2,057 research outputs found
Isotope effects in high-Tc cuprate superconductors: Ultimate proof for bipolaron theory of superconductivity
Developing a theory of high-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides is
one of the outstanding problems in physics. Twenty-five years after its
discovery, no consensus on the microscopic theory has been reached despite
tremendous theoretical and experimental efforts. Attempts to understand this
problem are hindered by the subtle interplay among a few mechanisms and the
presence of several nearly degenerate and competing phases in these systems.
Here we provide unified parameter-free explanation of the observed
oxygen-isotope effects on the critical temperature, the magnetic-field
penetration depth, and on the normal-state pseudogap for underdoped cuprate
superconductors within the framework of the bipolaron theory compatible with
the strong Coulomb and Froehlich interactions, and with many other independent
observations in these highly polarizable doped insulators. Remarkably, we also
quantitatively explain measured critical temperatures and magnitudes of the
magnetic-field penetration depth. The present work thus represents an ultimate
proof of the bipolaron theory of high-temperature superconductivity, which
takes into account essential Coulomb and electron-phonon interactions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
High Temperature Superconductivity: the explanation
Soon after the discovery of the first high temperature superconductor by
Georg Bednorz and Alex Mueller in 1986 the late Sir Nevill Mott answering his
own question "Is there an explanation?" [Nature v 327 (1987) 185] expressed a
view that the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of small bipolarons, predicted
by us in 1981, could be the one. Several authors then contemplated BEC of real
space tightly bound pairs, but with a purely electronic mechanism of pairing
rather than with the electron-phonon interaction (EPI). However, a number of
other researchers criticized the bipolaron (or any real-space pairing) scenario
as incompatible with some angle-resolved photoemission spectra (ARPES), with
experimentally determined effective masses of carriers and unconventional
symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in cuprates. Since then the
controversial issue of whether the electron-phonon interaction (EPI) is crucial
for high-temperature superconductivity or weak and inessential has been one of
the most challenging problems of contemporary condensed matter physics. Here I
outline some developments in the bipolaron theory suggesting that the true
origin of high-temperature superconductivity is found in a proper combination
of strong electron-electron correlations with a significant finite-range
(Froehlich) EPI, and that the theory is fully compatible with the key
experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, invited comment to Physica Script
Parameter-free expression for superconducting Tc in cuprates
A parameter-free expression for the superconducting critical temperature of
layered cuprates is derived which allows us to express Tc in terms of
experimentally measured parameters. It yields Tc values observed in about 30
lanthanum, yttrium and mercury-based samples for different levels of doping.
This remarkable agreement with the experiment as well as the unusual critical
behaviour and the normal-state gap indicate that many cuprates are close to the
Bose-Einstein condensation regime.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Will be published in Physical Review
The connected components of the space of Alexandrov surfaces
Denote by the set of all compact Alexandrov surfaces
with curvature bounded below by without boundary, endowed with the
topology induced by the Gromov-Hausdorff metric. We determine the connected
components of and of its closure
Analytical solutions to the boundary integral equation: A case of angled dendrites and paraboloids
The boundary integral equation is solved analytically in the case of two‐ and three‐dimensional growth of angled dendrites and arbitrary parabolic/paraboloidal solid/liquid interfaces. The undercooling of a binary melt and the solute concentration at the phase transition boundary are found. The theory under consideration has a potential impact in describing more complex growth shapes and interfaces
Thermo-solutal and kinetic modes of stable dendritic growth with different symmetries of crystalline anisotropy in the presence of convection
Motivated by important applications in materials science and geophysics, we consider the steady-state growth of anisotropic needle-like dendrites in undercooled binary mixtures with a forced convective flow. We analyse the stable mode of dendritic evolution in the case of small anisotropies of growth kinetics and surface energy for arbitrary Péclet numbers and n-fold symmetry of dendritic crystals. On the basis of solvability and stability theories, we formulate a selection criterion giving a stable combination between dendrite tip diameter and tip velocity. A set of nonlinear equations consisting of the solvability criterion and undercooling balance is solved analytically for the tip velocity V and tip diameter ? of dendrites with n-fold symmetry in the absence of convective flow. The case of convective heat and mass transfer mechanisms in a binary mixture occurring as a result of intensive flows in the liquid phase is detailed. A selection criterion that describes such solidification conditions is derived. The theory under consideration comprises previously considered theoretical approaches and results as limiting cases. This article is part of the theme issue ‘From atomistic interfaces to dendritic patterns’. © 2018 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 16-11-1009550WM1541Data accessibility. This article has no additional data. Authors’ contributions. All authors contributed equally to the present review paper. Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant number 16-11-10095) and the German Space Center Space Management (under contract number 50WM1541)
