Stability of correlated electronic systems under the influence of the electron-phonon interaction

We have used an exact diagonalization technique to study the stability of the $t-J$-Holstein and Hubbard-Holstein models under the influence of the electron-phonon interaction. Previous results have been obtained using frozen-phonon technique or introducing only a few dynamical phonon modes due to the large Hilbert space. To check these results we have done exact diagonalization in a small cluster (four sites) including all the phonon modes allowed by symmetry. We compare our results with those obtained by using the adiabatic approximation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 Postscript figure

Inhomogeneous superconducting phases in the frustrated Kondo-Heisenberg chain

We use bosonization and renormalization group methods to determine the ground state phase diagram of a one-dimensional frustrated Kondo-Heisenberg system consisting of a one-dimensional spin-1/2 Luttinger liquid coupled by a Kondo exchange interaction $J_K$ to a frustrated quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain, with a nearest-neighbor exchange coupling $J_1$ and a next-nearest-neighbor (frustrating) exchange interaction $J_2$. We analyze the interplay of quantum frustration in the antiferromagnetic chain with the Kondo exchange coupling $J_K$ with the Luttinger liquid. We discuss the structure of the phase diagram of this system as a function of the ratios $J_K/J_1$, $J_2/J_1$ and of the parameters of the Luttinger liquid. In particular we discuss in detail the regimes in which a pair-density-wave state may be realized and its relation with the spin correlations in the frustrated antiferromagnetic chain.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, 39 references; v2 with a new paragraph. Published versio

Relevance of nonadiabatic effects in TiOCl

We analyze the effect of the phonon dynamics on a recently proposed model for the uniform-incommensurate transition seen in TiOX compounds. The study is based on a recently developed formalism for nonadiabatic spin-Peierls systems based on bosonization and a mean field RPA approximation for the interchain coupling. To reproduce the measured low temperature spin gap, a spin-phonon coupling quite bigger than the one predicted from an adiabatic approach is required. This high value is compatible with the renormalization of the phonons in the high temperature phase seen in inelastic x-ray experiments. Our theory accounts for the temperature of the incommensurate transition and the value of the incommensurate wave vector at the transition point.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Generation of chiral solitons in antiferromagnetic chains by a quantum quench

We analyze the time evolution of a magnetic excitation in a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain after a quantum quench. By a proper modulation of the magnetic exchange coupling, we prepare a static soliton of total spin 1/2 as an initial spin state. Using bosonization and a numerical time dependent density matrix renormalization group algorithm, we show that the initial excitation evolves to a state composed of two counter-propagating chiral states, which interfere to yield = 1/4 for each mode. We find that these dynamically generated states remain considerably stable as time evolution is carried out. We propose spin-Peierls materials and ultracold-atom systems as suitable experimental scenarios in which to conduct and observe this mechanism.Comment: Published version. Title changed due to reinterpretation of results. 5 pages, 4 figure

Spectral gap induced by structural corrugation in armchair graphene nanoribbons

We study the effects of the structural corrugation or rippling on the electronic properties of undoped armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNR). First, reanalyzing the single corrugated graphene layer we find that the two inequivalent Dirac points (DP), move away one from the other. Otherwise, the Fermi velocity decrease by increasing rippling. Regarding the AGNRs, whose metallic behavior depends on their width, we analyze in particular the case of the zero gap band-structure AGNRs. By solving the Dirac equation with the adequate boundary condition we show that due to the shifting of the DP a gap opens in the spectra. This gap scale with the square of the rate between the high and the wavelength of the deformation. We confirm this prediction by exact numerical solution of the finite width rippled AGNR. Moreover, we find that the quantum conductance, calculated by the non equilibrium Green's function technique vanish when the gap open. The main conclusion of our results is that a conductance gap should appear for all undoped corrugated AGNR independent of their width.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure