Paramagnetic Singularities of the Orbital Magnetism in Graphene with a Moiré Potential.

The recent detection of the singular diamagnetism of Dirac electrons in a single graphene layer paved a new way of probing 2D quantum materials through the measurement of equilibrium orbital currents which cannot be accessed in usual transport experiments. Among the theoretical predictions is an intriguing orbital paramagnetism at saddle points of the dispersion relation. Here we present magnetization measurements in graphene monolayers aligned on hexagonal boron nitride crystals. Besides the sharp diamagnetic McClure response at the Dirac point, we detect extra diamagnetic singularities at the satellite Dirac points of the moiré lattice. Surrounding these diamagnetic satellite peaks, we also observe paramagnetic peaks located at the chemical potential of the saddle points of the graphene moiré band structure and relate them to the presence of van Hove logarithmic singularities in the density of states. These findings reveal the long ago predicted anomalous paramagnetic orbital response in 2D systems when the Fermi energy is tuned to the vicinity of saddle points.

Detection of graphene's divergent orbital diamagnetism at the Dirac point.

The electronic properties of graphene have been intensively investigated over the past decade. However, the singular orbital magnetism of undoped graphene, a fundamental signature of the characteristic Berry phase of graphene's electronic wave functions, has been challenging to measure in a single flake. Using a highly sensitive giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor, we have measured the gate voltage­dependent magnetization of a single graphene monolayer encapsulated between boron nitride crystals. The signal exhibits a diamagnetic peak at the Dirac point whose magnetic field and temperature dependences agree with long-standing theoretical predictions. Our measurements offer a means to monitor Berry phase singularities and explore correlated states generated by the combined effects of Coulomb interactions, strain, or moiré potentials.

Collapse of the Josephson Emission in a Carbon Nanotube Junction in the Kondo Regime.

We probe the high frequency emission of a carbon nanotube based Josephson junction and compare it to its dc Josephson current. The ac emission is probed by coupling the carbon nanotube to an on-chip detector (a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction), via a coplanar waveguide resonator. The measurement of the photoassisted current of the detector gives direct access to the signal emitted by the carbon nanotube. We focus on the gate regions that exhibit Kondo features in the normal state and demonstrate that when the dc supercurrent is enhanced by the Kondo effect, the ac Josephson effect is strongly reduced. This result is compared to numerical renormalization group theory and is attributed to a transition between the singlet ground state and the doublet excited state which is enabled only when the junction is driven out-of-equilibrium by a voltage bias.

Spin-Orbit-Enhanced Robustness of Supercurrent in Graphene/WS_{2} Josephson Junctions.

We demonstrate the enhanced robustness of the supercurrent through graphene-based Josephson junctions in which strong spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) are induced. We compare the persistence of a supercurrent at high out-of-plane magnetic fields between Josephson junctions with graphene on hexagonal boron-nitride and graphene on WS_{2}, where strong SOIs are induced via the proximity effect. We find that in the shortest junctions both systems display signatures of induced superconductivity, characterized by a suppressed differential resistance at a low current, in magnetic fields up to 1 T. In longer junctions, however, only graphene on WS_{2} exhibits induced superconductivity features in such high magnetic fields, and they even persist up to 7 T. We argue that these robust superconducting signatures arise from quasiballistic edge states stabilized by the strong SOIs induced in graphene by WS_{2}.

Coupling between Rydberg States and Landau Levels of Electrons Trapped on Liquid Helium.

We investigate the coupling between Rydberg states of electrons trapped on a liquid helium surface and Landau levels induced by a perpendicular magnetic field. We show that this realizes a prototype quantum system equivalent to an atom in a cavity, where their coupling strength can be tuned by a parallel magnetic field. We determine experimentally the renormalization of the atomic transition energies induced by the coupling to the cavity, which can be seen as an analog of the Lamb shift. When the coupling is sufficiently strong, the transition between the ground and first excited Rydberg states splits into two resonances corresponding to dressed states with vacuum and one photon in the cavity. Our results are in quantitative agreement with the energy shifts predicted by the effective atom in a cavity model where all parameters are known with high accuracy.

