Giant modulation of optical nonlinearity by Floquet engineering.

Strong periodic driving with light offers the potential to coherently manipulate the properties of quantum materials on ultrafast timescales. Recently, strategies have emerged to drastically alter electronic and magnetic properties by optically inducing non-trivial band topologies1-6, emergent spin interactions7-11 and even superconductivity12. However, the prospects and methods of coherently engineering optical properties on demand are far less understood13. Here we demonstrate coherent control and giant modulation of optical nonlinearity in a van der Waals layered magnetic insulator, manganese phosphorus trisulfide (MnPS3). By driving far off-resonance from the lowest on-site manganese d-d transition, we observe a coherent on-off switching of its optical second harmonic generation efficiency on the timescale of 100 femtoseconds with no measurable dissipation. At driving electric fields of the order of 109 volts per metre, the on-off ratio exceeds 10, which is limited only by the sample damage threshold. Floquet theory calculations14 based on a single-ion model of MnPS3 are able to reproduce the measured driving field amplitude and polarization dependence of the effect. Our approach can be applied to a broad range of insulating materials and could lead to dynamically designed nonlinear optical elements.

Signatures of Ultrafast Reversal of Excitonic Order in Ta_{2}NiSe_{5}.

In the presence of electron-phonon coupling, an excitonic insulator harbors two degenerate ground states described by an Ising-type order parameter. Starting from a microscopic Hamiltonian, we derive the equations of motion for the Ising order parameter in the phonon coupled excitonic insulator Ta_{2}NiSe_{5} and show that it can be controllably reversed on ultrashort timescales using appropriate laser pulse sequences. Using a combination of theory and time-resolved optical reflectivity measurements, we report evidence of such order parameter reversal in Ta_{2}NiSe_{5} based on the anomalous behavior of its coherently excited order-parameter-coupled phonons. Our Letter expands the field of ultrafast order parameter control beyond spin and charge ordered materials.

Ultrafast Enhancement of Ferromagnetic Spin Exchange Induced by Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer.

We theoretically predict and experimentally demonstrate a nonthermal pathway to optically enhance superexchange interaction energies in a material based on exciting ligand-to-metal charge-transfer transitions, which introduces lower-order virtual hopping contributions that are absent in the ground state. We demonstrate this effect in the layered ferromagnetic insulator CrSiTe_{3} by exciting Te-to-Cr charge-transfer transitions using ultrashort laser pulses and detecting coherent phonon oscillations that are impulsively generated by superexchange enhancement via magneto-elastic coupling. This mechanism kicks in below the temperature scale where short-range in-plane spin correlations begin to develop and disappears when the excitation energy is tuned away from the charge-transfer resonance, consistent with our predictions.

Towards properties on demand in quantum materials.

The past decade has witnessed an explosion in the field of quantum materials, headlined by the predictions and discoveries of novel Landau-symmetry-broken phases in correlated electron systems, topological phases in systems with strong spin-orbit coupling, and ultra-manipulable materials platforms based on two-dimensional van der Waals crystals. Discovering pathways to experimentally realize quantum phases of matter and exert control over their properties is a central goal of modern condensed-matter physics, which holds promise for a new generation of electronic/photonic devices with currently inaccessible and likely unimaginable functionalities. In this Review, we describe emerging strategies for selectively perturbing microscopic interaction parameters, which can be used to transform materials into a desired quantum state. Particular emphasis will be placed on recent successes to tailor electronic interaction parameters through the application of intense fields, impulsive electromagnetic stimulation, and nanostructuring or interface engineering. Together these approaches outline a potential roadmap to an era of quantum phenomena on demand.

A charge density wave-like instability in a doped spin-orbit-assisted weak Mott insulator.

