Physics Commons^™

Aspects Of Topology In Moiré Graphene, Ahmed Khalifa

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Moiré materials, such as twisted bilayer graphene, have provided a rich platform for fundamental physics and potential technological applications. Superconductivity,
correlated insulators, and Chern insulators are examples of phenomena that have been found experimentally in moiré systems. The interplay of strong electron-electron interactions and topology lies at the heart of the mechanism driving these phenomena. In this work, we study the topological aspects of moiré graphene materials, such as the valley Chern and Chern insulating phases. To study the topological response of these phases, we construct models to describe the edge states which are the telltale signs of nontrivial topology. …

Thermalization And Quantum Information In Conformal Field Theory, Ashish Kakkar

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

The consequences of the constraints of conformal symmetry are far-reaching within
theoretical physics. In this dissertation we address a series of questions in conformal
field theory: 1) We calculate the spectrum of qKdV charges in a large central charge
expansion. 2) We determine the corrections to bulk information geometry from 1/N
contributions to holographic correlators. 3) We study the higher genus partitions
functions of CFTs associated with classical and quantum error-correcting codes.

Understanding The Degradation Mechanism In Methyl Ammonium Lead Halide Perovskite And Black Phosphorene Via Electrical Transport Study, Huda Saleh Aljeailan

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

This work seeks to understand the degradation mechanism of technically important material systems such as black phosphorene (BP), arsenic phosphorene (AsP) and Methyl ammonium lead iodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃) perovskite. Degradation studies were conducted by studying the in-situ electrical transport properties (resistance and thermoelectric power (TEP)) of these materials in vacuum (under annealed condition) and after exposure to the ambient air.

BP and both exhibited p-type semiconducting (positive TEP) behavior under annealed conditions and the changes in their transport properties upon exposure to ambient air can be explained as due to the charge transfer between the …

Magnetization Dynamics In A Modified Square Artificial Spin Ice, Amrit Kaphle

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Artificial spin ices are magnetic metamaterials consisting of nanomagnet arrays in a 2-D lattice. Typically, these nanomagnet arrays are binary macrospins that can only be in an up or down state similar to the Ising spins. They have been intensively used to study magnetic frustration and ordering phenomena in a controlled environment. The hexagonal artificial spin ice and square artificial spin ice are among the most heavily studied systems. In this dissertation, we designed a modified square artificial spin ice system by an ordered substitution of a double-segment for a nanomagnet array in the unit cell of square artificial spin …

Topics In Quantum Quench And Entanglement, Sinong Liu

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

The dissertation includes two parts.

In Part I, we study non-equilibrium phenomena in various models associated with global quantum quench. It is known that local quantities, when subjected to global quantum quench across or approaching critical points, exhibit a variety of universal scaling behaviors at various quench rates. To investigate if similar scaling holds for non-local quantities, we consider the scaling behavior of circuit complexity under quantum quench across the critical massless point in Majorana fermion field theory of the one-dimensional integrable transverse field Ising model and find it obeys such scaling. To investigate if similar scaling holds for non-relativistic …

Strongly Correlated Phases In Quantum Hall Systems, Amartya Saha

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Quantum Hall systems have a one-body energy spectrum consisting of dispersion-less Landau levels. Electron-electron interactions thus dominate in partially filled Landau levels, which exhibit a myriad of strongly correlated phases such as quantum hall ferromagnets and fractional quantum Hall phases. We study two examples of these phenomena.

In the first project, we explore the ground state of a system with an interface between two semi-infinite regions with fillings ν= 4 and ν= 3 respectively. The width of the interface can be controlled by varying the background potential, which provides an additional tuning parameter. For a certain range of …

Magnetization Dynamics In Kagome Artificial Spin Ice Considering The Effect Of Vertex And Geometrical Lattice Distortion, Ali Frotanpour

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Artificial spin ices (ASI) have been shown to exhibit dynamic magnetic responses that are dramatically different from plane magnetic thin films. A number of magnetic ASI have been fabricated and measured in recent years. However, some important effects including influence of vertex and geometrical distortion on their dynamic response have not been addressed. This dissertation adopts Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) spectroscopy to study magnetization dynamics in fabricated artificial spin ices with a contentiously distorted Honeycomb geometry with the specific goal of exploring how the vertex and lattice distortion affect the dynamic magnetic response. Samples were patterned using electron beam lithography techniques. …

