We define topological invariants in terms of the ground-state wave functions on a torus. This approach leads to precisely defined formulas for the Hall conductance in four dimensions and the topological magnetoelectric $\theta$ term in three dimensions, and their generalizations in higher dimensions. They are valid in the presence of arbitrary many-body interactions and disorder. These topological invariants systematically generalize the two-dimensional Niu-Thouless-Wu formula and will be useful in numerical calculations of disordered topological insulators and strongly correlated topological insulators, especially fractional topological insulators.

Circular dichroism is widely used for characterizing organic and biological materials, but measurements at a single-molecule level are challenging because differences in absorption for opposite helicities are small. Here, we show that extrinsic chirality can induce giant circular dichroism in individual carbon nanotubes, with the degree of polarization reaching 65%. The signal has a large dependence on the incidence angle, consistent with extrinsic-chirality-induced effects in which symmetry is broken by the optical wave vector. We propose that the field-induced charge distribution on the substrate results in an efficient polarization conversion, giving rise to the giant dichroism. Our results highlight the possibility of polarization manipulation at the nanoscale for applications in integrated photonics and novel metamaterial designs.

Low-intensity ultrasonic waves can remotely and nondestructively excite central nervous system (CNS) neurons. While diverse applications for this effect are already emerging, the biophysical transduction mechanism underlying this excitation remains unclear. Recently, we suggested that ultrasound-induced intramembrane cavitation within the bilayer membrane could underlie the biomechanics of a range of observed acoustic bioeffects. In this paper, we show that, in CNS neurons, ultrasound-induced cavitation of these nanometric bilayer sonophores can induce a complex mechanoelectrical interplay leading to excitation, primarily through the effect of currents induced by membrane capacitance changes. Our model explains the basic features of CNS acoustostimulation and predicts how the experimentally observed efficacy of mouse motor cortical ultrasonic stimulation depends on stimulation parameters. These results support the hypothesis that neuronal intramembrane piezoelectricity underlies ultrasound-induced neurostimulation, and suggest that other interactions between the nervous system and pressure waves or perturbations could be explained by this new mode of biological piezoelectric transduction.

Chirality occupies a central role in fields ranging from biological self-assembly to the design of optical metamaterials. The definition of chirality, as given by Lord Kelvin, associates chirality with the lack of mirror symmetry: the inability to superpose an object on its mirror image. While this definition has guided the classification of chiral objects for over a century, the quantification of handed phenomena based on this definition has proven elusive, if not impossible, as manifest in the paradox of chiral connectedness. In this work, we put forward a quantification scheme in which the handedness of an object depends on the direction in which it is viewed. While consistent with familiar chiral notions, such as the right-hand rule, this framework allows objects to be simultaneously right and left handed. We demonstrate this orientation dependence in three different systems—a biomimetic elastic bilayer, a chiral propeller, and optical metamaterial—and find quantitative agreement with chirality pseudotensors whose form we explicitly compute. The use of this approach resolves the existing paradoxes and naturally enables the design of handed metamaterials from symmetry principles.

Quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators, a new class of quantum matter, can support topologically protected helical edge modes inside a bulk insulating gap, which can lead to dissipationless transport. A major obstacle to reaching a wide application of QSH is the lack of suitable QSH compounds, which should be easily fabricated and have a large bulk gap. Here, we predict that single-layer $\mathrm{ZrTe}{}_5$ and $\mathrm{HfTe}{}_5$ are the most promising candidates for large-gap insulators, with a bulk direct (indirect) band gap as large as 0.4 eV (0.1 eV) and which are robust against external strains. The three-dimensional crystals of these two materials are good layered compounds with very weak interlayer bonding, and they are located near the phase boundary between weak and strong topological insulators, paving a new way for future experimental studies on both the QSH effect and topological phase transitions.

