Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals
Abstract The appearance of inconsistencies between classically conserved quantities and their quantum counterparts indicates the presence of an anomaly. While natural in high-energy physics, the appearance of anomalies in condensed matter is a subject of intense research reliant upon the complex ban...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Physics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02184-0 |
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| author | Matthew J. Gilbert |
| author_facet | Matthew J. Gilbert |
| author_sort | Matthew J. Gilbert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The appearance of inconsistencies between classically conserved quantities and their quantum counterparts indicates the presence of an anomaly. While natural in high-energy physics, the appearance of anomalies in condensed matter is a subject of intense research reliant upon the complex bandstructures of topological metals. In this work, we present theoretical evidence supporting the presence of a conformal anomaly in conventional trivial spin-orbit coupled Josephson junctions. The conformal anomaly is underpinned by an emergent Weyl metal phase embedded in a non-trivial curved spacetime arising from the interplay between conventional quasiparticle bands and spatially-dependent superconducting order. We reveal that the conformal anomaly is unambiguously manifest as an enhanced Josephson current with a corresponding halving of the Josephson frequency at band critical points within the time-dependent non-linear response theory of open quantum systems. Furthermore, we illustrate that the anomalous response is broadly tunable using either electric field gating or applied magnetic fields. The presence of a conformal anomaly in a system as simple as a trivial Josephson junction portends a new pathway to study the merger of high-energy and condensed matter physics and, crucially, may force a reexamination of the physics hidden within combinations of individually ordinary materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9810acf76bf5445aaac56b45ada69cdf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3650 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-9810acf76bf5445aaac56b45ada69cdf2025-08-20T04:01:34ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Physics2399-36502025-07-018111010.1038/s42005-025-02184-0Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metalsMatthew J. Gilbert0Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of IllinoisAbstract The appearance of inconsistencies between classically conserved quantities and their quantum counterparts indicates the presence of an anomaly. While natural in high-energy physics, the appearance of anomalies in condensed matter is a subject of intense research reliant upon the complex bandstructures of topological metals. In this work, we present theoretical evidence supporting the presence of a conformal anomaly in conventional trivial spin-orbit coupled Josephson junctions. The conformal anomaly is underpinned by an emergent Weyl metal phase embedded in a non-trivial curved spacetime arising from the interplay between conventional quasiparticle bands and spatially-dependent superconducting order. We reveal that the conformal anomaly is unambiguously manifest as an enhanced Josephson current with a corresponding halving of the Josephson frequency at band critical points within the time-dependent non-linear response theory of open quantum systems. Furthermore, we illustrate that the anomalous response is broadly tunable using either electric field gating or applied magnetic fields. The presence of a conformal anomaly in a system as simple as a trivial Josephson junction portends a new pathway to study the merger of high-energy and condensed matter physics and, crucially, may force a reexamination of the physics hidden within combinations of individually ordinary materials.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02184-0 |
| spellingShingle | Matthew J. Gilbert Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals Communications Physics |
| title | Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| title_full | Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| title_short | Dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| title_sort | dynamic manifestations of a conformal anomaly in engineered topological metals |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02184-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewjgilbert dynamicmanifestationsofaconformalanomalyinengineeredtopologicalmetals |