Transverse And Longitudinal Thermal Diffusivity Measurements Of Polymer And Small Molecule Organic Semiconductors With Different Techniques, Maryam Shahi

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

The main thrust of this research was to develop new probes to measure thermal conductivities (κ) of small-molecule crystals, as well as polymer blends of organic semiconductors, both to screen these for possible applications, e.g. as thermoelectric power generators, and to gain an understanding of thermal transport in them. Emphasis has been on the crystals of “TIPS pentacene” [TIPS = 6,13 bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl), and free-standing films of PEDOT:PSS [poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate] for different electrochemical and thermoelectric applications. Separate techniques were used for in-plane and transverse thermal conductivities in which 𝜅𝜅 is determined indirectly from measurements of the thermal diffusivity (D ≡ …

Graphene In A Uniform Magnetic Field, Ankur Das

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

We study monolayer graphene in a uniform magnetic field in the absence and presence of interactions. In the non-interacting limit, for p/q flux quanta per unit cell (p, q are coprime integer), the central two bands have 2q Dirac points in the Brillouin zone (BZ) in the nearest-neighbor model. These touchings and their locations are guaranteed by chiral symmetry and the lattice symmetries of the honeycomb structure. If we add a staggered potential and a next-nearest-neighbor hopping we find that their competition leads to a topological phase transition. We also study the stability of the Dirac touchings to one-body perturbations …

Electrical And Magnetic Transport Properties Of Periodic And Aperiodic Artificial Spin Ice Systems, Justin Woods

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

In recent years, the topic of magnetic frustration in systems and the effect that frustration can have on system dynamics has been a rich environment for study. One such system that lends itself directly to this study are systems of single domain ferromagnetic bars in two dimensions. These ferromagnetic bars can be fabricated from a thin film using current lithography techniques. The bars are fabricated in such a way that their shape anisotropy dictates the magnetization of the bar will be a single domain, Ising-like magnetic moment. These single domain magnetic bars scan be arranged to introduce frustration of their …

Quantum Phases And Phase Transitions In Designer Spin Models, Nisheeta Desai

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

This work focuses on numerical studies of quantum spin systems. These simple models are known to exhibit a variety of phases, some of which have no classical counterpart. Phase transitions between them are driven by quantum fluctuations and the unconventional nature of some such transitions make them a fascinating avenue of study.

Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) is an indispensable tool in the study of these phases and phase transitions in two and higher dimensions. Nevertheless, we are limited by our inability to simulate models that suffer from the infamous sign problem. While the case of S=1/2 has been studied …

A Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Charge Transport In Organic Thermoelectric Materials And Charge Transfer States In Organic Photovoltaics, Ashkan Abtahi

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Applications of organic electronics have increased significantly over the past two decades. Organic semiconductors (OSC) can be used in mechanically flexible devices with potentially lower cost of fabrication than their inorganic counterparts, yet in many cases organic semiconductor-based devices suffer from lower performance and stability. Investigating the doping mechanism, charge transport, and charge transfer in such materials will allow us to address the parameters that limit performance and potentially resolve them. In this dissertation, organic materials are used in three different device structures to investigate charge transport and charge transfer. Chemically doped π-conjugated polymers are promising materials to be used …

Effects Of Aperiodicity And Frustration On The Magnetic Properties Of Artificial Quasicrystals, Barry Farmer

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Quasicrystals have been shown to exhibit physical properties that are dramatically different from their periodic counterparts. A limited number of magnetic quasicrystals have been fabricated and measured, and they do not exhibit long-range magnetic order, which is in direct conflict with simulations that indicate such a state should be accessible. This dissertation adopts a metamaterials approach in which artificial quasicrystals are fabricated and studied with the specific goal of identifying how aperiodicity affects magnetic long-range order. Electron beam lithography techniques were used to pattern magnetic thin films into two types of aperiodic tilings, the Penrose P2, and Ammann-Beenker tilings. SQUID …

Scanning Probe Microscopy Measurements On 2d Materials And Iridates, Armin Ansary

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

In the past two decades, there has been a quest to understand and utilize novel materials such as iridates and two-dimensional (2D) materials. These classes of materials show a lot of interesting properties both in theoretical predictions as well as experimental results. Physical properties of some of these materials have been investigated using scanning probe measurements, along with other techniques.