Layered perovskite iridates realize a rare class of Mott insulators that are predicted to be strongly spin-orbit coupled analogues of the parent state of cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Recent discoveries of pseudogap, magnetic multipolar ordered and possible d-wave superconducting phases in doped Sr2IrO4 have reinforced this analogy among the single layer variants. However, unlike the bilayer cuprates, no electronic instabilities have been reported in the doped bilayer iridate Sr3Ir2O7. Here we show that Sr3Ir2O7 realizes a weak Mott state with no cuprate analogue by using ultrafast time-resolved optical reflectivity to uncover an intimate connection between its insulating gap and antiferromagnetism. However, we detect a subtle charge density wave-like Fermi surface instability in metallic electron doped Sr3Ir2O7 at temperatures (TDW) close to 200 K via the coherent oscillations of its collective modes, which is reminiscent of that observed in cuprates. The absence of any signatures of a new spatial periodicity below TDW from diffraction, scanning tunnelling and photoemission based probes suggests an unconventional and possibly short-ranged nature of this density wave order.

Resistance characterization of ledipasvir and velpatasvir in hepatitis C virus genotype 4.

HCV genotype 4 (GT4) has often been overlooked in drug development, even though it infects ~20 million people worldwide. Ledipasvir/sofosbuvir and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir were highly efficacious in GT4 HCV-infected patients from GS-US-337-1119 and GS-US-342-1138. Here, we characterize the resistance profile of ledipasvir (LDV) and velpatasvir (VEL) in patients with GT4 HCV infection. NS5A deep-sequencing was performed for 454 patients infected with HCV GT4 at baseline, including 44 patients enrolled in GS-US-337-1119 and 116 patients enrolled in GS-US-342-1138, and at relapse for patients with virologic failure. LDV and VEL susceptibilities of 56 patient isolates were determined. In GS-US-337-1119, SVR12 rates were 100% for all subtypes except 4b and 4r. Phenotypic assessment of 56 HCV NS5A patient isolates from various GT4 subtypes indicated that LDV had high potency for the common subtypes 4a/d, and subtypes 4c/f/k/l/m/n/o/p/r/t despite the presence of resistance-associated substitutions (RASs). For the rare GT4b, LDV median EC50 was higher, but with a broad range of individual values. Importantly, all GT4b isolates tested had 2-4 NS5A RASs, some including Y93H. Similarly, the 2 GT4r infected patients who had virologic relapse had rare triple RASs. Reversion of these substitutions to the consensus residue significantly increased LDV susceptibility. In GS-US-342-1138, all patients achieved SVR12, regardless of their subtype or presence of RASs. In vitro data confirmed that VEL is potent against all GT4 isolates tested. LDV and VEL are potent antiviral drugs, estimated to be effective against >95% and >99%, respectively, of GT4 HCV isolates.

Floquet Engineering in Quantum Chains.

We consider a one-dimensional interacting spinless fermion model, which displays the well-known Luttinger liquid (LL) to charge density wave (CDW) transition as a function of the ratio between the strength of the interaction U and the hopping J. We subject this system to a spatially uniform drive which is ramped up over a finite time interval and becomes time periodic in the long-time limit. We show that by using a density matrix renormalization group approach formulated for infinite system sizes, we can access the large-time limit even when the drive induces finite heating. When both the initial and long-time states are in the gapless (LL) phase, the final state has power-law correlations for all ramp speeds. However, when the initial and final state are gapped (CDW phase), we find a pseudothermal state with an effective temperature that depends on the ramp rate, both for the Magnus regime in which the drive frequency is very large compared to other scales in the system and in the opposite limit where the drive frequency is less than the gap. Remarkably, quantum defects (instantons) appear when the drive tunes the system through the quantum critical point, in a realization of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

Evidence of an Improper Displacive Phase Transition in Cd_{2}Re_{2}O_{7} via Time-Resolved Coherent Phonon Spectroscopy.