We study the dynamics of a $2+1$-dimensional relativistic viscous conformal fluid in Minkowski spacetime. Such fluid solutions arise as duals, under the “gravity/fluid correspondence,” to $3+1$-dimensional asymptotically anti–de Sitter (AAdS) black-brane solutions to the Einstein equation. We examine stability properties of shear flows, which correspond to hydrodynamic quasinormal modes of the black brane. We find that, for sufficiently high Reynolds number, the solution undergoes an inverse turbulent cascade to long-wavelength modes. We then map this fluid solution, via the gravity/fluid duality, into a bulk metric. This suggests a new and interesting feature of the behavior of perturbed AAdS black holes and black branes, which is not readily captured by a standard quasinormal mode analysis. Namely, for sufficiently large perturbed black objects (with long-lived quasinormal modes), nonlinear effects transfer energy from short- to long-wavelength modes via a turbulent cascade within the metric perturbation. As long-wavelength modes have slower decay, this transfer of energy lengthens the overall lifetime of the perturbation. We also discuss various implications of this behavior, including expectations for higher dimensions and the possibility of predicting turbulence in more general gravitational scenarios.

Searching for better materials for plasmonic and metamaterial applications is an inverse design problem where theoretical studies are necessary. Using basic models of impurity doping in semiconductors, transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are identified as low-loss plasmonic materials in the near-infrared wavelength range. A more sophisticated theoretical study would help not only to improve the properties of TCOs but also to design further lower-loss materials. In this study, optical functions of one such TCO, gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO), are studied both experimentally and by first-principles density-functional calculations. Pulsed-laser-deposited GZO films are studied by the x-ray diffraction and generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry. Theoretical studies are performed by the total-energy-minimization method for the equilibrium atomic structure of GZO and random phase approximation with the quasiparticle gap correction. Plasma excitation effects are also included for optical functions. This study identifies mechanisms other than doping, such as alloying effects, that significantly influence the optical properties of GZO films. It also indicates that ultraheavy Ga doping of ZnO results in a new alloy material, rather than just degenerately doped ZnO. This work is the first step to achieve a fundamental understanding of the connection between material, structural, and optical properties of highly doped TCOs to tailor those materials for various plasmonic applications.

We report on a spin-polarized inelastic neutron-scattering study of spin waves in the antiferromagnetically ordered state of $\mathrm{Ba}{\mathrm{Fe}}_2{\mathrm{As}}_2$. Three distinct excitation components are identified, with spins fluctuating along the $c$ axis, perpendicular to the ordering direction in the $ab$ plane and parallel to the ordering direction. While the first two “transverse” components can be described by a linear spin-wave theory with magnetic anisotropy and interlayer coupling, the third “longitudinal” component is generically incompatible with the local-moment picture. It points toward a contribution of itinerant electrons to the magnetism that is already in the parent compound of this family of Fe-based superconductors.

We report a comprehensive study of the binary systems of the platinum-group metals with the transition metals, using high-throughput first-principles calculations. These computations predict stability of new compounds in 28 binary systems where no compounds have been reported in the literature experimentally and a few dozen of as-yet unreported compounds in additional systems. Our calculations also identify stable structures at compound compositions that have been previously reported without detailed structural data and indicate that some experimentally reported compounds may actually be unstable at low temperatures. With these results, we construct enhanced structure maps for the binary alloys of platinum-group metals. These maps are much more complete, systematic, and predictive than those based on empirical results alone.

We measure the excitation spectrum of a superconducting atomic contact. In addition to the usual continuum above the superconducting gap, the single-particle excitation spectrum contains discrete, spin-degenerate Andreev levels inside the gap. Quasiparticle excitations are induced by a broadband on-chip microwave source and detected by measuring changes in the supercurrent flowing through the atomic contact. Since microwave photons excite quasiparticles in pairs, two types of transitions are observed: Andreev transitions, which consist of putting two quasiparticles in an Andreev level, and transitions to odd states with a single quasiparticle in an Andreev level and the other one in the continuum. In contrast to absorption spectroscopy, supercurrent spectroscopy allows detection of long-lived odd states.

Nonequilibrium pump-probe time-domain spectroscopies can become an important tool to disentangle degrees of freedom whose coupling leads to broad structures in the frequency domain. Here, using the time-resolved solution of a model photoexcited electron-phonon system, we show that the relaxational dynamics are directly governed by the equilibrium self-energy so that the phonon frequency sets a window for “slow” versus “fast” recovery. The overall temporal structure of this relaxation spectroscopy allows for a reliable and quantitative extraction of the electron-phonon coupling strength without requiring an effective temperature model or making strong assumptions about the underlying bare electronic band dispersion.

