398 research outputs found
Anisotropic states of two-dimensional electrons in high magnetic fields
We study the collective states formed by two-dimensional electrons in Landau
levels of index near half-filling. By numerically solving the
self-consistent Hartree-Fock (HF) equations for a set of oblique
two-dimensional lattices, we find that the stripe state is an anisotropic
Wigner crystal (AWC), and determine its precise structure for varying values of
the filling factor. Calculating the elastic energy, we find that the shear
modulus of the AWC is small but finite (nonzero) within the HF approximation.
This implies, in particular, that the long-wavelength magnetophonon mode in the
stripe state vanishes like as in an ordinary Wigner crystal, and not
like as was found in previous studies where the energy of shear
deformations was neglected.Comment: minor corrections; 5 pages, 4 figures; version to be published in
Physical Review Letter
Gravityâinduced density and concentration profiles in binary mixtures near gasâliquid critical lines
We have calculated gravityâinduced density and concentration gradients using scaled equations of state fashioned after that of Leung and Griffiths for binary mixtures near gasâliquid critical lines. The mixtures considered here are those of heliumâ3 and heliumâ4 and of carbon dioxide and ethane. Our calculations show that the density profiles for both mixtures in any proportion of the components are similar to those of pure fluids. The concentration gradients in the helium mixture have the same appearance as the density gradients. In the carbon dioxideâethane system, however, the form of the concentration profile varies greatly, depending on the overall composition. Moreover, the temperature at which a mixture separates into two phases is slightly different from that expected for the mixture in the absence of gravity. We have also examined the case where a mixture is subjected to a large gravitational field such as can be generated in a centrifuge and found that, although the density gradient in all the mixtures is like that in pure fluids, the concentration gradients in the mixtures of carbon dioxide and ethane have complex features related to the presence of critical azeotropy
Heavy Fermions and Quantum Phase Transitions
Quantum phase transitions arise in many-body systems due to competing
interactions that promote rivaling ground states. Recent years have seen the
identification of continuous quantum phase transitions, or quantum critical
points, in a host of antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion compounds. Studies of the
interplay between the various effects have revealed new classes of quantum
critical points, and are uncovering a plethora of new quantum phases. At the
same time, quantum criticality has provided fresh insights into the electronic,
magnetic, and superconducting properties of the heavy-fermion metals. We review
these developments, discuss the open issues, and outline some directions for
future research.Comment: review article, 26 pages, 4 figure
Fermi-surface transformation across the pseudogap critical point of the cuprate superconductor LaNdSrCuO
The electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient R of the
tetragonal single-layer cuprate Nd-LSCO were measured in magnetic fields up to
T, large enough to access the normal state at , for closely
spaced dopings across the pseudogap critical point at .
Below , both coefficients exhibit an upturn at low temperature, which
gets more pronounced with decreasing . Taken together, these upturns show
that the normal-state carrier density at drops upon entering the
pseudogap phase. Quantitatively, it goes from at to at . By contrast, the mobility does not change appreciably, as
revealed by the magneto-resistance. The transition has a width in doping and
some internal structure, whereby R responds more slowly than to the
opening of the pseudogap. We attribute this difference to a Fermi surface that
supports both hole-like and electron-like carriers in the interval , with compensating contributions to R. Our data are in excellent
agreement with recent high-field data on YBCO and LSCO. The quantitative
consistency across three different cuprates shows that a drop in carrier
density from to is a universal signature of the pseudogap
transition at . We discuss the implication of these findings for the
nature of the pseudogap phase.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure
Fermi-surface reconstruction and two-carrier model for the Hall effect in YBa2Cu4O8
Pulsed field measurements of the Hall resistivity and magnetoresistance of
underdoped YBa2Cu4O8 are analyzed self-consistently using a simple model based
on coexisting electron and hole carriers. The resultant mobilities and Hall
numbers are found to vary markedly with temperature. The conductivity of the
hole carriers drops by one order of magnitude below 30 K, explaining the
absence of quantum oscillations from these particular pockets. Meanwhile the
Hall coefficient of the electron carriers becomes strongly negative below 50 K.
The overall quality of the fits not only provides strong evidence for
Fermi-surface reconstruction in Y-based cuprates, it also strongly constrains
the type of reconstruction that might be occurring.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, updated after publication in Physical Review B
(Rapid Communication
Pseudogap phase of cuprate superconductors confined by Fermi surface topology
The properties of cuprate high-temperature superconductors are largely shaped
by competing phases whose nature is often a mystery. Chiefly among them is the
pseudogap phase, which sets in at a doping that is material-dependent.
What determines is currently an open question. Here we show that the
pseudogap cannot open on an electron-like Fermi surface, and can only exist
below the doping at which the large Fermi surface goes from hole-like
to electron-like, so that . We derive this result from
high-magnetic-field transport measurements in
LaNdSrCuO under pressure, which reveal a large and
unexpected shift of with pressure, driven by a corresponding shift in
. This necessary condition for pseudogap formation, imposed by details
of the Fermi surface, is a strong constraint for theories of the pseudogap
phase. Our finding that can be tuned with a modest pressure opens a new
route for experimental studies of the pseudogap.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 7 supplemental figure
Fermi-surface collapse and dynamical scaling near a quantum critical point
Quantum criticality arises when a macroscopic phase of matter undergoes a
continuous transformation at zero temperature. While the collective
fluctuations at quantum-critical points are being increasingly recognized as
playing an important role in a wide range of quantum materials, the nature of
the underlying quantum-critical excitations remains poorly understood. Here we
report in-depth measurements of the Hall effect in the heavy-fermion metal
YbRh2Si2, a prototypical system for quantum criticality. We isolate a rapid
crossover of the isothermal Hall coefficient clearly connected to the
quantum-critical point from a smooth background contribution; the latter exists
away from the quantum-critical point and is detectable through our studies only
over a wide range of magnetic field. Importantly, the width of the critical
crossover is proportional to temperature, which violates the predictions of
conventional theory and is instead consistent with an energy over temperature,
E/T, scaling of the quantum-critical single-electron fluctuation spectrum. Our
results provide evidence that the quantum-dynamical scaling and a critical
Kondo breakdown simultaneously operate in the same material. Correspondingly,
we infer that macroscopic scale-invariant fluctuations emerge from the
microscopic many-body excitations associated with a collapsing Fermi-surface.
This insight is expected to be relevant to the unconventional
finite-temperature behavior in a broad range of strongly correlated quantum
systems.Comment: 5 pages, plus supporting materia
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