Neon Lights Up a Controversy: the Solar Ne/O Abundance

The standard solar model was so reliable that it could predict the existence of the massive neutrino. Helioseismology measurements were so precise that they could determine the depth of the convection zone. This agreement between theory and observation was the envy of all astrophysics -- until recently when sophisticated three-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations of the solar atmosphere reduced the metal content by a factor of almost two. Antia & Basu (2005) suggested that a higher value of the solar neon abundance, Ne/O = 0.52, would resolve this controversy. Drake & Testa (2005) presented strong evidence in favor of this idea from a sample of 21 Chandra stars with enhanced values of the neon abundance, Ne/O = 0.41. In this paper, we have analyzed solar active region spectra from the archive of the Flat Crystal Spectrometer on Solar Maximum Mission, a NASA mission from the 1980s, as well as full-Sun spectra from the pioneering days of X-ray astronomy in the 1960s. These data seem consistent with the standard neon-to-oxygen abundance value, Ne/O = 0.15 (Grevesse & Sauval 1998). If these results prove to be correct, than the enhanced-neon hypothesis will not resolve the current controversy.Comment: submitted to ApJ Letter

Energy-resolved inelastic electron scattering off a magnetic impurity

We study inelastic scattering of energetic electrons off a Kondo impurity. If the energy E of the incoming electron (measured from the Fermi level) exceeds significantly the Kondo temperature T_K, then the differential inelastic cross-section \sigma (E,w), i.e., the cross-section characterizing scattering of an electron with a given energy transfer w, is well-defined. We show that \sigma (E,w) factorizes into two parts. The E-dependence of \sigma (E,w) is logarithmically weak and is due to the Kondo renormalization of the effective coupling. We are able to relate the w-dependence to the spin-spin correlation function of the magnetic impurity. Using this relation, we demonstrate that in the absence of magnetic field the dynamics of the impurity spin causes the electron scattering to be inelastic at any temperature. Quenching of the spin dynamics by an applied magnetic field results in a finite elastic component of the electron scattering cross-section. The differential scattering cross-section may be extracted from the measurements of relaxation of hot electrons injected in conductors containing localized spins.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures; final version as published, minor changes, reference adde

Spin Transfer Torques in MnSi at Ultra-low Current Densities

Spin manipulation using electric currents is one of the most promising directions in the field of spintronics. We used neutron scattering to observe the influence of an electric current on the magnetic structure in a bulk material. In the skyrmion lattice of MnSi, where the spins form a lattice of magnetic vortices similar to the vortex lattice in type II superconductors, we observe the rotation of the diffraction pattern in response to currents which are over five orders of magnitude smaller than those typically applied in experimental studies on current-driven magnetization dynamics in nanostructures. We attribute our observations to an extremely efficient coupling of inhomogeneous spin currents to topologically stable knots in spin structures

Critical conductance of a one-dimensional doped Mott insulator

We consider the two-terminal conductance of a one-dimensional Mott insulator undergoing the commensurate-incommensurate quantum phase transition to a conducting state. We treat the leads as Luttinger liquids. At a specific value of compressibility of the leads, corresponding to the Luther-Emery point, the conductance can be described in terms of the free propagation of non-interacting fermions with charge e/\sqrt{2}. At that point, the temperature dependence of the conductance across the quantum phase transition is described by a Fermi function. The deviation from the Luther-Emery point in the leads changes the temperature dependence qualitatively. In the metallic state, the low-temperature conductance is determined by the properties of the leads, and is described by the conventional Luttinger liquid theory. In the insulating state, conductance occurs via activation of e/\sqrt{2} charges, and is independent of the Luttinger liquid compressibility.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Published versio

Thermodynamic Properties of the One-Dimensional Extended Quantum Compass Model in the Presence of a Transverse Field

The presence of a quantum critical point can significantly affect the thermodynamic properties of a material at finite temperatures. This is reflected, e.g., in the entropy landscape S(T; c) in the vicinity of a quantum critical point, yielding particularly strong variations for varying the tuning parameter c such as magnetic field. In this work we have studied the thermodynamic properties of the quantum compass model in the presence of a transverse field. The specific heat, entropy and cooling rate under an adiabatic demagnetization process have been calculated. During an adiabatic (de)magnetization process temperature drops in the vicinity of a field-induced zero-temperature quantum phase transitions. However close to field-induced quantum phase transitions we observe a large magnetocaloric effect

