Publications

We present exact diagonalization results on finite clusters of a t-J model of spin-1/2 electrons with random all-to-all hopping and exchange interactions. We argue that such random models capture qualitatively the strong local correlations needed to describe the cuprates and related compounds, while avoiding lattice space group symmetry breaking orders. The previously known spin glass ordered phase in the insulator at doping p=0 extends to a metallic spin glass phase up to a transition p=p

Here we report an ultrafast optical spectroscopic study of the nodal-line semimetal ZrSiTe. Our measurements reveal that, converse to other compounds of the family, the sudden injection of electronic excitations results in a strongly coherent response of an A

Drumhead surface states that link together loops of nodal lines arise in Dirac nodal-line semimetals as a consequence of the topologically non-trivial band crossings. We used low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and Fourier-transformed scanning tunneling spectroscopy to investigate the quasiparticle interference (QPI) properties of ZrSiTe. Our results show two scattering signals across the drumhead state resolving the energy-momentum relationship through the occupied and unoccupied energy ranges it is predicted to span. Observation of this drumhead state is in contrast to previous studies on ZrSiS and ZrSiSe, where the QPI was dominated by topologically trivial bulk bands and surface states. Furthermore, we observe a near 𝐤 →-𝐤 scattering process across the Γ-point, enabled by scattering between the spin-split drumhead bands in this material.

We investigate the bulk photovoltaic effect, which rectifies light into electric current, in a collective quantum state with correlation driven electronic ferroelectricity. We show via explicit real-time dynamical calculations that the effect of the applied electric field on the electronic order parameter leads to a strong enhancement of the bulk photovoltaic effect relative to the values obtained in a conventional insulator. The enhancements include both resonant enhancements at sub-bandgap frequencies, arising from excitation of optically active collective modes, and broad-band enhancements arising from non-resonant deformations of the electronic order. The deformable electronic order parameter produces an injection current contribution to the bulk photovoltaic effect which is entirely absent in a rigid-band approximation to a time-reversal symmetric material. Our findings establish that correlation effects can lead to the bulk photovoltaic effect and demonstrate that the collective behavior of ordered states can yield large nonlinear optical responses.

We address the question of the degree of spatial non-locality of the self energy in the iron-based superconductors, a subject which is receiving considerable attention. Using LiFeAs as a prototypical example, we extract the self energy from angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data. We use two distinct electronic structure references: density functional theory in the local density approximation and linearized quasiparticle self consistent GW (LQSGW). We find that with the LQSGW reference, spatially local dynamical correlations provide a consistent description of the experimental data, and account for some surprising aspects of the data such as the substantial out of plan dispersion of the electron Fermi surface having dominant xz/yz character. Hence, correlations effects can be separated into static non-local contributions well described by LQSGW and dynamical local contributions. Hall effect and resistivity data are shown to be consistent with this description.

Excitonic insulating (EI) materials are predicted to host a condensate of electron-hole pairs in their ground state, giving rise to collective many-body effects. Although several bulk materials have been proposed as EIs recently, a direct observation of the characteristic collective behavior is still missing. Here, we use ultrafast, spatially-resolved, pump-probe microscopy to investigate the propagation of photoinduced excitations in a proposed EI, Ta

We investigate the 5d transition metal oxide BaOsO

The excitonic insulator is an electronically-driven phase of matter that emerges upon the spontaneous formation and Bose condensation of excitons. Detecting this exotic order in candidate materials is a subject of paramount importance, as the size of the excitonic gap in the band structure establishes the potential of this collective state for superfluid energy transport. However, the identification of this phase in real solids is hindered by the coexistence of a structural order parameter with the same symmetry as the excitonic order. Only a few materials are currently believed to host a dominant excitonic phase, Ta

The non-equilibrium dynamics of matter excited by light may produce electronic phases that do not exist in equilibrium, such as laser-induced high-T

Optical control of chirality in chiral superconductors bears potential for future topological quantum computing applications. When a chiral domain is written and erased by a laser spot, the Majorana modes around the domain can be manipulated on ultrafast time scales. Here we study topological superconductors with two chiral order parameters coupled via light fields by a time-dependent real-space Ginzburg-Landau approach. Continuous optical driving, or the application of supercurrent, hybridizes the two chiral order parameters, allowing one to induce and control the superconducting state beyond what is possible in equilibrium. We show that superconductivity can even be enhanced if the mutual coupling between two order parameters is sufficiently strong. Furthermore, we demonstrate that short optical pulses with spot size larger than a critical one can overcome a counteracting diffusion effect and write, erase, or move chiral domains. Surprisingly, these domains are found to be stable, which might enable optically programmable quantum computers in the future.