Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Floquet engineering of axion and high-Chern number phases in a topological insulator under illumination

  Mohammad Shafiei, Farhad Fazileh, François M. Peeters, Milorad V. Milošević

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 024 (2024) · published 1 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum anomalous Hall, high-Chern number, and axion phases in topological insulators are characterized by its Chern invariant C (respectively, C=1, integer C>1, and C=0 with half-quantized Hall conductance of opposite signs on top and bottom surfaces). They are of recent interest because of novel fundamental physics and prospective applications, but identifying and controlling these phases has been challenging in practice. Here we show that these states can be created and switched between in thin films of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ by Floquet engineering, using irradiation by circularly polarized light. We present the calculated phase diagrams of encountered topological phases in Bi$_2$Se$_3$, as a function of wavelength and amplitude of light, as well as sample thickness, after properly taking into account the penetration depth of light and the variation of the gap in the surface states. These findings open pathways towards energy-efficient optoelectronics, advanced sensing, quantum information processing and metrology.

  1 citation

• A testable theory for high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates

  Eduardo C. Marino

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 11, 004 (2023) · published 5 June 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A number of theories for the superconductivity in cuprates, have been proposed in the more than 30 years that have elapsed since its discovery. A common feature of these theories is the small number, or even the absence, of quantitative predictions that could be compared to a vast number of experimental data, which are, conversely, available. Such theories are, consequently non-testable. We describe the foundations and a number of applications of a theory describing High-Tc Superconductivity in cuprates, which we proposed recently, that besides being testable, has proven to meet successfully the tests to which it has been submitted so far.

  1 citation

• Hole doping and electronic correlations in Cr substituted BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$

  Marli dos Reis Cantarino, Kevin R. Pakuszewski, Bjoern Salzmann, Pedro H. A. Moya, Wagner R. da Silva Neto, Gabriel S. Freitas, Pascoal G. Pagliuso, Cris Adriano, Walber H. Brito, Fernando A. Garcia

  SciPost Phys. 17, 141 (2024) · published 22 November 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  For a significant composition range, the suppression of the spin density wave transition temperature ($T_{\text{SDW}}$) in Cr- and Mn-substituted BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ (CrBFA and MnBFA, respectively) coincides as a function of Cr/Mn content, despite the distinct electronic effects of these substitutions. Additionally, for any Cr/Mn content superconductivity (SC) is absent and this topic is particularly less explored in the case of CrBFA. In this work, we employ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and combined density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory (DFT+DMFT) to address the evolution of the Fermi surface (FS) and electronic correlations in CrBFA. Our findings reveal that incorporating Cr leads to an effective hole doping of the states near the FS, which is well described within the virtual crystal approximation (VCA). Moreover, analysis of the ARPES spectra of the bands with main $d_{yz}$-orbital character reveals a fractional scaling of the imaginary part of self-energy as a function of the binding energy, a signature property of Hund's correlations. Our DFT+DMFT calculations support these experimental findings. We conclude that CrBFA is a correlated electron system for which the changes in the FS as a function of Cr are unrelated to the suppression of $T_{\text{SDW}}$. In addition, we suggest that the absence of SC is primarily due to the competition between Cr local moments and the Fe-derived itinerant spin fluctuations.

  1 citation

• Two lectures on Yang-Lee edge singularity and analytic structure of QCD equation of state

  Vladimir V. Skokov

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 91 (2025) · published 7 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  These lecture notes, prepared for the 2024 XQCD PhD, provide an introduction to the analytic structure of an equation of state near a second-order phase transition and its most prominent landmark: the Yang-Lee edge singularity. In addition to discussing general properties, the notes review recent theoretical progress in locating the QCD critical point by tracking the trajectory of the Yang-Lee edge singularity.

  1 citation

• Generalized Gibbs ensembles in weakly interacting dissipative systems and digital quantum computers

  Iris Ulčakar, Zala Lenarčič

  SciPost Phys. 19, 068 (2025) · published 4 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Identifying use cases with superconducting circuits not critically affected by the inherent noise is a pertinent challenge. Here, we propose using a digital quantum computer to showcase the activation of integrable effects in weakly dissipative integrable systems. Dissipation is realized by coupling the system's qubits to ancillary ones that are periodically reset. We compare the digital reset protocol to the usual Lindblad continuous-time evolution by considering non-interacting integrable systems dynamics, which can be analyzed using scattering between the Bogoliubov quasiparticles caused by the dissipation. If not dominant, the inherent noise would cause extra scattering but would not critically change the physics. A corresponding quantum computer implementation would illuminate the possibilities of stabilizing exotic states in nearly integrable quantum materials.

