Fermionic Many-Body Localization for Random and Quasiperiodic Systems in the Presence of Short- and Long-Range Interactions.

We study many-body localization (MBL) for interacting one-dimensional lattice fermions in random (Anderson) and quasiperiodic (Aubry-Andre) models, focusing on the role of interaction range. We obtain the MBL quantum phase diagrams by calculating the experimentally relevant inverse participation ratio (IPR) at half-filling using exact diagonalization methods and extrapolating to the infinite system size. For short-range interactions, our results produce in the phase diagram a qualitative symmetry between weak and strong interaction limits. For long-range interactions, no such symmetry exists as the strongly interacting system is always many-body localized, independent of the effective disorder strength, and the system is analogous to a pinned Wigner crystal. We obtain various scaling exponents for the IPR, suggesting conditions for different MBL regimes arising from interaction effects.

Anomalous Floquet Chiral Topological Superconductivity in a Topological Insulator Sandwich Structure.

We show that Floquet chiral topological superconductivity arises naturally in Josephson junctions made of magnetic topological insulator-superconductor sandwich structures. The Josephson phase modulation associated with an applied bias voltage across the junction drives the system into the anomalous Floquet chiral topological superconductor hosting chiral Majorana edge modes in the quasienergy spectrum, with the bulk Floquet bands carrying zero Chern numbers. The bias voltage acts as a tuning parameter enabling novel Floquet topological quantum phase transitions driving the system into a myriad of exotic Majorana-carrying Floquet topological superconducting phases. Our theory establishes a new paradigm for realizing Floquet chiral topological superconductivity in solid-state systems, which should be experimentally directly accessible.

Intrinsic Time-Reversal-Invariant Topological Superconductivity in Thin Films of Iron-Based Superconductors.

We establish quasi-two-dimensional thin films of iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) as a new high-temperature platform for hosting intrinsic time-reversal-invariant helical topological superconductivity (TSC). Based on the combination of Dirac surface state and bulk extended s-wave pairing, our theory should be directly applicable to a large class of experimentally established FeSCs, opening a new TSC paradigm. In particular, an applied electric field serves as a "topological switch" for helical Majorana edge modes in FeSC thin films, allowing for an experimentally feasible design of gate-controlled helical Majorana circuits. Applying an in-plane magnetic field drives the helical TSC phase into a higher-order TSC carrying corner-localized Majorana zero modes. Our proposal should enable the experimental realization of helical Majorana fermions.

Moiré versus Mott: Incommensuration and Interaction in One-Dimensional Bichromatic Lattices.

Inspired by the rich physics of twisted 2D bilayer moiré systems, we study Coulomb interacting systems subjected to two overlapping finite 1D lattice potentials of unequal periods through exact numerical diagonalization. Unmatching underlying lattice periods lead to a 1D bichromatic "moiré" superlattice with a large unit cell and consequently a strongly flattened band, exponentially enhancing the effective dimensionless electron-electron interaction strength and manifesting clear signatures of enhanced Mott gaps at discrete fillings. An important nonperturbative finding is a remarkable fine-tuning effect of the precise lattice commensuration, where slight variations in the relative lattice periods may lead to a suppression of the correlated insulating phase, in qualitative agreement with the observed fragility of the correlated insulating phase in twisted bilayer graphene. Our predictions, which should be directly verifiable in bichromatic optical lattices, establish that the competition between interaction and incommensuration is a key element of the physics of moiré superlattices.

Möbius Insulator and Higher-Order Topology in MnBi_{2n}Te_{3n+1}.

We propose MnBi_{2n}Te_{3n+1} as a magnetically tunable platform for realizing various symmetry-protected higher-order topology. Its canted antiferromagnetic phase can host exotic topological surface states with a Möbius twist that are protected by nonsymmorphic symmetry. Moreover, opposite surfaces hosting Möbius fermions are connected by one-dimensional chiral hinge modes, which offers the first material candidate of a higher-order topological Möbius insulator. We uncover a general mechanism to feasibly induce this exotic physics by applying a small in-plane magnetic field to the antiferromagnetic topological insulating phase of MnBi_{2n}Te_{3n+1}, as well as other proposed axion insulators. For other magnetic configurations, two classes of inversion-protected higher-order topological phases are ubiquitous in this system, which both manifest gapped surfaces and gapless chiral hinge modes. We systematically discuss their classification, microscopic mechanisms, and experimental signatures. Remarkably, the magnetic-field-induced transition between distinct chiral hinge mode configurations provides an effective "topological magnetic switch".

