Spatially-modulated Superfluid States in Fermionic Optical Ladder Systems with Repulsive Interactions

We investigate two-component ultracold fermionic atoms with repulsive interactions trapped in an optical lattice with a ladder structure. By applying the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations to an effective t-J model in the strong correlation limit, we discuss how the spatially-modulated spin-singlet pairs with d-wave like symmetry are formed in the systems with trapping potentials. Furthermore, a close examination of the condensation energy as well as the local average of potential, kinetic and exchange energies by means of the variational Monte Carlo method elucidates that local particle correlations enhance the stability of the superfluid state via substantial energy gain due to singlet pairing in the high particle density region.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Correlated electron transport through double quantum dots coupled to normal and superconducting leads

We study Andreev transport through double quantum dots connected in series normal and superconducting (SC) leads, using the numerical renormalization group. The ground state of this system shows a crossover between a local Cooper-pairing singlet state and a Kondo singlet state, which is caused by the competition between the Coulomb interaction and the SC proximity. We show that the ground-state properties reflect this crossover especially for small values of the inter-dot coupling $t$, while in the opposite case, for large $t$, another singlet with an inter-dot character becomes dominant. We find that the conductance for the local SC singlet state has a peak with the unitary-limit value $4e^2/h$. In contrast, the Andreev reflection is suppressed in the Kondo regime by the Coulomb interaction. Furthermore, the conductance has two successive peaks in the transient region of the crossover. It is further elucidated that the gate voltage gives a different variation into the crossover. Specifically, as the energy level of the dot that is coupled to the normal lead varies, the Kondo screening cloud is deformed to a long-range singlet bond.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Ferromagnetism of cold fermions loaded into a decorated square lattice

We investigate two-component ultracold fermions loaded into a decorated square lattice, which are described by the Hubbard model with repulsive interactions and nearest neighbor hoppings. By combining the real-space dynamical mean-field theory with the numerical renormalization group method, we discuss how a ferromagnetically ordered ground state in the weak coupling regime, which originates from the existence of a dispersionless band, is adiabatically connected to a Heisenberg ferrimagnetic state in the strong coupling limit. The effects of level splitting and hopping imbalance are also addressed.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Entropy and Barrier-Hopping Determine Conformational Viscoelasticity in Single Biomolecules

Biological macromolecules have complex and non-trivial energy landscapes, endowing them a unique conformational adaptability and diversity in function. Hence, understanding the processes of elasticity and dissipation at the nanoscale is important to molecular biology and also emerging fields such as nanotechnology. Here we analyse single molecule fluctuations in an atomic force microscope (AFM) experiment using a generic model of biopolymer viscoelasticity that importantly includes sources of local `internal' conformational dissipation. Comparing two biopolymers, dextran and cellulose, polysaccharides with and without the well-known `chair-to-boat' transition, reveals a signature of this simple conformational change as minima in both the elasticity and internal friction around a characteristic force. A calculation of two-state populations dynamics offers a simple explanation in terms of an elasticity driven by the entropy, and friction by barrier-controlled hopping, of populations on a landscape. The microscopic model, allows quantitative mapping of features of the energy landscape, revealing unexpectedly slow dynamics, suggestive of an underlying roughness to the free energy.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, naturemag.bst, modified nature.cls (naturemodified.cls

Solutions to the Multi-Component 1/R Hubbard Model

In this work we introduce one dimensional multi-component Hubbard model of 1/r hopping and U on-site energy. The wavefunctions, the spectrum and the thermodynamics are studied for this model in the strong interaction limit $U=\infty$. In this limit, the system is a special example of $SU(N)$ Luttinger liquids, exhibiting spin-charge separation in the full Hilbert space. Speculations on the physical properties of the model at finite on-site energy are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, Princeton-May1

Half-Quantum Vortices in Thin Film of Superfluid 3^3He

Stability of a half-quantum vortex (HQV) in superfluid $^3$He has been discussed recently by Kawakami, Tsutsumi and Machida in Phys. Rev. B {\bf 79}, 092506 (2009). We further extend this work here and consider the A$_2$ phase of superfluid $^3$He confined in thin slab geometry and analyze the HQV realized in this setting. Solutions of HQV and singly quantized singular vortex are evaluated numerically by solving the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equation and respective first critical angular velocities are obtained by employing these solutions. We show that the HQV in the A$_2$ phase is stable near the boundary between the A$_2$ and A$_1$ phases. It is found that temperature and magnetic field must be fixed first in the stable region and subsequently the angular velocity of the system should be increased from zero to a sufficiently large value to create a HQV with sufficiently large probability. A HQV does not form if the system starts with a fixed angular velocity and subsequently the temperature is lowered down to the A$_2$ phase. It is estimated that the external magnetic field with strength on the order of 1 T is required to have a sufficiently large domain in the temperature-magnetic field phase diagram to have a stable HQV.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Renormalized Harmonic-Oscillator Description of Confined Electron Systems with Inverse-Square Interaction

An integrable model for SU($\nu$) electrons with inverse-square interaction is studied for the system with confining harmonic potential. We develop a new description of the spectrum based on the {\it renormalized harmonic-oscillators} which incorporate interaction effects via the repulsion of energy levels. This approach enables a systematic treatment of the excitation spectrum as well as the ground-state quantities.Comment: RevTex, 7 page

Supersolid state in fermionic optical lattice systems

We study ultracold fermionic atoms trapped in an optical lattice with harmonic confinement by combining the real-space dynamical mean-field theory with a two-site impurity solver. By calculating the local particle density and the pair potential in the systems with different clusters, we discuss the stability of a supersolid state, where an s-wave superfluid coexists with a density-wave state of checkerboard pattern. It is clarified that a confining potential plays an essential role in stabilizing the supersolid state. The phase diagrams are obtained for several effective particle densities.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Phys. Rev. A in pres