Browsing by Author "Chen, Lei"
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Item Emergent flat band and topological Kondo semimetal driven by orbital-selective correlations(Springer Nature, 2024) Chen, Lei; Xie, Fang; Sur, Shouvik; Hu, Haoyu; Paschen, Silke; Cano, Jennifer; Si, QimiaoFlat electronic bands are expected to show proportionally enhanced electron correlations, which may generate a plethora of novel quantum phases and unusual low-energy excitations. They are increasingly being pursued in d-electron-based systems with crystalline lattices that feature destructive electronic interference, where they are often topological. Such flat bands, though, are generically located far away from the Fermi energy, which limits their capacity to partake in the low-energy physics. Here we show that electron correlations produce emergent flat bands that are pinned to the Fermi energy. We demonstrate this effect within a Hubbard model, in the regime described by Wannier orbitals where an effective Kondo description arises through orbital-selective Mott correlations. Moreover, the correlation effect cooperates with symmetry constraints to produce a topological Kondo semimetal. Our results motivate a novel design principle for Weyl Kondo semimetals in a new setting, viz. d-electron-based materials on suitable crystal lattices, and uncover interconnections among seemingly disparate systems that may inspire fresh understandings and realizations of correlated topological effects in quantum materials and beyond.Item Persistent flat band splitting and strong selective band renormalization in a kagome magnet thin film(Springer Nature, 2024) Ren, Zheng; Huang, Jianwei; Tan, Hengxin; Biswas, Ananya; Pulkkinen, Aki; Zhang, Yichen; Xie, Yaofeng; Yue, Ziqin; Chen, Lei; Xie, Fang; Allen, Kevin; Wu, Han; Ren, Qirui; Rajapitamahuni, Anil; Kundu, Asish K.; Vescovo, Elio; Kono, Junichiro; Morosan, Emilia; Dai, Pengcheng; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Si, Qimiao; Minár, Ján; Yan, Binghai; Yi, Ming; Smalley-Curl InstituteMagnetic kagome materials provide a fascinating playground for exploring the interplay of magnetism, correlation and topology. Many magnetic kagome systems have been reported including the binary FemXn (X = Sn, Ge; m:n = 3:1, 3:2, 1:1) family and the rare earth RMn6Sn6 (R = rare earth) family, where their kagome flat bands are calculated to be near the Fermi level in the paramagnetic phase. While partially filling a kagome flat band is predicted to give rise to a Stoner-type ferromagnetism, experimental visualization of the magnetic splitting across the ordering temperature has not been reported for any of these systems due to the high ordering temperatures, hence leaving the nature of magnetism in kagome magnets an open question. Here, we probe the electronic structure with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in a kagome magnet thin film FeSn synthesized using molecular beam epitaxy. We identify the exchange-split kagome flat bands, whose splitting persists above the magnetic ordering temperature, indicative of a local moment picture. Such local moments in the presence of the topological flat band are consistent with the compact molecular orbitals predicted in theory. We further observe a large spin-orbital selective band renormalization in the Fe $${{{{\rm{d}}}}}_{{xy}}+{{{{\rm{d}}}}}_{{x}^{2}-{y}^{2}}$$spin majority channel reminiscent of the orbital selective correlation effects in the iron-based superconductors. Our discovery of the coexistence of local moments with topological flat bands in a kagome system echoes similar findings in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, and provides a basis for theoretical effort towards modeling correlation effects in magnetic flat band systems.Item Reversible non-volatile electronic switching in a near-room-temperature van der Waals ferromagnet(Springer Nature, 2024) Wu, Han; Chen, Lei; Malinowski, Paul; Jang, Bo Gyu; Deng, Qinwen; Scott, Kirsty; Huang, Jianwei; Ruff, Jacob P. C.; He, Yu; Chen, Xiang; Hu, Chaowei; Yue, Ziqin; Oh, Ji Seop; Teng, Xiaokun; Guo, Yucheng; Klemm, Mason; Shi, Chuqiao; Shi, Yue; Setty, Chandan; Werner, Tyler; Hashimoto, Makoto; Lu, Donghui; Yilmaz, Turgut; Vescovo, Elio; Mo, Sung-Kwan; Fedorov, Alexei; Denlinger, Jonathan D.; Xie, Yaofeng; Gao, Bin; Kono, Junichiro; Dai, Pengcheng; Han, Yimo; Xu, Xiaodong; Birgeneau, Robert J.; Zhu, Jian-Xin; da Silva Neto, Eduardo