Finite-momentum instability of a dynamical axion insulator

Curtis, Jonathan B.; Petrides, Ioannis; Narang, Prineha

doi:10.1103/physrevb.107.205118

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

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“…Quantum materials offer new technological opportunities while posing key challenges for existing characterization methods. Phenomena such as superconductivity, topology [1][2][3][4][5], magnetism, and collective motion [6,7] are all manifestations of quantum effects in solid-state systems, which can in turn offer potentially novel electronic device functionalities. A commonality between these examples is the way that different symmetries are broken, and the manifestation of these broken symmetries in macroscopic electrodynamic response [8].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing Electromagnetic Nonreciprocity with Quantum Geometry of Photonic States

Petrides,

Curtis,

Wesson

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Reciprocal and nonreciprocal effects in dielectric and magnetic materials provide crucial information about the microscopic properties of electrons. However, experimentally distinguishing the two has proven to be challenging, especially when the associated effects are extremely small. To this end, we propose a contact-less detection using a cross-cavity device where a material of interest is placed at its centre. We show that the optical properties of the material, such as Kerr and Faraday rotation, or, birefringence, manifest in the coupling between the cavity's electromagnetic modes and in the shift of their resonant frequencies. By calculating the dynamics of a geometrical photonic state, we formulate a measurement protocol based on the quantum metric (and quantum process tomography) that isolates the individual components of the material's complex refractive index and minimizes the quantum mechanical Cramer-Rao bound on the variance of the associated parameter estimation. Our approach is expected to be applicable across a broad spectrum of experimental platforms including Fock states in optical cavities, or, coherent states in microwave and THz resonators.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing Electromagnetic Nonreciprocity with Quantum Geometry of Photonic States

Petrides,

Curtis,

Wesson

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Chiral symmetry restoration and the ultraquantum limit of axionic Charge Density Waves in Weyl Semimetals

Bernabeu,

Cortijo

2024

J. High Energ. Phys.

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A new mechanism for chiral symmetry restoration at extreme high magnetic fields is proposed in the context of the Magnetic Catalysis scenario in Weyl Semimetals. Contrary to previous proposals, here we show that, at very large magnetic fields, the transverse velocity of the axion field, the phase mode of the chiral condensate $$\langle \overline{\Psi }\Psi \rangle $$, becomes effectively one-dimensional and its fluctuations destroy a possible nonzero value of this fermionic condensate. We also show that, despite of the U(1) chiral symmetry not being broken at extremely large magnetic fields, the spectrum of the system is comprised by a well defined gapless bosonic excitation, connected to the axion mode, and a correlated insulating fermionic liquid that is neutral to U(1) chiral transformations. When the theory is supplemented with the inclusion of dynamical electromagnetic fields, the chiral symmetry is broken again, and the conventional scenario of magnetic catalysis can be recovered.

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