Kane fermions are characterized by a linear Dirac cone intersecting with a flat band, resembling a pseudo-spin-1 Dirac semimetal. Similar to relativistic Dirac fermions, Kane fermions satisfy a linear energy-momentum relation and can be classified as
being pseudo-relativistic. Though not protected by symmetry or by topology, Kane fermions can emerge by suitable band engineering, for example, in mercury-telluride compounds. Here we study the Berry curvature of Kane fermions that emerges in the presence of time-reversal symmetry breaking weak Zeeman fields. We discuss the related anomalous transport coefficients and discuss the anisotropy in these responses that can be probed in experiments.
Focusing on the implications of recent experiments on Majorana zero modes in semiconductor-superconductor (SM-SC) heterostructures, we critically examine the quantization of the zero-bias differential conductance as a possible unambiguous signature o
f Majorana physics in the presence of disorder. By numerically calculating the zero-bias conductance (ZBC) maps as function of Zeeman splitting and chemical potential for different disorder realizations, we show that the presence of quantized islands characterized by a ZBC value (approximately) equal to $2e^2/h$ and having a finite area/volume in a multi-dimensional parameter space represents a unique signature of Majorana physics supporting Majorana zero modes (MZMs) or partially-separated Majorana modes (ps-MMs). We find that in the presence of strong disorder Majorana physics only emerges locally and gives rise to ps-MMs, which, in turn, generate small quantized islands when one of the Majorana modes is located at the end of the system. Observing these small islands may require sample selection and the systematic scanning of a large volume in the control parameter space. Upon decreasing disorder, the quantized islands increase in size and eventually coalesce into large topological regions. Since the presence of MZMs localized at the opposite ends of the system is typically associated with large quantized islands, looking for MZM-induced edge-to-edge correlations is premature in the absence of convincing experimental evidence for (even small) quantized islands. We conclude that the observation of quantized islands demonstrates unambiguously the presence of the key ingredients necessary for Majorana physics, provides an excellent diagnostic tool for evaluating the disorder strength, and, consequently, represents the next natural milestone in the Majorana search.
The interplay of optical driving and hyperfine interaction between an electron confined in a quantum dot and its surrounding nuclear spin environment produces a range of interesting physics such as mode-locking. In this work, we go beyond the ubiquit
ous spin 1/2 approximation for nuclear spins and present a comprehensive theoretical framework for an optically driven electron spin in a self-assembled quantum dot coupled to a nuclear spin bath of arbitrary spin. Using a dynamical mean-field approach, we compute the nuclear spin polarization distribution with and without the quadrupolar coupling. We find that while hyperfine interactions drive dynamic nuclear polarization and mode-locking, quadrupolar couplings counteract these effects. The tension between these mechanisms is imprinted on the steady-state electron spin evolution, providing a way to measure the importance of quadrupolar interactions in a quantum dot. Our results show that higher-spin effects such as quadrupolar interactions can have a significant impact on the generation of dynamic nuclear polarization and how it influences the electron spin evolution.
The experimental verification of chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetals is an active area of investigation in modern condensed matter physics, which typically relies on the combined signatures of longitudinal magnetoconductance (LMC) along with the planar
Hall effect (PHE). It has recently been shown that for weak non-quantizing magnetic fields, a sufficiently strong finite intervalley scattering drives the system to switch the sign of LMC from positive to negative. Here we unravel another independent source that produces the same effect. Specifically, a smooth lattice cutoff to the linear dispersion, which is ubiquitous in real Weyl materials, introduces nonlinearity in the problem and also drives the system to exhibit negative LMC for non-collinear electric and magnetic fields even in the limit of vanishing intervalley scattering. We examine longitudinal magnetoconductivity and the planar Hall effect semi-analytically for a lattice model of tilted Weyl fermions within the Boltzmann approximation. We independently study the effects of a finite lattice cutoff and tilt parameters and construct phase diagrams in relevant parameter spaces that are relevant for diagnosing chiral anomaly in real Weyl materials.
The manifestation of chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetals typically relies on the observation of longitudinal magnetoconductance (LMC) along with the planar Hall effect, with a specific magnetic field and angle dependence. Here we solve the Boltzmann eq
uation in the semiclassical regime for a prototype of a Weyl semimetal, allowing for both intravalley and intervalley scattering, along with including effects from the orbital magnetic moment (OMM), in a geometry where the electric and magnetic fields are not necessarily parallel to each other. We construct the phase diagram in the relevant parameter space that describes the shift from positive to negative LMC in the presence of OMM and sufficiently strong intervalley scattering, as has been recently pointed out for only parallel electric and magnetic fields. On the other hand, we find that the chiral anomaly contribution to the planar Hall effect always remains positive (unlike the LMC) irrespective of the inclusion or exclusion of OMM, or the strength of the intervalley scattering. Our predictions can be directly tested in experiments, and may be employed as new diagnostic procedures to verify chiral anomaly in Weyl systems.