H.; Wu, Liang; Chu, Jiun-Haw; Si, Qimiao; Yi, Ming; Rice Center for Quantum MaterialsNon-volatile phase-change memory devices utilize local heating to toggle between crystalline and amorphous states with distinct electrical properties. Expanding on this kind of switching to two topologically distinct phases requires controlled non-volatile switching between two crystalline phases with distinct symmetries. Here, we report the observation of reversible and non-volatile switching between two stable and closely related crystal structures, with remarkably distinct electronic structures, in the near-room-temperature van der Waals ferromagnet Fe5−δGeTe2. We show that the switching is enabled by the ordering and disordering of Fe site vacancies that results in distinct crystalline symmetries of the two phases, which can be controlled by a thermal annealing and quenching method. The two phases are distinguished by the presence of topological nodal lines due to the preserved global inversion symmetry in the site-disordered phase, flat bands resulting from quantum destructive interference on a bipartite lattice, and broken inversion symmetry in the site-ordered phase.Item Strongly correlated systems: Quantum criticality, electronic topology and flatband(2024-04-29) Chen, Lei; Si, Qimiao“There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on earth.” The same applies to the electrons in a single grain of sand. An over-arching task of condensed matter physics is to uncover the hidden mechanisms that organize these countless billions of electrons. In electronic systems, both correlations and topology prove to be significant drivers in generating novel physical phenomena. In this thesis, we study how they interplay with each other in gapless systems. Two types of materials are on our focus: (1) the heavy fermion systems and (2) the geometry-induced flat band systems. In the study of correlated topology in heavy fermion systems, we explore how the space group symmetry constrains the electronic topology of the emergent composite quasiparticles in both nonmagnetic and magnetic settings. Furthermore, we consider the topological nodes in the new setting of non-Fermi liquid phases, where the Landau quasiparticles are completely destroyed. We successfully identify gapless topological states that do not have free-electron counterparts and discuss their physical properties. In the study of geometry-induced flat band systems, we have successfully connected them with heavy fermion metals. This link is supported by the identification of a single emergent compact molecular orbital which is capable of representing the flat band. This emergent molecular orbital, with a small kinetic energy, serves a role akin to the $f$-electrons in heavy fermion systems. From this perspective, we first demonstrate the emergence of flat bands that are pinned to the Fermi energy, leading to a new platform for correlation-induced topological semimetals devoid of $f$-electrons. We then uncover a continuous selective transition of the molecular orbitals and the associated quantum criticality. Recent experimental findings lend support to both of these propositions. Finally, we investigate other forms of correlation effects in electronic systems. Three aspects are covered: unconventional superconductivity, quantum criticality and orbital-selective correlations.Item Symmetry constraints and spectral crossing in a Mott insulator with Green's function zeros(American Physical Society, 2024) Setty, Chandan; Sur, Shouvik; Chen, Lei; Xie, Fang; Hu, Haoyu; Paschen, Silke; Cano, Jennifer; Si, Qimiao; Rice Center for Quantum MaterialsLattice symmetries are central to the characterization of electronic topology. Recently, it was shown that Green's function eigenvectors form a representation of the space group. This formulation has allowed the identification of gapless topological states even when quasiparticles are absent. Here we demonstrate the profundity of the framework in the extreme case, when interactions lead to a Mott insulator, through a solvable model with long-range interactions. We find that both Mott poles and zeros are subject to the symmetry constraints, and relate the symmetry-enforced spectral crossings to degeneracies of the original noninteracting eigenstates. Our results lead to new understandings of topological quantum materials and highlight the utility of interacting Green's functions toward their symmetry-based design.