On the engineering of higher-order Van Hove singularities in two dimensions.

The properties of correlated electron materials are often intricately linked to Van Hove singularities (VHS) in the vicinity of the Fermi energy. The class of these VHS is of great importance, with higher-order ones-with power-law divergence in the density of states-leaving frequently distinct signatures in physical properties. We use a new theoretical method to detect and analyse higher-order VHS (HOVHS) in two-dimensional materials and apply it to the electronic structure of the surface layer of SrRuO.

Multicritical Fermi Surface Topological Transitions.

A wide variety of complex phases in quantum materials are driven by electron-electron interactions, which are enhanced through density of states peaks. A well-known example occurs at van Hove singularities where the Fermi surface undergoes a topological transition. Here we show that higher order singularities, where multiple disconnected leaves of Fermi surface touch all at once, naturally occur at points of high symmetry in the Brillouin zone.

Effects of Lifshitz Transitions in Ferromagnetic Superconductors: The Case of URhGe.

In ferromagnetic superconductors, like URhGe, superconductivity coexists with magnetism near zero field, but then reappears in a finite field range, where the system also displays mass enhancement in the normal state. We present the theoretical understanding of this nonmonotonic behavior. We explore the multiband nature of URhGe and associate reentrant superconductivity and mass enhancement with the topological transition (Lifshitz) in one of the bands in a finite magnetic field.

Magnetic fluctuations and specific heat in Na(x)CoO2 near a Lifshitz transition.

We analyze the temperature and doping dependence of the specific heat C(T) in Na(x)CoO(2). This material was conjectured to undergo a Lifshitz-type topological transition at x=x(c)=0.62, in which a new electron Fermi pocket emerges at the Γ point, in addition to the existing hole pocket with large k(F).

Non-Landau damping of magnetic excitations in systems with localized and itinerant electrons.

We discuss the form of the damping of magnetic excitations in a metal near a ferromagnetic instability. The paramagnon theory predicts that the damping term should have the form γ(q,Ω)∝Ω/Γ(q), with Γ(q)∝q (the Landau damping). However, the experiments on uranium metallic compounds UGe2 and UCoGe showed that Γ(q) is essentially independent of q.

First-order versus unconventional phase transitions in three-dimensional dimer models.

We study the phase transition between the Coulomb liquid and the columnar crystal in the 3D classical dimer model, which was found to be continuous in the O(3) universality class. In addition to nearest-neighbor interactions which favor parallel dimers, further neighbor interactions are allowed in such a manner that the cubic symmetry of the original system remains intact. We show that the transition in the presence of weak additional, symmetry preserving interactions is first order.

Multiferroicity induced by dislocated spin-density waves.

We uncover a new pathway towards multiferroicity, showing how magnetism can drive ferroelectricity without relying on inversion symmetry breaking of the magnetic ordering. Our free-energy analysis demonstrates that any commensurate spin-density-wave ordering with a phase dislocation, even if it is collinear, gives rise to an electric polarization. Because of the dislocation, the electronic and magnetic inversion centers do not coincide, which turns out to be a sufficient condition for multiferroic coupling.

Correlated fermions on a checkerboard lattice.

A model of strongly correlated spinless fermions on a checkerboard lattice is mapped onto a quantum fully packed loop model. We identify a large number of fluctuationless states specific to the fermionic case. We also show that for a class of fluctuating states the fermionic sign problem can be gauged away.