We provide a comprehensive theory of magnetic phases in two-dimensional triangulene crystals, using both Hubbard model and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We consider centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric triangulene crystals. In all cases, DFT and mean-field Hubbard model predict the emergence of broken-symmetry antiferromagnetic (ferrimagnetic) phases for the centrosymmetric (non-centrosymmetric) crystals. This includes the special case of the [4,4]triangulene crystal, whose non-interacting energy bands feature a gap with flat valence and conduction bands. We show how the lack of contrast between the local density of states of these bands, recently measured via scanning tunneling spectroscopy, is a natural consequence of a broken-symmetry Néel state that blocks intermolecular hybridization. Using random phase approximation, we also compute the spin wave spectrum of these crystals, including the recently synthesized [4,4]triangulene crystal. The results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of a Heisenberg spin model derived from multi-configuration calculations for the unit cell. We conclude that experimental results are compatible with an antiferromagnetically ordered phase where each triangulene retains the spin predicted for the isolated species.
We show how in principle to construct analogs of quantum Hall edge states in "photonic crystals" made with non-reciprocal (Faraday-effect) media. These form "one-way waveguides" that allow electromagnetic energy to flow in one direction only.
We show that the electron mobility in ideal, free-standing two-dimensional `buckled' crystals with broken horizontal mirror ($σ_{\rm h}$) symmetry and Dirac-like dispersion (such as silicene and germanene) is dramatically affected by scattering with the acoustic flexural modes (ZA phonons). This is caused both by the broken $σ_{\rm h}$ symmetry and by the diverging number of long-wavelength ZA phonons, consistent with the Mermin-Wagner theorem. Non-$σ_{\rm h}$-symmetric, `gapped' 2D crystals (such as semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides with a tetragonal crystal structure) are affec…
Prediction of two-dimensional $π$-electron half-metallic ferrimagnets
International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory（伊比利亚纳米技术国际实验室）；Universidade de Santiago de Compostela（圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉大学）；Universidad de Alicante（阿利坎特大学）；University of Minho（米尼奥大学）
Different from the two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator, the 2D topological crystalline insulator (TCI) phase disappears when the mirror symmetry is broken, e.g., upon placing on a substrate. Here, based on a new family of 2D TCIs - SnTe and PbTe monolayers - we theoretically predict the realization of the quantum anomalous Hall effect with Chern number C = 2 even when the mirror symmetry is broken. Remarkably, we also demonstrate that the considered materials retain their large-gap topological properties in quantum well structures obtained by sandwiching the monolayers between NaCl laye…
We investigate a photonic device consisting of two coupled optical cavities possessing Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling, TE-TM splitting, and linear polarisation splitting that opens a tuneable energy gap at the diabolic points of the photon dispersion; giving rise to an actively addressable local Berry curvature. The proposed architecture stems from recent advancements in the design of artificial photonic gauge fields in liquid crystal cavities [K. Rechcińska et al., Science 366, 727 (2019)]. Our study opens new perspectives for topological photonics, room-temperature spinoptronics, and…
We study the phase diagram for a lattice model of a time-reversal-broken three-dimensional Weyl semimetal (WSM) in an orbital magnetic field $B$ with a flux of $p/q$ per unit cell ($0\le p \le q-1$), with minimal crystalline symmetry. We find several interesting phases: (i) WSM phases with $2q$, $4q$, $6q$, and $8q$ Weyl nodes and corresponding surface Fermi arcs, (ii) a layered Chern insulating (LCI) phase, gapped in the bulk, but with gapless surface states, (iii) a phase in which some bulk bands are gapless with Weyl nodes, coexisting with others that are gapped but topologically nontrivial…
Nonreciprocal transport phenomena indicate that the forward and backward flows differ, and are attributed to broken inversion symmetry. In this paper, we study the nonreciprocity of a thermal and thermoelectric transport of electronic systems resulting from inversion-symmetry-broken crystal structures. The nonlinear electric, thermoelectric, and thermal conductivities are derived up to the second order in an electric field and a temperature gradient by using the Boltzmann equation with the relaxation time approximation. All the second-order conductivities appearing in this paper are described …
Second-order topological insulators are crystalline insulators with a gapped bulk and gapped crystalline boundaries, but topologically protected gapless states at the intersection of two boundaries. Without further spatial symmetries, five of the ten Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes allow for the existence of such second-order topological insulators in two and three dimensions. We show that reflection symmetry can be employed to systematically generate examples of second-order topological insulators and superconductors, although the topologically protected states at corners (in two dimension…