Higher-Order Topology and Nodal Topological Superconductivity in Fe(Se,Te) Heterostructures.

We show, theoretically, that a heterostructure of monolayer FeTe_{1-x}Se_{x}-a superconducting quantum spin Hall material-with a monolayer of FeTe-a bicollinear antiferromagnet-realizes a higher order topological superconductor phase characterized by emergent Majorana zero modes pinned to the sample corners. We provide a minimal effective model for this system, analyze the origin of higher order topology, and fully characterize the topological phase diagram. Despite the conventional s-wave pairing, we find a rather surprising emergence of a novel topological nodal superconductor in the phase diagram. Featured by edge-dependent Majorana flat bands, the topological nodal phase is protected by an antiferromagnetic chiral symmetry. We also discuss the experimental feasibility, the estimation of realistic model parameters, and the robustness of the Majorana corner modes against magnetic and potential disorder. Our work provides a new experimentally feasible high-temperature platform for both higher order topology and non-Abelian Majorana physics.

Helical Hinge Majorana Modes in Iron-Based Superconductors.

Motivated by recent experiments on FeTe_{1-x}Se_{x}, we construct an explicit minimal model of an iron-based superconductor with band inversion at the Z point and nontopological bulk s_{±} pairing. While there has been considerable interest in Majorana zero modes localized at vortices in such systems, we find that our model-without any vortices-intrinsically supports 1D helical Majorana modes localized at the hinges between (001) and (100) or (010) surfaces, suggesting that this is a viable platform for observing "higher-order" topological superconductivity. We provide a general theory for these hinge modes and discuss their stability and experimental manifestation. Our work indicates the possible experimental observability of hinge Majorana modes in iron-based topological superconductors.

Single-Particle Mobility Edge in a One-Dimensional Quasiperiodic Optical Lattice.

A single-particle mobility edge (SPME) marks a critical energy separating extended from localized states in a quantum system. In one-dimensional systems with uncorrelated disorder, a SPME cannot exist, since all single-particle states localize for arbitrarily weak disorder strengths. However, in a quasiperiodic system, the localization transition can occur at a finite detuning strength and SPMEs become possible. In this Letter, we find experimental evidence for the existence of such a SPME in a one-dimensional quasiperiodic optical lattice. Specifically, we find a regime where extended and localized single-particle states coexist, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, which predict a SPME in this regime.

Machine Learning Many-Body Localization: Search for the Elusive Nonergodic Metal.

The breaking of ergodicity in isolated quantum systems with a single-particle mobility edge is an intriguing subject that has not yet been fully understood. In particular, whether a nonergodic but metallic phase exists or not in the presence of a one-dimensional quasiperiodic potential is currently under active debate. In this Letter, we develop a neural-network-based approach to investigate the existence of this nonergodic metallic phase in a prototype model using many-body entanglement spectra as the sole diagnostic. We find that such a method identifies with high confidence the existence of a nonergodic metallic phase in the midspectrum at an intermediate quasiperiodic potential strength. Our neural-network-based approach shows how supervised machine learning can be applied not only in locating phase boundaries but also in providing a way to definitively examine the existence or not of a novel phase.

Quantum simulation of a Fermi-Hubbard model using a semiconductor quantum dot array.

Interacting fermions on a lattice can develop strong quantum correlations, which are the cause of the classical intractability of many exotic phases of matter. Current efforts are directed towards the control of artificial quantum systems that can be made to emulate the underlying Fermi-Hubbard models. Electrostatically confined conduction-band electrons define interacting quantum coherent spin and charge degrees of freedom that allow all-electrical initialization of low-entropy states and readily adhere to the Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian. Until now, however, the substantial electrostatic disorder of the solid state has meant that only a few attempts at emulating Fermi-Hubbard physics on solid-state platforms have been made. Here we show that for gate-defined quantum dots this disorder can be suppressed in a controlled manner. Using a semi-automated and scalable set of experimental tools, we homogeneously and independently set up the electron filling and nearest-neighbour tunnel coupling in a semiconductor quantum dot array so as to simulate a Fermi-Hubbard system. With this set-up, we realize a detailed characterization of the collective Coulomb blockade transition, which is the finite-size analogue of the interaction-driven Mott metal-to-insulator transition. As automation and device fabrication of semiconductor quantum dots continue to improve, the ideas presented here will enable the investigation of the physics of ever more complex many-body states using quantum dots.

