamiltonian. Still, edge currents are in general present. Here, we use the two-dimensional Rashba system as an example to systematically analyze the effect symmetry reductions have on the order-parameter mixing and the edge properties in a superconductor of Altland-Zirnbauer class DIII (time-reversal-symmetry preserving) and D (time-reversal-symmetry breaking). In particular, we employ both Ginzburg-Landau and microscopic modeling to analyze the bulk superconducting properties and edge currents appearing in a strip geometry. We find edge (spin) currents independent of bulk topology and associated topological edge states which evolve continuously even when going through a phase transition into a topological state. Our findings emphasize the importance of symmetry over topology for the understanding of the non-quantized edge currents., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

We develop a workflow to use current quantum computing hardware for solving quantum many-body problems, using the example of the fermionic Hubbard model. Concretely, we study a four-site Hubbard ring that exhibits a transition from a product state to an intrinsically interacting ground state as hopping amplitudes are changed. We locate this transition and solve for the ground state energy with high quantitative accuracy using a variational quantum algorithm executed on an IBM quantum computer. Our results are enabled by a variational ansatz that takes full advantage of the maximal set of commuting $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetries of the problem and a Lanczos-inspired error mitigation algorithm. They are a benchmark on the way to exploiting near term quantum simulators for quantum many-body problems.

The recent discovery of AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K,Rb,Cs) has uncovered an intriguing arena for exotic Fermi surface instabilities in a kagome metal. Among them, superconductivity is found in the vicinity of multiple van Hove singularities, exhibiting indications of unconventional pairing. We show that the sublattice interference mechanism is central to understanding the formation of superconductivity in a kagome metal. Starting from an appropriately chosen minimal tight-binding model with multiple with multiple van Hove singularities close to the Fermi level for AV$_3$Sb$_5$, we provide a random phase approximation analysis of superconducting instabilities. Non-local Coulomb repulsion, the sublattice profile of the van Hove bands, and the bare interaction strength turn out to be the crucial parameters to determine the preferred pairing symmetry. Implications for potentially topological surface states are discussed, along with a proposal for additional measurements to pin down the nature of superconductivity in AV$_3$Sb$_5$., Comment: 6 page, 4 figures

Inversion symmetry is a key symmetry in unconventional superconductors and even its local breaking can have profound implications. For inversion-symmetric systems, there is a competition on a microscopic level between the spin-orbit coupling associated with the local lack of inversion and hybridizing terms that `restore' inversion. Investigating a layered system with alternating mirror-symmetry breaking, we study this competition considering the spin response of different superconducting order parameters for the case of strong spin-orbit coupling. We find that signatures of the local non-centrosymmetry, such as an increased spin susceptibility in spin-singlet superconductors for $T\rightarrow 0$, persist even into the quasi-three-dimensional regime. This leads to a direction dependent spin response which allows to distinguish different superconducting order parameters. Furthermore, we identify several regimes with possible topological superconducting phases within a symmetry-indicator analysis. Our results may have direct relevance for the recently reported Ce-based superconductor CeRh$_2$As$_2$ and beyond.

This is an introductory machine-learning course specifically developed with STEM students in mind. Our goal is to provide the interested reader with the basics to employ machine learning in their own projects and to familiarize themself with the terminology as a foundation for further reading of the relevant literature. In these lecture notes, we discuss supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. The notes start with an exposition of machine learning methods without neural networks, such as principle component analysis, t-SNE, clustering, as well as linear regression and linear classifiers. We continue with an introduction to both basic and advanced neural-network structures such as dense feed-forward and conventional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, restricted Boltzmann machines, (variational) autoencoders, generative adversarial networks. Questions of interpretability are discussed for latent-space representations and using the examples of dreaming and adversarial attacks. The final section is dedicated to reinforcement learning, where we introduce basic notions of value functions and policy learning., Comment: 84 pages, 37 figures. The content of these lecture notes together with exercises is available under http://www.ml-lectures.org. A shorter German version of the lecture notes is published in the Springer essential series, ISBN 978-3-658-32268-7, doi:10.1007/978-3-658-32268-7

