Obtained superconducting phase diagram
for two-orbital Hubbard model.
The superconductivity with zero resistivity is an interesting phase transition of electrons in metals, which occurs when electrons form pair states (Cooper pair). In conventional superconductors, the pairing glue of Cooper pairs is given by the electron-phonon interaction. In unconventional superconductors in strongly correlated electrons, in contrast, the pairing interaction is derived from the Coulomb repulsion. Rich variety of unconventional superconductivity is one of the central issues in modern physics.
In our laboratory, we perform theoretical research on high-temperature superconductivity. In cuprate high-temperature superconductors (Tc <160K), quantum spin fluctuations of electrons lead to d-wave Cooper pairs. In Fe-based superconductors (Tc = 60K to 100K), quantum fluctuation of d-orbital degrees of freedom (= orbital fluctuations) contribute to the significant pairing mechanism. In addition, when spin fluctuations and orbital fluctuations develop cooperatively, various exotic superconducting states can emerge, such as the spin-triplet (S=1 Cooper pair) superconductivity. There are many other unconventional superconductors such as heavy fermion systems, organic conductors, and Co, Ni, Cr compounds. Let us study novel superconducting states in Sc Lab!
Please see Orbital Fluctuation Mechanism in Fe-based Superconductors, Mystery in Spin Triplet Superconductivity
(a) Feynman diagram of nenormalization group equation.
Low-energy effective interaction is obtained by integrating
high-energy scattering processes step by step.
(b) Aslamazov-Larkin process that drives the orbital
order/fluctuations. (c) Orbital ordered state nxz≠nyz.
Strongly correlated electron systems are treasure houses of novel physical phenomena such as high-temperature superconductivity, but conventional (mean-field-level) theoretical analyses have been prevented by strong Coulomb interaction. To attack these issues, we has been actively developing new theoretical methods such as large-scale Feynman diagram calculations, and has elucidated novel physical phenomena in many strongly correlated electron systems. Recently, the renormalization group theory, which was developed by K. G. Wilson (Nobel Prize in 1982), has applied the study of strongly correlated electron systems.
The strongly correlated electron systems are also treasure houses of quantum phase transition phenomena. Recently, the "electron liquid crystal order" having a liquid crystal structure has been discovered one after another, and has become one of the central issues. Based on the latest electron correlation theory, we discovered that rich orbital orders observed in iron-based superconductors, and exotic bond orders (= charge order with d-wave symmetry) realized in cuprate superconductors. Recent research has shown that liquid crystal order appears universally in many unconventional superconductors, and their quantum fluctuations mediate exotic unconventional superconductivity. Once the mechanism of electronic liquid crystals is solved, we can naturally understand the mechanism of superconductivity.
Please see "Quantum Liquid Crystal (QLC)" in cuprate superconductors,"Grand kadowaki-Woods relation" in heavy fermion systems
The band structure (Dirac cone) of the
Dirac electron in α-(BEDT-TTF) 2I3.
Massless particles in vacuum travel at speed of light with kinetic energy proportional to momentum. In condensed matter, there are exotic conduction electrons which behave like massless particles, while those speed are much slower than light. Such massless (or nearly massless) particles have been discovered in graphene (Nobel Prize 2010), organic conductors, bismuth compounds, etc., and are called "Dirac electron systems". We have focused on electron correlation effects in the Dirac electron systems, because Coulomb repulsion between the Dirac electrons reaches long range in contrast to conventional metals. We have found anomalous spin fluctuation (giant Koringa ratio) and precursor phenomena of “excitonic pairing" (electron-hole pairing like the cooper pair). Those results have been confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of Kanoda Lab. (Tokyo Tech.). In addition, an "edge state" due to topological property appears on surface of the Dirac electron system. We have found that the insulator phase of α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 is metallized by the edge states on the domain walls. Dirac electrons also exist in the d- and f- electron systems. We have predicted an interesting spin transport phenomenon originating from Dirac electrons in iron-based superconducting KFe2As2.
Please see Dirac Electron System in Solid State Physics
Mechanism of topological Hall effect in Nd2Mo2O7.
Hall effect originates from the Berry phase of
electrons induced by the magnetic structure.
There are a lot of novel physics in transport phenomena, in which electrons carry current and heat current. For example, “Hall effect”, where an electromotive force is generated in the direction perpendicular to the electric and magnetic fields, shows significant temperature dependence and strongly enlarged in high-Tc superconductors. The relation between the transport phenomena and mechanism of superconductivity is interesting and important. We have developed a theory of transport phenomena taking account of higher-order many-body effects (vertex correction) and found that the Hall effect is significantly enhanced by a quantum mechanics process due to the spin- and orbital-fluctuations. This study proposes that the quantum fluctuations, which enhance the Hall effect, mediate high-Tc superconductivity. As transport phenomena similar to the Hall effect, there are “anomalous Hall effect” in ferro-magnetic metals and “spin Hall effect”, where spin current appears in paramagnetic metals. We theoretically predicted spin Hall effect in 4d, 5d transition metal, which was confirmed by precise measurement in Otani Lab (ISSP). We also explained “topological anomalous Hall effect” by focusing on Berry phase induced by non-collinear spin structure in pyrochlore Nd2Mo2O7 (θ~2°) and antiferro-magnet Mn3Sn(θ=90°). “Valley Hall effect”, where the valley of electron dispersion is used as degree of freedom instead of spin, is observed in bilayer graphene by Tarucha Lab (Tokyo Univ.). We predict the valley Hall effect induced by the Berry phase due to the charge order of Dirac electrons in organic conductors.
Please see Novel quantum critical effects in transport phenomena