Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in Spin-Charge Separated Superconductor

A model for spin-charge separated superconductivity in two dimensions is introduced where the phases of the spinon and holon order parameters couple gauge-invariantly to a statistical gauge-field representing chiral spin-fluctuations. The model is analyzed in the continuum limit and in the low-temperature limit. In both cases we find that physical electronic phase correlations show a superconducting-normal phase transition of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type, while statistical gauge-field excitations are found to be strictly gapless. The normal-to-superconductor phase boundary for this model is also obtained as a function of carrier density, where we find that its shape compares favorably with that of the experimentally observed phase diagram for the oxide superconductors.Comment: 35 pages, TeX, CSLA-P-93-

Crosstalk Correction in Atomic Force Microscopy

Commercial atomic force microscopes usually use a four-segmented photodiode to detect the motion of the cantilever via laser beam deflection. This read-out technique enables to measure bending and torsion of the cantilever separately. A slight angle between the orientation of the photodiode and the plane of the readout beam, however, causes false signals in both readout channels, so-called crosstalk, that may lead to misinterpretation of the acquired data. We demonstrate this fault with images recorded in contact mode on ferroelectric crystals and present an electronic circuit to compensate for it, thereby enabling crosstalk-free imaging

Disorder-induced double resonant Raman process in graphene

An analytical study is presented of the double resonant Raman scattering process in graphene, responsible for the D and D$^{\prime}$ features in the Raman spectra. This work yields analytical expressions for the D and D$^{\prime}$ integrated Raman intensities that explicitly show the dependencies on laser energy, defect concentration, and electronic lifetime. Good agreement is obtained between the analytical results and experimental measurements on samples with increasing defect concentrations and at various laser excitation energies. The use of Raman spectroscopy to identify the nature of defects is discussed. Comparison between the models for the edge-induced and the disorder-induced D band intensity suggests that edges or grain boundaries can be distinguished from disorder by the different dependence of their Raman intensity on laser excitation energy. Similarly, the type of disorder can potentially be identified not only by the intensity ratio $I_{\mathrm{D}}/I_{\mathrm{D}^{\prime}}$, but also by its laser energy dependence. Also discussed is a quantitative analysis of quantum interference effects of the graphene wavefunctions, which determine the most important phonon wavevectors and scattering processes responsible for the D and D$^{\prime}$ bands.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Mass gap in the critical gravitational collapse of a kink

We study the gravitational collapse of a kink within spherical symmetry and the characteristic formulation of General Relativity. We explore some expected but elusive gravitational collapse issues which have not been studied before in detail, finding new features. The numerical one-parametric solution and the structure of the spacetime are calculated using finite differences, Galerkin collocation techniques, and some scripting for automated grid coverage. We study the threshold of black hole formation and confirm a mass gap in the phase transition. In the supercritical case we find a mass scaling power law $M_{BH}={M^*_{BH}}+K[\lambda-\lambda^*]^{2\gamma}+f(K[\lambda-\lambda^*]^{2\gamma})$, with $\gamma\approx 0.37$ independent of the initial data for the cases considered, and $M^*_{BH}$, $K$ and $\lambda^*$ each depending on the initial datum. The spacetime has a self-similar structure with a period of $\Delta\approx 3.4$. In the subcritical case the Bondi mass at null infinity decays in cascade with $\Delta/2$ interval as expected.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; to appear in Physical Review

Fermion Analogy for Layered Superconducting Films in Parallel Magnetic Field

The equivalence between the Lawrence-Doniach model for films of extreme type-II layered superconductors and a generalization of the back-scattering model for spin-1/2 electrons in one dimension is demonstrated. This fermion analogy is then exploited to obtain an anomalous $H_{\parallel}^{-1}$ tail for the parallel equilibrium magnetization of the minimal double layer case in the limit of high parallel magnetic fields $H_{\parallel}$ for temperatures in the critical regime.Comment: 11 pages of plain TeX, 1 postscript figur

Cooper Pair Formation in U(1) Gauge Theory of High Temperature Superconductivity

We study the two-dimensional spin-charge separated Ginzburg-Landau theory containing U(1) gauge interactions as a semi-phenomenological model describing fluctuating condensates in high temperature superconductivity. Transforming the original GL action, we abstract the effective action of Cooper pair. Especially, we clarify how Cooper pair correlation evolves in the normal state from the point of view of spin-charge separation. Furthermore, we point out how Cooper pair couples to gauge field in a gauge-invariant way, stressing the insensitivity of Cooper pair to infrared gauge field fluctuation.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures included, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

The Role of Nonlinear Dynamics in Quantitative Atomic Force Microscopy

Various methods of force measurement with the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) are compared for their ability to accurately determine the tip-surface force from analysis of the nonlinear cantilever motion. It is explained how intermodulation, or the frequency mixing of multiple drive tones by the nonlinear tip-surface force, can be used to concentrate the nonlinear motion in a narrow band of frequency near the cantilevers fundamental resonance, where accuracy and sensitivity of force measurement are greatest. Two different methods for reconstructing tip-surface forces from intermodulation spectra are explained. The reconstruction of both conservative and dissipative tip-surface interactions from intermodulation spectra are demonstrated on simulated data.Comment: 25 pages (preprint, double space) 7 figure