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An indirect exciton is a bound state of an electron and a hole in spatially separated layers. Two-dimensional indirect excitons can be created optically in heterostructures containing double quantum wells or atomically thin semiconductors. We study theoretically transmission of such bosonic quasiparticles through nano-constrictions. We show that quantum transport phenomena, e.g., conductance quantization, single-slit diffraction, two-slit interference, and the Talbot effect, are experimentally realizable in systems of indirect excitons. We discuss similarities and differences between these phenomena and their counterparts in electronic devices., Comment: (v2) Updated title, text, and references; 12 pages, 9 figures

The phase diagram of the cuprate superconductors has posed a formidable scientific challenge for more than three decades. This challenge is perhaps best exemplified by the need to understand the normal-state charge transport as the system evolves from Mott insulator to Fermi-liquid metal with doping. Here we report a detailed analysis of the temperature (T) and doping (p) dependence of the planar resistivity of simple-tetragonal HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (Hg1201), the single-CuO$_2$-layer cuprate with the highest optimal $T_c$. The data allow us to test a recently proposed phenomenological model for the cuprate phase diagram that combines a universal transport scattering rate with spatially inhomogeneous (de)localization of the Mott-localized hole. We find that the model provides an excellent description of the data. We then extend this analysis to prior transport results for several other cuprates, including the Hall number in the overdoped part of the phase diagram, and find little compound-to-compound variation in (de)localization gap scale. The results point to a robust, universal structural origin of the inherent gap inhomogeneity that is unrelated to doping-related disorder. They are inconsistent with the notion that much of the phase diagram is controlled by a quantum critical point, and instead indicate that the unusual electronic properties exhibited by the cuprates are fundamentally related to strong nonlinearities associated with subtle nanoscale inhomogeneity., Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures

Indirect excitons (IXs) are bound pairs of electrons and holes confined in spatially separated layers. We present wide single quantum well (WSQW) heterostructures with high IX mobility, spectrally narrow IX emission, voltage-controllable IX energy, and long and voltage-controllable IX lifetime. This set of properties shows that WSQW heterostructures provide an advanced platform both for studying basic properties of IXs in low-disorder environments and for the development of high mobility excitonic devices.

We present a concept and experimental proof of principle for split-gate devices for indirect excitons (IXs). The split-gate forms a narrow channel, a point contact, for IX current. Control of IX flow through the split-gate with both gate voltage and excitation power is demonstrated.

We present the direct measurements of magnetoexciton transport. Excitons give the opportunity to realize the high magnetic field regime for composite bosons with magnetic fields of a few Tesla. Long lifetimes of indirect excitons allow the study kinetics of magnetoexciton transport with time-resolved optical imaging of exciton photoluminescence. We performed spatially, spectrally, and time-resolved optical imaging of transport of indirect excitons in high magnetic fields. We observed that increasing magnetic field slows down magnetoexciton transport. The time-resolved measurements of the magnetoexciton transport distance allowed for an experimental estimation of the magnetoexciton diffusion coefficient. An enhancement of the exciton photoluminescence energy at the laser excitation spot was found to anti-correlate with the exciton transport distance. A theoretical model of indirect magnetoexciton transport is presented and is in agreement with the experimental data.

We present spatially- and spectrally-resolved photoluminescence measurements of indirect excitons in high magnetic fields. Long indirect exciton lifetimes give the opportunity to measure magnetoexciton transport by optical imaging. Indirect excitons formed from electrons and holes at zeroth Landau levels (0e - 0h indirect magnetoexcitons) travel over large distances and form a ring emission pattern around the excitation spot. In contrast, the spatial profiles of 1e - 1h and 2e - 2h indirect magnetoexciton emission closely follow the laser excitation profile. The 0e - 0h indirect magnetoexciton transport distance reduces with increasing magnetic field. These effects are explained in terms of magnetoexciton energy relaxation and effective mass enhancement.

We use neutron scattering to study magnetic excitations near the antiferromagnetic wave vector in the underdoped single-layer cuprate HgBa2CuO4+{\delta} (superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 88 K, pseudogap temperature T* ~ 220 K). The response is distinctly enhanced below T* and exhibits a Y-shaped dispersion in the pseudogap state, whereas the superconducting state features an X-shaped (hourglass) dispersion and a further resonance-like enhancement. A large spin gap of about 40 meV is observed in both states. This phenomenology is reminiscent of that exhibited by bilayer cuprates. The resonance spectral weight, irrespective of doping and compound, scales linearly with the putative binding energy of a spin-exciton described by an itinerant-spin formalism., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

We report on the principle and realization of an excitonic device: a ramp that directs the transport of indirect excitons down a potential energy gradient created by a perforated electrode at constant voltage. The device provides an experimental proof of principle for controlling exciton transport with electrode density gradients. We observed that the exciton transport distance along the ramp increases with increasing exciton density. This effect is explained in terms of disorder screening by repulsive exciton-exciton interactions.