We have used a combination of ultrafast coherent phonon spectroscopy, ultrafast thermometry, and time-dependent Landau theory to study the inversion symmetry breaking phase transition at T_{c}=200 K in the strongly spin-orbit coupled correlated metal Cd_{2}Re_{2}O_{7}. We establish that the structural distortion at T_{c} is a secondary effect through the absence of any softening of its associated phonon mode, which supports a purely electronically driven mechanism. However, the phonon lifetime exhibits an anomalously strong temperature dependence that decreases linearly to zero near T_{c}. We show that this behavior naturally explains the spurious appearance of phonon softening in previous Raman spectroscopy experiments and should be a prevalent feature of correlated electron systems with linearly coupled order parameters.

Improved carrier injection in GaN-based VCSEL via AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum barrier electron blocking layer.

In this report, the improved lasing performance of the III-nitride based vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) has been demonstrated by replacing the bulk AlGaN electron blocking layer (EBL) in the conventional VCSEL structure with an AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum barrier (MQB) EBL. The output power can be enhanced up to three times from 0.3 mW to 0.9 mW. In addition, the threshold current density of the fabricated device with the MQB-EBL was reduced from 12 kA/cm2 (9.5 mA) to 10.6 kA/cm2 (8.5 mA) compared with the use of the bulk AlGaN EBL. Theoretical calculation results suggest that the improved carrier injection efficiency can be mainly attributed to the partial release of the strain and the effect of quantum interference by using the MQB structure, hence increasing the effective barrier height of the conduction band.

High-speed measurement of rotational anisotropy nonlinear optical harmonic generation using position-sensitive detection.

We present a method of performing high-speed rotational anisotropy nonlinear optical harmonic generation experiments at rotational frequencies of several hertz by projecting the harmonic light reflected at different angles from a sample onto a stationary position-sensitive detector. The high rotational speed of the technique, 10(3) to 10(4) times larger than existing methods, permits precise measurements of the crystallographic and electronic symmetries of samples by averaging over low frequency laser-power, beam-pointing, and pulse-width fluctuations. We demonstrate the sensitivity of our technique by resolving the bulk fourfold rotational symmetry of GaAs about its [001] axis using second-harmonic generation.

Structural distortion-induced magnetoelastic locking in Sr(2)IrO(4) revealed through nonlinear optical harmonic generation.

We report a global structural distortion in Sr_{2}IrO_{4} using spatially resolved optical second and third harmonic generation rotational anisotropy measurements. A symmetry lowering from an I4_{1}/acd to I4_{1}/a space group is observed both above and below the Néel temperature that arises from a staggered tetragonal distortion of the oxygen octahedra. By studying an effective superexchange Hamiltonian that accounts for this lowered symmetry, we find that perfect locking between the octahedral rotation and magnetic moment canting angles can persist even in the presence of large noncubic local distortions. Our results explain the origin of the forbidden Bragg peaks recently observed in neutron diffraction experiments and reconcile the observations of strong tetragonal distortion and perfect magnetoelastic locking in Sr_{2}IrO_{4}.

Topological surface states protected from backscattering by chiral spin texture.

Topological insulators are a new class of insulators in which a bulk gap for electronic excitations is generated because of the strong spin-orbit coupling inherent to these systems. These materials are distinguished from ordinary insulators by the presence of gapless metallic surface states, resembling chiral edge modes in quantum Hall systems, but with unconventional spin textures. A key predicted feature of such spin-textured boundary states is their insensitivity to spin-independent scattering, which is thought to protect them from backscattering and localization. Recently, experimental and theoretical efforts have provided strong evidence for the existence of both two- and three-dimensional classes of such topological insulator materials in semiconductor quantum well structures and several bismuth-based compounds, but so far experiments have not probed the sensitivity of these chiral states to scattering. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to visualize the gapless surface states in the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi(1-x)Sb(x), and examine in detail the influence of scattering from disorder caused by random alloying in this compound. We show that, despite strong atomic scale disorder, backscattering between states of opposite momentum and opposite spin is absent. Our observations demonstrate that the chiral nature of these states protects the spin of the carriers. These chiral states are therefore potentially useful for spin-based electronics, in which long spin coherence is critical, and also for quantum computing applications, where topological protection can enable fault-tolerant information processing.

