Using disorder to detect locally ordered electron nematics via hysteresis

Nanoscale Phase Separation of Incommensurate and Quasi-Commensurate Spin Stripes in Low Temperature Spin Glass of La2−xSrxNiO4

While spin striped phases in La2−xSrxNiO4+y for 0.25 < x < 0.33 are the archetypal case of a 1D spin density wave (SDW) phase in doped antiferromagnetic strongly correlated perovskites, few information is available on the SDW spatial organization. In this context, we have measured the spatial variation of the wave vector of the SDW reflection profile by scanning micro X-ray diffractions with a coherent beam. We obtained evidence of a SDW order–disorder transition by lowering a high temperature phase (T > 50 K) to a low temperature phase (T < 50 K). We have identified quasi-commensurate spin stripe puddles in the ordered phase at 50 < T < 70 K, while the low temperature spin glassy phase presents a nanoscale phase separation of T = 30 K, with the coexistence of quasi-commensurate and incommensurate spin stripe puddles assigned to the interplay of quantum frustration and strong electronic correlations.

Short-Range Nematic Fluctuations in Sr_{1-x}Na_{x}Fe_{2}As_{2} Superconductors

Interactions between nematic fluctuations, magnetic order and superconductivity are central to the physics of iron-based superconductors. Here we report on in-plane transverse acoustic phonons in hole-doped Sr_{1-x}Na_{x}Fe_{2}As_{2} measured via inelastic x-ray scattering, and extract both the nematic susceptibility and the nematic correlation length. By a self-contained method of analysis, for the underdoped (x=0.36) sample, which harbors a magnetically ordered tetragonal phase, we find it hosts a short nematic correlation length ξ∼10  Å and a large nematic susceptibility χ_{nem}. The optimal-doped (x=0.55) sample exhibits weaker phonon softening effects, indicative of both reduced ξ and χ_{nem}. Our results suggest short-range nematic fluctuations may favor superconductivity, placing emphasis on the nematic correlation length for understanding the iron-based superconductors.

Period multiplication cascade at the order-by-disorder transition in uniaxial random field XY magnets

Uniaxial random field disorder induces a spontaneous transverse magnetization in the XY model. Adding a rotating driving field, we find a critical point attached to the number of driving cycles needed to complete a limit cycle, the first discovery of this phenomenon in a magnetic system. Near the critical drive, time crystal behavior emerges, in which the period of the limit cycles becomes an integer n > 1 multiple of the driving period. The period n can be engineered via specific disorder patterns. Because n generically increases with system size, the resulting period multiplication cascade is reminiscent of that occurring in amorphous solids subject to oscillatory shear near the onset of plastic deformation, and of the period bifurcation cascade near the onset of chaos in nonlinear systems, suggesting it is part of a larger class of phenomena in transitions of dynamical systems. Applications include magnets, electron nematics, and quantum gases.

Magnetism and superconductivity in Fe1+y Te1-xSex

Neutron scattering has played a significant role in characterizing magnetic and structural correlations in Fe1+y Te1-xSexand their connections with superconductivity. Here we review several key aspects of the physics of iron chalcogenide superconductors where neutron studies played a key role. These topics include the phase diagram of Fe1+y Te1-xSex, where the doping-dependence of structural transitions can be understood from a mapping to the anisotropic random field Ising model. We then discuss orbital-selective Mott physics in the Fe chalcogenide series, where temperature-dependent magnetism in the parent material provided one of the earliest cases for orbital-selective correlation effects in a Hund's metal. Finally, we elaborate on the character of local magnetic correlations revealed by neutron scattering, its dependence on temperature and composition, and the connections to nematicity and superconductivity.

Electronic nematicity in Sr2RuO4

We have measured the angle-resolved transverse resistivity (ARTR), a sensitive indicator of electronic anisotropy, in high-quality thin films of the unconventional superconductor Sr₂RuO₄ grown on various substrates. The ARTR signal, heralding the electronic nematicity or a large nematic susceptibility, is present and substantial already at room temperature and grows by an order of magnitude upon cooling down to 4 K. In Sr₂RuO₄ films deposited on tetragonal substrates the highest-conductivity direction does not coincide with any crystallographic axis. In films deposited on orthorhombic substrates it tends to align with the shorter axis; however, the magnitude of the anisotropy stays the same despite the large lattice distortion. These are strong indications of actual or incipient electronic nematicity in Sr₂RuO₄.

Cross-talk between topological defects in different fields revealed by nematic microfluidics

Topological defects are singularities in material fields that play a vital role across a range of systems: from cosmic microwave background polarization to superconductors and biological materials. Although topological defects and their mutual interactions have been extensively studied, little is known about the interplay between defects in different fields-especially when they coevolve-within the same physical system. Here, using nematic microfluidics, we study the cross-talk of topological defects in two different material fields-the velocity field and the molecular orientational field. Specifically, we generate hydrodynamic stagnation points of different topological charges at the center of star-shaped microfluidic junctions, which then interact with emergent topological defects in the orientational field of the nematic director. We combine experiments and analytical and numerical calculations to show that a hydrodynamic singularity of a given topological charge can nucleate a nematic defect of equal topological charge and corroborate this by creating [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] topological defects in four-, six-, and eight-arm junctions. Our work is an attempt toward understanding materials that are governed by distinctly multifield topology, where disparate topology-carrying fields are coupled and concertedly determine the material properties and response.

Nanoscale electrodynamics of strongly correlated quantum materials

Electronic, magnetic, and structural phase inhomogeneities are ubiquitous in strongly correlated quantum materials. The characteristic length scales of the phase inhomogeneities can range from atomic to mesoscopic, depending on their microscopic origins as well as various sample dependent factors. Therefore, progress with the understanding of correlated phenomena critically depends on the experimental techniques suitable to provide appropriate spatial resolution. This requirement is difficult to meet for some of the most informative methods in condensed matter physics, including infrared and optical spectroscopy. Yet, recent developments in near-field optics and imaging enabled a detailed characterization of the electromagnetic response with a spatial resolution down to 10 nm. Thus it is now feasible to exploit at the nanoscale well-established capabilities of optical methods for characterization of electronic processes and lattice dynamics in diverse classes of correlated quantum systems. This review offers a concise description of the state-of-the-art near-field techniques applied to prototypical correlated quantum materials. We also discuss complementary microscopic and spectroscopic methods which reveal important mesoscopic dynamics of quantum materials at different energy scales.