11,017 research outputs found
Ground states of a frustrated quantum spin chain with long-range interactions
The ground state of a spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with both frustration and
long-range interactions is studied using Lanczos exact diagonalization. The
evolution of the well known dimerization transition of the system with
short-range frustrated interactions (the J1-J2 chain) is investigated in the
presence of additional unfrustrated interactions decaying with distance as
1/r^a. It is shown that the continuous (infinite-order) dimerization transition
develops into a first-order transition between a long-range ordered
antiferromagnetic state and a state with coexisting dimerization and critical
spin correlations at wave-number k=\pi/2. The relevance of the model to real
systems is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, final published versio
Ground state projection of quantum spin systems in the valence bond basis
A Monte Carlo method for quantum spin systems is formulated in the basis of
valence bond (singlet pair) states. The non-orthogonality of this basis allows
for an efficient importance-sampled projection of the ground state out of an
arbitrary state. The method provides access to resonating valence-bond physics,
enables a direct improved estimator for the singlet-triplet gap, and extends
the class of models that can be studied without negative-sign problems. As a
demonstration, the valence bond distribution in the ground state of the 2D
Heisenberg antiferromagnet is calculated. Generalizations of the method to
fermion systems are also discussed.Comment: 4+ pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Master equation approach to computing RVB bond amplitudes
We describe a "master equation" analysis for the bond amplitudes h(r) of an
RVB wavefunction. Starting from any initial guess, h(r) evolves (in a manner
dictated by the spin hamiltonian under consideration) toward a steady-state
distribution representing an approximation to the true ground state. Unknown
transition coefficients in the master equation are treated as variational
parameters. We illustrate the method by applying it to the J1-J2
antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model. Without frustration (J2=0), the amplitudes
are radially symmetric and fall off as 1/r^3 in the bond length. As the
frustration increases, there are precursor signs of columnar or plaquette VBS
order: the bonds preferentially align along the axes of the square lattice and
weight accrues in the nearest-neighbour bond amplitudes. The Marshall sign rule
holds over a large range of couplings, J2/J1 < 0.418. It fails when the r=(2,1)
bond amplitude first goes negative, a point also marked by a cusp in the ground
state energy. A nonrigourous extrapolation of the staggered magnetic moment
(through this point of nonanalyticity) shows it vanishing continuously at a
critical value J2/J1 = 0.447. This may be preempted by a first-order transition
to a state of broken translational symmetry.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Impurity-induced frustration in correlated oxides
Using the example of Zn-doped La2CuO4, we demonstrate that a spinless
impurity doped into a non-frustrated antiferromagnet can induce substantial
frustrating interactions among the spins surrounding it. This counterintuitive
result is the key to resolving discrepancies between experimental data and
earlier theories. Analytic and quantum Monte Carlo studies of the
impurity-induced frustration are in a close accord with each other and
experiments. The mechanism proposed here should be common to other correlated
oxides as well.Comment: 4 pages, updated figures, accepted versio
Photoemission electron microscopy of localized surface plasmons in silver nanostructures at telecommunication wavelengths
We image the field enhancement at Ag nanostructures using femtosecond laser
pulses with a center wavelength of 1.55 micrometer. Imaging is based on
non-linear photoemission observed in a photoemission electron microscope
(PEEM). The images are directly compared to ultra violet PEEM and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of the same structures. Further, we have
carried out atomic scale scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on the same type
of Ag nanostructures and on the Au substrate. Measuring the photoelectron
spectrum from individual Ag particles shows a larger contribution from higher
order photoemission process above the work function threshold than would be
predicted by a fully perturbative model, consistent with recent results using
shorter wavelengths. Investigating a wide selection of both Ag nanoparticles
and nanowires, field enhancement is observed from 30% of the Ag nanoparticles
and from none of the nanowires. No laser-induced damage is observed of the
nanostructures neither during the PEEM experiments nor in subsequent SEM
analysis. By direct comparison of SEM and PEEM images of the same
nanostructures, we can conclude that the field enhancement is independent of
the average nanostructure size and shape. Instead, we propose that the
variations in observed field enhancement could originate from the wedge
interface between the substrate and particles electrically connected to the
substrate
Magnetic ordering in a doped frustrated spin-Peierls system
Based on a model of a quasi-one dimensional spin-Peierls system doped with
non-magnetic impurities, an effective two-dimensional Hamiltonian of randomly
distributed S=1/2 spins interacting via long-range pair-wise interaction is
studied using a stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo method. The
susceptibility shows Curie-like behavior at the lowest temperatures reached
although the staggered magnetisation is found to be finite for . The