The idea that preformed Cooper pairs could exist in a superconductor above its zero-resistance state has been explored for unconventional, interface, and disordered superconductors, yet direct experimental evidence is lacking. Here, we use scanning tunneling noise spectroscopy to unambiguously show that preformed Cooper pairs exist up to temperatures much higher than the zero-resistance critical temperature $T_{C}$ in the disordered superconductor titanium nitride, by observing a clear enhancement in the shot noise that is equivalent to a change of the effective charge from 1 to 2 electron charges. We further show that spectroscopic gap fills up rather than closes when increasing temperature. Our results thus demonstrate the existence of a novel state above $T_{C}$ that, much like an ordinary metal, has no (pseudo)gap, but carries charge via paired electrons.

The spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the pyrochlore lattice is an iconic frustrated three-dimensional spin system with a rich phase diagram. Besides hosting several ordered phases, the model is debated to possess a spin-liquid ground state when only nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions are present. Here, we contest this hypothesis with an extensive numerical investigation using both exact diagonalization and complementary variational techniques. Specifically, we employ a RVB-like many-variable Monte Carlo ansatz and convolutional neural network quantum states for (variational) calculations with up to $4\times 4^3$ and $4 \times 3^3$ spins, respectively. We demonstrate that these techniques yield consistent results, allowing for reliable extrapolations to the thermodynamic limit. Our main results are (1) the determination of the phase transition between the putative spin-liquid phase and the neighboring magnetically ordered phase and (2) a careful characterization of the ground state in terms of symmetry-breaking tendencies. We find clear indications of spontaneously broken inversion and rotational symmetry, calling the scenario of a featureless quantum spin-liquid into question. Our work showcases how many-variable variational techniques can be used to make progress in answering challenging questions about three-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

Superconductivity in a crystalline lattice without inversion is subject to complex spin-orbit-coupling effects, which can lead to mixed-parity pairing and an unusual magnetic response. In this study, the properties of a layered superconductor with alternating Rashba spin-orbit coupling in the stacking of layers, hence (globally) possessing a center of inversion, is analyzed in an applied magnetic field, using a generalized Ginzburg-Landau model. The superconducting order parameter consists of an even- and an odd-parity pairing component which exchange their roles as dominant pairing channel upon increasing the magnetic field. This leads to an unusual kink feature in the upper critical field and a first-order phase transition within the mixed phase. We investigate various signatures of this internal phase transition. The physics we discuss here could explain the recently found $H$--$T$ phase diagram of the heavy Fermion superconductor CeRh$_2$As$_2$.

'Magic'-angle twisted bilayer graphene has received a lot of interest due to its flat bands with potentially non-trivial topology that lead to intricate correlated phases. A spectrum with flat bands, however, does not require a twist between multiple sheets of van der Waals materials, but rather can be realized with the application of an appropriate periodic potential. Here, we propose the imposition of a tailored periodic potential onto a single graphene layer through local perturbations that could be created via lithography or adatom manipulation, which also results in an energy spectrum featuring flat bands. Our first-principle calculations for an appropriate decoration of graphene with adatoms indeed show the presence of flat bands in the spectrum. Furthermore, we reveal the topological nature of the flat bands through a symmetry-indicator analysis. This non-trivial topology manifests itself in corner-localized states with a filling anomaly as we show using a tight-binding model. Our proposal of a single decorated graphene sheet provides a new versatile route to study correlated phases in topologically non-trivial, flat band structures.