A tunable topological insulator in the spin helical Dirac transport regime.

Helical Dirac fermions-charge carriers that behave as massless relativistic particles with an intrinsic angular momentum (spin) locked to its translational momentum-are proposed to be the key to realizing fundamentally new phenomena in condensed matter physics. Prominent examples include the anomalous quantization of magneto-electric coupling, half-fermion states that are their own antiparticle, and charge fractionalization in a Bose-Einstein condensate, all of which are not possible with conventional Dirac fermions of the graphene variety. Helical Dirac fermions have so far remained elusive owing to the lack of necessary spin-sensitive measurements and because such fermions are forbidden to exist in conventional materials harbouring relativistic electrons, such as graphene or bismuth. It has recently been proposed that helical Dirac fermions may exist at the edges of certain types of topologically ordered insulators-materials with a bulk insulating gap of spin-orbit origin and surface states protected against scattering by time-reversal symmetry-and that their peculiar properties may be accessed provided the insulator is tuned into the so-called topological transport regime. However, helical Dirac fermions have not been observed in existing topological insulators. Here we report the realization and characterization of a tunable topological insulator in a bismuth-based class of material by combining spin-imaging and momentum-resolved spectroscopies, bulk charge compensation, Hall transport measurements and surface quantum control. Our results reveal a spin-momentum locked Dirac cone carrying a non-trivial Berry's phase that is nearly 100 per cent spin-polarized, which exhibits a tunable topological fermion density in the vicinity of the Kramers point and can be driven to the long-sought topological spin transport regime. The observed topological nodal state is shown to be protected even up to 300 K. Our demonstration of room-temperature topological order and non-trivial spin-texture in stoichiometric Bi(2)Se(3).M(x) (M(x) indicates surface doping or gating control) paves the way for future graphene-like studies of topological insulators, and applications of the observed spin-polarized edge channels in spintronic and computing technologies possibly at room temperature.

A topological Dirac insulator in a quantum spin Hall phase.

When electrons are subject to a large external magnetic field, the conventional charge quantum Hall effect dictates that an electronic excitation gap is generated in the sample bulk, but metallic conduction is permitted at the boundary. Recent theoretical models suggest that certain bulk insulators with large spin-orbit interactions may also naturally support conducting topological boundary states in the quantum limit, which opens up the possibility for studying unusual quantum Hall-like phenomena in zero external magnetic fields. Bulk Bi(1-x)Sb(x) single crystals are predicted to be prime candidates for one such unusual Hall phase of matter known as the topological insulator. The hallmark of a topological insulator is the existence of metallic surface states that are higher-dimensional analogues of the edge states that characterize a quantum spin Hall insulator. In addition to its interesting boundary states, the bulk of Bi(1-x)Sb(x) is predicted to exhibit three-dimensional Dirac particles, another topic of heightened current interest following the new findings in two-dimensional graphene and charge quantum Hall fractionalization observed in pure bismuth. However, despite numerous transport and magnetic measurements on the Bi(1-x)Sb(x) family since the 1960s, no direct evidence of either topological Hall states or bulk Dirac particles has been found. Here, using incident-photon-energy-modulated angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (IPEM-ARPES), we report the direct observation of massive Dirac particles in the bulk of Bi(0.9)Sb(0.1), locate the Kramers points at the sample's boundary and provide a comprehensive mapping of the Dirac insulator's gapless surface electron bands. These findings taken together suggest that the observed surface state on the boundary of the bulk insulator is a realization of the 'topological metal'. They also suggest that this material has potential application in developing next-generation quantum computing devices that may incorporate 'light-like' bulk carriers and spin-textured surface currents.