doping dependance of the corresponding three-dimensional Neel temperature is
also computed.Comment: Published version, 4 pages, 5 figure
Properties of Resonating-Valence-Bond Spin Liquids and Critical Dimer Models
We use Monte Carlo simulations to study properties of Anderson's
resonating-valence-bond (RVB) spin-liquid state on the square lattice (i.e.,
the equal superposition of all pairing of spins into nearest-neighbor singlet
pairs) and compare with the classical dimer model (CDM). The latter system also
corresponds to the ground state of the Rokhsar-Kivelson quantum dimer model at
its critical point. We find that although spin-spin correlations decay
exponentially in the RVB, four-spin valence-bond-solid (VBS) correlations are
critical, qualitatively like the well-known dimer-dimer correlations of the
CDM, but decaying more slowly (as with , compared with
for the CDM). We also compute the distribution of monomer (defect) pair
separations, which decay by a larger exponent in the RVB than in the CDM. We
further study both models in their different winding number sectors and
evaluate the relative weights of different sectors. Like the CDM, all the
observed RVB behaviors can be understood in the framework of a mapping to a
"height" model characterized by a gradient-squared stiffness constant . Four
independent measurements consistently show a value , with the same kinds of numerical evaluations of give
results in agreement with the rigorously known value . The
background of a nonzero winding number gradient introduces spatial
anisotropies and an increase in the effective K, both of which can be
understood as a consequence of anharmonic terms in the height-model free
energy, which are of relevance to the recently proposed scenario of "Cantor
deconfinement" in extended quantum dimer models. We also study ensembles in
which fourth-neighbor (bipartite) bonds are allowed, at a density controlled by
a tunable fugacity, resulting (as expected) in a smooth reduction of K.Comment: 26 pages, 21 figures. v3: final versio
Variational ground states of 2D antiferromagnets in the valence bond basis
We study a variational wave function for the ground state of the
two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the valence bond basis. The
expansion coefficients are products of amplitudes h(x,y) for valence bonds
connecting spins separated by (x,y) lattice spacings. In contrast to previous
studies, in which a functional form for h(x,y) was assumed, we here optimize
all the amplitudes for lattices with up to 32*32 spins. We use two different
schemes for optimizing the amplitudes; a Newton/conjugate-gradient method and a
stochastic method which requires only the signs of the first derivatives of the
energy. The latter method performs significantly better. The energy for large
systems deviates by only approx. 0.06% from its exact value (calculated using
unbiased quantum Monte Carlo simulations). The spin correlations are also well
reproduced, falling approx. 2% below the exact ones at long distances. The
amplitudes h(r) for valence bonds of long length r decay as 1/r^3. We also
discuss some results for small frustrated lattices.Comment: v2: 8 pages, 5 figures, significantly expanded, new optimization
method, improved result
Possible world-wide middle miocene iridium anomaly and its relationship to periodicity of impacts and extinctions
In a study of one million years of Middle Miocene sediment deposition in ODP Hole 689B in the Weddell Sea near Antarctica, a single iridium (Ir) anomaly of 44 (+ or - 10) x 10 to the 12th gram Ir per gram rock (ppt) was observed in core 6H, section 3, 50 to 60 cm, after background contributions associated with manganese precipitates and clay are subtracted. The ODP Hole 689B is 10,000 km away from another site, DSDP Hole 588B in the Tasman Sea north of New Zealand, where a single Ir anomaly of 144 + or - 7 ppt over a background of 11 ppt was found in an earlier study of 3 million years of deposition. From chemical measurements the latter deposition was thought to be impact-related. Ir measurements were made, following neutron activation, with the Iridium Coincidence Spectrometer. The age vs depth calibration curves given in the DSDP and ODP preliminary reports indicate the ages of the Iranomalies are identical, 11.7 million years, but the absolute and relative uncertainties in the curves are not known. Based on the newest age data the age estimate is 10 million years. As the Ir was deposited at the two sites at about the same time and they are one quarter of the way around the world from each other it seems likely that the deposition was world-wide. The impact of a large asteroid or comet could produce the wide distribution, and this data is supportive of the impact relationship deduced for Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) 588B from the chemical evidence. If the surface densities of Ir at the two sites are representative of the world-wide average, the diameter of a Cl type asteroid containing the necessary Ir would be 3 + or - 1 km, which is large enough to cause world-wide darkness and hence extinctions although the latter point is disputed
Continuous star cluster formation in the spiral NGC 45
We determined ages for 52 star clusters with masses < 10^6 solar masses in
the low surface brightness spiral galaxy NGC 45. Four of these candidates are
old globular clusters located in the bulge. The remaining ones span a large age
range. The cluster ages suggest a continuous star/cluster formation history
without evidence for bursts, consistent with the galaxy being located in a
relatively unperturbed environment in the outskirts of the Sculptor group.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "Island Universes - Structure and
Evolution of Disk Galaxies", Terschelling (Netherlands), July 200
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