The recently introduced topological quantum chemistry (TQC) framework has provided a description of universal topological properties of all possible band insulators in all space groups based on crystalline unitary symmetries and time reversal. While this formalism filled the gap between the mathematical classification and the practical diagnosis of topological materials, an obvious limitation is that it only applies to weakly interacting systems-which can be described within band theory. It is an open question to which extent this formalism can be generalized to correlated systems that can exhibit symmetry protected topological phases which are not adiabatically connected to any band insulator. In this work we address the many facettes of this question by considering the specific example of a Hubbard diamond chain. This model features a Mott insulator, a trivial insulating phase and an obstructed atomic limit phase. Here we discuss the nature of the Mott insulator and determine the phase diagram and topology of the interacting model with infinite density matrix renormalization group calculations, variational Monte Carlo simulations and with many-body topological invariants. We then proceed by considering a generalization of the TQC formalism to Green's functions combined with the concept of topological Hamiltonian to identify the topological nature of the phases, using cluster perturbation theory to calculate the Green's functions. The results are benchmarked with the above determined phase diagram and we discuss the applicability and limitations of the approach and its possible extensions., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures

A computationally efficient workflow for obtaining the low-energy symmetric tight-binding Hamiltonians for twisted multilayer systems is presented in this work. We apply this scheme to twisted bilayer graphene at the first magic angle. As initial step, the full-energy tight-binding Hamiltonian is generated by the Slater-Koster model with parameters fitted to ab-initio data at larger angles. Then, the low-energy symmetric four-band and twelve-band Hamiltonians are constructed using the maximum-localization procedure subjected to crystal and time-reversal-symmetry constraints. Finally, we compute extended Hubbard parameters for both models within the constrained random phase approximation (cRPA) for screening, which again respect the symmetries. The relevant data and results of this work are freely available via an online repository. Our workflow, exemplified in this work on twisted bilayer graphene, is straightforwardly transferable to other twisted multi-layer materials., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures

We present a hardware agnostic error mitigation algorithm for near term quantum processors inspired by the classical Lanczos method. This technique can reduce the impact of different sources of noise at the sole cost of an increase in the number of measurements to be performed on the target quantum circuit, without additional experimental overhead. We demonstrate through numerical simulations and experiments on IBM Quantum hardware that the proposed scheme significantly increases the accuracy of cost functions evaluations within the framework of variational quantum algorithms, thus leading to improved ground-state calculations for quantum chemistry and physics problems beyond state-of-the-art results.

We introduce the exceptional topological insulator (ETI), a non-Hermitian topological state of matter that features exotic non-Hermitian surface states which can only exist within the three-dimensional topological bulk embedding. We show how this phase can evolve from a Weyl semimetal or Hermitian three-dimensional topological insulator close to criticality when quasiparticles acquire a finite lifetime. The ETI does not require any symmetry to be stabilized. It is characterized by a bulk energy point gap, and exhibits robust surface states that cover the bulk gap as a single sheet of complex eigenvalues or with a single exceptional point. The ETI can be induced universally in gapless solid-state systems, thereby setting a paradigm for non-Hermitian topological matter., Comment: 6+ pages, 3 figures; 21 pages Supplemental Material

Density functional theory underlies the most successful and widely used numerical methods for electronic structure prediction of solids. However, it has the fundamental shortcoming that the universal density functional is unknown. In addition, the computational result---energy and charge density distribution of the ground state---is useful for electronic properties of solids mostly when reduced to a band structure interpretation based on the Kohn-Sham approach. Here, we demonstrate how machine learning algorithms can help to free density functional theory from these limitations. We study a theory of spinless fermions on a one-dimensional lattice. The density functional is implicitly represented by a neural network, which predicts, besides the ground-state energy and density distribution, density-density correlation functions. At no point do we require a band structure interpretation. The training data, obtained via exact diagonalization, feeds into a learning scheme inspired by active learning, which minimizes the computational costs for data generation. We show that the network results are of high quantitative accuracy and, despite learning on random potentials, capture both symmetry-breaking and topological phase transitions correctly., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; 4+ pages appendix

Tuning of electronic density-of-states singularities is a common route to unconventional metal physics. Conceptually, van Hove singularities are realized only in clean two-dimensional systems. Little attention has therefore been given to the disordered (dirty) limit. Here, we provide a magnetotransport study of the dirty metamagnetic system calcium-doped strontium ruthenate. Fermi liquid properties persist across the metamagnetic transition, but with an unusually strong variation of the Kadowaki-Woods ratio. This is revealed by a strong decoupling of inelastic electron scattering and electronic mass inferred from density-of-state probes. We discuss this Fermi liquid behavior in terms of a magnetic field tunable van Hove singularity in the presence of disorder. More generally, we show how dimensionality and disorder control the fate of transport properties across metamagnetic transitions.

