Antiferromagnetism and phase separation in the t-J model at low doping: a variational study

Using Gutzwiller-projected wave functions, I estimate the ground-state energy of the t-J model for several variational states relevant for high-temperature cuprate superconductors. The results indicate antiferromagnetism and phase separation at low doping both in the superconducting state and in the staggered-flux normal state proposed for the vortex cores. While phase separation in the underdoped superconducting state may be relevant for the stripe formation mechanism, the results for the normal state suggest that similar charge inhomogeneities may also appear in vortex cores up to relatively high doping values.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, reference adde

Topological Aspect of high-TcT_c Superconductivity, Fractional Quantum Hall Effect and Berry Phase

We have analysed here the equivalence of RVB states with $\nu=1/2$ FQH states in terms of the Berry Phase which is associated with the chiral anomaly in 3+1 dimensions. It is observed that the 3-dimensional spinons and holons are characterised by the non-Abelian Berry phase and these reduce to 1/2 fractional statistics when the motion is confined to the equatorial planes. The topological mechanism of superconductivity is analogous to the topological aspects of fractional quantum Hall effect with $\nu=1/2$.Comment: 12 pages latex fil

The viscous slowing down of supercooled liquids as a temperature-controlled superArrhenius activated process: a description in terms of frustration-limited domains

We propose that the salient feature to be explained about the glass transition of supercooled liquids is the temperature-controlled superArrhenius activated nature of the viscous slowing down, more strikingly seen in weakly-bonded, fragile systems. In the light of this observation, the relevance of simple models of spherically interacting particles and that of models based on free-volume congested dynamics are questioned. Finally, we discuss how the main aspects of the phenomenology of supercooled liquids, including the crossover from Arrhenius to superArrhenius activated behavior and the heterogeneous character of the $\alpha$ relaxation, can be described by an approach based on frustration-limited domains.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted in J. Phys.: Condensed Matter, proceedings of the Trieste workshop on "Unifying Concepts in Glass Physics

Nematic Valley Ordering in Quantum Hall Systems

The interplay between quantum Hall ordering and spontaneously broken "internal" symmetries in two-dimensional electron systems with spin or pseudospin degrees of freedom gives rise to a variety of interesting phenomena, including novel phases, phase transitions, and topological excitations. Here we develop a theory of broken-symmetry quantum Hall states, applicable to a class of multi-valley systems, where the symmetry at issue is a point group element that combines a spatial rotation with a permutation of valley indices. The anisotropy of the dispersion relation, generally present in such systems, favors states where all electrons reside in one of the valleys. In a clean system, the valley "pseudo-spin" ordering, or spatial nematic ordering, occurs via a finite temperature transition. In weakly disordered systems, domains of pseudo-spin polarization are formed, which prevents macroscopic valley and nematic ordering; however, the resulting state still asymptotically exhibits the QHE. We discuss the transport properties in the ordered and disordered regimes, and the relation of our results to recent experiments in AlAs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Disentangling density and temperature effects in the viscous slowing down of glassforming liquids

We present a consistent picture of the respective role of density and temperature in the viscous slowing down of glassforming liquids and polymers. Specifically, based in part upon a new analysis of simulation and experimental data on liquid ortho-terphenyl, we conclude that a zeroth-order description of the approach to the glass transition should be formulated in terms of a temperature-driven super-Arrhenius activated behavior rather than a density-driven congestion or jamming phenomenon. The density plays a role at a quantitative level, but its effect on the viscosity and the structural relaxation time can be simply described via a single parameter, an effective interaction energy that is characteristic of the high temperature liquid regime; as a result, density does not affect the ``fragility'' of the glassforming system.Comment: RevTeX4, 8 pages, 8 eps figure

Interaction-Induced Strong Localization in Quantum Dots

We argue that Coulomb blockade phenomena are a useful probe of the cross-over to strong correlation in quantum dots. Through calculations at low density using variational and diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (up to r_s ~ 55), we find that the addition energy shows a clear progression from features associated with shell structure to those caused by commensurability of a Wigner crystal. This cross-over (which occurs near r_s ~ 20 for spin-polarized electrons) is, then, a signature of interaction-driven localization. As the addition energy is directly measurable in Coulomb blockade conductance experiments, this provides a direct probe of localization in the low density electron gas.Comment: 4 pages, published version, revised discussio