Peter P. Orth

Dynamics, synchronization, and quantum phase transitions of two dissipative spins

We analyze the static and dynamic properties of two Ising-coupled quantum spins embedded in a common bosonic bath as an archetype of dissipative quantum mechanics. First, we elucidate the ground-state phase diagram for an Ohmic and a sub-Ohmic bath using a combination of bosonic numerical renormalization group (NRG), analytical techniques, and intuitive arguments. Second, by employing the time-dependent NRG we investigate the systems rich dynamical behavior arising from the complex interplay between spin-spin and spin-bath interactions. Interestingly, spin oscillations can synchronize due to the proximity of the common non-Markovian bath and the system displays highly entangled steady states for certain nonequilibrium initial preparations. We complement our nonperturbative numerical results by exact analytical solutions when available and provide quantitative limits on the applicability of the perturbative Bloch-Redfield approach at weak coupling.

Time-reversal-invariant Hofstadter-Hubbard Model with ultracold fermions

We consider the time-reversal-invariant Hofstadter-Hubbard model which can be realized in cold-atom experiments. In these experiments, an additional staggered potential and an artificial Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling are available. Without interactions, the system exhibits various phases such as topological and normal insulator, metal as well as semi-metal phases with two or even more Dirac cones. Using a combination of real-space dynamical mean-field theory and analytical techniques, we discuss the effect of on-site interactions and determine the corresponding phase diagram. In particular, we investigate the semi-metal to antiferromagnetic insulator transition and the stability of different topological insulator phases in the presence of strong interactions. We compute spectral functions which allow us to study the edge states of the strongly correlated topological phases.

Hedgehog spin-vortex crystal stabilized in a hole-doped iron-based superconductor

Magnetism is widely considered to be a key ingredient of unconventional superconductivity. In contrast to cuprate high-temperature superconductors, antiferromagnetism in most Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs) is characterized by a pair of magnetic propagation vectors, (π,0) and (0,π). Consequently, three different types of magnetic order are possible. Of these, only stripe-type spin-density wave (SSDW) and spin-charge-density wave (SCDW) orders have been observed. A realization of the proposed spin-vortex crystal (SVC) order is noticeably absent. We report a magnetic phase consistent with the hedgehog variation of SVC order in Ni-doped and Co-doped CaKFe4As4 based on thermodynamic, transport, structural and local magnetic probes combined with symmetry analysis. The exotic SVC phase is stabilized by the reduced symmetry of the CaKFe4As4 structure. Our results suggest that the possible magnetic ground states in FeSCs have very similar energies, providing an enlarged configuration space for magnetic fluctuations to promote high-temperature superconductivity.Iron-based superconductors: making a hedgehog spin-vortex crystalThe magnetic texture of a new superconductor adopts a in-out spin, spin-vortex crystal motif, fulfilling theoretical predictions. Many iron-based superconductors have magnetic phases arising from combining two basic magnetic structures, but only two of three possible combinations had previously been observed. A team led by Paul Canfield of Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory have synthesised a material with the third type of magnetic structure called a hedgehog spin-vortex crystal. The authors began with a compound with spatial symmetry that could help stabilise the structure, but without magnetic order. By tuning the chemical composition they induced magnetism and successfully obtained the desired phase. The sensitivity of the magnetic state to the symmetry and composition indicates that different phases are energetically close, suggesting magnetic fluctuations may play a significant role in the physics of iron-based superconductors.

Dissipative quantum Ising model in a cold-atom spin-boson mixture

Using cold bosonic atoms with two (hyperfine) ground states, we introduce a spin-boson mixture which allows to implement the quantum Ising model in a tunable dissipative environment. The first specie lies in a deep optical lattice with tightly confining wells and forms a spin array; spin-up/down corresponds to occupation by one/no atom at each site. The second specie forms a superfluid reservoir. Different species are coupled coherently via laser transitions and collisions. Whereas the laser coupling mimics a transverse field for the spins, the coupling to the reservoir sound modes induces a ferromagnetic (Ising) coupling as well as dissipation. This gives rise to an order-disorder quantum phase transition where the effect of dissipation can be studied in a controllable manner.

Correlated topological phases and exotic magnetism with ultracold fermions

Motivated by the recent progress in engineering artificial non-Abelian gauge fields for ultracold fermions in optical lattices, we investigate the time-reversal-invariant Hofstadter–Hubbard model. We include an additional staggered lattice potential and an artificial Rashba-type spin–orbit coupling term available in experiment. Without interactions, the system can be either a (semi)-metal, a normal or a topological insulator, and we present the non-Abelian generalization of the Hofstadter butterfly. Using a combination of real-space dynamical mean-field theory (RDMFT), analytical arguments, and Monte-Carlo simulations we study the effect of strong on-site interactions. We determine the interacting phase diagram, and discuss a scenario of an interaction-induced transition from a normal to a topological insulator. At half-filling and large interactions, the system is described by a quantum spin Hamiltonian, which exhibits exotic magnetic order due to the interplay of Rashba-type spin–orbit coupling and the artificial time-reversal-invariant magnetic field term. We determine the magnetic phase diagram: both for the itinerant model using RDMFT and for the corresponding spin model in the classical limit using Monte-Carlo simulations.

Universal collisionless transport of graphene

The impact of the electron-electron Coulomb interaction on the optical conductivity of graphene has led to a controversy that calls into question the universality of collisionless transport in this and other Dirac materials. Using a lattice calculation that avoids divergences present in previous nodal Dirac approaches, our work settles this controversy and obtains results in quantitative agreement with experiment over a wide frequency range. We also demonstrate that dimensional regularization methods agree, if the regularization of the theory in modified dimensions is correctly implemented. Tight-binding lattice and nodal Dirac theory calculations are shown to coincide at low energies even when the nonzero size of the atomic orbital wave function is included, conclusively demonstrating the universality of the optical conductivity of graphene.

Supersolidity of cold-atom Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices

We investigate a cold atomic mixture of spinless bosons and fermions in two-dimensional optical lattices. In the presence of a nested Fermi surface, the bosons may develop a fascinating supersolid behavior characterized by a finite superfluid density as well as a spatial density wave order. Focusing on the triangular lattice geometry and combining a general Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson approach with microscopically derived mean-field theory, we find an exotic supersolid phase at a fermionic band-filling of

Emergent criticality and Friedan scaling in a two-dimensional frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet

n_f = 3/4

Extremely large magnetoresistance and Kohler's rule in PdSn4 : A complete study of thermodynamic, transport, and band-structure properties

with a Kagome-type crystalline order. We also address the case of anisotropic hopping amplitudes, and show that striped supersolid phases emerge on the square and triangular lattices. For weak interactions, the supersolid competes with phase separation. For strong intra- and inter-species interactions, with the total number of fermions and bosons corresponding to one particle per site, the bosons form an alternating Mott insulator ground state. Finally, for a mixture of

Negative refraction with tunable absorption in an active dense gas of atoms

^{87}\text{Rb}^{40}\text{K}