Browsing by Author "Goswami, Pallab"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Dynamic zero modes of Dirac fermions and competing singlet phases of antiferromagnetic order
    (American Physical Society, 2017) Goswami, Pallab; Si, Qimiao
    In quantum spin systems, singlet phases often develop in the vicinity of an antiferromagnetic order. Typical settings for such problems arise when itinerant fermions are also present. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework for addressing such competing orders in an itinerant system, described by Dirac fermions strongly coupled to an O(3) nonlinear sigma model. We focus on two spatial dimensions, where upon disordering the antiferromagnetic order by quantum fluctuations the singular tunneling events also known as (anti)hedgehogs can nucleate competing singlet orders in the paramagnetic phase. In the presence of an isolated hedgehog configuration of the nonlinear sigma model field, we show that the fermion determinant vanishes as the dynamic Euclidean Dirac operator supports fermion zero modes of definite chirality. This provides a topological mechanism for suppressing the tunneling events. Using the methodology of quantum chromodynamics, we evaluate the fermion determinant in the close proximity of magnetic quantum phase transition, when the antiferromagnetic order-parameter field can be described by a dilute gas of hedgehogs and antihedgehogs. We show how the precise nature of emergent singlet order is determined by the overlap between dynamic fermion zero modes of opposite chirality, localized on the hedgehogs and antihedgehogs. For a Kondo-Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice, we demonstrate the competition between spin Peierls order and Kondo singlet formation, thereby elucidating its global phase diagram. We also discuss other physical problems that can be addressed within this general framework.
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    Electron Correlation and Spin Dynamics in Iron Pnictides and Chalcogenides
    (arXiv, 2012) Yu, Rong; Si, Qimiao; Goswami, Pallab; Abrahams, Elihu
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    Kondo Destruction and Quantum Criticality in Kondo Lattice Systems
    (The Physical Society of Japan, 2014) Si, Qimiao; Pixley, Jedediah H.; Nica, Emilian; Yamamoto, Seiji J.; Goswami, Pallab; Yu, Rong; Kirchner, Stefan
    Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to theoretically understand quantum phase transitions in Kondo lattice systems. A particular focus is on Kondo destruction, which leads to quantum criticality that goes beyond the Landau framework of order-parameter fluctuations. This unconventional quantum criticality has provided an understanding of the unusual dynamical scaling observed experimentally. It also predicted a sudden jump of the Fermi surface and an extra (Kondo destruction) energy scale, both of which have been verified by systematic experiments. Considerations of Kondo destruction have in addition yielded a global phase diagram, which has motivated the current interest in heavy fermion materials with variable dimensionality or geometrical frustration. Here we summarize these developments, and discuss some of the ongoing work and open issues. We also consider the implications of these results for superconductivity. Finally, we address the effect of spin–orbit coupling on the global phase diagram, suggest that SmB6 under pressure may display unconventional superconductivity in the transition regime between a Kondo insulator phase and an antiferroamgnetic metal phase, and argue that the interfaces of heavy-fermion heterostructures will provide a fertile setting to explore topological properties of both Kondo insulators and heavy-fermion superconductors.
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    Skyrmion defects and competing singlet orders in a half-filled antiferromagnetic Kondo-Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice
    (American Physical Society, 2017) Liu, Chia-Chuan; Goswami, Pallab; Si, Qimiao
    Due to the interaction between the topological defects of an order parameter and underlying fermions, the defects can possess induced fermion numbers, leading to several exotic phenomena of fundamental importance to both condensed matter and high-energy physics. One of the intriguing outcomes of induced fermion numbers is the presence of fluctuating competing orders inside the core of a topological defect. In this regard, the interaction between fermions and skyrmion excitations of an antiferromagnetic phase can have important consequences for understanding the global phase diagrams of many condensed matter systems where antiferromagnetism and several singlet orders compete. We critically investigate the relation between fluctuating competing orders and skyrmion excitations of the antiferromagnetic insulating phase of a half-filled Kondo-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice. By combining analytical and numerical methods, we obtain the exact eigenstates of underlying Dirac fermions in the presence of a single skyrmion configuration, which are used for computing the induced chiral charge. Additionally, by employing this nonperturbative eigenbasis, we calculate the susceptibilities of different translational symmetry breaking charges, bond and current density wave orders, and translational symmetry preserving Kondo singlet formations. Based on the computed susceptibilities, we establish spin Peierls and Kondo singlets as dominant competing orders of antiferromagnetism. We show favorable agreement between our findings and field theoretic predictions based on the perturbative gradient expansion scheme, which crucially relies on the adiabatic principle and plane-wave eigenstates for Dirac fermions. The methodology developed here can be applied to many other correlated systems supporting competition between spin-triplet and spin-singlet orders in both lower and higher spatial dimensions.
