arXiv subjects

Justin C. W. Song

Publications and source records attributed to Justin C. W. Song.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Kramers Dichroism in PT Symmetric Magnets

The quantum states in doubly degenerate Kramers pairs can act as an internal degree of freedom. Here we uncover a Kramers dichroism in PT symmetric magnets: interband transitions induced by circularly polarized light irradiation can selectively polarize Kramers partnered states allowing to control the Kramers degree of freedom. In contrast, Kramers pairs optically excited by linearly polarized light remain in a completely mixed state. Strikingly, we find a class of second-order nonlinear responses that directly track the polarization between Kramers partnered states. Such Kramers nonlinearities can be pronounced producing large second-order nonlinear layer polarization responses activated by Kramers degeneracy in layered antiferromagnets. Together with Kramers dichroism, these render optical responses a novel means for accessing the Kramers degree of freedom and diagnosing their quantum state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Interaction induced flattening of optical transition quantum geometry

The Riemannian geometry of optical transition dipoles has become a useful picture for understanding linear and nonlinear optical response. Here we argue that the interacting quantum geometry of optical transitions possesses a rich structure and can be naturally delineated into two types: localized and delocalized particle-hole excitations. The former possess uniform quantum geometry with flat (vanishing) Hermitian curvature; the latter possess non-uniform quantum geometry with non-vanishing Hermitian curvature. As a striking example, we find that uniform quantum geometry can be produced by electron-hole interactions: even when composed from extended Bloch states in the particle and hole bands, we find excitons have uniform and flat quantum geometry. By developing a many-body length gauge formulation of nonlinear response, we find this uniform and flat excitonic quantum geometry zeros its third-order circular photoconductivity in non-magnetic materials in stark contrast to its non-interacting counterparts. Similarly, the zero Hermitian curvature of localized optical transitions locks their Hall response to that of the ground state. This demonstrates the rich landscape of many-body optical response controlled by an interacting quantum geometry.

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arXiv2026

Switchable giant room-temperature nonlinear Hall effect in Bilayer Graphene

Utilizing quantum second-order nonlinear transport for practical junction-free devices require materials with large and tunable nonlinearites at room temperature -- a current materials platform challenge. Here, we report the nonlinear Hall effect (NLHE) in double-ionic gated bilayer graphene devices that enable unusually strong inversion breaking. We observe NLHE that are readily switchable (on, off, and sign reversed) with second order nonlinear susceptibilities $χ^{(2)}_{yxx}$ that reaches giant room-temperature values of $3\,10^{-3}\,μ\mathrm{m}\,\mathrm{S/V}$, comparable to values commonly observed at low temperature in WTe$_2$ or in graphene-based moiré superlattices, and three-to-four orders of magnitude larger than values reported in material systems recently employed in search of a room-temperature NLHE. Our devices produce corresponding THz voltage responsivities $\simeq 4\,10^{4}\,\mathrm{V/W}$, comparable to commercially available Schottky diodes. These are orders of magnitude better than for previously reported room-temperature NLHE devices rendering double-ionic gated bilayer graphene a choice platform for junction-free nonlinear technology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Superconducting Berry Curvature Dipole

Superconductivity and Bloch band Berry curvature responses represent two distinct paradigms of quantum coherent phenomena. The former relies on the collective motion of Cooper pairs while the latter proceeds from the momentum-space winding of Bloch wave functions. Here we reveal a superconducting Berry curvature dipole (BCD) that arises as a collective phenomenon in noncentrosymmetric superconductors. Strikingly, we find the superconducting BCD is sensitive to the phase of the order parameter and depends on the noncentrosymmetric structure of its pairing. This unusual property enables a BCD proximity effect in hybrid quantum materials that induces nonreciprocity even in a target centrosymmetric metal. We find a superconducting BCD naturally produces nonreciprocal electromagnetic responses that include dissipationless supercurrent-induced dynamical Hall conductivity as well as a giant second-order nonlinearity. This renders noncentrosymmetric superconductors an exciting platform for realizing unconventional dissipationless responses and their BCD responses a novel diagnostic of the structure of the superconducting gap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Nonequilibrium Exchange Nonlinear Hall Effect

Quantum geometric electronic responses are often viewed through a non-interacting lens: independent quasiparticles accumulate Berry phases as they move through a static crystal and background potential. Here we argue that the combined action of electron-electron interactions and an out-of-equilibrium many-body state can produce striking departures from this familiar picture. We demonstrate how nonequilibrium exchange interactions produce a nonequilibrium collective quantum geometry distinct from that of its equilibrium ground state. We find this manifests as an exchange induced nonlinear Hall effect with nonlinear Hall current signals competitive with that of well-known non-interacting mechanisms. This highlights the critical role electron interactions and nonequilibrium states can play in the nonlinear response of quantum matter.