  1 citation

• Topological defects in a double-mirror quadrupole insulator displace diverging charge

  Isidora Araya Day, Anton R. Akhmerov, Dániel Varjas

  SciPost Phys. Core 5, 053 (2022) · published 15 December 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We show that topological defects in quadrupole insulators do not host quantized fractional charges, contrary to what their Wannier representation indicates. In particular, we test the charge quantization hypothesis based on the Wannier representation of a disclination and a parametric defect. Since disclinations necessarily strain the lattice and parametric defects require closed curves in parameter space, both defects break four-fold rotation symmetry, even away from their origin. The Wannier representation of the defects is thus determined by local reflection symmetries. Contrary to the hypothesis, we find that the local charge density decays as $\sim 1/r^2$ with distance, leading to a diverging defect charge. Because topological defects are incompatible with four-fold rotation symmetry, we conclude that defect charge quantization is protected by sublattice symmetry, and not higher order topology.

  1 citation

• Multiscale response of ionic systems to a spatially varying electric field

  Jesper Schmidt Hansen

  SciPost Phys. 2, 017 (2017) · published 27 May 2017 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper the response of ionic systems subjected to a spatially varying electric field is studied. Following the Nernst-Planck equation, two forces driving the mass flux are present, namely, the concentration gradient and the electric potential gradient. The mass flux due to the concentration gradient is modelled through Fick's law, and a new constitutive relation for the mass flux due to the potential gradient is proposed. In the regime of low screening the response function due to the potential gradient is closely related to the ionic conductivity. In the large screening regime, on the other hand, the response function is governed by the charge-charge structure. Molecular dynamics simulations are conducted and the two wave vector dependent response functions are evaluated for models of a molten salt and an ionic liquid. In the low screening regime the response functions show same wave vector dependency, indicating that it is the same underlying physical processes that govern the response. In the screening regime the wave vector dependency is very different and, thus, the overall response is determined by different processes. This is in agreement with the observed failure of the Nernst-Einstein relation.

• Algebraic law of local correlations in a driven Rydberg atomic system

  Xin Wang, XiaoFeng Wu, Bo Yang, Bo Zhang, Bo Xiong

  SciPost Phys. 19, 152 (2025) · published 11 December 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Understanding the mechanism behind the buildup of inner correlations is crucial for studying nonequilibrium dynamics in complex, strongly interacting many-body systems. Here we investigate both analytically and numerically the buildup of antiferromagnetic (AF) correlations in a dynamically tuned Ising model with various geometries, realized in a Rydberg atomic system. Through second-order Magnus expansion (ME), we demonstrate quantitative agreement with numerical simulations for diverse configurations including $2 × n$ lattice and cyclic lattice with a star. We find that the AF correlation magnitude at fixed Manhattan distance obeys a universal superposition principle: It corresponds to the algebraic sum of contributions from all shortest paths. This superposition law remains robust against variations in path equivalence, lattice geometries, and quench protocols, establishing a new paradigm for correlation propagation in quantum simulators.

• A correspondence between the Rabi model and an Ising model with long-range interactions

  Bruno Scheihing-Hitschfeld, Néstor Sepúlveda

  SciPost Phys. 19, 153 (2025) · published 15 December 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  By means of Trotter's formula, we show that transition amplitudes between a class of generalized coherent states in the Rabi model can be understood in terms of a certain Ising model featuring long-range interactions beyond nearest neighbors in its thermodynamic limit. Specifically, we relate the transition amplitudes in the Rabi model to a sum over binary variables of the form of a partition function of an Ising model with a number of spin sites equal to the number of steps in Trotter's formula applied to the real-time evolution of the Rabi model. From this, we show that a perturbative expansion in the energy splitting of the two-level subsystem in the Rabi model is equivalent to an expansion in the number of spin domains in the Ising model. We conclude by discussing how calculations in one model give nontrivial information about the other model, and vice versa, as well as applications and generalizations this correspondence may find.

• Hilbert space structure and classical limit of the low energy sector of U(N) quantum Hall ferromagnets

  Manuel Calixto, Alberto Mayorgas, Julio Guerrero

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 14, 021 (2023) · published 23 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Using the Lieb–Mattis ordering theorem of electronic energy levels, we identify and construct the Hilbert space of the low energy sector of U(N) quantum Hall/Heisenberg ferromagnets at filling factor M for L Landau/lattice sites. The carrier Hilbert space of irreducible representations of U(N) is described by rectangular Young tableaux of M rows and L columns, and associated with Grassmannian phase spaces U(N)/U(M)×U(N-M). Replacing U(N)-spin operators by their expectation values in a Grassmannian coherent state allows for a semi-classical treatment of the low energy U(N)-spin-wave coherent excitations (skyrmions) of U(N) quantum Hall ferromagnets in terms of Grasmannian nonlinear sigma models.