One-dimensional (1D) catalytic etching was investigated in few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films. Etching of hBN was shown to share several similarities with that of graphitic films. As in graphitic films, etch tracks in hBN commenced at film edges and …

Electronic Properties Of Atomically Thin Material Heterostructures, M. Javad Farrokhi

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

There is a movement in the electronic industry toward building electronic devices with dimensions smaller than is currently possible. Atomically thin 2D material, such as graphene, bilayer graphene, hBN and MoS2 are great candidate for this goal and they have a potential set of novel electronic properties compare to their bulk counterparts due to the exhibition of quantum confinement effects. To this goal, we have investigated the electric field screening of multilayer 2D materials due to the presence of impurity charge in the interface and vertical electric fifield from back gate. Our result shows a dramatic difference of screening behavior …

Effect Of Hydrogen Exposure On The Electronic And Optical Properties Of Insulating Titanates, John G. Connell

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Hydrogen exposure of insulating d⁰-titanates, such as SrTiO₃ (STO), has displayed the formation of intriguing conducting states. These conducting states form through the use of forming gas (N₂/H₂) annealing or hydrogen plasma exposure, where hydrogen gas is exposed to high energy microwaves. The exposure of STO to hydrogen causes metallic conductivity due to the introduction of hydrogen cations on some of the oxygen sites. However, the optical properties of this hydrogen-exposed STO have not been well-studied. Further, Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ (BST), an insulating dielectric, also shows changes in its conductivity …

Non-Abelian Quasiholes In Lattice Moore-Read States And Parent Hamiltonians, Sourav Manna, Julia Wildeboer, Germán Sierra, Anne E. B. Nielsen

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

This work concerns Ising quasiholes in Moore-Read type lattice wave functions derived from conformal field theory. We commence with constructing Moore-Read type lattice states and then add quasiholes to them. By use of Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations, we analyze the features of the quasiholes, such as their size, shape, charge, and braiding properties. The braiding properties, which turn out to be the same as in the continuum Moore-Read state, demonstrate the topological attributes of the Moore-Read lattice states in a direct way. We also derive parent Hamiltonians for which the states with quasiholes included are ground states. One advantage of …

Unconventional Anomalous Hall Effect From Antiferromagnetic Domain Walls Of Nd2Ir2O7 Thin Films, Woo Jin Kim, John H. Gruenewald, Taekoo Oh, Sangmo Cheon, Bongju Kim, Oleksandr B. Korneta, Hwanbeom Cho, Daesu Lee, Yoonkoo Kim, Miyoung Kim, Je-Geun Park, Bohm-Jung Yang, Ambrose Seo

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Ferroic domain walls (DWs) create different symmetries and ordered states compared with those in single-domain bulk materials. In particular, the DWs of an antiferromagnet with noncoplanar spin structure have a distinct symmetry that cannot be realized in those of their ferromagnet counterparts. In this paper, we show that an unconventional anomalous Hall effect (AHE) can arise from the DWs of a noncoplanar antiferromagnet, Nd₂Ir₂O₇. Bulk Nd₂Ir₂O₇ has a cubic symmetry; thus, its Hall signal should be zero without an applied magnetic field. The DWs generated in this material break …

Observation Of A Pressure-Induced Transition From Interlayer Ferromagnetism To Intralayer Antiferromagnetism In Sr4Ru3O10, H. Zheng, W. H. Song, J. Terzic, H. D. Zhao, Y. F. Ni, Lance E. Delong, P. Schlottmann, G. Cao

