Quantum fluctuation driven first order phase transition in weak ferromagnetic metals

In a local Fermi liquid (LFL), we show that there is a line of weak first order phase transitions between the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases due to purely quantum fluctuations. We predict that an instability towards superconductivity is only possible in the ferromagnetic state. At T=0 we find a point on the phase diagram where all three phases meet and we call this a quantum triple point (QTP). A simple application of the Gibbs phase rule shows that only these three phases can meet at the QTP. This provides a natural explanation of the absence of superconductivity at this point coming from the paramagnetic side of the phase diagram, as observed in the recently discovered ferromagnetic superconductor, $UGe_{2}$.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Acoustic attenuation probe for fermion superfluidity in ultracold atom gases

Dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC's), currently used to cool fermionic atoms in atom traps, can also probe the superfluidity of these fermions. The damping rate of BEC-acoustic excitations (phonon modes), measured in the middle of the trap as a function of the phonon momentum, yields an unambiguous signature of BCS-like superfluidity, provides a measurement of the superfluid gap parameter and gives an estimate of the size of the Cooper-pairs in the BEC-BCS crossover regime. We also predict kinks in the momentum dependence of the damping rate which can reveal detailed information about the fermion quasi-particle dispersion relation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Revised versio

Physical properties of ferromagnetic-superconducting coexistent system

We studied the nuclear relaxation rate 1/T1 of a ferromagnetic-superconducting system from the mean field model proposed in Ref.14. This model predicts the existence of a set of gapless excitations in the energy spectrum which will affect the properties studied here, such as the density of states and, hence, 1/T1. The study of the temperature variation of 1/T1(for T<Tc) shows that the usual Hebel-Slichter peak exists, but will be reduced because of the dominant role of the gapless fermions and the background magnetic behavior. We have also presented the temperature dependence of ultrasonic attenuation and the frequency dependence of electromagnetic absorption within this model. We are successful in explaining certain experimental results.Comment: 10 Pages, 9 figute

Low-Temperature Spin Diffusion in a Spin-Polarized Fermi Gas

We present a finite temperature calculation of the transverse spin-diffusion coefficient, $D_\bot$, in a dilute degenerate Fermi gas in the presence of a small external magnetic field, $H$. While the longitudinal diffusion coefficient displays the conventional low-temperature Fermi-liquid behavior, $D_\parallel \propto T^{-2}$, the corresponding results for $D_\bot$ show three separate regimes: (a) $D_\bot \sim H^{-2}$ for $T \ll H$; (b) $D_\bot \sim T^{-2}$, $D_\bot /D_\parallel \neq 1$ for $T \gg H$ and large spin-rotation parameter $\xi \gg 1$, and (c) $D_\bot = D_\parallel \propto T^{-2}$ for $T \gg H$ and $\xi \ll 1$. Our results are qualitatively consistent with the available experimental data in weakly spin-polarized $^3{\rm He}$ and $^3{\rm He} - ^4{\rm He}$ mixtures.Comment: 13 pages, REVTEX, 3 figures available upon request, RU-94-4

The Solar Twin Planet Search II. A Jupiter twin around a solar twin

Through our HARPS radial velocity survey for planets around solar twin stars, we have identified a promising Jupiter twin candidate around the star HIP11915. We characterize this Keplerian signal and investigate its potential origins in stellar activity. Our analysis indicates that HIP11915 hosts a Jupiter-mass planet with a 3800-day orbital period and low eccentricity. Although we cannot definitively rule out an activity cycle interpretation, we find that a planet interpretation is more likely based on a joint analysis of RV and activity index data. The challenges of long-period radial velocity signals addressed in this paper are critical for the ongoing discovery of Jupiter-like exoplanets. If planetary in nature, the signal investigated here represents a very close analog to the solar system in terms of both Sun-like host star and Jupiter-like planet.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; A&A accepted; typos corrected in this versio