The modern understanding of topological insulators is based on Wannier obstructions in position space. Motivated by this insight, we study topological superconductors from a position-space perspective. For a one-dimensional superconductor, we show that the wave function of an individual Cooper pair decays exponentially with separation in the trivial phase and polynomially in the topological phase. For the position-space Majorana representation, we show that the topological phase is characterized by a nonzero Majorana polarization, which captures an irremovable and quantized separation of Majorana Wannier centers from the atomic positions. We apply our results to diagnose second-order topological superconducting phases in two dimensions. Our work establishes a vantage point for the generalization of Topological Quantum Chemistry to superconductivity., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted manuscript, supplement included

Thin nanomaterials are key constituents of modern quantum technologies and materials research. Identifying specimens of these materials with properties required for the development of state of the art quantum devices is usually a complex and lengthy human task. In this work we provide a neural-network driven solution that allows for accurate and efficient scanning, data-processing and sample identification of experimentally relevant two-dimensional materials. We show how to approach classification of imperfect imbalanced data sets using an iterative application of multiple noisy neural networks. We embed the trained classifier into a comprehensive solution for end-to-end automatized data processing and sample identification., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

Symmetry indicators have proven to be extremely helpful in identifying topologically non-trivial crystalline insulators using symmetry-group representations of their Bloch states. An extension of this approach to superconducting systems requires defining an appropriate atomic limit for Bogoliubov-de-Gennes Hamiltonians. Here, we introduce such a notion of atomic limit and derive a $\mathbb{Z}_{2^d}$-valued symmetry indicator for inversion-symmetric superconductors of $d$ dimensions. This indicator allows for a refined topological classification including higher-order phases for systems in the superconducting symmetry classes D and DIII. We further elucidate the bulk-boundary correspondence of these phases using Dirac surface theories. Requiring only the normal-state band structure and the superconducting order-parameter symmetry as an input, this indicator is well suited for a search of topological superconductors using first-principles calculations., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables

Symmetry arguments based on the point group of a system and thermodynamic measurements are often combined to identify the order parameter in unconventional superconductors. However, lattice translations, which can induce additional momenta with vanishing order parameter in the Brillouin zone, are neglected, especially in gap functions otherwise expected to be constant, such as in chiral superconductors. After a general analysis of the symmetry conditions for vanishing gap functions, we study the case of chiral $p$- and chiral $f$-wave pairing on a square lattice, a situation relevant for Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Specifically, we calculate the impurity-induced density of states, specific heat, superfluid density and thermal conductivity employing a self-consistent T-matrix calculation and compare our results to the case of a nodal ($d$-wave) order parameter. While there is a clear distinction between a fully gapped chiral state and a nodal state, the strongly anisotropic case is almost indistinguishable from the nodal case. Our findings illustrate the difficulty of interpreting thermodynamic measurements. In particular, we find that the available measurements are consistent with a chiral ($f$-wave) order parameter. Our results help to reconcile the thermodynamic measurements with the overall picture of chiral spin-triplet superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Changes compared to first version: - typos were removed, - section from main text was shifted to Appendix A

Recent experiments revealed non-Fermi-liquid resistivity in the unconventional superconductor Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ when strain pushes one of the Fermi surfaces close to a van Hove singularity. The origin of this behavior and whether it can be understood from a picture of well defined quasiparticles is unclear. We employ a Boltzmann transport analysis beyond the single relaxation-time approximation based on a single band which undergoes a Lifshitz transition, where the Fermi surface crosses a van Hove singularity, either due to uni-axial or epitaxial strain. First analytically investigating impurity scattering, we clarify the role of the diverging density of states together with the locally flat band at the point of the Lifshitz transition. Additionally including electron-electron scattering numerically, we find good qualitative agreement with resistivity measurements on uni-axially strained Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$, including the temperature scaling and the temperature dependence of the resistivity peak. Our results imply that even close to the Lifshitz transition, a description starting from well-defined quasiparticles holds. To test the validity of Boltzmann transport theory near a van Hove singularity, we provide further experimentally accessible parameters, such as thermal transport, the Seebeck coefficient, and Hall resistivity and compare different strain scenarios., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

