Quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have recently emerged as promising bright single photon sources. In this Rapid Communication we investigate in detail their optical properties at cryogenic temperatures. In particular, we perform temperature-resolved photoluminescence studies and measure photon coherence times from the hBN emitters. The obtained value of $81\left(1\right)\mathrm{ps}$ translates to a width of $\sim 6.5\mathrm{GHz}$ which is higher than the Fourier transform limited value of $\sim 32\mathrm{MHz}$. To account for the photodynamics of the emitter, we perform ultrafast spectral diffusion measurements that partially account for the coherence times. Our results provide important insight into the relaxation processes in quantum emitters in hBN which is mandatory to evaluate their applicability for quantum information processing.

By combining $n$-type ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3$ and $p$-type ${\mathrm{Sb}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3$ topological insulators, vertically stacked $p-n$ junctions can be formed, allowing to position the Fermi level into the bulk band gap and also tune between $n$- and $p$-type surface carriers. Here, we use low-temperature magnetotransport measurements to probe the surface and bulk transport modes in a range of vertical ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3/{\mathrm{Sb}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3$ heterostructures with varying relative thicknesses of the top and bottom layers. With increasing thickness of the ${\mathrm{Sb}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3$ layer we observe a change from $n$- to $p$-type behavior via a specific thickness where the Hall signal is immeasurable. Assuming that the the bulk and surface states contribute in parallel, we can calculate and reproduce the dependence of the Hall and longitudinal components of resistivity on the film thickness. This highlights the role played by the bulk conduction channels which, importantly, cannot be probed using surface-sensitive spectroscopic techniques. Our calculations are then buttressed by a semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory which rigorously shows the vanishing of the Hall signal. Our results provide crucial experimental and theoretical insights into the relative roles of the surface and bulk in the vertical topological $p-n$ junctions.

Quantum triangles can work as interferometers. Depending on their geometric size and interactions between paths, “beats” and/or “steps” patterns are observed. We show that when interlevel distances between level positions in quantum triangles periodically change with time, formation of beats and/or steps no longer depends only on the geometric size of the triangles but also on the characteristic frequency of the transverse signal. For large-size triangles, we observe the coexistence of beats and steps when the frequency of the signal matches that of nonadiabatic oscillations and for large frequencies, a maximum of four steps instead of two as in the case with constant interactions is observed. Small-size triangles also revealed counterintuitive interesting dynamics for large frequencies of the field: unexpected two-step patterns are observed. When the frequency is large and tuned such that it matches the uniaxial anisotropy, three-step patterns are observed. We have equally observed that when the transverse signal possesses a static part, steps maximize to six. These effects are semiclassically explained in terms of Fresnel integrals and quantum mechanically in terms of quantized fields with a photon-induced tunneling process. Our expressions for populations are in excellent agreement with the gross temporal profiles of exact numerical solutions. We compare the semiclassical and quantum dynamics in the triangle and establish the conditions for their equivalence.

We classify all possible gap-closing procedures which can be achieved in two-dimensional time-reversal invariant noncentrosymmetric systems. For exhaustive classification, we examine the space-group symmetries of all 49 layer groups lacking inversion, taking into account spin-orbit coupling. Although a direct transition between two insulators is generally predicted to occur when a band crossing happens at a general point in the Brillouin zone, we find that a variety of stable semimetal phases with point or line nodes can also arise due to the band crossing in the presence of additional crystalline symmetries. Through our theoretical study, we provide the complete list of nodal semimetals created by a band inversion in two-dimensional noncentrosymmetric systems with time-reversal invariance. The transition from an insulator to a nodal semimetal can be grouped into three classes depending on the crystalline symmetry. First, in systems with a twofold rotation about the $z$ axis (normal to the system), a band inversion at a generic point generates a two-dimensional Weyl semimetal with point nodes. Second, when the band crossing happens on the line invariant under a twofold rotation (mirror) symmetry with the rotation (normal) axis lying in the two-dimensional plane, a Weyl semimetal with point nodes can also be obtained. Finally, when the system has a mirror symmetry about the plane embracing the whole system, a semimetal with nodal lines can be created. Applying our theoretical framework, we identify various two-dimensional materials as candidate systems in which stable nodal semimetal phases can be induced via doping, applying electric field, or strain engineering, etc.