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arXiv2025

Correlated quantum shift vector of particle-hole excitations

Excitons are a prime example of how electron interactions affect optical response and excitation. We demonstrate that, beyond its spectra, the bound nature of an exciton's electron-hole pair produces a correlated quantum geometry: excitonic excitations possess a quantum shift vector that is independent of light polarization. We find this counterintuitive behavior has dramatic consequences for geometric response: e.g., in noncentrosymmetric but non-polar materials, vertical excitonic transitions possess vanishing shift vector zeroing their shift photocurrent; this contrasts with finite and strongly light polarization dependent shift vectors for non-interacting delocalized particle-hole excitations. This dichotomy makes shift vector a sharp diagnostic of the pair localization properties of particle-hole excitations and demonstrates the non-perturbative effects of electron interactions in excited state quantum geometric response.

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arXiv2025

Superconducting Photocurrent and Light Enriched Supercurrent Phase Relation

Noncentrosymmetric superconductors are expected to exhibit DC photocurrents even for irradiation frequencies below the superconducting gap. Such superconducting photocurrent are non-dissipative and track the quantum geometry of the superconducting state. Here we argue that superconducting photocurrent drives changes to the constitutive superconducting current phase relation (CPR) manifesting in a light controlled inductive response as well as altering the critical current. For chiral incident light, we find that superconducting photocurrent can transform reciprocal CPR into a non-reciprocal CPR producing a non-reciprocal inductance and light-controlled superconducting diode effect. These provide a protocol for measuring superconducting photocurrent and new tools for mapping the quantum geometry and order parameter of superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Ultra-critical Floquet Non-Fermi Liquid

We demonstrate that periodically driven Fermions coupled to simple bosonic baths have steady state occupations of Floquet Bloch bands that generically display non-analyticties at certain momenta which resemble the Fermi surfaces of equilibrium non-Fermi liquids. Remarkably these non-equilibrium Fermi surfaces remain sharp even when the bath is at finite temperature, leading to critical power-law decaying correlations at finite temperature, a phenomenon with no analogue in equilibrium. We also show that generically there is in-gap current rectification for clean metals lacking inversion symmetry, and explain why this occurs universally regardless of the details of collisions.

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arXiv2025

Roadmap for Photonics with 2D Materials

Triggered by the development of exfoliation and the identification of a wide range of extraordinary physical properties in self-standing films consisting of one or few atomic layers, two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and other van der Waals (vdW) crystals currently constitute a wide research field protruding in multiple directions in combination with layer stacking and twisting, nanofabrication, surface-science methods, and integration into nanostructured environments. Photonics encompasses a multidisciplinary collection of those directions, where 2D materials contribute with polaritons of unique characteristics such as strong spatial confinement, large optical-field enhancement, long lifetimes, high sensitivity to external stimuli (e.g., electric and magnetic fields, heating, and strain), a broad spectral range from the far infrared to the ultraviolet, and hybridization with spin and momentum textures of electronic band structures. The explosion of photonics with 2D materials as a vibrant research area is producing breakthroughs, including the discovery and design of new materials and metasurfaces with unprecedented properties as well as applications in integrated photonics, light emission, optical sensing, and exciting prospects for applications in quantum information, and nanoscale thermal transport. This Roadmap summarizes the state of the art in the field, identifies challenges and opportunities, and discusses future goals and how to meet them through a wide collection of topical sections prepared by leading practitioners.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Orbital Longitudinal Magneto-electric Coupling in Multilayer Graphene