Thermal Conductivity of Spin-1/2 Chains

We study the low-temperature transport properties of clean one-dimensional spin-1/2 chains coupled to phonons. Due to the presence of approximate conservation laws, the heat current decays very slowly giving rise to an exponentially large heat conductivity, $\kappa ~ e^{T^*/T}$. As a result of an interplay of Umklapp scattering and spinon-phonon coupling, the characteristic energy scale $T^*$ turns out to be of order $\Theta_D/2$, where $\Theta_D$ is the Debye energy, rather than the magnetic exchange interaction $J$ -- in agreement with recent measurements in SrCuO compounds. A large magnetic field strongly affects the heat transport by two distinct mechanisms. First, it induces a LINEAR spinon--phonon coupling, which alters the nature of the $T -> 0$ fixed point: the elementary excitations of the system are COMPOSITE SPINON-PHONON objects. Second, the change of the magnetization and the corresponding change of the wave vector of the spinons strongly affects the way in which various Umklapp processes can relax the heat current, leading to a characteristic fractal--like spiky behavior of $\kappa$ when plotted as a function of magnetization at fixed T.Comment: 16 pages, RevTex4, 2 figures included; revised refs. and some useful comments on experimental relevance. On July 12 2005, added an appendix correcting an error in the form of the phonon propagator. The main result is unchange

Elastocaloric determination of the phase diagram of Sr2_2RuO4_4

One of the main developments in unconventional superconductivity in the past two decades has been the discovery that most unconventional superconductors form phase diagrams that also contain other strongly correlated states. Many systems of interest are therefore close to more than one instability, and tuning between the resultant ordered phases is the subject of intense research1. In recent years, uniaxial pressure applied using piezoelectric-based devices has been shown to be a particularly versatile new method of tuning, leading to experiments that have advanced our understanding of the fascinating unconventional superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Here we map out its phase diagram using high-precision measurements of the elastocaloric effect in what we believe to be the first such study including both the normal and the superconducting states. We observe a strong entropy quench on entering the superconducting state, in excellent agreement with a model calculation for pairing at the Van Hove point, and obtain a quantitative estimate of the entropy change associated with entry to a magnetic state that is observed in proximity to the superconductivity. The phase diagram is intriguing both for its similarity to those seen in other families of unconventional superconductors and for extra features unique, so far, to Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

Oscillations of the magnetic polarization in a Kondo impurity at finite magnetic fields

The electronic properties of a Kondo impurity are investigated in a magnetic field using linear response theory. The distribution of electrical charge and magnetic polarization are calculated in real space. The (small) magnetic field does not change the charge distribution. However, it unmasks the Kondo cloud. The (equal) weight of the d-electron components with their magnetic moment up and down is shifted and the compensating s-electron clouds don't cancel any longer (a requirement for an experimental detection of the Kondo cloud). In addition to the net magnetic polarization of the conduction electrons an oscillating magnetic polarization with a period of half the Fermi wave length is observed. However, this oscillating magnetic polarization does not show the long range behavior of Rudermann-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida oscillations because the oscillations don't extend beyond the Kondo radius. They represent an internal electronic structure of the Kondo impurity in a magnetic field. PACS: 75.20.Hr, 71.23.An, 71.27.+

Quantum Criticality in Heavy Fermion Metals

Quantum criticality describes the collective fluctuations of matter undergoing a second-order phase transition at zero temperature. Heavy fermion metals have in recent years emerged as prototypical systems to study quantum critical points. There have been considerable efforts, both experimental and theoretical, which use these magnetic systems to address problems that are central to the broad understanding of strongly correlated quantum matter. Here, we summarize some of the basic issues, including i) the extent to which the quantum criticality in heavy fermion metals goes beyond the standard theory of order-parameter fluctuations, ii) the nature of the Kondo effect in the quantum critical regime, iii) the non-Fermi liquid phenomena that accompany quantum criticality, and iv) the interplay between quantum criticality and unconventional superconductivity.Comment: (v2) 39 pages, 8 figures; shortened per the editorial mandate; to appear in Nature Physics. (v1) 43 pages, 8 figures; Non-technical review article, intended for general readers; the discussion part contains more specialized topic