We report here a novel fiber-based test bed using tailored spectral shaping of an optical-frequency comb to excite the formation of two Akhmediev breathers that collide during propagation. We have found specific initial conditions by controlling the phase and velocity differences between breathers that lead, with certainty, to their efficient collision and the appearance of a giant-amplitude wave. Temporal and spectral characteristics of the collision dynamics are in agreement with the corresponding analytical solution. We anticipate that experimental evidence of breather-collision dynamics is of fundamental importance in the understanding of extreme ocean waves and in other disciplines driven by the continuous nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

We report the first experimental observation of vortex light bullets that are discrete, spatiotemporal, solitary waves with orbital angular momentum. We analyze conditions for their existence and investigate their rich properties and dynamics. Vortex light bullets are excited in fiber arrays with spatially shaped femtosecond pulses and analyzed with a spatiotemporal cross correlator. Most importantly, we find that they have entirely new stability properties, being robust against considerable degrees of perturbation in a limited range of energies. All experimental findings are backed up by rigorous simulations, giving further insight into the rich dynamics of vortex light bullets.

$\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric scattering systems with balanced gain and loss can undergo a symmetry-breaking transition in which the eigenvalues of the nonunitary scattering matrix change their phase shifts from real to complex values. We relate the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetry-breaking points of such an unbounded scattering system to those of the underlying bounded systems. In particular, we show how the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ thresholds in the scattering matrix of the unbounded system translate into analogous transitions in the Robin boundary conditions of the corresponding bounded systems. Based on this relation, we argue and then confirm that the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ transitions in the scattering matrix are, under very general conditions, entirely insensitive to a variable coupling strength between the bounded region and the unbounded asymptotic region, a result that can be tested experimentally and visualized using the concept of Smith charts.

We have prepared meta-atoms based on radio-frequency superconducting quantum-interference devices (rf SQUIDs) and examined their tunability with dc magnetic field, rf current, and temperature. rf SQUIDs are superconducting split-ring resonators in which the usual capacitance is supplemented with a Josephson junction, which introduces strong nonlinearity in the rf properties. We find excellent agreement between the data and a model that regards the Josephson junction as the resistively and capacitively shunted junction. A magnetic field tunability of $80\mathrm{THz}/\mathrm{G}$ at 12 GHz is observed, a total tunability of $56\%$ is achieved, and a unique electromagnetically induced transparency feature at intermediate excitation powers is demonstrated for the first time. An rf SQUID metamaterial is shown to have qualitatively the same behavior as a single rf SQUID with regard to dc flux and temperature tuning.

Highly nonclassical quantum states of light, characterized by Wigner functions with negative values, have been all-optically created so far only in a heralded fashion. In this case, the desired output emerges rarely and randomly from a quantum-state generator. An important example is the heralded production of high-purity single-photon states, typically based on some nonlinear optical interaction. In contrast, on-demand single-photon sources are also reported, exploiting the quantized level structure of matter systems. These sources, however, lead to highly impure output states, composed mostly of vacuum. While such impure states may still exhibit certain single-photon-like features such as antibunching, they are not nonclassical enough for advanced quantum-information processing. On the other hand, the intrinsic randomness of pure, heralded states can be circumvented by first storing and then releasing them on demand. Here, we propose such a controlled release, and we experimentally demonstrate it for heralded single photons. We employ two optical cavities, where the photons are both created and stored inside one cavity and finally released through a dynamical tuning of the other cavity. We demonstrate storage times of up to 300 ns while keeping the single-photon purity around $50\%$ after storage. Our experiment is the first demonstration of a negative Wigner function at the output of an on-demand photon source or a quantum memory. In principle, our storage system is compatible with all kinds of nonclassical states, including those known to be essential for many advanced quantum-information protocols.