Randomized Benchmarking of Barrier versus Tilt Control of a Singlet-Triplet Qubit.

Decoherence due to charge noise is one of the central challenges in using spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots as a platform for quantum information processing. Recently, it has been experimentally demonstrated in both Si and GaAs singlet-triplet qubits that the effects of charge noise can be suppressed if qubit operations are implemented using symmetric barrier control instead of the standard tilt control. Here, we investigate the key issue of whether the benefits of barrier control persist over the entire set of single-qubit gates by performing randomized benchmarking simulations. We find the surprising result that the improvement afforded by barrier control depends sensitively on the amount of spin noise: for the minimal nuclear spin noise levels present in Si, the coherence time improves by more than 2 orders of magnitude whereas in GaAs, by contrast the coherence time is essentially the same for barrier and tilt control. However, we establish that barrier control becomes beneficial if qubit operations are performed using a new family of composite pulses that reduce gate times by up to 90%. With these optimized pulses, barrier control is the best way to achieve high-fidelity quantum gates in singlet-triplet qubits.

Many-Body Localization and Quantum Nonergodicity in a Model with a Single-Particle Mobility Edge.

We investigate many-body localization in the presence of a single-particle mobility edge. By considering an interacting deterministic model with an incommensurate potential in one dimension we find that the single-particle mobility edge in the noninteracting system leads to a many-body mobility edge in the corresponding interacting system for certain parameter regimes. Using exact diagonalization, we probe the mobility edge via energy resolved entanglement entropy (EE) and study the energy resolved applicability (or failure) of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH). Our numerical results indicate that the transition separating area and volume law scaling of the EE does not coincide with the nonthermal to thermal transition. Consequently, there exists an extended nonergodic phase for an intermediate energy window where the many-body eigenstates violate the ETH while manifesting volume law EE scaling. We also establish that the model possesses an infinite temperature many-body localization transition despite the existence of a single-particle mobility edge. We propose a practical scheme to test our predictions in atomic optical lattice experiments which can directly probe the effects of the mobility edge.

Screening and transport in 2D semiconductor systems at low temperatures.

Low temperature carrier transport properties in 2D semiconductor systems can be theoretically well-understood within RPA-Boltzmann theory as being limited by scattering from screened Coulomb disorder arising from random quenched charged impurities in the environment. In this work, we derive a number of analytical formula, supported by realistic numerical calculations, for the relevant density, mobility, and temperature range where 2D transport should manifest strong intrinsic (i.e., arising purely from electronic effects) metallic temperature dependence in different semiconductor materials arising entirely from the 2D screening properties, thus providing an explanation for why the strong temperature dependence of the 2D resistivity can only be observed in high-quality and low-disorder 2D samples and also why some high-quality 2D materials manifest much weaker metallicity than other materials. We also discuss effects of interaction and disorder on the 2D screening properties in this context as well as compare 2D and 3D screening functions to comment why such a strong intrinsic temperature dependence arising from screening cannot occur in 3D metallic carrier transport. Experimentally verifiable predictions are made about the quantitative magnitude of the maximum possible low-temperature metallicity in 2D systems and the scaling behavior of the temperature scale controlling the quantum to classical crossover.

Robust quantum control using smooth pulses and topological winding.

The greatest challenge in achieving the high level of control needed for future technologies based on coherent quantum systems is the decoherence induced by the environment. Here, we present an analytical approach that yields explicit constraints on the driving field which are necessary and sufficient to ensure that the leading-order noise-induced errors in a qubit's evolution cancel exactly. We derive constraints for two of the most common types of noise that arise in qubits: slow fluctuations of the qubit energy splitting and fluctuations in the driving field itself. By theoretically recasting a phase in the qubit's wavefunction as a topological winding number, we can satisfy the noise-cancelation conditions by adjusting driving field parameters without altering the target state or quantum evolution. We demonstrate our method by constructing robust quantum gates for two types of spin qubit: phosphorous donors in silicon and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

Strongly Metallic Electron and Hole 2D Transport in an Ambipolar Si-Vacuum Field Effect Transistor.