Broken symmetries induce strong nonlinear optical responses in materials and at interfaces. Twist angle can give complete control over the presence or lack of inversion symmetry at a crystal interface, and is thus an appealing knob for tuning nonlinear optical systems. In contrast to conventional nonlinear crystals with rigid lattices, the weak interlayer coupling in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures allows for arbitrary selection of twist angle, making nanomechanical manipulation of fundamental interfacial symmetry possible within a single device. Here we report highly tunable second harmo…
Whereas the concept of topological band-structures was developed originally for insulators with a bulk bandgap, it has become increasingly clear that the prime consequences of a non-trivial topology -- spin-momentum locking of surface states -- can also be encountered in gapless systems. Concentrating on the paradigmatic example of mercury chalcogenides HgX (X = Te, Se, S), we show that the existence of helical semimetals, i.e. semimetals with topological surface states, critically depends on the presence of crystal inversion symmetry. An infinitesimally small broken inversion symmetry (BIS) r…
In a quantizing magnetic field, the two-dimensional electron (2DEG) gas has a rich phase diagram with broken translational symmetry phases such as Wigner, bubble, and stripe crystals. In this paper, we derive a method to get the dynamical matrix of these crystals from a calculation of the density response function performed in the Generalized Random Phase Approximation (GRPA). We discuss the validity of our method by comparing the dynamical matrix calculated from the GRPA with that obtained from standard elasticity theory with the elastic coefficients obtained from a calculation of the deforma…
We investigate an unconventional topological phase transition that occurs in quantum spin Hall (QSH) systems when applying an external in-plane magnetic field. We show that this transition between QSH and trivial insulator phases is separated by a stable topological gapless phase, which is protected by the combination of particle-hole and reflection symmetries, and thus, we dub it as crystalline Weyl semimetal. We explore the stability of this new phase when particle-hole symmetry breaking terms are present. Especially, we predict a robust unconventional topological phase transition to be visi…
Layer stacking and crystal lattice symmetry play important roles in the band structure and the Landau levels of multilayer graphene. ABA-stacked trilayer graphene possesses mirror-symmetry-protected monolayer-like and bilayer-like band structures. Broken mirror symmetry by a perpendicular electric field therefore induces hybridization between these bands and various quantum Hall phases emerge. We experimentally explore the evolution of Landau levels in ABA-stacked trilayer graphene under electric field. We observe a variety of valley and orbital dependent Landau level evolutions. These evoluti…
We consider a natural generalization of the lattice model for a periodic array of two layers, A and B, of spinless electrons proposed by Fu [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 106802 (2011)] as a prototype for a crystalline insulator. This model has time-reversal symmetry and broken inversion symmetry. We show that when the intralayer next-nearest-neighbor hoppings ta2, a = A, B vanish, this model supports a Weyl semimetal phase for a wide range of the remaining model parameters. When the effect of ta2 is considered, topological crystalline insulating phases take place within the Weyl semimetal one. By map…
We examine the nature of topological currents in black phosphorus when its inversion symmetry is deliberately broken. Here, the conduction and valence band edges are located at the $Γ$ point of the rectangular Brillouin zone, and they exhibit strong anisotropy along its two crystal axes. We will show below that these salient features lead to a linear transverse neutral topological currents, accompanied also by a non-linear transverse charge current at the Fermi surface. These topological currents are maximal when the in-plane electric field is applied along the zigzag crystal axes, but zero al…
To advance Thomson problem we generalize physical principles suggested by Caspar and Klug (CK) to model icosahedral capsids. Proposed simplest distortions of the CK spherical arrangements yield new-type trial structures very close to the lowest energy ones. In the region 600<N<1000, where N is the number of particles in the structure, we found 40 new spherical crystals with the lowest ever seen energies and curvature-induced topological defects being not the well-known elongated scars but flatten pentagons. These crystals have N values prohibited in the CK model and demonstrate a new way to co…
Graphene, a single free-standing sheet of graphite with honeycomb lattice structure, is a semimetal with carriers that have linear dispersion. A consequence of this dispersion is the absence of Wigner crystallization in graphene, since the kinetic and potential energies both scale identically with the density of carriers. We study the ground state of graphene in the presence of a strong magnetic field focusing on states with broken translational symmetry. Our mean-field calculations show that at integer fillings a uniform state is preferred, whereas at non-integer filling factors Wigner crysta…
Bound states in the continuum (BICs) in photonic crystals represent the unique solutions of wave equations possessing an infinite quality-factor. We design a type of bilayer photonic crystal and study the influence of symmetry and coupling between TE and TM polarizations on BICs. The BIC modes possess $C_{3v}$ symmetry in the x-y plane while the mirror-flip symmetry in the z-direction is broken, and they provide selective coupling into different layers by varying frequency. The enhanced TE-TM coupling due to broken mirror-flip symmetry in the z-direction gives rise to high-Q factor BIC states …