Microwave Signature of Topological Andreev level Crossings in a Bismuth-based Josephson Junction.

Demonstrating the topological protection of Andreev states in Josephson junctions is an experimental challenge. In particular the telltale 4π periodicity expected for the current phase relation has remained elusive, because of fast parity breaking processes. It was predicted that low temperature ac susceptibility measurements could reveal the topological protection of quantum spin Hall edge states by probing their low energy Andreev spectrum at finite frequency. We have performed such a microwave probing of a phase-biased Josephson junction built around a bismuth nanowire, a predicted second order topological insulator, and which was previously shown to host one-dimensional ballistic edge states. We find absorption peaks at the Andreev level crossings, whose temperature and frequency dependencies point to protected topological crossings with an accuracy limited by the electronic temperature of our experiment.

Strong Anisotropic Spin-Orbit Interaction Induced in Graphene by Monolayer WS_{2}.

We demonstrate strong anisotropic spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in graphene induced by monolayer WS_{2}. Direct comparison between graphene-monolayer WS_{2} and graphene-bulk WS_{2} systems in magnetotransport measurements reveals that monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide can induce much stronger SOI than bulk. Detailed theoretical analysis of the weak antilocalization curves gives an estimated spin-orbit energy (E_{so}) higher than 10 meV. The symmetry of the induced SOI is also discussed, and the dominant z→-z symmetric SOI can only explain the experimental results. Spin relaxation by the Elliot-Yafet mechanism and anomalous resistance increase with temperature close to the Dirac point indicates Kane-Mele SOI induced in graphene.

Room temperature magneto-optic effect in silicon light-emitting diodes.

In weakly spin-orbit coupled materials, the spin-selective nature of recombination can give rise to large magnetic-field effects, e.g. on the electro-luminescence of molecular semiconductors. Although silicon has weak spin-orbit coupling, observing spin-dependent recombination through magneto-electroluminescence is challenging: silicon's indirect band-gap causes an inefficient emission and it is difficult to separate spin-dependent phenomena from classical magneto-resistance effects. Here we overcome these challenges and measure magneto-electroluminescence in silicon light-emitting diodes fabricated via gas immersion laser doping. These devices allow us to achieve efficient emission while retaining a well-defined geometry, thus suppressing classical magnetoresistance effects to a few percent. We find that electroluminescence can be enhanced by up to 300% near room temperature in a seven Tesla magnetic field, showing that the control of the spin degree of freedom can have a strong impact on the efficiency of silicon LEDs.

Dissipation and supercurrent fluctuations in a diffusive normal-metal-superconductor ring.

A mesoscopic hybrid normal-metal-superconductor ring is characterized by a dense Andreev spectrum with a flux dependent minigap. To probe the dynamics of such a ring, we measure its linear response to a high frequency flux, in a wide frequency range, with a multimode superconducting resonator. We find that the current response contains, besides the well-known dissipationless Josephson contribution, a large dissipative component. At high frequency compared to the minigap and low temperature, we find that the dissipation is due to transitions across the minigap. In contrast, at lower frequency there is a range of temperature for which dissipation is caused predominantly by the relaxation of the Andreev states' population. This dissipative response, related via the fluctuation dissipation theorem to a nonintuitive zero frequency thermal noise of supercurrent, is characterized by a phase dependence dominated by its second harmonic, as predicted long ago but never observed thus far.

Measurement of quantum noise in a carbon nanotube quantum dot in the Kondo regime.

