Suchergebnisse

Finding ways of creating, measuring, and manipulating Majorana bound states (MBSs) in superconducting-semiconducting nanowires is a highly pursued goal in condensed matter physics. It was recently proposed that a periodic covering of the semiconducting nanowire with superconductor fingers would allow both gating and tuning the system into a topological phase while leaving room for a local detection of the MBS wave function. We perform a detailed, self-consistent numerical study of a three-dimensional (3D) model for a finite-length nanowire with a superconductor superlattice including the effect of the surrounding electrostatic environment, and taking into account the surface charge created at the semiconductor surface. We consider different experimental scenarios where the superlattice is on top or at the bottom of the nanowire with respect to a back gate. The analysis of the 3D electrostatic profile, the charge density, the low-energy spectrum, and the formation of MBSs reveals a rich phenomenology that depends on the nanowire parameters as well as on the superlattice dimensions and the external back-gate potential. The 3D environment turns out to be essential to correctly capture and understand the phase diagram of the system and the parameter regions where topological superconductivity is established ; We thank E. J. H. Lee, H. Beidenkopf, E. G. Michel, N. Avraham, H. Shtrikman, and J. Nygård for valuable discussions. Research supported by the Spanish MINECO through Grants No. FIS2016-80434-P, No. BES-2017-080374, and No. FIS2017-84860-R (AEI/FEDER, EU), the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the FETOPEN Grant Agreement No. 828948 and Grant Agreement LEGOTOP No. 788715, the Ramón y Cajal programme RYC-2011-09345, the María de Maeztu Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377), the DFG (CRC/Transregio 183, EI 519/7- 1), the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), and the Binational Science Foundation (BSF)

[EN] Zero-energy Andreev levels in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires mimic all expected Majorana phenomenology, including 2 e∕ h conductance quantisation, even where band topology predicts trivial phases. This surprising fact has been used to challenge the interpretation of various transport experiments in terms of Majorana zero modes. Here we show that the Andreev versus Majorana controversy is clarified when framed in the language of non-Hermitian topology, the natural description for quantum systems open to the environment. This change of paradigm allows one to understand topological transitions and the emergence of zero modes in more general systems than can be described by band topology. This is achieved by studying exceptional point bifurcations in the complex spectrum of the system's non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. Within this broader topological classification, Majoranas from both conventional band topology and a large subset of Andreev levels at zero energy are in fact topologically equivalent, which explains why they cannot be distinguished. ; Research supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through Grants PGC2018-097018-B-I00, FIS2015-65706-P, FIS2015-64654-P, FIS2016-80434-P (AEI/FEDER, EU), the FPI programme BES-2016-078122, the Ramón y Cajal programme Grants RYC-2011-09345, RYC-2013-14645, the María de Maeztu Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the FETOPEN Grant Agreement No. 828948. We also acknowledge support from CSIC Research Platform on Quantum Technologies PTI-001.

This tutorial review presents an overview of the basic theoretical aspects of two-dimensional (2D) crystals. We revise essential aspects of graphene and the new families of semiconducting 2D materials, like transition metal dichalcogenides or black phosphorus. Minimal theoretical models for various materials are presented. Some of the exciting new possibilities offered by 2D crystals are discussed, such as manipulation and control of quantum degrees of freedom (spin and pseudospin), confinement of excitons, control of the electronic and optical properties with strain engineering, or unconventional superconducting phases ; We thank A. N. Rudenko and J. L. Lado for kindly providing band structures of phosphorene, antimonene and MoS2. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through Grant No. FIS2014-58445-JIN, FIS2015-65706-P and FIS2016-80434-P (AEI/FEDER,EU), the Ramón y Cajal programme, Grant No. RYC-2011-09345 and RYC-2013-14645, the ''María de Maeztu'' Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377), the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) through the ERC Advanced Grant NOVGRAPHENE (GA No. 290846) and European Commission under the Graphene Flagship, contract CNECTICT-604391

