276 research outputs found
The glassy response of solid He-4 to torsional oscillations
We calculated the glassy response of solid He-4 to torsional oscillations
assuming a phenomenological glass model. Making only a few assumptions about
the distribution of glassy relaxation times in a small subsystem of otherwise
rigid solid He-4, we can account for the magnitude of the observed period shift
and concomitant dissipation peak in several torsion oscillator experiments. The
implications of the glass model for solid He-4 are threefold: (1) The dynamics
of solid He-4 is governed by glassy relaxation processes. (2) The distribution
of relaxation times varies significantly between different torsion oscillator
experiments. (3) The mechanical response of a torsion oscillator does not
require a supersolid component to account for the observed anomaly at low
temperatures, though we cannot rule out its existence.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, presented at QFS200
Two-body correlations and the superfluid fraction for nonuniform systems
We extend the one-body phase function upper bound on the superfluid fraction
in a periodic solid (a spatially ordered supersolid) to include two-body phase
correlations. The one-body current density is no longer proportional to the
gradient of the one-body phase times the one-body density, but rather it
depends also on two-body correlation functions. The equations that
simultaneously determine the one-body and two-body phase functions require a
knowledge of one-, two-, and three-body correlation functions. The approach can
also be extended to disordered solids. Fluids, with two-body densities and
two-body phase functions that are translationally invariant, cannot take
advantage of this additional degree of freedom to lower their energy.Comment: 13 page
Zero-point vacancies in quantum solids
A Jastrow wave function (JWF) and a shadow wave function (SWF) describe a
quantum solid with Bose--Einstein condensate; i.e. a supersolid. It is known
that both JWF and SWF describe a quantum solid with also a finite equilibrium
concentration of vacancies x_v. We outline a route for estimating x_v by
exploiting the existing formal equivalence between the absolute square of the
ground state wave function and the Boltzmann weight of a classical solid. We
compute x_v for the quantum solids described by JWF and SWF employing very
accurate numerical techniques. For JWF we find a very small value for the zero
point vacancy concentration, x_v=(1.4\pm0.1) x 10^-6. For SWF, which presently
gives the best variational description of solid 4He, we find the significantly
larger value x_v=(1.4\pm0.1) x 10^-3 at a density close to melting. We also
study two and three vacancies. We find that there is a strong short range
attraction but the vacancies do not form a bound state.Comment: 19 pages, submitted to J. Low Temp. Phy
Study of solid 4He in two dimensions. The issue of zero-point defects and study of confined crystal
Defects are believed to play a fundamental role in the supersolid state of
4He. We report on studies by exact Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations at
zero temperature of the properties of solid 4He in presence of many vacancies,
up to 30 in two dimensions (2D). In all studied cases the crystalline order is
stable at least as long as the concentration of vacancies is below 2.5%. In the
2D system for a small number, n_v, of vacancies such defects can be identified
in the crystalline lattice and are strongly correlated with an attractive
interaction. On the contrary when n_v~10 vacancies in the relaxed system
disappear and in their place one finds dislocations and a revival of the
Bose-Einstein condensation. Thus, should zero-point motion defects be present
in solid 4He, such defects would be dislocations and not vacancies, at least in
2D. In order to avoid using periodic boundary conditions we have studied the
exact ground state of solid 4He confined in a circular region by an external
potential. We find that defects tend to be localized in an interfacial region
of width of about 15 A. Our computation allows to put as upper bound limit to
zero--point defects the concentration 0.003 in the 2D system close to melting
density.Comment: 17 pages, accepted for publication in J. Low Temp. Phys., Special
Issue on Supersolid
Glide and Superclimb of Dislocations in Solid He
Glide and climb of quantum dislocations under finite external stress,
variation of chemical potential and bias (geometrical slanting) in Peierls
potential are studied by Monte Carlo simulations of the effective string model.
We treat on unified ground quantum effects at finite temperatures . Climb at
low is assisted by superflow along dislocation core -- {\it superclimb}.