We report experiment and theory on an ambipolar gate-controlled Si(111)-vacuum field effect transistor where we study electron and hole (low-temperature 2D) transport in the same device simply by changing the external gate voltage to tune the system from being a 2D electron system at positive gate voltage to a 2D hole system at negative gate voltage. The electron (hole) conductivity manifests strong (moderate) metallic temperature dependence with the conductivity decreasing by a factor of 8 (2) between 0.3 K and 4.2 K with the peak electron mobility (∼18 m2/V s) being roughly 20 times larger than the peak hole mobility (in the same sample). Our theory explains the data well using random phase approximation screening of background Coulomb disorder, establishing that the observed metallicity is a direct consequence of the strong temperature dependence of the effective screened disorder.

Anderson Localization and the Quantum Phase Diagram of Three Dimensional Disordered Dirac Semimetals.

We study the quantum phase diagram of a three dimensional noninteracting Dirac semimetal in the presence of either quenched axial or scalar potential disorder, by calculating the average and the typical density of states as well as the inverse participation ratio using numerically exact methods. We show that as a function of the disorder strength a half-filled (i.e., undoped) Dirac semimetal displays three distinct ground states, namely an incompressible semimetal, a compressible diffusive metal, and a localized Anderson insulator, in stark contrast to a conventional dirty metal that only supports the latter two phases. We establish the existence of two distinct quantum critical points, which respectively govern the semimetal-metal and the metal-insulator quantum phase transitions and also reveal their underlying multifractal nature. Away from half-filling the (doped) system behaves as a diffusive metal that can undergo Anderson localization only, which is shown by determining the mobility edge and the phase diagram in terms of energy and disorder.

Damping of Long-Wavelength Collective Modes in Spinor Bose-Fermi Mixtures.

Using an effective field theory we describe the low energy bosonic excitations in a three-dimensional ultracold mixture of spin-1 bosons and spin-1/2 fermions. We establish an interesting fermionic excitation induced generic damping of the usual undamped long-wavelength bosonic collective Goldstone modes. Two states with bosons forming either a ferromagnetic or polar superfluid are studied. The linear dispersion of the bosonic Bogoliubov excitations is preserved with a renormalized sound velocity. For the polar superfluid we find both gapless modes (density and spin) are damped, whereas in the ferromagnetic superfluid we find the density (spin) mode is (not) damped. We find that this holds for any mixture of bosons and fermions that are coupled through at least a density-density interaction. In addition, we predict the existence of the Kohn anomaly in the bosonic excitation spectrum of Bose-Fermi mixtures. We discuss the implications of our many-body interaction results for experiments on Bose-Fermi mixtures.

Nearest neighbor tight binding models with an exact mobility edge in one dimension.

We investigate localization properties in a family of deterministic (i.e., no disorder) nearest neighbor tight binding models with quasiperiodic on site modulation. We prove that this family is self-dual under a generalized duality transformation. The self-dual condition for this general model turns out to be a simple closed form function of the model parameters and energy. We introduce the typical density of states as an order parameter for localization in quasiperiodic systems. By direct calculations of the inverse participation ratio and the typical density of states we numerically verify that this self-dual line indeed defines a mobility edge in energy separating localized and extended states. Our model is a first example of a nearest neighbor tight binding model manifesting a mobility edge protected by a duality symmetry. We propose a realistic experimental scheme to realize our results in atomic optical lattices and photonic waveguides.

Majorana fermions in ferromagnetic chains on the surface of bulk spin-orbit coupled s-wave superconductors.

Majorana fermion (MF) excitations in solid state system have non-Abelian statistics which is essential for topological quantum computation. Previous proposals to realize MF, however, generally requires fine-tuning of parameters. Here we explore a platform which avoids the fine-tuning problem, namely a ferromagnetic chain deposited on the surface of a spin-orbit coupled s-wave superconductor. We show that it generically supports zero-energy topological MF excitations near the two ends of the chain with minimal fine-tuning. Depending on the strength of the ferromagnetic moment in the chain, the number of MFs at each end, n, can be either one or two, and should be revealed by a robust zero-bias peak (ZBP) of height 2 ne(2)/h in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements which would show strong (weak) signals at the ends (middle) of the chain. The role of an approximate chiral symmetry which gives an integer topological invariant to the system is discussed.