Observation of the crossover between metallic and insulating regimes of the spin Hall effect

The physics of the anomalous and spin Hall effects is one of the most intriguing aspects of condensed matter physics. An important finding from a large collection of experimental and theoretical results is the universal scaling of the anomalous or spin Hall conductivity with the electric conductivity. This scaling has been successfully described by the intrinsic Berry curvature and extrinsic scattering mechanisms for metallic systems, revealing the topological nature of these effects. In contrast, the underlying physics in the opposite limit, the disordered insulating regime, is still unclear. In particular, it remains a major challenge, both experimentally and theoretically, to explore the spin Hall effect in the insulating regime. Here, we report the observation of the crossover between the metallic and insulating regimes of the spin Hall effect. The result demonstrates a direct correspondence between the spin and anomalous Hall effects, which will advance the fundamental understanding of spin transport.

The flow of the Berry curvature vector field

The concept of Berry phase and Berry curvature has become ubiquitous in solid state physics as it relates to variety of phenomena, such as topological insulators, polarization, and various Hall effects. It is well known that large Berry curvatures arise from close proximity of hybridizing bands, however, the vectorial nature of the Berry curvature is not utilized in current research. On bulk bcc Fe, we demonstrate the flow of the Berry curvature vector field which features not only monopoles but also higher dimensional structures with its own topological features. They can provide a novel unique view on the electronic structure in all three dimensions. This knowledge is also used to quantify particular contributions to the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect in a simple analytical form.

Analysis of Stability of a Plasma in Porous Medium

The thermal convection of a plasma in porous medium is investigated in the presence of finite Larmor radius (FLR) and Hall effects. Following linear stability theory and normal mode analysis method, the dispersion relation is obtained. It is found that the presence of a magnetic field (and hence the presence of FLR and Hall effects) introduces oscillatory modes in the system which were, otherwise, non-existent in their absence. When the instability sets in as stationary convection, the FLR may have a stabilizing or destabilizing effect, but a completely stabilizing one for a certain wave-number range. Similarly, the Hall currents may have a stabilizing or destabilizing effect but a completely stabilizing one for the same wave-number range under certain condition, whereas the medium permeability always has a destabilizing effect for stationary convection. Also it is found that the system is stable for 𝑔𝛼𝜅 𝜈𝛽 ≤ 27𝜋 4 4 and under the condition 𝑔𝛼𝜅 𝜈𝛽 > 27𝜋 4 4 , the system becomes unstable.

Quantum hall effects in two-dimensional electron systems: a global approach

Up to almost the last two decades all the experimental results concerning the quantum Hall effect (QHE), i.e. the observation of plateaux at integer or fractional (FQHE) values of the constant h/e2, were related to quantum-wells in semiconductor heterostructures. However, more recently, a renewed interest in revisiting these phenomena has arisen thanks to the observation of entirely similar effects in graphene and topological insulators. In this paper we show an approach encompassing all these QHEs using the same theoretical frame, entailing both Hall effect plateaux and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Moreover, the model also enables the analysis of both phenomena as a function not only of the magnetic field but the gate voltage as well. More specifically, in the light of the approach, the FQHE in any two-dimensional electron system appears to be an effect of the breaking of the degeneration of every Landau level, n, as a result of the electrostatic interaction involved, and being characterized by the set of three integer numbers (n, p, q), where p and q have clear physical meanings too.

Valley and spin accumulation in ballistic and hydrodynamic channels

A theory of the valley and spin Hall effects and resulting accumulation of the valley and spin polarization is developed for ultraclean channels made of two-dimensional semiconductors where the electron mean free path due to the residual disorder or phonons exceeds the channel width. Both ballistic and hydrodynamic regimes of the electron transport are studied. The polarization accumulation is determined by interplay of the anomalous velocity, side-jump and skew scattering effects. In the hydrodynamic regime, where the electron-electron scattering is dominant, the valley and spin current generation and dissipation by the electron-electron collisions are taken into account. The accumulated polarization magnitude and its spatial distribution depend strongly on the transport regime. The polarization is much larger in the hydrodynamic regime as compared to the ballistic one. Significant valley and spin polarization arises in the immediate vicinity of the channel edges due to the side-jump and skew scattering mechanisms.

3D quantum Hall effects and nonlinear Hall effect

The classical and quantum Hall effects are important subjects in condensed matter physics. The emergent 3D quantum Hall effects and nonlinear Hall effect have attracted considerable interest recently, with the former elevating the quantum Hall effect to a higher dimension and the latter extending the Hall effect to higher-order responses. In this perspective, we briefly introduce these two new members of the Hall family and discuss the open questions and future research directions.