Giant Electrophononic Response in PbTiO3 by Strain Engineering

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2019), 123(18),

Mechanical Resonances of Mobile Impurities in a One-Dimensional Quantum Fluid

in Physical Review Letters (2019), 123

We study a one-dimensional interacting quantum liquid hosting a pair of mobile impurities causing backscattering. We determine the effective retarded interaction between the two impurities mediated by the ... [more ▼]

We study a one-dimensional interacting quantum liquid hosting a pair of mobile impurities causing backscattering. We determine the effective retarded interaction between the two impurities mediated by the liquid. We show that for strong backscattering this interaction gives rise to resonances and antiresonances in the finite-frequency mobility of the impurity pair. At the antiresonances, the two impurities remain at rest even when driven by a (small) external force. At the resonances, their synchronous motion follows the external drive in phase and reaches maximum amplitude. Using a perturbative renormalization group analysis in quantum tunneling across the impurities, we study the range of validity of our model. We predict that these mechanical antiresonances are observable in experiments on ultracold atom gases confined to one dimension. [less ▲]

Ferroelectricity with Asymmetric Hysteresis in Metallic LiOsO3 Ultrathin Films

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2019), 122(22),

Statistics of Colloidal Suspensions Stirred by Microswimmers

in Physical Review Letters (2019), 122(14),

We present a statistical analysis of the experimental trajectories of colloids in a dilute suspension of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The measured probability density function (pdf) of the ... [more ▼]

We present a statistical analysis of the experimental trajectories of colloids in a dilute suspension of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The measured probability density function (pdf) of the displacements of colloids covers 7 orders of magnitude. The pdfs are characterized by non-Gaussian tails for intermediate time intervals, but nevertheless they collapse when scaled with their standard deviation. This diffusive scaling breaks down for longer time intervals and the pdf becomes Gaussian. However, the mean squared displacements of tracer positions are linear over the complete measurement time interval. Experiments are performed for various tracer diameters, swimmer concentrations, and mean swimmer velocities. This allows a rigorous comparison with several theoretical models. We can exclude a description based on an effective temperature and other mean field approaches that describe the irregular motion as a sum of the fluctuating far field of many microswimmers. The data are best described by the microscopic model by J.-L. Thiffeault, Distribution of particle displacements due to swimming microorganisms, Phys. Rev. E 92, 023023 (2015). [less ▲]

Exciton-Phonon Coupling in the Ultraviolet Absorption and Emission Spectra of Bulk Hexagonal Boron Nitride

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2019), 122(18), 187401-6

We present an ab initio method to calculate phonon-assisted absorption and emission spectra in the presence of strong excitonic effects. We apply the method to bulk hexagonal BN, which has an indirect ... [more ▼]

We present an ab initio method to calculate phonon-assisted absorption and emission spectra in the presence of strong excitonic effects. We apply the method to bulk hexagonal BN, which has an indirect band gap and is known for its strong luminescence in the UV range. We first analyze the excitons at the wave vector (q) over bar of the indirect gap. The coupling of these excitons with the various phonon modes at (q) over bar is expressed in terms of a product of the mean square displacement of the atoms and the second derivative of the optical response function with respect to atomic displacement along the phonon eigenvectors. The derivatives are calculated numerically with a finite difference scheme in a supercell commensurate with (q) over bar. We use detailed balance arguments to obtain the intensity ratio between emission and absorption processes. Our results explain recent luminescence experiments and reveal the exciton-phonon coupling channels responsible for the emission lines. [less ▲]

Phonon-Polariton Mediated Thermal Radiation and Heat Transfer among Molecules and Macroscopic Bodies: Nonlocal Electromagnetic Response at Mesoscopic Scales

in Physical Review Letters (2018), 121

Dephasing in a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer by an Ohmic Contact

in Physical Review Letters (2018)

Sadhukhan and Tkatchenko Reply

in Physical Review Letters (2018), 120

Critical Role of the Exchange Interaction for the Electronic Structure and Charge-Density-Wave Formation in TiSe2

in Physical Review Letters (2017), 119

We show that the inclusion of screened exchange via hybrid functionals provides a unified description of the electronic and vibrational properties of TiSe2. In contrast to local approximations in density ... [more ▼]

We show that the inclusion of screened exchange via hybrid functionals provides a unified description of the electronic and vibrational properties of TiSe2. In contrast to local approximations in density functional theory, the explicit inclusion of exact, nonlocal exchange captures the effects of the electron-electron interaction needed to both separate the Ti-d states from the Se-p states and stabilize the charge-density- wave (CDW) (or low-T) phase through the formation of a p-d hybridized state. We further show that this leads to an enhanced electron-phonon coupling that can drive the transition even if a small gap opens in the high-T phase. Finally, we demonstrate that the hybrid functionals can generate a CDW phase where the electronic bands, the geometry, and the phonon frequencies are in agreement with experiments. [less ▲]

Unifying Microscopic and Continuum Treatments of van der Waals and Casimir Interactions

in Physical Review Letters (2017), 118(1), 266802

We present an approach for computing long-range van der Waals (vdW) interactions between complex molecular systems and arbitrarily shaped macroscopic bodies, melding atomistic treatments of electronic ... [more ▼]

We present an approach for computing long-range van der Waals (vdW) interactions between complex molecular systems and arbitrarily shaped macroscopic bodies, melding atomistic treatments of electronic fluctuations based on density functional theory in the former with continuum descriptions of strongly shape dependent electromagnetic fields in the latter, thus capturing many-body and multiple scattering effects to all orders. Such a theory is especially important when considering vdW interactions at mesoscopic scales, i.e., between molecules and structured surfaces with features on the scale of molecular sizes, in which case the finite sizes, complex shapes, and resulting nonlocal electronic excitations of molecules are strongly influenced by electromagnetic retardation and wave effects that depend crucially on the shapes of surrounding macroscopic bodies. We show that these effects together can modify vdW interaction energies and forces, as well as molecular shapes deformed by vdW interactions, by orders of magnitude compared to previous treatments based on Casimir-Polder, nonretarded, or pairwise approximations, which are valid only at macroscopically large or atomic-scale separations or in dilute insulating media, respectively. [less ▲]