Current-Induced Gap Opening in Interacting Topological Insulator Surfaces.

Two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) host gapless helical edge states that are predicted to support a quantized two-terminal conductance. Quantization is protected by time-reversal symmetry, which forbids elastic backscattering. Paradoxically, the current-carrying state itself breaks the time-reversal symmetry that protects it. Here we show that the combination of electron-electron interactions and momentum-dependent spin polarization in helical edge states gives rise to feedback through which an applied current opens a gap in the edge state dispersion, thereby breaking the protection against elastic backscattering. Current-induced gap opening is manifested via a nonlinear contribution to the system's I-V characteristic, which persists down to zero temperature. We discuss prospects for realizations in recently discovered large bulk band gap TIs, and an analogous current-induced gap opening mechanism for the surface states of three-dimensional TIs.

Nematic Bond Theory of Heisenberg Helimagnets.

We study classical two-dimensional frustrated Heisenberg models with generically incommensurate ground states. A new theory for the lattice-nematic "order by disorder" transition is developed based on the self-consistent determination of the effective exchange coupling bonds. In our approach, fluctuations of the constraint field imposing conservation of the local magnetic moment drive nematicity at low temperatures. The critical temperature is found to be highly sensitive to the peak helimagnetic wave vector, and vanishes continuously when approaching rotation symmetric Lifshitz points. Transitions between symmetry distinct nematic orders may occur by tuning the exchange parameters, leading to lines of bicritical points.

Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy from Higher-Harmonics Exchange Scattering on the Surface of a Topological Insulator.

We show that higher-harmonics exchange scattering from a magnetic adatom on the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator leads to a magnetic anisotropy whose magnitude and sign may be tuned by adjusting the chemical potential of the helical surface band. As the chemical potential moves from the Dirac point towards the surface band edge, the surface normal is found to change from a magnetic easy to a hard axis. Hexagonal warping is shown to diminish the region with easy axis anisotropy, and to suppress the anisotropy altogether. This indirect contribution can be comparable in magnitude to the intrinsic term arising from crystal field splitting and atomic spin-orbit coupling, and its tunability with the chemical potential makes the two contributions experimentally discernible, and endows this source of anisotropy with potentially interesting magnetic functionality.

Majorana bound states in two-channel time-reversal-symmetric nanowire systems.

We consider time-reversal-symmetric two-channel semiconducting quantum wires proximity coupled to a conventional s-wave superconductor. We analyze the requirements for a nontrivial topological phase and find that the necessary conditions are (1) the determinant of the pairing matrix in channel space must be negative, (2) inversion symmetry must be broken, and (3) the two channels must have different spin-orbit couplings. The first condition can be implemented in semiconducting nanowire systems where interactions suppress intra-channel pairing, while the inversion symmetry can be broken by tuning the chemical potentials of the channels. For the case of collinear spin-orbit directions, we find a general expression for the topological invariant by block diagonalization into two blocks with chiral symmetry only. By projection to the low-energy sector, we solve for the zero modes explicitly and study the details of the gap closing, which in the general case happens at finite momenta.

Electrical manipulation of spin states in a single electrostatically gated transition-metal complex.

We demonstrate an electrically controlled high-spin (S = 5/2) to low-spin (S = 1/2) transition in a three-terminal device incorporating a single Mn(2+) ion coordinated by two terpyridine ligands. By adjusting the gate-voltage we reduce the terpyridine moiety and thereby strengthen the ligand-field on the Mn-atom. Adding a single electron thus stabilizes the low-spin configuration and the corresponding sequential tunnelling current is suppressed by spin-blockade. From low-temperature inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy, we infer the magnetic excitation spectrum of the molecule and uncover also a strongly gate-dependent singlet-triplet splitting on the low-spin side. The measured bias-spectroscopy is shown to be consistent with an exact diagonalization of the Mn-complex, and an interpretation of the data is given in terms of a simplified effective model.

Spatially dispersing Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states in the unconventional superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45.

By using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) we find and characterize dispersive, energy-symmetric in-gap states in the iron-based superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45, a material that exhibits signatures of topological superconductivity, and Majorana bound states at vortex cores or at impurity locations. We use a superconducting STM tip for enhanced energy resolution, which enables us to show that impurity states can be tuned through the Fermi level with varying tip-sample distance. We find that the impurity state is of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) type, and argue that the energy shift is caused by the low superfluid density in FeTe0.55Se0.45, which allows the electric field of the tip to slightly penetrate the sample. We model the newly introduced tip-gating scenario within the single-impurity Anderson model and find good agreement to the experimental data.

Kondo blockade due to quantum interference in single-molecule junctions.

Molecular electronics offers unique scientific and technological possibilities, resulting from both the nanometre scale of the devices and their reproducible chemical complexity. Two fundamental yet different effects, with no classical analogue, have been demonstrated experimentally in single-molecule junctions: quantum interference due to competing electron transport pathways, and the Kondo effect due to entanglement from strong electronic interactions. Here we unify these phenomena, showing that transport through a spin-degenerate molecule can be either enhanced or blocked by Kondo correlations, depending on molecular structure, contacting geometry and applied gate voltages. An exact framework is developed, in terms of which the quantum interference properties of interacting molecular junctions can be systematically studied and understood. We prove that an exact Kondo-mediated conductance node results from destructive interference in exchange-cotunneling. Nonstandard temperature dependences and gate-tunable conductance peaks/nodes are demonstrated for prototypical molecular junctions, illustrating the intricate interplay of quantum effects beyond the single-orbital paradigm.

Electronic excitations of a single molecule contacted in a three-terminal configuration.

Low-temperature three-terminal transport measurements through a thiol end-capped pi-conjugated molecule have been carried out. Electronic excitations, including zero and finite-bias Kondo-effects, have been observed and studied as a function of magnetic field. Using a simplified two-orbital model, we have accounted for the spin and the electronic configuration of the first four charge states of the molecule. The charge-dependent couplings to gate, source, and drain electrodes suggest a scenario in which charges and spins are localized at the ends of the molecule, close to the electrodes.

Vibrational sidebands and the Kondo effect in molecular transistors.

Electron transport through molecular quantum dots coupled to a single vibrational mode is studied in the Kondo regime. We apply a generalized Schrieffer-Wolff transformation to determine the effective low-energy spin-spin-vibron interaction. From this model we calculate the nonlinear conductance and find Kondo sidebands located at bias voltages equal to multiples of the vibron frequency. Because of selection rules, the side peaks are found to have strong gate-voltage dependences, which can be tested experimentally. In the limit of weak electron-vibron coupling, we employ a perturbative renormalization group scheme to calculate analytically the nonlinear conductance.