Recently the superconductor and topological semimetal PbTaSe$_2$ was experimentally found to exhibit surface-only lattice rotational symmetry breaking below $T_c$. We exploit the Ginzburg-Landau free energy and propose a microscopic two-channel model to study possible superconducting states on the surface of PbTaSe$_2$. We identify two types of topological superconducting states. One is time-reversal invariant and preserves the lattice hexagonal symmetry while the other breaks both symmetries. We find that such time-reversal symmetry breaking is unavoidable for a superconducting state in a two…
Spontaneous breaking of continuous time translation symmetry into a discrete one is related to time crystal formation. While the phenomenon is not possible in the ground state of a time-independent many-body system, it can occur in an excited eigenstate. Here, we concentrate on bosons on a ring with attractive contact interactions and analyze a quantum quench from the time crystal regime to the non-interacting regime. We show that dynamical quantum phase transitions can be observed where the return probability of the system to the initial state before the quench reveals a non-analytical behavi…
We investigate, within the framework of linear elasticity theory, edge Rayleigh waves of a two-dimensional elastic solid with broken time-reversal and parity symmetries due to a Berry term. As our prime example, we study the elastic edge wave traveling along the boundary of a two-dimensional skyrmion lattice hosted inside a thin-film chiral magnet. We find that the direction of propagation of the Rayleigh modes is determined not only by the chirality of the thin-film, but also by the Poisson ratio of the crystal. We discover three qualitatively different regions distinguished by the chirality …
In noncentrosymmetric crystals with broken inversion symmetry $\mathcal{I}$, the $I-V$ ($I$: current, $V$: voltage) characteristic is generally expected to depend on the direction of $I$, which is known as nonreciprocal response and, for example, found in p-n junction. However, it is a highly nontrivial issue in translationally invariant systems since the time-reversal symmetry ($\mathcal{T}$) plays an essential role, where the two states at crystal momenta $k$ and $-k$ are connected in the band structure. Therefore, it has been considered that the external magnetic field ($B$) or the magnetic…
Skyrmions are spatially localized magnetic swirls which carry a nonzero integer topological charge. We study crystals of skyrmions in a two-dimensional ferromagnet model with chiral interactions induced by the presence of broken inversion symmetry. We show that non-linear quartic mode-coupling terms allowed by symmetry enhances the Zeeman-field range over which the skyrmion-crystal phase remains stable. Furthermore, it leads to a significant dependence of the lattice constant of this spin crystal over this wide field range. Conduction electrons coupled to such a tunable spin crystal are shown …
We have characterized the robust propagation modes of electromagnetic waves in helical structures by the section Chern number that is defined for a two-dimensional (2D) section of the three- dimensional (3D) Brillouin zone. The Weyl point in the photonic bands is associated with a dis- continuous jump of the section Chern number. A spatially localized Gaussian basis set is used to calculate the section Chern numbers where we have implemented the divergence-free condition on each basis function in 3D. The validity of the bulk-edge correspondence in a 3D photonic crystal is discussed in relation…
A new formulation of the Phase Field Crystal model is presented that is consistent with the necessary microscopic independence between the phase field, reflecting the broken symmetry of the phase, and both mass density and elastic distortion. Although these quantities are related in equilibrium through a macroscopic equation of state, they are independent variables in the free energy, and can be independently varied in evaluating the dissipation functional that leads to the model governing equations. The equations obtained describe dislocation motion in an elastically stressed solid, and serve…
We investigate broken rotational symmetry (BRS) states for the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) at 1/3-filling of the valence Landau level (LL). Recent Monte Carlo calculations by Musaelian and Joynt [J. Phys.: Condens.\ Matter {\bf 8}, L105 (1996)] suggest that Laughlin's state becomes unstable to a BRS state for some critical finite thickness value. We study in detail the properties of such state by performing a hypernetted-chain calculation that gives results in the thermodynamic limit, complementing other methods which are limited to a finite number of particles. Our results indicate …
Fractional quantum spin Hall crystals from hidden density-wave order
University of California, Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校）；Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校马尼·L·鲍姆克理论物理研究所）
Symmetry provides important insight in understanding the nature of phase transitions. In the presence of crystalline symmetries, new phenomena in phase transition can emerge, such as intertwined orders and emergent symmetries. In this work, we present a group-theoretical diagnosis of these phenomena in 32 crystallographic point groups. For each group, we classify the possible combinations of intertwined order and analyze different symmetry-broken phases. We find that the symmetries before and after the phase transition uniquely determine the irreducible representation (irrep) of the order para…