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    Spin dynamics of a J1- J2-K model for the paramagnetic phase of iron pnictides
    (American Physical Society, 2012) Yu, Rong; Wang, Zhentao; Goswami, Pallab; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.; Si, Qimiao; Abrahams, Elihu
    We study the finite-temperature spin dynamics of the paramagnetic phase of iron pnictides within an antiferromagnetic J1-J2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice with a biquadratic coupling −K(Si · Sj )2 between the nearest-neighbor spins. Our focus is on the paramagnetic phase in the parameter regime of this J1-J2-K model where the ground state is a (π,0) collinear antiferromagnet. We treat the biquadratic interaction via a Hubbard-Stratonovich decomposition and study the resulting effective quadratic-coupling model using both modified spin wave and Schwinger boson mean-field theories; the results for the spin dynamics derived from the two methods are very similar. We show that the spectral weight of dynamical structure factor S(q,ω) is peaked at ellipses in the momentum space at low excitation energies.With increasing energy, the elliptic features expand towards the zone boundary and gradually split into two parts, forming a pattern around (π,π). Finally, the spectral weight is anisotropic, being larger along the major axis of the ellipse than along its minor axis. These characteristics of the dynamical structure factor are consistent with the recent measurements of the inelastic neutron scattering spectra of BaFe2As2 and SrFe2As2.
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    Topological defects of Néel order and Kondo singlet formation for the Kondo-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice
    (American Physical Society, 2014) Goswami, Pallab; Si, Qimiao
    Heavy-fermion systems represent a prototypical setting to study magnetic quantum phase transitions. A particular focus has been on the physics of Kondo destruction, which captures quantum criticality beyond the Landau framework of order-parameter fluctuations. In this context, we study the spin one-half Kondo-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice at half filling. The problem is approached from the Kondo-destroyed, antiferromagnetically ordered insulating phase. We describe the local moments in terms of a coarse grained quantum nonlinear sigma model, and show that the skyrmion defects of the antiferromagnetic order parameter host a number of competing order parameters. In addition to the spin Peierls, charge and current density wave order parameters, we identify for the first time Kondo singlets as the competing orders of the antiferromagnetism. We show that the antiferromagnetism and various competing singlet orders can be related to each other via generalized chiral transformations of the underlying fermions. We also show that the conduction electrons acquire a Berry phase through their coupling to the hedgehog configurations of the Néel order, which cancels the Berry phase of the local moments. Our results demonstrate the competition between the Kondo singlet formation and spin-Peierls order when the antiferromagnetic order is suppressed, thereby shedding new light on the global phase diagram of heavy-fermion systems at zero temperature.
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    Topological Weyl superconductor to diffusive thermal Hall metal crossover in the B phase of UPt3
    (American Physical Society, 2015) Goswami, Pallab; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.; Rice Center for Quantum Materials
    The recent phase-sensitive measurements in the superconducting B phase of UPt3 provide strong evidence for the triplet, chiral kz(kx±iky)2 pairing symmetries, which endow the Cooper pairs with orbital angular momentum projections Lz=±2 along the c axis. In the absence of disorder such pairing can support both line and point nodes, and both types of nodal quasiparticles exhibit nontrivial topology in the momentum space. The point nodes, located at the intersections of the closed Fermi surfaces with the c axis, act as the double monopoles and the antimonopoles of the Berry curvature, and generalize the notion of Weyl quasiparticles. Consequently, the B phase should support an anomalous thermal Hall effect, the polar Kerr effect, in addition to the protected Fermi arcs on the (1,0,0) and the (0,1,0) surfaces. The line node at the Fermi surface equator acts as a vortex loop in the momentum space and gives rise to the zero-energy, dispersionless Andreev bound states on the (0,0,1) surface. At the transition from the B phase to the A phase, the time-reversal symmetry is restored, and only the line node survives inside the A phase. As both line and double-Weyl point nodes possess linearly vanishing density of states, we show that weak disorder acts as a marginally relevant perturbation. Consequently, an infinitesimal amount of disorder destroys the ballistic quasiparticle pole, while giving rise to a diffusive phase with a finite density of states at the zero energy. The resulting diffusive phase exhibits T-linear specific heat, and an anomalous thermal Hall effect. We predict that the low-temperature thermodynamic and transport properties display a crossover between a ballistic thermal Hall semimetal and a diffusive thermal Hall metal. By contrast, the diffusive phase obtained from a time-reversal-invariant pairing exhibits only the T-linear specific heat without any anomalous thermal Hall effect.