Publications (13)34.34 Total impact
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Article: Microscopic Theory of Rashba Interaction in Magnetic Metal
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ABSTRACT: Theory of Rashba spin-orbit coupling in magnetic metals is worked out from microscopic Hamiltonian describing d-orbitals. When structural inversion symmetry is broken, electron hopping between $d$-orbitals generates chiral ordering of orbital angular momentum, which combines with atomic spin-orbit coupling to result in the Rashba interaction. Rashba parameter characterizing the interaction is band-specific, even reversing its sign from band to band. Large enhancement of the Rashba parameter found in recent experiments is attributed to the orbital mixing of 3d magnetic atoms with non-magnetic heavy elements as we demonstrate by first-principles and tight-binding calculations.06/2012; -
Article: Topological quantum phase transition in 5d transition metal oxide Na2IrO3.
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ABSTRACT: We predict a quantum phase transition from normal to topological insulators in the 5d transition metal oxide Na2IrO3, where the transition can be driven by the change of the long-range hopping and trigonal crystal field terms. From the first-principles-derived tight-binding Hamiltonian, we determine the phase boundary through the parity analysis. In addition, our first-principles calculations for Na2IrO3 model structures show that the interlayer distance can be an important parameter for the existence of a three-dimensional strong topological insulator phase. Na2IrO3 is suggested to be a candidate material which can have both a nontrivial topology of bands and strong electron correlations.Physical Review Letters 03/2012; 108(10):106401. · 7.37 Impact Factor -
Article: Topological Quantum Phase Transition in 5$d$ Transition Metal Oxide Na$_2$IrO$_3$
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ABSTRACT: We predict a quantum phase transition from normal to topological insulators in the 5$d$ transition metal oxide Na$_2$IrO$_3$, where the transition can be driven by the change of the long-range hopping and trigonal crystal field terms. From the first-principles-derived tight-binding Hamiltonian we determine the phase boundary through the parity analysis. In addition, our first-principles calculations for Na$_2$IrO$_3$ model structures show that the interlayer distance can be an important parameter for the existence of a three-dimensional strong topological insulator phase. Na$_2$IrO$_3$ is suggested to be a candidate material which can have both a nontrivial topology of bands and strong electron correlations.01/2012; -
Article: Topological quantum phase transitions driven by external electric fields in Sb₂Te₃ thin films.
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ABSTRACT: Using first-principles calculations, we show that topological quantum phase transitions are driven by external electric fields in thin films of Sb(2)Te(3). The film, as the applied electric field normal to its surface increases, is transformed from a normal insulator to a topological insulator or vice versa depending on the film thickness. We identify the band topology by directly calculating the Z(2) invariant from electronic wave functions. The dispersion of edge states is also found to be consistent with the bulk band topology in view of the bulk-boundary correspondence. We present possible applications of the topological phase transition as an on/off switch of the topologically protected edge states in nano-scale devices.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 12/2011; 109(3):671-4. · 9.68 Impact Factor -
Article: Spin and Orbital Angular Momentum Structures of Cu(111) and Au(111) Surface States
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ABSTRACT: We performed angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) studies on Cu(111) and Au(111) surface states with circularly polarized light. Existence of local orbital angular momentum (OAM) is confirmed as has been predicted to be broadly present in a system with an inversion symmetry breaking (ISB). The single band of Cu(111) surface states is found to have chiral OAM in spite of very small spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in Cu, which is consistent with theoretical prediction. As for Au(111), we observe split bands for which OAM for the inner and outer bands are parallel, unlike the Bi2Se3 case. We also performed first principles calculation and the results are found to be consistent with the experimental results. Moreover, majority of OAM is found to be from d-orbitals and a small contribution has p-orbital origin which is anti-aligned to the spins. We derive an effective Hamiltonian that incorporates the role of OAM and used it to extract the OAM and spin structures of surface states with various SOC strength. We discuss the evolution of angular momentum structures from pure OAM case to a strongly spin-orbit entangled state. We predict that the transition occurs through reversal of OAM direction at a k-point in the inner band if the system has a proper SOC strength.12/2011; -
Article: Detecting Chiral Orbital Angular Momentum by Circular Dichroism ARPES
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ABSTRACT: We show, by way of tight-binding and first-principles calculations, that a one-to-one correspondence between electron's crystal momentum k and non-zero orbital angular momentum (OAM) is a generic feature of surface bands. The OAM forms a chiral structure in momentum space much as its spin counterpart in Rashba model does, as a consequence of the inherent inversion symmetry breaking at the surface but not of spin-orbit interaction. Circular dichroism (CD) angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) experiment is an efficient way to detect this new order, and we derive formulas explicitly relating the CD-ARPES signal to the existence of OAM in the band structure. The cases of degenerate p- and d-orbital bands are considered.12/2011; -
Article: Orbital-angular-momentum based origin of Rashba-type surface band splitting.