The current emission noise of a carbon nanotube quantum dot in the Kondo regime is measured at frequencies ν of the order or higher than the frequency associated with the Kondo effect k(B)T (K)/h, with TK the Kondo temperature. The carbon nanotube is coupled via an on-chip resonant circuit to a quantum noise detector, a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction. We find for hν ≈ k(B)T(K) a Kondo effect related singularity at a voltage bias eV ≈ hν, and a strong reduction of this singularity for hν ≈ 3k(B)T(K), in good agreement with theory. Our experiment constitutes a new original tool for the investigation of the nonequilibrium dynamics of many-body phenomena in nanoscale devices.

Probing the dynamics of Andreev states in a coherent normal/superconducting ring.

The supercurrent that establishes between two superconductors connected through a normal N mesoscopic link is carried by quasiparticule states localized within the link, the "Andreev bound states (ABS)". Whereas the dc properties of this supercurrent in SNS junctions are now well understood, its dynamical properties are still an unresolved issue. In this letter we probe this dynamics by inductively coupling an NS ring to a multimode superconducting resonator, thereby implementing both a phase bias and current detection at high frequency. Whereas at very low temperatures we essentially measure the phase derivative of the supercurrent, at higher temperature we find a surprisingly strong frequency dependence in the current response of the ring: the ABS do not follow adiabatically the phase modulation. This experiment also illustrates a new tool to probe the fundamental time scales of phase coherent systems that are decoupled from macroscopic normal contacts and thermal baths.

Conductance fluctuations and field asymmetry of rectification in graphene.

We investigate conductance fluctuations as a function of carrier density n and magnetic field in diffusive mesoscopic samples made from monolayer and bilayer graphene. We show that the fluctuations' correlation energy and field, which are functions of the diffusion coefficient, have fundamentally different variations with n, illustrating the contrast between massive and massless carriers. The field dependent fluctuations are nearly independent of n, but the n-dependent fluctuations are not universal and are largest at the charge neutrality point. We also measure the second-order conductance fluctuations (mesoscopic rectification). Its field asymmetry, due to electron-electron interaction, decays with conductance, as predicted for diffusive systems.

Transport and elastic scattering times as probes of the nature of impurity scattering in single-layer and bilayer graphene.

Transport and elastic scattering times, tau{tr} and tau{e}, are experimentally determined from the carrier density dependence of the magnetoconductance of monolayer and bilayer graphene. Both times and their dependences on carrier density are found to be very different in the monolayer and the bilayer. However, their ratio tau{tr}/tau{e} is found to be close to 1.8 in the two systems and nearly independent of the carrier density. These measurements give insight on the nature (neutral or charged) and range of the scatterers. Comparison with theoretical predictions suggests that the main scattering mechanism in our samples is due to strong (resonant) scatterers of a range shorter than the Fermi wavelength, likely candidates being vacancies, voids, adatoms or short-range ripples.

Emission and absorption quantum noise measurement with an on-chip resonant circuit.

Using a quantum detector, a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction, we probe separately the emission and absorption noise in the quantum regime of a superconducting resonant circuit at equilibrium. At low temperature the resonant circuit exhibits only absorption noise related to zero point fluctuations, whereas at higher temperature emission noise is also present. By coupling a Josephson junction, biased above the superconducting gap, to the same resonant circuit, we directly measure the noise power of quasiparticles tunneling through the junction at two resonance frequencies. It exhibits a strong frequency dependence, consistent with theoretical predictions.

Hall detection of time-reversal symmetry breaking under AC electric driving.

In a four terminal sample, microscopic time reversibility leads to symmetry relations between resistance measurements where the role of current and voltage leads are exchanged. These reciprocity relations are a manifestation of general Onsager-Casimir symmetries in equilibrium systems. We investigate experimentally the validity of time-reversal symmetry in a GaAs/Ga_{1-x}Al_{x}As Hall bar irradiated by an external ac field, at a zero magnetic field. For inhomogeneous ac fields, we find strong deviations from reciprocity relations and show that their origin can be understood from the billiard model of a Hall junction. Under homogeneous irradiation, the symmetry is more robust, indicating that time-reversal symmetry is preserved.