Resistive switching heterojunctions, which are promising for nonvolatile memory applications, usually share a capacitorlike metal-oxide-metal configuration. Here, we report on the nonvolatile resistive switching in $\mathrm{Pt}/{\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_3$ heterostructures, where the conducting layer near the ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_3$ interface serves as the “unconventional” bottom electrode although both oxides are band insulators. Interestingly, the switching between low-resistance and high-resistance states is accompanied by reversible transitions between tunneling and Ohmic characteristics in the current transport perpendicular to the planes of the heterojunctions. We propose that the observed resistive switching is likely caused by the electric-field-induced drift of charged oxygen vacancies across the ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_3$ interface and the creation of defect-induced gap states within the ultrathin ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3$ layer. These metal-oxide-oxide heterojunctions with atomically smooth interfaces and defect-controlled transport provide a platform for the development of nonvolatile oxide nanoelectronics that integrate logic and memory devices.

Focal conic domains (FCDs) in smectic-A liquid crystals have drawn much attention, both for their exquisitely structured internal form and for their ability to direct the assembly of micromaterials and nanomaterials in a variety of patterns. A key to directing FCD assembly is control over the eccentricity of the domain. Here, we demonstrate a new paradigm for creating spatially varying FCD eccentricity by confining a hybrid-aligned smectic with curved interfaces. In particular, we manipulate interface behavior with colloidal particles in order to experimentally produce two examples of what has recently been dubbed the flower texture [C. Meyer et al., Focal Conic Stacking in Smectic A Liquid Crystals: Smectic Flower and Apollonius Tiling, Materials 2, 499, 2009], where the focal hyperbolæ diverge radially outward from the center of the texture, rather than inward as in the canonical éventail or fan texture. We explain how this unconventional assembly can arise from appropriately curved interfaces. Finally, we present a model for this system that applies the law of corresponding cones, showing how FCDs may be embedded smoothly within a “background texture” of large FCDs and concentric spherical layers, in a manner consistent with the qualitative features of the smectic flower. Such understanding could potentially lead to disruptive liquid-crystal technologies beyond displays, including patterning, smart surfaces, microlens arrays, sensors, and nanomanufacturing.

Metal silicides formed by means of thermal annealing processes are employed as contact materials in microelectronics. Control of the structure of silicide/silicon interfaces becomes a critical issue when the characteristic size of the device is reduced below a few tens of nanometers. Here, we report on silicide clustering occurring within the channel of PtSi/Si/PtSi Schottky-barrier transistors. This phenomenon is investigated through atomistic simulations and low-temperature resonant-tunneling spectroscopy. Our results provide evidence for the segregation of a PtSi cluster with a diameter of a few nanometers from the silicide contact. The cluster acts as a metallic quantum dot giving rise to distinct signatures of quantum transport through its discrete energy states.

${\mathrm{SmB}}_6$, a well-known Kondo insulator, has been proposed to be an ideal topological insulator with states of topological character located in a clean, bulk electronic gap, namely, the Kondo-hybridization gap. Since the Kondo gap arises from many-body electronic correlations, ${\mathrm{SmB}}_6$ would be placed at the head of a new material class: topological Kondo insulators. Here, for the first time, we show that the $k$-space characteristics of the Kondo-hybridization process is the key to unraveling the origin of the two types of metallic states experimentally observed by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) in the electronic band structure of ${\mathrm{SmB}}_6(001)$. One group of these states is essentially of bulk origin and cuts the Fermi level due to the position of the chemical potential 20 meV above the lowest-lying $5d\mathrm{\text{−}}4f$ hybridization zone. The other metallic state is more enigmatic, being weak in intensity, but represents a good candidate for a topological surface state. However, before this claim can be substantiated by an unequivocal measurement of its massless dispersion relation, our data raise the bar in terms of the ARPES resolution required, as we show there to be a strong renormalization of the hybridization gaps by a factor 2–3 compared to theory, following from the knowledge of the true position of the chemical potential and a careful comparison with the predictions from recent local-density-approximation $(\mathrm{LDA})+\mathrm{\text{Gutzwiller}}$ calculations. All in all, these key pieces of evidence act as triangulation markers, providing a detailed description of the electronic landscape in ${\mathrm{SmB}}_6$ and pointing the way for future, ultrahigh-resolution ARPES experiments to achieve a direct measurement of the Dirac cones in the first topological Kondo insulator.