We present a theoretical study of the exciton binding energy for anisotropic two-dimensional crystals. We obtain analytical expressions from variational wave functions in different limits of the screening length to exciton size ratio and compare them with numerical solutions, both variational and exact. As an example, we apply these results to phosphorene, a monolayer of black phosphorous. Aided by density-functional-theory calculations for the evaluation of the two-dimensional polarizability, our analytical solution for the exciton binding energy gives a result which compares well with numerical ones and, in turn, with experimental values, as recently reported ; This work was supported by MINECO under Grants No. FIS2013-47328 and No. FIS2012-37549, by European Union structural funds and the Comunidad de Madrid Programs S2013/MIT-3007 and P2013/MIT-2850, and by Generalitat Valenciana under Grant No. PROMETEO/2012/011. E.P. also acknowledges the Ramón y Cajal Program

This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in Nanotechnology. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ab0bc1 ; Few-layer GaSe is one of the latest additions to the family of two-dimensional semiconducting crystals whose properties under strain are still relatively unexplored. Here, we study rippled nanosheets that exhibit a periodic compressive and tensile strain of up to 5%. The strain profile modifies the local optoelectronic properties of the alternating compressive and tensile regions, which translates into a remarkable shift of the optical absorption band-edge of up to 1.2 eV between crests and valleys. Our experimental observations are supported by theoretical results from density functional theory calculations performed for monolayers and multilayers (up to seven layers) under tensile and compressive strain. This large band gap tunability can be explained through a combined analysis of the elastic response of Ga atoms to strain and the symmetry of the wave functions ; Research supported by the Spanish MINECO through Grants MAT2017–88693-R, MAT2014-57915-R, FIS2016-80434- P (AEI/FEDER, EU), BES-2015-071316, the Ramón y Cajal programme RYC-2011-09345, the Fundación Ramón Areces and the María de Maeztu Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377), as well as from the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM) MAD2D-CM Program (S2013/MIT-3007) and the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 604391 Graphene Flagship. JJP acknowledges Fulbright Fellowship for Sabbatical leave at University of Texas at Austin, EEUU. We acknowledge the computer resources and assistance provided by the Centro de Computación Científica of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Two-dimensional layered perovskites are attracting increasing attention as more robust analogues to the conventional three-dimensional metal-halide perovskites for both light harvesting and light emitting applications. However, the impact of the reduced dimensionality on the optoelectronic properties remains unclear, particularly regarding the spatial dynamics of the excitonic excited state within the two-dimensional plane. Here, we present direct measurements of exciton transport in single-crystalline layered perovskites. Using transient photoluminescence microscopy, we show that excitons undergo an initial fast diffusion through the crystalline plane, followed by a slower subdiffusive regime as excitons get trapped. Interestingly, the early intrinsic diffusivity depends sensitively on the choice of organic spacer. A clear correlation between lattice stiffness and diffusivity is found, suggesting exciton–phonon interactions to be dominant in the spatial dynamics of the excitons in perovskites, consistent with the formation of exciton–polarons. Our findings provide a clear design strategy to optimize exciton transport in these systems ; This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through The "María de Maeztu" Program for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0377). M.S. acknowledges the financial support of a fellowship from "la Caixa" Foundation (ID 100010434). The fellowship code is LCF/BQ/IN17/11620040. M.S. has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713673. F.P. acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry for Science, Innovation, and Universities through the state program (PGC2018-097236-A-I00) and through the Ramón y Cajal program (RYC-2017-23253), as well as the Comunidad de Madrid Talent Program for Experienced Researchers (2016-T1/IND-1209). N.A., M.M. and R. D.B. acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through Grant FIS2017-86007-C3-1-P (AEI/FEDER, EU). E.P. acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through Grant FIS2016-80434-P (AEI/FEDER, EU), the Ramón y Cajal program (RYC-2011- 09345) and the Comunidad de Madrid through Grant S2018/ NMT-4511 (NMAT2D-CM). S.P. acknowledges financial support by the VILLUM FONDEN via the Centre of Excellence for Dirac Materials (Grant No. 11744)