We discuss the feasibility of measurement-based braiding in semiconductor-superconductor (SM-SC) heterostructures in the so-called quasi-Majorana regime $-$ the topologically-trivial regime due to partially-separated Andreev bound states (ps-ABSs). T
hese low energy ABSs consist of component Majorana bound states (quasi-Majorana modes) that are spatially separated by a length scale smaller than the length of the system, in contrast with the Majorana zero modes (MZMs), which are separated by the length of the wire. In the quasi-Majorana regime, the ZBCPs appear to be robust to various perturbations as long as the energy splitting of the ps-ABS is less than the typical width $e_w$ of the low-energy conductance peaks $e_w$. However, the feasibility of measurement-based braiding depends on a different energy scale $e_m$. In this paper we show that it is possible to prepare the SM-SC system in the quasi-Majorana regime with energy splittings below the $e_m$ threshold, so that measurement-based braiding is possible in principle. Starting with ps-ABSs with energy below $e_m$, we identify the maximum amplitudes of different types of perturbations that are consistent with perturbation-induced energy splittings not exceeding the $e_m$ limit. We argue that measurements generating perturbations larger than the threshold amplitudes appropriate for $e_m$ cannot realize measurement-based braiding in SM-SC heterostructures in the quasi-Majorana regime. We find that, if possible at all, quantum computation using measurement-based braiding in the quasi-Majorana regime would be plagued with errors introduced by the measurement processes themselves, while such errors are significantly less likely in a scheme involving topological MZMs.
Understanding the normal-metal state transport in twisted bilayer graphene near magic angle is of fundamental importance as it provides insights into the mechanisms responsible for the observed strongly correlated insulating and superconducting phase
s. Here we provide a rigorous theory for phonon-dominated transport in twisted bilayer graphene describing its unusual signatures in the resistivity (including the variation with electron density, temperature, and twist angle) showing good quantitative agreement with recent experiments. We contrast this with the alternative Planckian dissipation mechanism that we show is incompatible with available experimental data. An accurate treatment of the electron-phonon scattering requires us to go well beyond the usual treatment, including both interband and intraband processes, considering the finite-temperature dynamical screening of the electron-phonon matrix element, and going beyond the linear Dirac dispersion. In addition to explaining the observations in currently available experimental data, we make concrete predictions that can be tested in ongoing experiments.
The recent experimental observations of decaying energy oscillations in semiconductor-superconductor Majorana nanowires is in contrast with the typical expectations based on the presence of Majorana zero modes localized at the ends of the system, whe
n the amplitude of the hybridization energy oscillations is predicted to increase with the applied magnetic field. These observations have been theoretically justified recently by considering a position-dependent, step-like spin-orbit coupling near end of the nanowire, which could arise due to the presence of tunnel gates in a standard tunneling conductance experiment. Here, we show that the window in parameter space where this phenomenology occurs is vanishingly small, when compared to the parameter region where Majorana oscillations increase in amplitude with the applied field. Further, including a position-dependent effective potential, which is also induced naturally near the end of the wire by, e.g., tunnel gates, practically removes the small window associated with decaying oscillations. Using extensive numerical calculations, we show that, as expected, increasing amplitude oscillations of the hybridization energy represent a generic property of topological Majorana zero modes, while decreasing amplitude oscillations are a generic property of low-energy trivial Andreev bound states that typically emerge in non-homogeneous systems. By averaging over several realistic parameter configurations, we identify robust features of the hybridization energy that can be observed in a typical differential conductance experiment without fine-tuning the control parameters.
A purely electronic mechanism is proposed for the unconventional superconductivity recently observed in twisted bilayer graphene (tBG) close to the magic angle. Using the Migdal-Eliashberg framework on a one parameter effective lattice model for tBG
we show that a superconducting state can be achieved by means of collective electronic modes in tBG. We posit robust features of the theory, including an asymmetrical superconducting dome and the magnitude of the critical temperature that are in agreement with experiments.
We present low-temperature transport measurements of a gate-tunable thin film topological insulator system that features high mobility and low carrier density. Upon gate tuning to a regime around the charge neutrality point, we infer an absence of st
rong localization even at conductivities well below $e^2/h$, where two dimensional electron systems should conventionally scale to an insulating state. Oddly, in this regime the localization coherence peak lacks conventional temperature broadening, though its tails do change dramatically with temperature. Using a model with electron-impurity scattering, we extract values for the disorder potential and the hybridization of the top and bottom surface states.