Much recent experimental effort has focused on the realization of exotic quantum states and dynamics predicted to occur in periodically driven systems. But how robust are the sought-after features, such as Floquet topological surface states, against unavoidable imperfections in the periodic driving? In this work, we address this question in a broader context and study the dynamics of quantum systems subject to noise with periodically recurring statistics. We show that the stroboscopic time evolution of such systems is described by a noise-averaged Floquet superoperator. The eigenvectors and -values of this superoperator generalize the familiar concepts of Floquet states and quasienergies and allow us to describe decoherence due to noise efficiently. Applying the general formalism to the example of a noisy Floquet topological chain, we re-derive and corroborate our recent findings on the noise-induced decay of topologically protected end states. These results follow directly from an expansion of the end state in eigenvectors of the Floquet superoperator., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures. This is the final, published version

The traditional symmetries that protect superconductivity are time-reversal and inversion. Here, we examine the minimal symmetries protecting superconductivity in two dimensions and find that time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry are not required, and having a combination of either symmetry with a mirror operation on the basal plane is sufficient. We classify superconducting states stabilized by these two symmetries, when time-reversal and inversion symmetries are not present, and provide realistic minimal models as examples. Interestingly, several experimentally realized systems, such as transition metal dichalcogenides and the two-dimensional Rashba system belong to this category, when subject to an applied magnetic field.

Experimental control over ultracold quantum gases has made it possible to investigate low-dimensional systems of both bosonic and fermionic atoms. In closed 1D systems there are a lot of similarities in the dynamics of local quantities for spinless fermions and strongly interacting "hard-core" bosons, which on a lattice can be formalised via a Jordan-Wigner transformation. In this study, we analyse the similarities and differences for spinless fermions and hard-core bosons on a lattice in the presence of particle loss. The removal of a single fermion causes differences in local quantities compared with the bosonic case, because of the different particle exchange symmetry in the two cases. We identify deterministic and probabilistic signatures of these dynamics in terms of local particle density, which could be measured in ongoing experiments with quantum gas microscopes., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

At long times residual couplings to the environment become relevant even in the most isolated experiments, creating a crucial difficulty for the study of fundamental aspects of many-body dynamics. A particular example is many-body localization in a cold-atom setting, where incoherent photon scattering introduces both dephasing and particle loss. Whereas dephasing has been studied in detail and is known to destroy localization already on the level of non-interacting particles, the effect of particle loss is less well understood. A difficulty arises due to the `non-local' nature of the loss process, complicating standard numerical tools using matrix product decomposition. Utilizing symmetries of the Lindbladian dynamics, we investigate the particle loss on both the dynamics of observables, as well as the structure of the density matrix and the individual states. We find that particle loss in the presence of interactions leads to dissipation and a strong suppression of the (operator space) entanglement entropy. Our approach allows for the study of the interplay of dephasing and loss for pure and mixed initial states to long times, which is important for future experiments using controlled coupling of the environment., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

The quest to create superconductors with higher transition temperatures is as old as superconductivity itself. One strategy, popular after the realization that (conventional) superconductivity is mediated by phonons, is to chemically combine different elements within the crystalline unit cell to maximize the electron-phonon coupling. This led to the discovery of NbTi and Nb3Sn, to name just the most technologically relevant examples. Here, we propose a radically different approach to transform a `pristine' material into a better (meta-) superconductor by making use of modern fabrication techniques: designing and engineering the electronic properties of thin films via periodic patterning on the nanoscale. We present a model calculation to explore the key effects of different supercells that could be fabricated using nanofabrication or deliberate lattice mismatch, and demonstrate that specific pattern will enhance the coupling and the transition temperature. We also discuss how numerical methods could predict the correct design parameters to improve superconductivity in materials including Al, NbTi, and MgB2