We use the self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation for numerically addressing the integer quantum Hall (IQH) regime in terms of many-body physics at higher Landau levels (LL). The results exhibit a strong tendency to avoid the simultaneous existence of partly filled spin-up and spin-down LLs. Partly filled LLs appear as a mixture of coexisting regions of full and empty LLs. We obtain edge stripes with approximately constant filling factor $\nu$ close to half-odd filling at the boundaries between the regions of full and empty LLs, which we explain in terms of the $g$-factor enhancement as a function of a locally varying $\nu$ across the compressible stripes. The many-particle interactions follow a behavior as it would result from applying Hund's rule for the occupation of the spin split LLs. The screening of the disorder and edge potential appears significantly reduced as compared to screening based on a Thomas-Fermi approximation. For addressing carrier transport, we use a nonequilibrium network model (NNM) that handles the lateral distribution of the experimentally injected nonequilibrium chemical potentials $\mu$.

The competition of interactions implies the compensation of standard mechanisms, which leads to the emergence of exotic phases between conventional phases. The extended Hubbard model (EHM) is a fundamental example for the competition of the local Hubbard interaction and the nearest-neighbor density-density interaction, which at half-filling and in one dimension leads to a bond-order wave (BOW) between a charge-density wave (CDW) and a quasi-long-range order Mott insulator. We study the full momentum-resolved excitation spectrum of the one-dimensional EHM in the CDW phase, and we clarify the relation between different elementary energy gaps. We show that the CDW-to-BOW transition is driven by the softening of a singlet exciton at momentum $\pi$. The BOW is realized as the condensate of this singlet exciton.

As a typical correlated oxide, $\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2$ has attracted significant attentions due to its pronounced thermal-driven metal-insulator transition. Regulating electronic density through electron doping is an effective way to modulate the balance between competing phases in strongly correlated materials. However, the electron-doping triggered phase transitions in $\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2$ as well as the intermediate states are not fully explored. Here, we report a controlled and reversible phase transition in $\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2$ films by continuous hydrogen doping. Metallic and insulating phases are successively observed at room temperature as the doping concentration increases. The doped electrons linearly occupy V $3d$-O $2p$ hybridized orbitals and consequently modulate the filling of the $\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2$ conduction band edge states, resulting in the electron-doping driven continuous phase transitions. These results suggest the exceptional sensitivity of $\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2$ electronic properties to electron concentration and orbital occupancy, providing key information for the phase transition mechanism.

The spin-relaxation time for electrons in the impurity band of semiconductors with wurtzite crystal structure is determined. The effective Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction Hamiltonian is taken as the source of the spin relaxation at low temperature and for doping densities corresponding to the metallic side of the metal-insulator transition. The spin-flip hopping matrix elements between impurity states are calculated and used to set up a tight-binding Hamiltonian that incorporates the symmetries of wurtzite semiconductors. The spin-relaxation time is obtained from a semiclassical model of spin diffusion, as well as from a microscopic self-consistent diagrammatic theory of spin and charge diffusion in doped semiconductors. Estimates are provided for particularly important materials. The theoretical spin-relaxation times compare favorably with the corresponding low-temperature measurements in GaN and ZnO. For InN and AlN we predict that tuning of the spin-orbit coupling constant induced by an external potential leads to a potentially dramatic increase of the spin-relaxation time related to the mechanism under study.

Observed temperature-induced peak shifts in photoluminescence (PL) originating from ${\mathrm{In}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{N}$ single quantum wells grown on semipolar $\left(11\overline{2}2\right)$ GaN bulk substrates are discussed in terms of a numerical exciton hopping model based on the Monte Carlo method. The experimentally observed PL peak shifts cannot be reproduced by conventional simulation models developed for the polar (0001) plane, where the recombination lifetime is assumed to be temperature independent, and blue-shifts in PL signal are found to be induced by exciton thermal repopulation. Therefore, we incorporate temperature-dependent radiative and nonradiative recombination processes into the model, in which temperature-induced reductions in recombination lifetimes effectively limit the exciton motion. This model is found to be a much better fit for the data, indicating that, in addition to the thermal repopulation process, the reduction of lifetime with increasing temperature can also contribute to the PL blue-shift because shortened lifetimes suppress the exciton motion and therefore produce smaller Stokes shifts. We propose that the dominant factor responsible for the PL blue-shifts depends on the degree of potential fluctuation.