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Sr₄Ru₃O₁₀ is a Ruddlesden-Popper compound with triple Ru-O perovskite layers separated by Sr-O rock-salt layers. This compound presents a rare coexistence of interlayer (c-axis) ferromagnetism and intralayer (basal-plane) metamagnetism at ambient pressure. Here we report the observation of pressure-induced, intralayer itinerant antiferromagnetism arising from the interlayer ferromagnetism. The application of modest hydrostatic pressure generates an anisotropy that may cause a flattening and a tilting of RuO₆ octahedra. All magnetic and transport results from this study indicate these lattice distortions diminish the c-axis ferromagnetism and basal-plane metamagnetism, and induce a basal-plane antiferromagnetic state. …

Enhanced Acidity Of Acetic And Pyruvic Acids On The Surface Of Water, Alexis J. Eugene, Elizabeth A. Pillar, Agustín J. Colussi, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Understanding the acid–base behavior of carboxylic acids on aqueous interfaces is a fundamental issue in nature. Surface processes involving carboxylic acids such as acetic and pyruvic acids play roles in (1) the transport of nutrients through cell membranes, (2) the cycling of metabolites relevant to the origin of life, and (3) the photooxidative processing of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions in aerosols and atmospheric waters. Here, we report that 50% of gaseous acetic acid and pyruvic acid molecules transfer a proton to the surface of water at pH 2.8 and 1.8 units lower than their respective acidity constants pK_{a …}

Kelvin-Mach Wake In A Two-Dimensional Fermi Sea, Eugene B. Kolomeisky, Joseph P. Straley

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The dispersion law for plasma oscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas in the hydrodynamic approximation interpolates between Ω ∝ √q and Ω ∝ q dependences as the wave vector q increases. As a result, downstream of a charged impurity in the presence of a uniform supersonic electric current flow, a wake pattern of induced charge density and potential is formed whose geometry is controlled by the Mach number M. For 1 < M ≤ √2, the wake consists of transverse wave fronts confined within a sector, whose angle is given by the classic Mach condition. An additional wake of …

Quadrupolar Quantum Criticality On A Fractal, Jonathan D'Emidio, Simon Lovell, Ribhu K. Kaul

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the ground state ordering of quadrupolar ordered S = 1 magnets as a function of spin dilution probability p on the triangular lattice. In sharp contrast to the ordering of S = 1/2 dipolar Néel magnets on percolating clusters, we find that the quadrupolar magnets are quantum disordered at the percolation threshold, p = p^∗. Further we find that long-range quadrupolar order is present for all p < p^∗ and vanishes first exactly at p^∗. Strong evidence for scaling behavior close to p^∗ points to an unusual quantum criticality without fine tuning that …

Coexistence Of Ferromagnetism And Unconventional Spin-Glass Freezing In The Site-Disordered Kagome Ferrite Srsn2Fe4O11, L. Shlyk, S. Strobel, Barry Farmer, Lance E. De Long, R. Niewa

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Single-crystal x-ray diffraction refinements indicate SrSn₂Fe₄O₁₁ crystallizes in the hexagonal R-type ferrite structure with noncentrosymmetric space group P6₃mc and lattice parameters a = 5.9541(2)Å, c = 13.5761(5)Å, Z = 2 (R(F) = 0.034). Octahedrally coordinated 2a [M(1) and M(1a)] and 6c sites [M(2)] have random, mixed occupation by Sn and Fe; whereas the tetrahedrally coordinated 2b sites [Fe(3) and Fe(3a)] are exclusively occupied by Fe, whose displacement from the ideal position with trigonal-bipyramidal coordination causes the loss of inversion symmetry. …

Electronic And Optical Properties Of La-Doped Sr3Ir2O7 Epitaxial Thin Films, Maryam Souri, Jsaminka Terzic, J. M. Johnson, John G. Connell, John H. Gruenewald, J. Thompson, Joseph W. Brill, J. Hwang, Gang Cao, Sung S. Ambrose Seo

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have investigated structural, transport, and optical properties of tensile strained (Sr_1−xLa_x)₃Ir₂O₇ (x = 0, 0.025, 0.05) epitaxial thin films. While high-T_c superconductivity is predicted theoretically in the system, we have observed that all of the samples remain insulating with finite optical gap energies and Mott variable-range hopping characteristics in transport. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy indicates that structural defects such as stacking faults appear in this system. The insulating behavior of the La-doped Sr₃Ir₂O₇ thin films is presumably due to disorder-induced …

