Fictitious fluxes in doped antiferromagnets

In a tight binding model of charged spin-1/2 electrons on a square lattice, a fully polarized ferromagnetic spin configuration generates an apparent U(1) flux given by $2\pi$ times the skyrmion charge density of the ferromagnetic order parameter. We show here that for an antiferromagnet, there are two ``fictitious'' magnetic fields, one staggered and one unstaggered. The staggered topological flux per unit cell can be varied between $-\pi\le\Phi\le\pi$ with a negligible change in the value of the effective nearest neighbor coupling constant whereas the magnitude of the unstaggered flux is strongly coupled to the magnitude of the second neighbor effective coupling.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages including 4 figure

Phase diagram of solution of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes

We study a solution of long polyanions (PA) with shorter polycations (PC) and focus on the role of Coulomb interaction. A good example is solutions of DNA and PC which are widely studied for gene therapy. In the solution, each PA attracts many PCs to form a complex. When the ratio of total charges of PA and PC in the solution, $x$, equals to 1, complexes are neutral and they condense in a macroscopic drop. When $x$ is far away from 1, complexes are strongly charged. The Coulomb repulsion is large and free complexes are stable. As $x$ approaches to 1, PCs attached to PA disproportionate themselves in two competing ways. One way is inter-complex disproportionation, in which PCs make some complexes neutral and therefore condensed in a macroscopic drop while other complexes become even stronger charged and stay free. The other way is intra-complex disproportionation, in which PCs make one end of a complex neutral and condensed in a small droplet while the rest of the complex forms a strongly charged tail. Thus each complex becomes a "tadpole". These two ways can also combine together to give even lower free energy. We get a phase diagram of PA-PC solution in a plane of $x$ and inverse screening radius of the monovalent salt, which includes phases or phase coexistence with both kinds of disproportionation.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures. Major change in results and tex

The pulling force of a single DNA molecule condensed by spermidine

In a recent experiment, a single DNA double helix is stretched and relaxed in the presence of spermidine, a short positive polyelectrolyte, and the pulling force is measured as a function of DNA extension. In a certain range of spermidine concentration, a force plateau appears whose value shows maximum as a function of spermidine concentration. We present a quantitative theory of this plateau force based on the theory of reentrant condensation and derive almost parabolic behavior of the plateau force as a function of the logarithm of the spermidine concentration in the range of condensation. Our result is in good agreement with experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Small change in the text, no change in result

Invariant structure of the hierarchy theory of fractional quantum Hall states with spin

We describe the invariant structure common to abelian fractional quantum Hall systems with spin. It appears in a generalization of the lattice description of the polarized hierarchy that encompasses both partially polarized and unpolarized ground state systems. We formulate, using the spin-charge decomposition, conditions that should be satisfied so that the description is SU(2) invariant. In the case of the spin- singlet hierarchy construction, we find that there are as many SU(2) symmetries as there are levels in the construction. We show the existence of a spin and charge lattice for the systems with spin. The ``gluing'' of the charge and spin degrees of freedom in their bulk is described by the gluing theory of lattices.Comment: 21 pages, LaTex, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Electrostatic theory of viral self-assembly: a toy model

Viruses self-assemble from identical capsid proteins and their genome consisting, for example, of a long single stranded (ss) RNA. For a big class of T = 3 viruses capsid proteins have long positive N-terminal tails. We explore the role played by the Coulomb interaction between the brush of positive N-terminal tails rooted at the inner surface of the capsid and the negative ss RNA molecule. We show that viruses are most stable when the total contour length of ss RNA is close to the total length of the tails. For such a structure the absolute value of the total RNA charge is approximately twice larger than the charge of the capsid. This conclusion agrees with structural data.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Non-monotonic swelling of a macroion due to correlation-induced charge inversion