The condensation of an electron superfluid from a conventional metallic state at a critical temperature $T_c$ is described well by the BCS theory. In the underdoped copper-oxides, high-temperature superconductivity condenses instead from a nonconventional metallic "pseudogap" phase that exhibits a variety of non-Fermi liquid properties. Recently, it has become clear that a charge density wave (CDW) phase exists within the pseudogap regime, appearing at a temperature $T_{CDW}$ just above $T_c$. The near coincidence of $T_c$ and $T_{CDW}$, as well the coexistence and competition of CDW and superconducting order below $T_c$, suggests that they are intimately related. Here we show that the condensation of the superfluid from this unconventional precursor is reflected in deviations from the predictions of BSC theory regarding the recombination rate of quasiparticles. We report a detailed investigation of the quasiparticle (QP) recombination lifetime, $\tau_{qp}$, as a function of temperature and magnetic field in underdoped HgBa$_{2}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (Hg-1201) and YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ (YBCO) single crystals by ultrafast time-resolved reflectivity. We find that $\tau_{qp}(T)$ exhibits a local maximum in a small temperature window near $T_c$ that is prominent in underdoped samples with coexisting charge order and vanishes with application of a small magnetic field. We explain this unusual, non-BCS behavior by positing that $T_c$ marks a transition from phase-fluctuating SC/CDW composite order above to a SC/CDW condensate below. Our results suggest that the superfluid in underdoped cuprates is a condensate of coherently-mixed particle-particle and particle-hole pairs.

We report an experimental study of excitons in a double quantum well van der Waals heterostructure made of atomically thin layers of \Mo* and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The emission of neutral and charged excitons is controlled by gate voltage, temperature, and both the helicity and the power of optical excitation.

We present a method for determining correlations in a gas of indirect excitons in a semiconductor quantum well structure. The method involves subjecting the excitons to a periodic electrostatic potential that causes modulations of the exciton density and photoluminescence (PL). Experimentally measured amplitudes of energy and intensity modulations of exciton PL serve as an input to a theoretical estimate of the exciton correlation parameter and temperature. We also present a proof-of-principle demonstration of the method for determining the correlation parameter and discuss how its accuracy can be improved., Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures

The phase diagram of the cuprate superconductors continues to pose formidable scientific challenges. While these materials are typically viewed as doped Mott insulators, it is well known that they are Fermi liquids at high hole-dopant concentrations. It was recently demonstrated that at moderate doping, in the pseudogap region of the phase diagram, the charge carriers are also best described as Fermi liquid. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two Fermi-liquid regions and the nature of the strange-metal state at intermediate doping have remained unsolved. Here we show in the case of the model cuprate superconductor HgBa2CuO4+{\delta} that the scattering rate measured by the cotangent of the Hall angle remains quadratic in temperature across the pseudogap temperature, upon entering the strange-metal state, and that it is doping-independent below optimal doping. Analysis of the published results for other cuprates reveals that this behavior is universal throughout the entire phase diagram and points to a pervasive Fermi-liquid transport scattering rate. We argue that these observations can be reconciled with other data upon considering the possibility that the pseudogap phenomenon signifies the completion of the gradual, non-uniform localization of one hole per planar CuO2 unit upon cooling.

Charge-density-wave (CDW) correlations within the quintessential CuO$_2$ planes have been argued to either cause [1] or compete with [2] the superconductivity in the cuprates, and they might furthermore drive the Fermi-surface reconstruction in high magnetic fields implied by quantum oscillation (QO) experiments for YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+{\delta}}$ (YBCO) [3] and HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+{\delta}}$ (Hg1201) [4]. Consequently, the observation of bulk CDW order in YBCO was a significant development [5,6,7]. Hg1201 features particularly high structural symmetry and recently has been demonstrated to exhibit Fermi-liquid charge transport in the relevant temperature-doping range of the phase diagram, whereas for YBCO and other cuprates this underlying property of the CuO$_2$ planes is partially or fully masked [8-10]. It therefore is imperative to establish if the pristine transport behavior of Hg1201 is compatible with CDW order. Here we investigate Hg1201 ($T_c$ = 72 K) via bulk Cu L-edge resonant X-ray scattering. We indeed observe CDW correlations in the absence of a magnetic field, although the correlations and competition with superconductivity are weaker than in YBCO. Interestingly, at the measured hole-doping level, both the short-range CDW and Fermi-liquid transport appear below the same temperature of about 200 K. Our result points to a unifying picture in which the CDW formation is preceded at the higher pseudogap temperature by $q$ = 0 magnetic order [11,12] and the build-up of significant dynamic antiferromagnetic correlations [13]. Furthermore, the smaller CDW modulation wave vector observed for Hg1201 is consistent with the larger electron pocket implied by both QO [4] and Hall-effect [14] measurements, which suggests that CDW correlations are indeed responsible for the low-temperature QO phenomenon.

We report in-plane resistivity ($\rho$) and transverse magnetoresistance (MR) measurements in underdoped HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (Hg1201). Contrary to the longstanding view that Kohler's rule is strongly violated in underdoped cuprates, we find that it is in fact satisfied in the pseudogap phase of Hg1201. The transverse MR shows a quadratic field dependence, $\delta\rho/\rho_o=a H^{2}$, with $a(T)\propto T^{-4}$. In combination with the observed $\rho\propto T^2$ dependence, this is consistent with a single Fermi-liquid quasiparticle scattering rate. We show that this behavior is universal, yet typically masked in cuprates with lower structural symmetry or strong disorder effects., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Antiferromagnetic correlations have been argued to be the cause of the d-wave superconductivity and the pseudogap phenomena exhibited by the cuprates. Although the antiferromagnetic response in the pseudogap state has been reported for a number of compounds, there exists no information for structurally simple HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$. Here we report neutron scattering results for HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (superconducting transition temperature T$_c$ $\sim$ 71 K, pseudogap temperature T* $\sim$ 305 K) that demonstrate the absence of the two most prominent features of the magnetic excitation spectrum of the cuprates: the X-shaped 'hourglass' response and the resonance mode in the superconducting state. Instead, the response is Y-shaped, gapped, and significantly enhanced below T*, and hence a prominent signature of the pseudogap state.