Magneto-electric coupling enables the manipulation of magnetization by electric fields and vice versa. While typically found in heavy element materials with large spin-orbit coupling, recent experiments on rhombohedral-stacked pentalayer graphene (RPG) have demonstrated a {\it longitudinal magneto-electric coupling} (LMC) without spin-orbit coupling. Here we present a microscopic theory of LMC in multilayer graphene and identify how it is controlled by a ``layer-space'' quantum geometry and interaction-driven valley polarization. Strikingly, we find that the interplay between valley-polarized order and LMC produces a butterfly shaped magnetic hysteresis controlled by out-of-plane electric field: a signature of LMC and a multiferroic valley order. Furthermore, we identify a nonlinear LMC in multilayer graphene under time-reversal symmetry, while the absence of centrosymmetry enables the generation of a second-order nonlinear electric dipole moment in response to an out-of-plane magnetic field. Our theoretical framework provides a quantitative understanding of LMC, as well as the emergent magneto-electric properties of multilayer graphene.

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arXiv2024

Nonlinear Superconducting Magnetoelectric Effect

Supercurrent flow can induce a nonvanishing spin magnetization in noncentrosymmetric superconductors with spin-orbit interaction. Often known as the non-dissipative magnetoelectric effect, these are most commonly found at linear order in supercurrent flow. Here, we propose that a {\it nonlinear} superconducting magnetoelectric (NSM) effect can naturally manifest in magnet/superconductor heterostructures. In such platforms, NSM manifests as the spin polarization generated as a second-order response to a driving supercurrent. Strikingly, we find NSM survives centrosymmetry and is the leading order magnetic response in a variety of magnetic materials that include both collinear magnets [e.g., $d$-wave planar altermagnet thin film/superconductor (ALM/SC)] as well as noncollinear magnets (e.g., Kagome/SC systems). This renders NSM a powerful electric and non-dissipative means of controlling magnetization in magnet/superconductor heterostructures, a promising platform for superconducting spintronics.

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arXiv2024

Terahertz photocurrent probe of quantum geometry and interactions in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

Moiré materials represent strongly interacting electron systems bridging topological and correlated physics. Despite significant advances, decoding wavefunction properties underlying the quantum geometry remains challenging. Here, we utilize polarization-resolved photocurrent measurements to probe magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, leveraging its sensitivity to the Berry connection that encompasses quantum "textures" of electron wavefunctions. Using terahertz light resonant with optical transitions of its flat bands, we observe bulk photocurrents driven by broken symmetries and reveal the interplay between electron interactions and quantum geometry. We observe inversion-breaking gapped states undetectable through quantum transport, sharp changes in the polarization axes caused by interaction-induced band renormalization, and recurring photocurrent patterns at integer fillings of the moiré unit cell that track the evolution of quantum geometry through the cascade of phase transitions. The large and tunable terahertz response intrinsic to flat-band systems offers direct insights into the quantum geometry of interacting electrons and paves the way for innovative terahertz quantum technologies.

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arXiv2024

Skew-scattering Pockels effect and metallic electro-optics in gapped bilayer graphene

We argue that a range of strong metallic electro-optic (EO) effects can be naturally realized from non-Drude dynamics of free carriers in metals. In particular, in clean metals we identify skew-scattering and a "Snap" (third-order derivative of velocity) dominating the Pockels and Kerr EO behavior of metals in the clean limit. Strikingly, we find that both Pockels and Kerr EO in metals play critical roles in metallic EO phenomena: for instance, metallic Pockels and Kerr EO effectively compete to produce a field-activated birefringence that is non-reciprocal in applied DC fields. Similarly, both contribute to sizeable field-induced modulations to transmission and reflection across a range of frequencies. We find metallic EO effects can be naturally realized in layered 2D materials such as gapped bilayer graphene producing pronounced values of EO coefficients in the terahertz -- an interesting new metallic platform for terahertz electro-optic modulation.

