Recent Results from the SIMPLE Dark Matter Search

SIMPLE is an experimental search for evidence of spin-dependent dark matter, based on superheated droplet detectors using C$_{2}$ClF$_{5}$. We report preliminary results of a 0.6 kgdy exposure of five one liter devices, each containing $\sim$10 g active mass, in the 1500 mwe LSBB (Rustrel, France). In combination with improvements in detector sensitivity, the results exclude a WIMP--proton interaction above 5 pb at M$_{\chi}$ = 50 GeV/c$^{2}$.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures,contribution to IDM2004, Sept. 6-10, 2004, Edinburgh, U

Convergence of density-matrix expansions for nuclear interactions

We extend density-matrix expansions in nuclei to higher orders in derivatives of densities and test their convergence properties. The expansions allow for converting the interaction energies characteristic to finite- and short-range nuclear effective forces into quasi-local density functionals. We also propose a new type of expansion that has excellent convergence properties when benchmarked against the binding energies obtained for the Gogny interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Spin waves in magnetic quantum wells with Coulomb interaction and sdsd exchange coupling

We theoretically describe the spin excitation spectrum of a two dimensional electron gas embedded in a quantum well with localized magnetic impurities. Compared to the previous work, we introduce equations that allow to consider the interplay between the Coulomb interaction of delocalized electrons and the $sd$ exchange coupling between electrons and magnetic impurities. Strong qualitative changes are found : mixed waves propagate below the single particle continuum, an anticrossing gap is open at a specific wavevector and the kinetic damping due to the electron motion strongly influences the coupling strength between electrons and impurities spins

Long range order for lattice dipoles

We consider a system of classical Heisenberg spins on a cubic lattice in dimensions three or more, interacting via the dipole-dipole interaction. We prove that at low enough temperature the system displays orientational long range order, as expected by spin wave theory. The proof is based on reflection positivity methods. In particular, we demonstrate a previously unproven conjecture on the dispersion relation of the spin waves, first proposed by Froehlich and Spencer, which allows one to apply infrared bounds for estimating the long distance behavior of the spin-spin correlation functions.Comment: 9 page

Dielectric function of the semiconductor hole liquid: Full frequency and wave vector dependence

We study the dielectric function of the homogeneous semiconductor hole liquid of p-doped bulk III-V zinc-blende semiconductors within random phase approximation. The single-particle physics of the hole system is modeled by Luttinger's four-band Hamiltonian in its spherical approximation. Regarding the Coulomb-interacting hole liquid, the full dependence of the zero-temperature dielectric function on wave vector and frequency is explored. The imaginary part of the dielectric function is analytically obtained in terms of complicated but fully elementary expressions, while in the result for the real part nonelementary one-dimensional integrations remain to be performed. The correctness of these two independent calculations is checked via Kramers-Kronig relations. The mass difference between heavy and light holes, along with variations in the background dielectric constant, leads to dramatic alternations in the plasmon excitation pattern, and generically, two plasmon branches can be identified. These findings are the result of the evaluation of the full dielectric function and are not accessible via a high-frequency expansion. In the static limit a beating of Friedel oscillations between the Fermi wave numbers of heavy and light holes occurs.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures included. Update: Minor additions and adjustments, published versio

Froth-like minimizers of a non local free energy functional with competing interactions

We investigate the ground and low energy states of a one dimensional non local free energy functional describing at a mean field level a spin system with both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. In particular, the antiferromagnetic interaction is assumed to have a range much larger than the ferromagnetic one. The competition between these two effects is expected to lead to the spontaneous emergence of a regular alternation of long intervals on which the spin profile is magnetized either up or down, with an oscillation scale intermediate between the range of the ferromagnetic and that of the antiferromagnetic interaction. In this sense, the optimal or quasi-optimal profiles are "froth-like": if seen on the scale of the antiferromagnetic potential they look neutral, but if seen at the microscope they actually consist of big bubbles of two different phases alternating among each other. In this paper we prove the validity of this picture, we compute the oscillation scale of the quasi-optimal profiles and we quantify their distance in norm from a reference periodic profile. The proof consists of two main steps: we first coarse grain the system on a scale intermediate between the range of the ferromagnetic potential and the expected optimal oscillation scale; in this way we reduce the original functional to an effective "sharp interface" one. Next, we study the latter by reflection positivity methods, which require as a key ingredient the exact locality of the short range term. Our proof has the conceptual interest of combining coarse graining with reflection positivity methods, an idea that is presumably useful in much more general contexts than the one studied here.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figure