Xiao-Xiao Zhang

Critical phenomena of emergent magnetic monopoles in a chiral magnet.

Second-order continuous phase transitions are characterized by symmetry breaking with order parameters. Topological orders of electrons, characterized by the topological index defined in momentum space, provide a distinct perspective for phase transitions, which are categorized as quantum phase transitions not being accompanied by symmetry breaking. However, there are still limited observations of counterparts in real space. Here we show a real-space topological phase transition in a chiral magnet MnGe, hosting a periodic array of hedgehog and antihedgehog topological spin singularities. This transition is driven by the pair annihilation of the hedgehogs and antihedgehogs acting as monopoles and antimonopoles of the emergent electromagnetic field. Observed anomalies in the magnetoresistivity and phonon softening are consistent with the theoretical prediction of critical phenomena associated with enhanced fluctuations of emergent field near the transition. This finding reveals a vital role of topology of the spins in strongly correlated systems.

Ultrasonic elastic responses in a monopole lattice

The latest experimental advances have extended the scenario of coupling mechanical degrees of freedom in chiral magnets (MnSi/MnGe) to the topologically nontrivial skyrmion crystal and even monopole lattices. Equipped with a spin-wave theory highlighting the topological features, we devise an interacting model for acoustic phonons and magnons to explain the experimental findings in a monopole lattice with a topological phase transition, i.e. annihilation of monopole–antimonopole pairs. We reproduce the anisotropic magnetoelastic modulations of elastic moduli: drastic ultrasonic softening around the phase transition and a multi-peak-and-trench fine structure for sound waves parallel and orthogonal to the magnetic field, respectively. Comparison with experiments indicates that the magnetoelastic coupling induced by Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction is comparable to that induced by the exchange interaction. Other possibilities such as elastic hardening are also predicted. The study implies that the monopole defects and their motion in MnGe play a crucial role.

Electric transport in three-dimensional skyrmion/monopole crystal

We study theoretically the transport properties of a three-dimensional spin texture made from three orthogonal helices, which is essentially a lattice of monopole-antimonopole pairs connected by skyrmion strings. This spin structure is proposed for MnGe based on neutron scattering experiments as well as Lorentz transmission electron microscopy observations. Equipped with a sophisticated spectral analysis method, we adopt the finite temperature Greens function technique to calculate the longitudinal dc electric transport in such a system. We consider conduction electrons interacting with spin waves of the topologically nontrivial spin texture, wherein fluctuations of monopolar emergent magnetic fields enter. We study in detail the behavior of electric resistivity under the influence of temperature, external magnetic field, and a characteristic monopole motion, especially a novel magnetoresistivity effect describing the latest experimental observations in MnGe, wherein a topological phase transition signifying strong correlations is identified.

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid and localization in Weyl semimetals

We study both noncentrosymmetric and time-reversal breaking Weyl semimetal systems under a strong magnetic field with the Coulomb interaction. The three-dimensional bulk system is reduced to many mutually interacting quasi-one-dimensional wires. Each strongly correlated wire can be approached within the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid formalism. Including impurity scatterings, we inspect the localization effect and the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity. The effect of a large number of Weyl points in real materials is also discussed.

Quantum Dots Formed in Three-dimensional Dirac Semimetal Cd3As2 Nanowires

We demonstrate quantum dot (QD) formation in three-dimensional Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanowires using two electrostatically tuned p-n junctions with a gate and magnetic fields. The linear conductance measured as a function of gate voltage under high magnetic fields is strongly suppressed at the Dirac point close to zero conductance, showing strong conductance oscillations. Remarkably, in this regime, the Cd3As2 nanowire device exhibits Coulomb diamond features, indicating that a clean single QD forms in the Dirac semimetal nanowire. Our results show that a p-type QD can be formed between two n-type leads underneath metal contacts in the nanowire by applying gate voltages under strong magnetic fields. Analysis of the quantum confinement in the gapless band structure confirms that p-n junctions formed between the p-type QD and two neighboring n-type leads under high magnetic fields behave as resistive tunnel barriers due to cyclotron motion, resulting in the suppression of Klein tunneling. The p-type QD with magnetic field-induced confinement shows a single hole filling. Our results will open up a route to quantum devices such as QDs or quantum point contacts based on Dirac and Weyl semimetals.