Chemical substitution plays a key role in controlling the electronic and magnetic properties of complex materials. For instance, in EuO, carrier doping can induce a spin-polarized metallic state, colossal magnetoresistance, and significantly enhance the Curie temperature. Here, we employ a combination of molecular-beam epitaxy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and an effective model calculation to investigate and understand how semi-localized states evolve in lightly electron doped Eu$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$O above the ferromagnetic Curie temperature. Our studies reveal a characteristic length scale for the spatial extent of the donor wavefunctions which remains constant as a function of doping, consistent with recent tunneling studies of doped EuO. Our work sheds light on the nature of the semiconductor-to-metal transition in Eu$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$O and should be generally applicable for doped complex oxides.

In the presence of disorder, an interacting closed quantum system can undergo many-body localization (MBL) and fail to thermalize. However, over long times even weak couplings to any thermal environment will necessarily thermalize the system and erase all signatures of MBL. This presents a challenge for experimental investigations of MBL, since no realistic system can ever be fully closed. In this work, we experimentally explore the thermalization dynamics of a localized system in the presence of controlled dissipation. Specifically, we find that photon scattering results in a stretched exponential decay of an initial density pattern with a rate that depends linearly on the scattering rate. We find that the resulting susceptibility increases significantly close to the phase transition point. In this regime, which is inaccessible to current numerical studies, we also find a strong dependence on interactions. Our work provides a basis for systematic studies of MBL in open systems and opens a route towards extrapolation of closed system properties from experiments., Comment: 5+7 pages, 9 figures

Theoretically it has been known that breaking spin-degeneracy and effectively realizing 'spinless fermions' is a promising path to topological superconductors. Yet, topological superconductors are rare to date. Here, we propose to realize spinless fermions by splitting the spin-degeneracy in momentum space. Specifically, we identify monolayer hole-doped transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)s as candidates for topological superconductors out of such momentum-space-split spinless fermions. Although electron-doped TMDs have recently been found superconducting, the observed superconductivity is unlikely topological due to the near spin-degeneracy. Meanwhile, hole-doped TMDs with momentum-space-split spinless fermions remain unexplored. Employing a renormalization group analysis, we propose that the unusual spin-valley locking in hole-doped TMDs together with repulsive interactions selectively favors two topological superconducting states: inter-pocket paired state with Chern number 2 and intra-pocket paired state with finite pair-momentum. A confirmation of our predictions will open up possibilities for manipulating topological superconductors on the device friendly platform of monolayer TMDs., Comment: 12+8 pages, 4+2 figures

Coupling a many-body-localized system to a dissipative bath necessarily leads to delocalization. Here, we investigate the nature of the ensuing relaxation dynamics and the information it holds on the many-body-localized state. We formulate the relevant Lindblad equation in terms of the local integrals of motion of the underlying localized Hamiltonian. This allows to map the quantum evolution deep in the localized state to tractable classical rate equations. We consider two different types of dissipation relevant to systems of ultra-cold atoms: dephasing due to inelastic scattering on the lattice lasers and particle loss. Only the latter mechanism shows a pronounced effects of interactions on the relaxation of observables.

For a tetragonal material, order parameters of $p_x$ and $p_y$ symmetry are related by rotation and hence have the same $T_{\rm c}$ at a mean-field level. This degeneracy can be lifted by a symmetry-breaking field, like (uniaxial) in-plane strain, such that at $T_{\rm c}$, the order parameter is only of $p_x$ or $p_y$ symmetry. Only at a lower temperature also the respective other order parameter condenses to form a chiral $p$-wave state. At the mean-field level, the derivative of $T_{\rm c}$ with strain is discontinuous at zero strain. We analyze consequences of (thermal) fluctuations on the strain-temperature phase diagram within a Ginzburg-Landau approach. We find that the order-parameter fluctuations can drive the transition to be weakly first order, rounding off this discontinuity. We discuss the possibility of a second-order transition into a non-superconducting time-reversal-symmetry-breaking phase and consequences for the spin-triplet superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$.