Phonon dispersion and lifetimes in MgB2

We measure phonon dispersion and linewidth in a single crystal of MgB_2 along the Gamma-A, Gamma-M and A-L directions using inelastic X-Ray scattering. We use Density Functional Theory to compute the effect of both electron-phonon coupling and anharmonicity on the linewidth, obtaining excellent agreement with experiment. Anomalous broadening of the E_2g phonon mode is found all along Gamma-A. The dominant contribution to the linewidth is always the electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Multiband effects on beta-FeSe single crystals

We present the upper critical fields Hc2(T) and Hall effect in beta-FeSe single crystals. The Hc2(T) increases as the temperature is lowered for field applied parallel and perpendicular to (101), the natural growth facet of the crystal. The Hc2(T) for both field directions and the anisotropy at low temperature increase under pressure. Hole carriers are dominant at high magnetic fields. However, the contribution of electron-type carriers is significant at low fields and low temperature. Our results show that multiband effects dominate Hc2(T) and electronic transport in the normal state

Two-gap superconductivity in MgB2_{2}: clean or dirty?

A large number of experimental facts and theoretical arguments favor a two-gap model for superconductivity in MgB$_{2}$. However, this model predicts strong suppression of the critical temperature by interband impurity scattering and, presumably, a strong correlation between the critical temperature and the residual resistivity. No such correlation has been observed. We argue that this fact can be understood if the band disparity of the electronic structure is taken into account, not only in the superconducting state, but also in normal transport

A Comprehensive Survey of Brane Tilings

An infinite class of $4d$ $\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories can be engineered on the worldvolume of D3-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds. This kind of setup has multiple applications, ranging from the gauge/gravity correspondence to local model building in string phenomenology. Brane tilings fully encode the gauge theories on the D3-branes and have substantially simplified their connection to the probed geometries. The purpose of this paper is to push the boundaries of computation and to produce as comprehensive a database of brane tilings as possible. We develop efficient implementations of brane tiling tools particularly suited for this search. We present the first complete classification of toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds with toric diagrams up to area 8 and the corresponding brane tilings. This classification is of interest to both physicists and mathematicians alike.Comment: 39 pages. Link to Mathematica modules provide

The form factor of the pion in "point-form" of relativistic dynamics revisited

The electromagnetic form factor of the pion is calculated in the "point-form" of relativistic quantum mechanics using simple, phenomenological wave functions. It is found that the squared charge radius of the pion is predicted one order of magnitude larger than the experimental value and the asymptotic behavior expected from QCD cannot be reproduced. The origin of these discrepancies is analyzed. The present results confirm previous ones obtained from a theoretical model and call for major improvements in the implementation of the "point-form" approach.Comment: 8 pages, 3 eps figure

Electromagnetic form factors of pion and rho in the three forms of relativistic kinematics

The electromagnetic form factors of the $\pi$ and the $\rho$ are obtained using the three forms of relativistic kinematics, instant form, point form and (light) front form. Simple representations of the mass operator together with single quark currents are employed with all the forms. The Poincar\'e covariant current operators are generated by the dynamics from single-quark currents that are covariant under the kinematic subgroup. Front and instant forms allow to reproduce the available data for the pion form factor. On the other hand point form is not able to reproduce qualitatively the experimental data with reasonable values for the wave function parameters. For the $\rho$ electromagnetic form factors, instant and front forms provide a consistent picture. The obtained results do not depend appreciably on the wave function used.Comment: 10 pages, color figures. Revised references and discussion. Accepted in Phys. Letts.

Extreme Electron-Phonon Coupling in Boron-based Layered Superconductors

The phonon-mode decomposition of the electron-phonon coupling in the MgB2-like system Li_{1-x}BC is explored using first principles calculations. It is found that the high temperature superconductivity of such systems results from extremely strong coupling to only ~2% of the phonon modes. Novel characteristics of E_2g branches include (1) ``mode lambda'' values of 25 and greater compared to a mean of $\sim 0.4$ for other modes, (2) a precipitous Kohn anomaly, and (3) E_2g phonon linewidths within a factor of ~2 of the frequency itself, indicating impending breakdown of linear electron-phonon theory. This behavior in borne out by recent inelastic x-ray scattering studies of MgB2 by Shukla et al.Comment: 4 two-column pages, 4 figures. Equations simplified. Figure 4 changed. Comparison with new data include

Finite-Band-width Effects on the Transition Temperature and NMR Relaxation Rate of Impure Superconductors

We study the thermodynamic properties of impure superconductors by explicitly taking into consideration the finiteness of electronic bandwidths within the phonon-mediated Eliashberg formalism. For a finite electronic bandwidth, the superconducting transition temperature, $T_c$, is suppressed by nonmagnetic impurity scatterings. This is a consequence of a reduction in the effective electron-phonon coupling, $\lambda_{eff}$. The reduced $\lambda_{eff}$ is reflected in the observation that the coherence peak in $1/(T_1 T)$, where $T_1$ is the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time and $T$ is the temperature, is enhanced by impurity scatterings for a finite bandwidth. Calculations are presented for $T_c$ and $1/(T_1 T)$ as bandwidths and impurity scattering rates are varied. Implications for doped C$_{60}$ superconductors are discussed in connection with $T_c$ and $1/T_1$ measurements.Comment: 10 pages. REVTeX. 5 postscript figures. Scheduled to be published in Physical Review B, March 1. The previous submission is revised and two figures are adde

Coulomb suppression of NMR coherence peak in fullerene superconductors

The suppressed NMR coherence peak in the fullerene superconductors is explained in terms of the dampings in the superconducting state induced by the Coulomb interaction between conduction electrons. The Coulomb interaction, modelled in terms of the onsite Hubbard repulsion, is incorporated into the Eliashberg theory of superconductivity with its frequency dependence considered self-consistently at all temperatures. The vertex correction is also included via the method of Nambu. The frequency dependent Coulomb interaction induces the substantial dampings in the superconducting state and, consequently, suppresses the anticipated NMR coherence peak of fullerene superconductors as found experimentally.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, and 2 figures. Revised and final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (1998

The possible explanation of electric-field-doped C60 phenomenology in the framework of Eliashberg theory

In a recent paper (J.H. Schon, Ch. Kloc, R.C. Haddon and B. Batlogg, Nature 408 (2000) 549) a large increase in the superconducting critical temperature was observed in C60 doped with holes by application of a high electric field. We demonstrate that the measured Tc versus doping curves can be explained by solving the (four) s-wave Eliashberg equations in the case of a finite, non-half-filled energy band. In order to reproduce the experimental data, we assume a Coulomb pseudopotential depending on the filling in a very simple and plausible way. Reasonable values of the physical parameters involved are obtained. The application of the same approach to new experimental data (J.H. Schon, Ch. Kloc and B. Batlogg, Science 293 (2001) 2432) on electric field-doped, lattice-expanded C60 single crystals (Tc=117 K in the hole-doped case) gives equally good results and sets a theoretical limit to the linear increase of Tc at the increase of the lattice spacing.Comment: latex2e, 6 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, revised versio