Robustness of a local Fermi Liquid against Ferromagnetism and Phase Separation

We study the properties of Fermi Liquids with the microscopic constraint of a local self-energy. In this case the forward scattering sum-rule imposes strong limitations on the Fermi-Liquid parameters, which rule out any Pomeranchek instabilities. For both attractive and repulsive interactions, ferromagnetism and phase separation are suppressed. Superconductivity is possible in an s-wave channel only. We also study the approach to the metal-insulator transition, and find a Wilson ratio approaching 2. This ratio and other properties of Sr_{1-x}La_xTiO_3 are all consistent with the local Fermi Liquid scenario.Comment: 4 pages (twocolumn format), can compile with or without epsf.sty latex style file -- Postscript files: fig1.ps and fig2.p

18 Sco: a solar twin rich in refractory and neutron-capture elements. Implications for chemical tagging

We study with unprecedented detail the chemical composition and stellar parameters of the solar twin 18 Sco in a strictly differential sense relative to the Sun. Our study is mainly based on high resolution (R ~ 110 000) high S/N (800-1000) VLT UVES spectra, which allow us to achieve a precision of about 0.005 dex in differential abundances. The effective temperature and surface gravity of 18 Sco are Teff = 5823+/-6 K and log g = 4.45+/-0.02 dex, i.e., 18 Sco is 46+/-6 K hotter than the Sun and log g is 0.01+/-0.02 dex higher. Its metallicity is [Fe/H] = 0.054+/-0.005 dex and its microturbulence velocity is +0.02+/-0.01 km/s higher than solar. Our precise stellar parameters and differential isochrone analysis show that 18 Sco has a mass of 1.04+/-0.02M_Sun and that it is ~1.6 Gyr younger than the Sun. We use precise HARPS radial velocities to search for planets, but none were detected. The chemical abundance pattern of 18 Sco displays a clear trend with condensation temperature, showing thus higher abundances of refractories in 18 Sco than in the Sun. Intriguingly, there are enhancements in the neutron-capture elements relative to the Sun. Despite the small element-to-element abundance differences among nearby n-capture elements (~0.02 dex), we successfully reproduce the r-process pattern in the solar system. This is independent evidence for the universality of the r-process. Our results have important implications for chemical tagging in our Galaxy and nucleosynthesis in general.Comment: ApJ, in pres

Thermoelectric Figure of Merit of Strongly Correlated Superlattice Semiconductors

We solved the Anderson Lattice Hamiltonian to get the energy bands of a strongly correlated semiconductor by using slave boson mean field theory. The transport properties were calculated in the relaxation-time approximation,and the thermoelectric figure of merit was obtained for the strongly correlated semiconductor and its superlattice structures. We found that at room temperature $ZT$ can reach nearly 2 for the quantum wire lattice structure.We believe that it is possible to find high values of thermoelectric figure of merit from strongly correlated semiconductor superlattice systems.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Quasiparticle dynamics and phonon softening in FeSe superconductors

Quasiparticle dynamics of FeSe single crystals revealed by dual-color transient reflectivity measurements ({\Delta}R/R) provides unprecedented information on Fe-based superconductors. The amplitude of fast component in {\Delta}R/R clearly tells a competing scenario between spin fluctuations and superconductivity. Together with the transport measurements, the relaxation time analysis further exhibits anomalous changes at 90 K and 230 K. The former manifests a structure phase transition as well as the associated phonon softening. The latter suggests a previously overlooked phase transition or crossover in FeSe. The electron-phonon coupling constant {\lambda} is found to be 0.16, identical to the value of theoretical calculations. Such a small {\lambda} demonstrates an unconventional origin of superconductivity in FeSe.Comment: Final published version; 5 pages; 4 figure

Direct Calculation of Spin-Stiffness for Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Models

The spin-stiffness of frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg models in one and two dimensions is computed for the first time by exact diagonalizations on small clusters that implement spin-dependent twisted boundary conditions. Finite-size extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit yields a value of $0.14\pm 0.01$ for the spin-stiffness of the unfrustrated planar antiferromagnet. We also present a general discussion of the linear-response theory for spin-twists, which ultimately leads to the moment sum-rule.Comment: 11 pgs, TeX, LA-UR-94-94 (to be published in Phys. Rev. B