Above some critical stress avalanche-type creation of kinks is found. It is
characterized by hysteretic behavior at low . At finite biases gliding
dislocation remains rough even at lowest -- the behavior opposite to
non-slanted dislocations. In contrast to glide, superclimb is characterized by
quantum smooth state at low temperatures even for finite bias. In some
intermediate -range giant values of the compressibility as well as
non-Luttinger type behavior of the core superfluid are observed.Comment: Updated version submitted to JLTP as QFS2010 proceedings; 11 pages, 6
figure
A glassy contribution to the heat capacity of hcp He solids
We model the low-temperature specific heat of solid He in the hexagonal
closed packed structure by invoking two-level tunneling states in addition to
the usual phonon contribution of a Debye crystal for temperatures far below the
Debye temperature, . By introducing a cutoff energy in the
two-level tunneling density of states, we can describe the excess specific heat
observed in solid hcp He, as well as the low-temperature linear term in the
specific heat. Agreement is found with recent measurements of the temperature
behavior of both specific heat and pressure. These results suggest the presence
of a very small fraction, at the parts-per-million (ppm) level, of two-level
tunneling systems in solid He, irrespective of the existence of
supersolidity.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Meson screening masses from lattice QCD with two light and the strange quark
We present results for screening masses of mesons built from light and
strange quarks in the temperature range of approximately between 140 MeV to 800
MeV. The lattice computations were performed with 2+1 dynamical light and
strange flavors of improved (p4) staggered fermions along a line of constant
physics defined by a pion mass of about 220 MeV and a kaon mass of 500 MeV. The
lattices had temporal extents Nt = 4, 6 and 8 and aspect ratios of Ns / Nt \geq
4. At least up to a temperature of 140 MeV the pseudo-scalar screening mass
remains almost equal to the corresponding zero temperature pseudo-scalar (pole)
mass. At temperatures around 3Tc (Tc being the transition temperature) the
continuum extrapolated pseudo-scalar screening mass approaches very close to
the free continuum result of 2 \pi T from below. On the other hand, at high
temperatures the vector screening mass turns out to be larger than the free
continuum value of 2 \pi T. The pseudo-scalar and the vector screening masses
do not become degenerate even for a temperature as high as 4Tc. Using these
mesonic spatial correlation functions we have also investigated the restoration
of chiral symmetry and the effective restoration of the axial symmetry. We have
found that the vector and the axial-vector screening correlators become
degenerate, indicating chiral symmetry restoration, at a temperature which is
consistent with the QCD transition temperature obtained in previous studies. On
the other hand, the pseudo-scalar and the scalar screening correlators become
degenerate only at temperatures larger than 1.3Tc, indicating that the
effective restoration of the axial symmetry takes place at a temperature larger
than the QCD transition temperature.Comment: Published versio
Defects and glassy dynamics in solid He-4: Perspectives and current status
We review the anomalous behavior of solid He-4 at low temperatures with
particular attention to the role of structural defects present in solid. The
discussion centers around the possible role of two level systems and structural
glassy components for inducing the observed anomalies. We propose that the
origin of glassy behavior is due to the dynamics of defects like dislocations
formed in He-4. Within the developed framework of glassy components in a solid,
we give a summary of the results and predictions for the effects that cover the
mechanical, thermodynamic, viscoelastic, and electro-elastic contributions of
the glassy response of solid He-4. Our proposed glass model for solid He-4 has
several implications: (1) The anomalous properties of He-4 can be accounted for
by allowing defects to freeze out at lowest temperatures. The dynamics of solid
He-4 is governed by glasslike (glassy) relaxation processes and the
distribution of relaxation times varies significantly between different
torsional oscillator, shear modulus, and dielectric function experiments. (2)
Any defect freeze-out will be accompanied by thermodynamic signatures
consistent with entropy contributions from defects. It follows that such
entropy contribution is much smaller than the required superfluid fraction, yet
it is sufficient to account for excess entropy at lowest temperatures. (3) We
predict a Cole-Cole type relation between the real and imaginary part of the
response functions for rotational and planar shear that is occurring due to the
dynamics of defects. Similar results apply for other response functions. (4)
Using the framework of glassy dynamics, we predict low-frequency yet to be
measured electro-elastic features in defect rich He-4 crystals. These
predictions allow one to directly test the ideas and very presence of glassy
contributions in He-4.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figure
Classification of a supersolid: Trial wavefunctions, Symmetry breakings and Excitation spectra
A state of matter is characterized by its symmetry breaking and elementary
excitations.
A supersolid is a state which breaks both translational symmetry and internal
symmetry.
Here, we review some past and recent works in phenomenological
Ginsburg-Landau theories, ground state trial wavefunctions and microscopic
numerical calculations. We also write down a new effective supersolid
Hamiltonian on a lattice.
The eigenstates of the Hamiltonian contains both the ground state
wavefunction and all the excited states (supersolidon) wavefunctions. We
contrast various kinds of supersolids in both continuous systems and on
lattices, both condensed matter and cold atom systems. We provide additional
new insights in studying their order parameters, symmetry breaking patterns,
the excitation spectra and detection methods.Comment: REVTEX4, 19 pages, 3 figure
Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience?
Given the increasingly global stresses on forests, many ecologists argue that managers must maintain ecological resilience: the capacity of ecosystems to absorb disturbances without undergoing fundamental change. In this review we ask: Can the emerging paradigm of natural-disturbance-based management (NDBM) maintain ecological resilience in managed forests? Applying resilience theory requires careful articulation of the ecosystem state under consideration, the disturbances and stresses that affect the persistence of possible alternative states, and the spatial and temporal scales of management relevance. Implementing NDBM while maintaining resilience means recognizing that (i) biodiversity is important for long-term ecosystem persistence, (ii) natural disturbances play a critical role as a generator of structural and compositional heterogeneity at multiple scales, and (iii) traditional management tends to produce forests more homogeneous than those disturbed naturally and increases the likelihood of unexpected catastrophic change by constraining variation of key environmental processes. NDBM may maintain resilience if silvicultural strategies retain the structures and processes that perpetuate desired states while reducing those that enhance resilience of undesirable states. Such strategies require an understanding of harvesting impacts on slow ecosystem processes, such as seed-bank or nutrient dynamics, which in the long term can lead to ecological surprises by altering the forest's capacity to reorganize after disturbance
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