We consider the use of a kinetic Monte Carlo approach for the description of nonequilibrium bosonic systems, taking nonresonantly excited exciton-polariton condensates and bosonic cascade lasers as examples. In the former case, the considered approach allows the study of the cross-over between incoherent and coherent regimes, which represents the formation of a quasicondensate that forms purely from the action of energy relaxation processes rather than interactions between the condensing particles themselves. In the latter case, we show theoretically that a bosonic cascade can develop an output coherent state.

The adsorption of perfluoropentacene (PFP) on the Cu(110) surface has been investigated using reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS), low-energy electron diffraction, and low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The PFP molecules within the first monolayer align their long molecular axis exclusively oriented along the [001] azimuthal direction of the Cu substrate. In comparison with the adsorption behavior of pentacene on the same surface, a strong effect of the fluorination regarding the molecular orientation and the intermolecular and molecule-substrate interactions was identified. Furthermore, a two-dimensional gas-solid phase transition accompanied by a reversible azimuthal rotation of the PFP molecules was observed at the beginning of the second monolayer growth. The change of the optical anisotropy associated with this reorientation was used to explore the two-dimensional (2D) condensation as a function of coverage and temperature by RDS, and the 2D heat of condensation in the PFP bilayer on Cu(110) was determined to be 105 meV.

We study the interlayer exchange interaction in magnetic tunnel junctions with a ferroelectric barrier. We focus on the influence of image forces on the voltage dependence of the interlayer magnetic interaction (magnetoelectric effect). The influence of the image forces is twofold: (1) they significantly enforce the magnetoelectric effect that occurs as a result of the surface charges at the interface between ferroelectric and ferromagnetic forces, and (2) in combination with the voltage-dependent dielectric constant of the ferroelectric barrier image forces cause an additional contribution to the magnetoelectric effect in magnetic tunnel junctions. This contribution can exceed the one coming from surface charges. We compare the interlayer exchange coupling voltage variation with the spin transfer torque effect and show that for half-metallic electrodes the interlayer exchange coupling variation is dominant and defines the magnetic state and dynamics of magnetization in the tunnel junction.

Small system sizes are a well-known source of error in density functional theory (DFT) calculations, yet computational constraints frequently dictate the use of small supercells, often as small as 96 atoms in oxides and compound semiconductors. In ionic compounds, electrostatic finite-size effects have been well characterized, but self-interaction of charge-neutral defects is often discounted or assumed to follow an asymptotic behavior and thus easily corrected with linear elastic theory. Here we show that elastic effects are also important in the description of defects in ionic compounds and can lead to qualitatively incorrect conclusions if inadequately small supercells are used; moreover, the spurious self-interaction does not follow the behavior predicted by linear elastic theory. Considering the exemplar cases of metal oxides with fluorite structure, we show that numerous previous studies, employing 96-atom supercells, misidentify the ground-state structure of (charge-neutral) Schottky defects. We show that the error is eliminated by employing larger cells (324, 768, and 1500 atoms), and careful analysis determines that elastic, not electrostatic, effects are responsible. The spurious self-interaction was also observed in nonoxide ionic compounds irrespective of the computational method used, thereby resolving long-standing discrepancies between DFT and force-field methods, previously attributed to the level of theory. The surprising magnitude of the elastic effects is a cautionary tale for defect calculations in ionic materials, particularly when employing computationally expensive methods (e.g., hybrid functionals) or when modeling large defect clusters. We propose two computationally practicable methods to test the magnitude of the elastic self-interaction in any ionic system. In commonly studied oxides, where electrostatic effects would be expected to be dominant, it is the elastic effects that dictate the need for larger supercells: greater than 96 atoms.