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arXiv2024

Mapping the intrinsic photocurrent streamlines through micromagnetic heterostructure devices

Like air flowing over a wing, optimizing the flow of electronic charge is essential to the operation of nanoscale devices. Unfortunately, the delicate interplay of charge, spin, and heat in complex devices has precluded detailed imaging of charge flow. Here, we report on the visualization of intrinsic charge current streamlines through yttrium iron garnet micromagnetic heterostructures. Scanning photovoltage microscopy of precisely designed devices leads to striking spatial patterns, with prominent photovoltage features emerging in corners and narrow constrictions. These patterns, which evolve continuously with rotation of an external magnetic field, enable rich spatial mapping of fluid-like flow. Taking inspiration from aerodynamic Clark Y airfoils, we engineer micromagnetic wing shaped devices, called electrofoils, which allow us to precisely contort, compress and decompress flowlines of electronic charge.120 (39) e2221815120

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Anti-screening and nonequilibrium layer electric phases in graphene multilayers

Screening is a ubiquitous phenomenon through which the polarization of bound or mobile charges tends to reduce the strengths of electric fields inside materials. Here we show how photoexcitation can be used as a knob to transform conventional out-of-plane screening into anti-screening - the amplification of electric fields - in multilayer graphene stacks. We find that, by varying the photoexcitation intensity, multiple nonequilibrium screening regimes can be accessed, including near-zero screening, anti-screening, or overscreening (reversing electric fields). Strikingly, at modest continuous wave photoexcitation intensities, the nonequilibrium polarization states become multistable, hosting light-induced ferroelectric-like steady states with nonvanishing out-of-plane polarization (and band gaps) even in the absence of an externally applied displacement field in nominally inversion symmetric stacks. This rich phenomenology reveals a novel paradigm of dynamical quantum matter that we expect will enable a variety of nonequilibrium broken symmetry phases.

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arXiv2023

The Floquet Fermi Liquid

We demonstrate the existence of a non-equilibrium "Floquet Fermi Liquid" state arising in partially filled Floquet Bloch bands weakly coupled to ideal fermionic baths, which possess a collection of "Floquet Fermi surfaces" enclosed inside each other, resembling matryoshka dolls. We elucidate several properties of these states, including their quantum oscillations under magnetic fields which feature slow beating patterns of their amplitude reflecting the different areas of the Floquet Fermi surfaces, consistent with those observed in microwave induced resistance oscillation experiments. We also investigate their specific heat and thermodynamic density of states and demonstrate how by controlling properties of the drive, such as its frequency, one can tune some of the Floquet Fermi surfaces towards non-equilibrium van-Hove singularities without changing the electron density.

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arXiv2023

Anomalous skew-scattering nonlinear Hall effect and chiral photocurrents in {\it PT}-symmetric antiferromagnets

Berry curvature and skew-scattering play central roles in determining both the linear and nonlinear anomalous Hall effects. Yet in {\it PT}-symmetric antiferromagnetic metals, Hall effects from either intrinsic Berry curvature mediated anomalous velocity or the conventional skew-scattering process individually vanish. Here we reveal an unexpected nonlinear Hall effect that relies on both Berry curvature and skew-scattering working in cooperation. This anomalous skew-scattering nonlinear Hall effect (ASN) is {\it PT}-even and dominates the low-frequency nonlinear Hall effect for {\it PT}-symmetric antiferromagnetic metals. Surprisingly, we find that in addition to its Hall response, ASN produces helicity dependent photocurrents, in contrast to other known {\it PT}-even nonlinearities in metals which are helicity blind. This characteristic enables to isolate ASN and establishes new photocurrent tools to interrogate the antiferromagnetic order of {\it PT}-symmetric metals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Quantum plasmonic non-reciprocity in parity-violating magnets

The optical responses of metals are often dominated by plasmonic resonances - the collective oscillations of interacting electron liquids. Here we unveil a new class of plasmons - quantum metric plasmons (QMPs) - that arise in a wide range of parity violating magnetic metals. In these materials, a dipolar distribution of the quantum metric (a fundamental characteristic of Bloch wavefunctions) produces intrinsic non-reciprocal bulk plasmons. Strikingly, QMP non-reciprocity manifests even when the single-particle dispersion is symmetric: QMPs are sensitive to time-reversal and parity violations hidden in the Bloch wavefunction. In materials with asymmetric single-particle dispersions, quantum metric dipole induced non-reciprocity can continue to dominate at large frequencies. We anticipate that QMPs can be realized in a wide range of parity violating magnets, including twisted bilayer graphene heterostructures, where quantum geometric quantities can achieve large values.

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