Bose-Einstein condensation of strongly correlated electrons and phonons in cuprate superconductors
The long-range Froehlich electron-phonon interaction has been identified as
the most essential for pairing in high-temperature superconductors owing to
poor screening, as is now confirmed by optical, isotope substitution, recent
photoemission and some other measurements. I argue that low energy physics in
cuprate superconductors is that of superlight small bipolarons, which are
real-space hole pairs dressed by phonons in doped charge-transfer Mott
insulators. They are itinerant quasiparticles existing in the Bloch states at
low temperatures as also confirmed by continuous-time quantum Monte-Carlo
algorithm (CTQMC) fully taking into account realistic Coulomb and long-range
Froehlich interactions. Here I suggest that a parameter-free evaluation of Tc,
unusual upper critical fields, the normal state Nernst effect, diamagnetism,
the Hall-Lorenz numbers and giant proximity effects strongly support the
three-dimensional (3D) Bose-Einstein condensation of mobile small bipolarons
with zero off-diagonal order parameter above the resistive critical temperature
Tc at variance with phase fluctuation scenarios of cuprates.Comment: 35 pages, 10 figures, to appear in the special volume of Journal of
Physics: Condensed Matte
Degenerate Plebanski Sector and Spin Foam Quantization
We show that the degenerate sector of Spin(4) Plebanski formulation of
four-dimensional gravity is exactly solvable and describes covariantly embedded
SU(2) BF theory. This fact ensures that its spin foam quantization is given by
the SU(2) Crane-Yetter model and allows to test various approaches of imposing
the simplicity constraints. Our analysis strongly suggests that restricting
representations and intertwiners in the state sum for Spin(4) BF theory is not
sufficient to get the correct vertex amplitude. Instead, for a general theory
of Plebanski type, we propose a quantization procedure which is by construction
equivalent to the canonical path integral quantization and, being applied to
our model, reproduces the SU(2) Crane-Yetter state sum. A characteristic
feature of this procedure is the use of secondary second class constraints on
an equal footing with the primary simplicity constraints, which leads to a new
formula for the vertex amplitude.Comment: 34 pages; changes in the abstract and introduction, a few references
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Comment on `Dynamical properties of small polarons'
We show that the conclusion on the breakdown of the standard small polaron
theory made recently by E.V. deMello and J. Ranninger (Phys. Rev. B 55, 14872
(1997)) is a result of an incorrect interpretation of the electronic and
vibronic energy levels of the two-site Holstein model. The small polaron
theory, when properly applied, agrees well with the numerical results of these
authors. Also we show that their attempt to connect the properties of the
calculated correlation functions with the features of the intersite electron
hopping is unsuccessful.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Formation of the microstructure of rapidly solidified alloys for the system Sn-Bi
The results of microstructural study of rapidly solidified Sn-Bi alloys obtained at the melt cooling rate of 105 K/s with the compositions of Sn-X wt. % Bi (X = 13, 20, 30, 43) are presented. Microstructural studies are carried out using scanning electron microscopy; a grain structure is analyzed by an electron backscatter diffraction technique. It is found out that the crystallization of all investigated alloys proceeds by a chemically partionless mechanism which results in the formation of a supersaturated solid solution of bismuth in a tin lattice with the original composition. Observations of the solid solution decomposition process at room temperature shows that decomposition proceeds by both continuous and discontinuous mechanisms in alloys with bismuth concentration not higher than the limit of solubility of bismuth in a tin (20 wt. %). Needle-like coherent bismuth inclusions are formed in the volume of a tin grain as a result of continuous decomposition. Discontinuous decomposition rate increases with the increasing concentration of bismuth in the alloy. In hipoeutectic alloys with bismuth concentration higher than the solubility limit, decomposition occurs by discontinuous mechanism. Complete decomposition proceeds by several stages and results in formation of areas with different degrees of microstructure fineness
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