It is known that a large, charged body immersed in a solution of multivalent counterions may undergo charge inversion as the counterions adsorb to its surface. We use the theory of charge inversion to examine the case of a deformable, porous macroion which may adsorb multivalent ions into its bulk to form a three-dimensional strongly-correlated liquid. This adsorption may lead to non-monotonic changes in the size of the macroion as multivalent ions are added to the solution. The macroion first shrinks as its bare charge is screened and then reswells as the adsorbed ions invert the sign of the net charge. We derive a value for the outward pressure experienced by such a macroion as a function of the ion concentration in solution. We find that for small deviations in the concentration of multivalent ions away from the neutral point (where the net charge of the body is zero), the swollen size grows parabolically with the logarithm of the ratio of multivalent ion concentration to the concentration at the neutral point.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; typos fixed; final published versio

Hamiltonian theory of gaps, masses and polarization in quantum Hall states: full disclosure

I furnish details of the hamiltonian theory of the FQHE developed with Murthy for the infrared, which I subsequently extended to all distances and apply it to Jain fractions \nu = p/(2ps + 1). The explicit operator description in terms of the CF allows one to answer quantitative and qualitative issues, some of which cannot even be posed otherwise. I compute activation gaps for several potentials, exhibit their particle hole symmetry, the profiles of charge density in states with a quasiparticles or hole, (all in closed form) and compare to results from trial wavefunctions and exact diagonalization. The Hartree-Fock approximation is used since much of the nonperturbative physics is built in at tree level. I compare the gaps to experiment and comment on the rough equality of normalized masses near half and quarter filling. I compute the critical fields at which the Hall system will jump from one quantized value of polarization to another, and the polarization and relaxation rates for half filling as a function of temperature and propose a Korringa like law. After providing some plausibility arguments, I explore the possibility of describing several magnetic phenomena in dirty systems with an effective potential, by extracting a free parameter describing the potential from one data point and then using it to predict all the others from that sample. This works to the accuracy typical of this theory (10 -20 percent). I explain why the CF behaves like free particle in some magnetic experiments when it is not, what exactly the CF is made of, what one means by its dipole moment, and how the comparison of theory to experiment must be modified to fit the peculiarities of the quantized Hall problem

Transport in one dimensional Coulomb gases: From ion channels to nanopores

We consider a class of systems where, due to the large mismatch of dielectric constants, the Coulomb interaction is approximately one-dimensional. Examples include ion channels in lipid membranes and water filled nanopores in silicon or cellulose acetate films. Charge transport across such systems possesses the activation behavior associated with the large electrostatic self-energy of a charge placed inside the channel. We show here that the activation barrier exhibits non-trivial dependence on the salt concentration in the surrounding water solution and on the length and radius of the channel.Comment: New references are have been added and discussed. 18 pages, 8 figure

Giant magnetic-field changes in radio-frequency absorption in La0.67_{0.67}Sr0.33_{0.33}MnO3_3 near the Curie temperature

The DC transport properties of and the radio-frequency (RF) wave absorption (at 2.525 MHz) in a sample of La$_{0.67}$Sr$_{0.33}$MnO$_{3}$ prepared by floating-zone method are measured. The Curie temperature, $T_{c}$, of the sample is about 374 K. Giant temperature and magnetic-field variations in RF absorption are found in the vicinity of $T_{c}$. Relative change of the RF absorption in magnetic field (magnetoabsorption) is about 67% in field 2.1 kOe and about 55% in field 1 kOe. This giant magnetoabsorption effect can be used to develop RF devices controlled by temperature and low magnetic field. A weak temperature dependence of magnetoabsorption for the sample studied in the range from room temperature to about 350 K makes it especially attractive for practical use. The RF study supplemented with transport, magnetoresistive and magnetic measurements enables us to discuss the optimal properties of manganite samples for observation of giant magnetoabsorption in low field.Comment: Submitted to J. Magn. Magn. Mater., 14 pages including 7 figure

Spin symmetry breaking in bilayer quantum Hall systems

Based on the construction of generalized Halperin wave functions, we predict the possible existence of a large class of broken spin symmetry states in bilayer quantum Hall structures, generalizing the recently suggested canted antiferromgnetic phase to many fractional fillings. We develop the appropriate Chern-Simons theory, and establish explicitly that the low-lying neutral excitation is a Goldstone mode and that the charged excitations are bimerons with continuously tunable (through the canted antiferromagnetic order parameter) electric charge on the individual merons.Comment: 4 page