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ABSTRACT: We propose that the existence of local orbital angular momentum (OAM) on the surfaces of high-Z materials plays a crucial role in the formation of Rashba-type surface band splitting. Local OAM state in a Bloch wave function produces an asymmetric charge distribution (electric dipole). The surface-normal electric field then aligns the electric dipole and results in chiral OAM states and the relevant Rashba-type splitting. Therefore, the band splitting originates from electric dipole interaction, not from the relativistic Zeeman splitting as proposed in the original Rashba picture. The characteristic spin chiral structure of Rashba states is formed through the spin-orbit coupling and thus is a secondary effect to the chiral OAM. Results from first-principles calculations on a single Bi layer under an external electric field verify the key predictions of the new model.Physical Review Letters 10/2011; 107(15):156803. · 7.37 Impact Factor -
Article: Emergence of Orbital Angular Momentum by Inversion Symmetry Breaking and Its Detection by ARPES
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ABSTRACT: Rashba-split surface band is characterized by a one-to-one correspondence between the electron's momentum k and its spin orientation. Here we show that a similar correspondence between momentum and orbital angular momentum (OAM) must exist on surface bands once the inversion symmetry is broken. The correspondence is valid even when there is no spin-orbit interaction. Tight-binding and first-principles calculations are presented to support our claim. As a method to detect such OAM-momentum correspondence, we propose the circular dichroism (CD) experiment using the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) setup. CD-ARPES experiment performed on Cu surface confirms the existence of chiral OAM. A new concept of "orbital Galvanic effect" is proposed.07/2011; -
Article: Electronic structure of double perovskite A2FeReO6 (A = Ba and Ca): interplay between spin-orbit interaction, electron correlation, and lattice distortion.
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ABSTRACT: We have investigated the electronic structure of double perovskites, Ba(2)FeReO(6) (metallic) and Ca(2)FeReO(6) (insulating) using optical and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. By comparing the experimental results with the density functional theory calculations, we found that the electronic structure of Ba(2)FeReO(6) could be determined from the interaction of the electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling. On the other hand, for Ca(2)FeReO(6), the lattice distortion and electron correlation are important in determining the electronic structure. Additionally, the insulating gap in Ca(2)FeReO(6) is realized by the spin-orbit coupling. Our work shows that the subtle interplay of the spin-orbit interaction, electron correlation, and lattice distortion should be taken into account to understand the electronic structure of the 5d transition metal oxides.Journal of Physics Condensed Matter 09/2010; 22(34):345602. · 2.55 Impact Factor -
Article: Mott Insulating Ground State and its Proximity to Spin-Orbit Insulators in Na$_{2}$IrO$_{3}$
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ABSTRACT: We present an anti-ferromagnetically ordered ground state of Na$_{2}$IrO$_{3}$ based on density-functional-theory calculations including both spin-orbit coupling and on-site Coulomb interaction $U$. We show that the splitting of $e_{g}'$ doublet states by the strong spin-orbit coupling is mainly responsible for the intriguing nature of its insulating gap and magnetic ground state. Due to its proximity to the spin-orbit insulator phase, the magnetic ordering as obtained with finite $U$ is found to exhibit a strong in-plane anisotropy. The phase diagram of Na$_{2}$IrO$_{3}$ suggests a possible interplay between spin-orbit insulator and Mott anti-ferromagnetic insulator phases. Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures07/2009; -
Article: Fundamental thickness limit of itinerant ferromagnetic SrRuO(3) thin films.
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ABSTRACT: We report on a fundamental thickness limit of the itinerant ferromagnetic oxide SrRuO(3) that might arise from the orbital-selective quantum confinement effects. Experimentally, SrRuO(3) films remain metallic even for a thickness of 2 unit cells (uc), but the Curie temperature T(C) starts to decrease at 4 uc and becomes zero at 2 uc. Using the Stoner model, we attributed the T(C) decrease to a decrease in the density of states (N(o)). Namely, in the thin film geometry, the hybridized Ru d(yz,zx) orbitals are terminated by top and bottom interfaces, resulting in quantum confinement and reduction of N(o).Physical Review Letters 07/2009; 103(5):057201. · 7.37 Impact Factor -
Article: A spin-dependent local moment approach to the Anderson impurity model
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ABSTRACT: We present an extension of the local moment approach to the Anderson impurity model with spin-dependent hybridization. By employing the two-self-energy description, as originally proposed by Logan and co-workers, we applied the symmetry restoration condition for the case with spin-dependent hybridization. Self-consistent ground states were determined through variational minimization of the ground state energy. The results obtained with our spin-dependent local moment approach applied to a quantum dot system coupled to ferromagnetic leads are in good agreement with those obtained from previous work using numerical renormalization group calculations.09/2007; -
Article: Spin and orbital angular momentum structure of Cu(111) and Au(111) surface states
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ABSTRACT: We performed angle-resolved photoemission studies on Cu(111) and Au(111) surface states with circularly polarized light to investigate local orbital angular momentum (OAM) structures. Existence of OAM is confirmed, as predicted, to exist in systems with an inversion symmetry breaking. Cu(111) surface state bands are found to have chiral OAM in spite of very small spin-orbit coupling, consistent with the theoretical prediction. As for Au(111), we observe split bands for which OAM for the inner and outer bands are parallel, unlike the Bi2Se3 case. We also performed first-principles calculations and the results are found to be consistent with experimental results. Moreover, the majority of OAM is found to have d-orbital origin while a small contribution comes from p orbitals. An effective Hamiltonian that incorporates the role of OAM is derived and is used to extract the spin and OAM structures. We discuss the evolution of angular momentum structures from a pure OAM system to a strongly spin-orbit-entangled state. We predict that the transition occurs through a reversal of the OAM direction at a k point in the inner band if the system has a proper spin-orbit coupling strength.Phys. Rev. B. 85(19).
Top co-authors
Top Journals
Institutions
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2012
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Seoul National University
- Department of Physics and Astronomy
Seoul, Seoul, South Korea
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2011
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University of Colorado at Boulder
- Department of Physics
Boulder, CO, USA
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