Mutual Influence Between Macrospin Reversal Order And Spin-Wave Dynamics In Isolated Artificial Spin-Ice Vertices, F. Montoncello, L. Giovannini, Wonbae Bang, J. B. Ketterson, M. B. Jungfleisch, A. Hoffmann, Barry W. Farmer, Lance E. De Long

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We theoretically and experimentally investigate magnetization reversal and associated spin-wave dynamics of isolated threefold vertices that constitute a Kagome lattice. The three permalloy macrospins making up the vertex have an elliptical cross section and a uniform thickness. We study the dc magnetization curve and the frequency versus field curves (dispersions) of those spin-wave modes that produce the largest response. We also investigate each macrospin reversal from a dynamic perspective, by performing micromagnetic simulations of the reversal processes, and revealing their relationships to the soft-mode profile calculated at the equilibrium state immediately before reversal. The theoretical results are compared with the …

Electronic And Optical Properties Of Metastable Epitaxial Thin Films Of Layered Iridates, Maryam Souri

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

The layered iridates such as Sr₂IrO₄ and Sr₃Ir₂O₇, have attracted substantial attention due to their novel electronic states originating from strong spin-orbit coupling and electron-correlation. Recent studies have revealed the possibilities of novel phases such as topological insulators, Weyl semimetals, and even a potential high-T_c superconducting state with a d-wave gap. However, there are still controversial issues regarding the fundamental electronic structure of these systems: the origin of the insulating gap is disputed as arising either from an antiferromagnetic ordering, i.e. Slater scheme or electron-correlation, i.e. Mott scheme. …

Structural, Transport, And Topological Properties Induced At Complex-Oxide Hetero-Interfaces, Justin K. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Complex-oxides have seen an enormous amount of attention in the realm of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science/Engineering over the last several decades. Their ability to host a wide variety of novel physical properties has even caused them to be exploited commercially as dielectric, metallic and magnetic materials. Indeed, since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the “Cuprates” in the late 1980’s there has been an explosion of activity involving complex-oxides. Further, as the experimental techniques and equipment for fabricating thin films and heterostructures of these materials has improved over the last several decades, the search for new and …

Nanoscale Devices Consisting Of Heterostructures Of Carbon Nanotubes And Two-Dimensional Layered Materials, Mohsen Nasseri

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

One dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and two-dimensional layered materials like graphene, MoS₂, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), etc. with different electrical and mechanical properties are great candidates for many applications in the future. In this study the synthesis and growth of carbon nanotubes on both conducting graphene and graphite substrates as well as insulating hBN substrate with precise crystallographic orientation is achieved. We show that the nanotubes have a clear preference to align to specific crystal directions of the underlying graphene or hBN substrate. On thicker flakes of graphite, the edges of these 2D materials can control the orientation …

Origin Of The Exciton Mass In The Frustrated Mott Insulator Na2Iro3, Zhanybek Alpichshev, Edbert J. Sie, Fahad Mahmood, Gang Cao, Nuh Gedik

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We use a three-pulse ultrafast optical spectroscopy to study the relaxation processes in a frustrated Mott insulator Na₂IrO₃. By being able to independently produce the out-of-equilibrium bound states (excitons) of doublons and holons with the first pulse and suppress the underlying antiferromagnetic order with the second one, we were able to elucidate the relaxation mechanism of quasiparticles in this system. By observing the difference in the exciton dynamics in the magnetically ordered and disordered phases we found that the mass of this quasiparticle is mostly determined by its interaction with the surrounding spins.

Spin Mode Switching At The Edge Of A Quantum Hall System, Udit Khanna, Ganpathy Murthy, Sumathi Rao, Yuval Gefen

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Quantum Hall states can be characterized by their chiral edge modes. Upon softening the edge potential, the edge has long been known to undergo spontaneous reconstruction driven by charging effects. In this Letter we demonstrate a qualitatively distinct phenomenon driven by exchange effects, in which the ordering of the edge modes at ν = 3 switches abruptly as the edge potential is made softer, while the ordering in the bulk remains intact. We demonstrate that this phenomenon is robust, and has many verifiable experimental signatures in transport.