Geometrical dependence of decoherence by electronic interactions in a GaAs/GaAlAs square network.

We investigate weak localization in metallic networks etched in a two-dimensional electron gas between 25 and 750 mK when electron-electron (e-e) interaction is the dominant phase breaking mechanism. We show that, at the highest temperatures, the contributions arising from trajectories that wind around the rings and trajectories that do not are governed by two different length scales. This is achieved by analyzing separately the envelope and the oscillating part of the magnetoconductance. For T > or approximately 0.3 K we find L phi env proportional T(-1/3) for the envelope and L phi osc proportional, T(-1/2) for the oscillations, in agreement with the prediction for a single ring [T. Ludwig and A. D. Mirlin, Phys. Rev. B 69, 193306 (2004); 10.1103/PhysRevB.69.193306C. Texier and G. Montambaux, Phys. Rev. B 72, 115327 (2005); 10.1103/PhysRevB.72.115327C. Texier, Phys. Rev. B76, 153312 (2007)10.1103/PhysRevB.76.153312]. This is the first experimental confirmation of the geometry dependence of decoherence due to e-e interaction.

ac Josephson effect and resonant Cooper pair tunneling emission of a single Cooper pair transistor.

We measure the high-frequency emission of a single Cooper pair transistor (SCPT) in the regime where transport is only due to tunneling of Cooper pairs. This is achieved by coupling on chip the SCPT to a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction and by measuring the photon assisted tunneling current of quasiparticles across the junction. This technique allows a direct detection of the ac Josephson effect of the SCPT and provides evidence of Landau-Zener transitions for proper gate voltage. The emission in the regime of resonant Cooper pair tunneling is also investigated. It is interpreted in terms of transitions between charge states coupled by the Josephson effect.

Very high frequency spectroscopy and tuning of a single-cooper-pair transistor with an on-chip generator.

A single-Cooper-pair transistor (SCPT) is coupled capacitively to a voltage biased Josephson junction, used as a high-frequency generator. Thanks to the high energy of photons generated by the Josephson junction, transitions between energy levels, not limited to the first two levels, were induced and the effect of this irradiation on the dc Josephson current of the SCPT was measured. The phase and gate bias dependence of energy levels of the SCPT at high energy is probed. Because the energies of photons can be higher than the superconducting gap we can induce not only transfer of Cooper pairs but also transfer of quasiparticles through the island of the SCPT, thus controlling the poisoning of the SCPT. This can both decrease and increase the average Josephson energy of the SCPT: its supercurrent is then controlled by high-frequency irradiation.

Emission and absorption asymmetry in the quantum noise of a Josephson junction.

We measure current fluctuations of mesoscopic devices in the quantum regime, when the frequency is of the order of or higher than the applied voltage or temperature. Detection is designed to probe separately the absorption and emission contributions of current fluctuations, i.e. the positive and negative frequencies of the Fourier transformed nonsymmetrized noise correlator. It relies on measuring the quasiparticles photon assisted tunneling current across a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction (the detector junction) caused by the excess current fluctuations generated by quasiparticles tunneling across a Josephson junction (the source junction). We demonstrate unambiguously that the negative and positive frequency parts of the nonsymmetrized noise correlator are separately detected and that the excess current fluctuations of a voltage biased Josephson junction present a strong asymmetry between emission and absorption.

Intrinsic low temperature paramagnetism in B-DNA.

We present an experimental study of magnetization in lambda-DNA in conjunction with structural measurements. The results show the surprising interplay between the molecular structures and their magnetic property. In the B-DNA state, lambda-DNA exhibits paramagnetic behavior below 20 K that is nonlinear in an applied magnetic field whereas, in the A-DNA state, it remains diamagnetic down to 2 K. We propose orbital paramagnetism as the origin of the observed phenomena and discuss its relation to the existence of long range coherent transport in B-DNA at low temperature.