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin films are promising materials for inducing perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in adjacent ferromagnetic (FM) films. This study demonstrates that in a selected AFM spin structure with out-of-plane uncompensated moments, the magnitude of the induced PMA in its neighboring Co/Ni film could be significantly enhanced by the establishment of a collinearlike exchange interaction between the volume moments of the AFM film and the perpendicular magnetic FM film. Detailed magnetic hysteresis loops and x-ray analysis revealed a quench of perpendicular surface anisotropy in a monolayered ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{50}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{50}/\mathrm{Co}/\mathrm{Ni}$ film due to the formation of antiparallel-like coupled Fe and Mn moments. By contrast, the establishment of a three-dimensional quadratic-type AFM spin structure of an ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{50}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{50}$ film triggered parallel-like out-of-plane uncompensated Fe and Mn moments at the interface and reinforced the PMA induced in the Co/Ni film.

Magnetic domain walls, which are crucially important in both fundamental physics and technical applications, often have a preference in their form due to many different origins, such as the crystalline shape, lattice symmetry, and magnetic anisotropy. We theoretically investigate yet another origin stemming from the coupling to mobile charges in itinerant magnets. Performing a large-scale numerical simulation in a minimal model for itinerant magnets, i.e., the Kondo lattice model with classical localized spins, we show that the shape of magnetic domain walls depends on the electronic band structure and electron filling. While Néel and ${120}^{\circ }$ antiferromagnetic states do not show a strong preference in the shape of domain walls, noncoplanar spin states with scalar chiral ordering have distinct directional preferences of the domain walls depending on the electron filling. We find that the directional preference is rationalized by the wave-number dependence of the effective magnetic interactions induced by the mobile charges, which are set by the band structure and electron filling. We also observe that, in the noncoplanar chiral states, an electric current is induced along the domain walls owing to the spin Berry phase mechanism, with different spatial distributions depending on whether the bulk state is metallic or insulating.

Disordered hyperuniformity is a state of matter exhibiting both isotropic liquid-like properties and crystalline-like properties such as minimal density fluctuations over long distances. Such states arise for jammed particle assemblies and in nonequilibrium systems. An open question is whether the properties of disordered hyperuniformity can be harnessed for technological applications. A major issue for applications of type-II superconductors is preventing the motion or depinning of magnetic vortices in order to achieve high critical currents, so there is great interest in identifying optimal pinning site geometries. Using large-scale simulations, we show that a disordered hyperuniform pinning arrangement produces enhanced vortex pinning compared to an equal number of purely randomly arranged pinning sites, and that the enhancement is robust over a wide parameter range for both short- and long-range vortex-vortex interactions. In disordered hyperuniform arrays, pinning density fluctuations are suppressed, permitting higher pin occupancy and preventing weak links that lead to easy-flow channeling. We also show that in amorphous vortex states on either random or disordered hyperuniform pinning arrays, the vortices themselves exhibit disordered hyperuniformity due to the repulsive nature of the vortex-vortex interactions.

We present angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data taken from the structurally simplest representative of iron-based superconductors, FeSe, in a wide temperature range. Apart from the variations related to the nematic transition, we detect very pronounced shifts of the dispersions on the scale of hundreds of degrees Kelvin. Remarkably, upon warming up the sample, the band structure has a tendency to relax to the one predicted by conventional band structure calculations, directly opposite to what is intuitively expected. Our findings shed light on the origin of the dominant interaction shaping the electronic states responsible for high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based materials.

We study the Anderson localization of disordered two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) on a square lattice subject to a perpendicular magnetic field $B$, random scalar potentials, and Rashba spin-orbit interactions. Our focus is on the weak magnetic field region, motivated by the intriguing question of how those extended states, existing in the absence of the magnetic field $(B=0)$ when the 2DEGs are the Gaussian symplectic ensemble, change with $B$. Using highly accurate numerical procedures based on the transfer matrix technique and the level statistics, we found that a metallic phase exists at weak magnetic fields, in contrast to the predictions of the one-parameter scaling theory that all states are localized at weak fields except at zero field, and the metallic phase evolves continuously into those at strong magnetic fields. A schematic phase diagram drawn in the field-energy plane elucidates the occurrence and evolution of extended states.