20 research outputs found
Phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau-like theory for superconductivity in the cuprates
We propose a phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau-like theory of cuprate
superconductivity. The free energy is expressed as a functional F of the
spin-singlet pair amplitude psi_ij=psi_m=Delta_m exp(i phi_m); i and j are
nearest-neighbor sites of the Cu lattice in which the superconductivity is
believed to primarily reside and m labels the site at the center of the bond
between i and j. The system is modeled as a weakly coupled stack of such
planes. We hypothesize a simple form, F[Delta,phi]=sum_m (A Delta_m^2+ B
Delta_m^4/2)+C sum_ Delta_m Delta_n cos(phi_m-phi_n), for the functional.
The coefficients A, B and C are determined from comparison with experiments. We
work out a number of consequences of the proposed functional for specific
choices of A, B and C as functions of hole density x and temperature T. There
can be a rapid crossover of from small to large values as A changes
sign on lowering T and the crossover temperatures is identified with the
observed pseudogap temperature. The superconducting phase-coherence transition
occurs at a different temperature T_c, and describes superconductivity with
d-wave symmetry for C>0. We calculate T_c(x) which has the observed parabolic
shape, being strongly influenced by the coupling between Delta_m and phi_m
present in F. The superfluid density, the local gap magnitude, the specific
heat (with and without a magnetic field) and vortex properties are obtained
using F. We compare our results successfully with experiments. We also obtain
the electron spectral density as influenced by the coupling between the
electrons and the pair correlation function calculated from F. Features such as
temperature dependent Fermi arcs, antinodal pseudogap filling temperature,
pseudogapped density of states in different momentum regions of the Fermi
surface and `bending' of the energy gap versus momentum on the Fermi surface
emerge from the theory.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures (to appear in Phys. Rev. B
Mott physics, sign structure, ground state wavefunction, and high-Tc superconductivity
In this article I give a pedagogical illustration of why the essential
problem of high-Tc superconductivity in the cuprates is about how an
antiferromagnetically ordered state can be turned into a short-range state by
doping. I will start with half-filling where the antiferromagnetic ground state
is accurately described by the Liang-Doucot-Anderson (LDA) wavefunction. Here
the effect of the Fermi statistics becomes completely irrelevant due to the no
double occupancy constraint. Upon doping, the statistical signs reemerge,
albeit much reduced as compared to the original Fermi statistical signs. By
precisely incorporating this altered statistical sign structure at finite
doping, the LDA ground state can be recast into a short-range antiferromagnetic
state. Superconducting phase coherence arises after the spin correlations
become short-ranged, and the superconducting phase transition is controlled by
spin excitations. I will stress that the pseudogap phenomenon naturally emerges
as a crossover between the antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases. As a
characteristic of non Fermi liquid, the mutual statistical interaction between
the spin and charge degrees of freedom will reach a maximum in a
high-temperature "strange metal phase" of the doped Mott insulator.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Dirac's method for constraints - an application to quantum wires,the 0.7 conductance anomaly
We investigate the Hubbard model in the limit , which is equivalent
to the statistical condition of exclusion of double occupancy. We solve this
problem using Dirac's method for constraints. The constraints are solved within
the Bosonization method. We find that the constraints modify the anomalous
commutator.
We apply this theory to quantum wires at finite temperatures where the
Hubbard interaction is . We find that the anomalous commutator
induced by the constraints gives rise to the 0.7 anomalous conductance.Comment: To be published in J.Phys:Condens.Matter, April 201
Ground state and finite temperature behavior of 1/4-filled band zigzag ladders
We consider the simplest example of lattice frustration in the 1/4-filled
band, a one-dimensional chain with next-nearest neighbor interactions. For this
zigzag ladder with electron-electron as well as electron-phonon interactions we
present numerical results for ground state as well as thermodynamic properties.
In this system the ground state bond distortion pattern is independent of
electron-electron interaction strength. The spin gap in the ground state of the
zigzag ladder increases with the degree of frustration. Unlike in
one-dimension, where the spin-gap and charge ordering transitions can be
distinct, we show that in the ladder they occur simultaneously. We discuss spin
gap and charge ordering transitions in 1/4-filled materials with one, two, or
three dimensional crystal structures. We show empirically that regardless of
dimensionality the occurrence of simultaneous or distinct charge and magnetic
transitions can be correlated with the ground state bond distortion pattern.Comment: 12 pages, 8 eps figure
The spin-1/2 J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice: Exact diagonalization for N=40 spins
We present numerical exact results for the ground state and the low-lying
excitations for the spin-1/2 J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on finite square
lattices of up to N=40 sites. Using finite-size extrapolation we determine the
ground-state energy, the magnetic order parameters, the spin gap, the uniform
susceptibility, as well as the spin-wave velocity and the spin stiffness as
functions of the frustration parameter J2/J1. In agreement with the generally
excepted scenario we find semiclassical magnetically ordered phases for J2 <
J2^{c1} and J2 > J2^{c2} separated by a gapful quantum paramagnetic phase. We
estimate J2^{c1} \approx 0.35J1 and J2^{c2} \approx 0.66J1.Comment: 16 pages, 2 tables, 11 figure