Measurement of intrinsic dirac fermion cooling on the surface of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 using time-resolved and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

We perform time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of a prototypical topological insulator (TI) Bi(2)Se(3) to study the ultrafast dynamics of surface and bulk electrons after photoexcitation. By analyzing the evolution of surface states and bulk band spectra, we obtain their electronic temperature and chemical potential relaxation dynamics separately. These dynamics reveal strong phonon-assisted surface-bulk coupling at high lattice temperature and total suppression of inelastic scattering between the surface and the bulk at low lattice temperature. In this low temperature regime, the unique cooling of Dirac fermions in TI by acoustic phonons is manifested through a power law dependence of the surface temperature decay rate on carrier density.

Medical and non-medical correlates of carpal tunnel syndrome in a Taiwan cohort of one million.

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), with unclear etiology, is the most common entrapment neuropathy. Its occurrence is related to lots of medical and non-medical conditions with uncertain causality. With a large population, we characterized selected demographical and clinical factors to add more information on CTS-correlated factors and new insight into future CTS prevention. METHODS: A national insurance claim dataset of one million enrollees in Taiwan was used to identify 15 802 patients with CTS and 31 604 randomly selected controls, during a period of 7 years starting 1 January 2000. Statistical association with CTS was determined for five sociodemographic and nine medical factors. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly women (65.6% vs. 47.7% in the control group) and older (40 and above, 62.6% vs. 36.2%). Rheumatoid arthritis was found to be the most significant comorbidity associated with CTS, followed by gout, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, uremia, and acromegaly. For younger group age ≤39, the association of these comorbidities was stronger, and hypothyroidism and vitamin B(6) deficiency were additional comorbidities. Aging appears to reduce the relative impact of the diseases commonly associated with CTS as the possible risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of the CTS correlates in younger group would be of greater value in timely detection and treatment for these diseases. Correcting these disorders may aid in removing possible causes of CTS. This is the first report on the effect of aging on probable CTS risk factors. How factors associated with aging contribute to the development of CTS remains to be determined.

Selective probing of photoinduced charge and spin dynamics in the bulk and surface of a topological insulator.

Topological insulators possess completely different spin-orbit coupled bulk and surface electronic spectra that are each predicted to exhibit exotic responses to light. Here we report time-resolved fundamental and second harmonic optical pump-probe measurements on the topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3) to independently measure its photoinduced charge and spin dynamics with bulk and surface selectivity. Our results show that a transient net spin density can be optically induced in both the bulk and surface, which may drive spin transport in topological insulators. By utilizing a novel rotational anisotropy analysis we are able to separately resolve the spin depolarization, intraband cooling, and interband recombination processes following photoexcitation, which reveal that spin and charge degrees of freedom relax on very different time scales owing to strong spin-orbit coupling.

Nonlinear optical probe of tunable surface electrons on a topological insulator.

We use ultrafast laser pulses to experimentally demonstrate that the second-order optical response of bulk single crystals of the topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3) is sensitive to its surface electrons. By performing surface doping dependence measurements as a function of photon polarization and sample orientation we show that second harmonic generation can simultaneously probe both the surface crystalline structure and the surface charge of Bi(2)Se(3). Furthermore, we find that second harmonic generation using circularly polarized photons reveals the time-reversal symmetry properties of the system and is surprisingly robust against surface charging, which makes it a promising tool for spectroscopic studies of topological surfaces and buried interfaces.

Observation of a warped helical spin texture in Bi2Se3 from circular dichroism angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

A differential coupling of topological surface states to left- versus right-circularly polarized light is the basis of many optospintronics applications of topological insulators. Here we report direct evidence of circular dichroism from the surface states of Bi(2)Se(3) using laser-based time-of-flight angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. By employing a novel sample rotational analysis, we resolve unusual modulations in the circular dichroism photoemission pattern as a function of both energy and momentum, which perfectly mimic the predicted but hitherto unobserved three-dimensional warped spin texture of the surface states. By developing a microscopic theory of photoemission from topological surface states, we show that this correlation is a natural consequence of spin-orbit coupling. These results suggest that our technique may be a powerful probe of the spin texture of spin-orbit coupled materials in general.