We investigate broken rotational symmetry (BRS) states at half-filling of the valence Landau level (LL). We generalize Rezayi-Read's (RR) composite fermion (CF) trial wavefunctions to include anisotropic coupling of the flux quanta to electrons, thus generating a nematic order in the underlying CF liquid. Using the Fermi hypernetted-chain (FHNC) method which readily gives results in the thermodynamic limit, we determine in detail the properties of these states. By using the anisotropic pair distribution and static structure functions we determine the correlation energy and find that, as expect…
The Chern number is a genuine topological number. On the other hand, a symmetry protected topological (SPT) charge is a topological number only when a symmetry exists. We propose a formula for the SPT charge as a derivative of the Chern number in terms of the Green function in such a way that it is valid and related to the associated Hall current even when the symmetry is broken. We estimate the amount of deviation from the quantized value as a function of the strength of the broken symmetry. We present two examples. First, we consider Dirac electrons with the spin-orbit coupling on honeycomb …
Quantum time crystals are systems characterised by spontaneously emerging periodic order in the time domain. A range of such phases has been reported. The concept has even been discussed in popular literature, and deservedly so: while the first speculation on a phase of broken time translation symmetry did not use the name "time crystal", it was later adopted from 1980's popular culture. For the physics community, however, the ultimate qualification of a new concept is its ability to provide predictions and insight. Confirming that time crystals manifest the basic dynamics of quantum mechanics…
The emerging possibilities to steer and control electronic motion on subcycle time scales with strong electric fields enable studying the nonperturbative optical response and Bloch bands' topological properties, originated from Berry's trilogy: connection, curvature, and phase. This letter introduces a theoretical framework for the nonperturbative electron dynamics in two-dimensional (2D) crystalline solids induced by the few-cycle and strong-field optical lasers. In the presented model, the expression associated with the Bloch band topology and broken crystal symmetry merges self-consistently…
Until the late 1980s, phases of matter were understood in terms of Landau's symmetry breaking theory. Following the discovery of the quantum Hall effect the introduction of a second class of phases, those with topological order, was necessary. Phase transitions within the first class of phases involve a change in symmetry, whereas those between topological phases require a change in topological order. However, in rare cases transitions may occur between the two classes in which the vanishing of the topological order is accompanied by the emergence of a broken symmetry. Here, we report the exis…
"Floquet engineering" - designing band structures "on-demand" through the application of coherent time-periodic drives - has recently emerged as a powerful tool for creating new topological and anomalous phases of matter. In this manuscript, we show that the same principle can be applied to create non-equilibrium correlated states with spontaneously broken symmetry in a lightly doped semiconductor. The periodic drive provides means for obtaining large electronic densities of states necessary for the broken symmetry phase. The phase transition occurs in the steady-state of the system achieved d…
Weyl points are point degeneracies that occur in momentum space of periodic materials, and are associated with a quantized topological charge. We experimentally observe in a 3D micro-printed photonic crystal that a charge-2 Weyl point can be split into two charge-1 Weyl points as the protecting symmetry of the original charge-2 Weyl point is broken. Moreover, we use a theoretical analysis to confirm where the charge-1 Weyl points move within the Brillouin zone as the strength of the symmetry breaking increases, and confirm it in experiments using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. This m…
A discrete time crystal is a phase unique to nonequilibrium systems, where discrete time translation symmetry is spontaneously broken. Most of conventional time crystals proposed so far rely on spontaneous breaking of on-site symmetries and their corresponding on-site symmetry operations. In this Letter, we propose a new time crystal dubbed "spatial-translation-induced discrete time crystal (STI-DTC)", which is realized by spatial translation and its symmetry breaking. Owing to the properties of spatial translation, in this new time crystal, various time crystal orders can emerge only by chang…
We study the Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes associated with spontaneous breaking of the continuous time-translation symmetry. To discuss a quantum time-crystal with the spontaneously-broken continuous time-translation symmetry, we introduce the van der Pol type nonlinear-friction to open quantum systems. By considering small fluctuations around a time-periodic mean-field solution, we show that a gapless collective mode necessarily appears; this is nothing but the NG mode associated with a time crystal. We show that its dispersion relation becomes $ω=-iC\bm p^2$. We also show that noncommutative br…
