Predicted electric field near small superconducting ellipsoids

We predict the existence of large electric fields near the surface of superconducting bodies of ellipsoidal shape of dimensions comparable to the penetration depth. The electric field is quadrupolar in nature with significant corrections from higher order multipoles. Prolate (oblate) superconducting ellipsoids are predicted to exhibit fields consistent with negative (positive) quadrupole moments, reflecting the fundamental charge asymmetry of matter.Comment: To be published in Phys.Rev.Let

Superconductivity from Undressing

Photoemission experiments in high $T_c$ cuprates indicate that quasiparticles are heavily 'dressed' in the normal state, particularly in the low doping regime. Furthermore these experiments show that a gradual undressing occurs both in the normal state as the system is doped and the carrier concentration increases, as well as at fixed carrier concentration as the temperature is lowered and the system becomes superconducting. A similar picture can be inferred from optical experiments. It is argued that these experiments can be simply understood with the single assumption that the quasiparticle dressing is a function of the local carrier concentration. Microscopic Hamiltonians describing this physics are discussed. The undressing process manifests itself in both the one-particle and two-particle Green's functions, hence leads to observable consequences in photoemission and optical experiments respectively. An essential consequence of this phenomenology is that the microscopic Hamiltonians describing it break electron-hole symmetry: these Hamiltonians predict that superconductivity will only occur for carriers with hole-like character, as proposed in the theory of hole superconductivity

Superconductivity from Undressing. II. Single Particle Green's Function and Photoemission in Cuprates

Experimental evidence indicates that the superconducting transition in high $T_c$ cuprates is an 'undressing' transition. Microscopic mechanisms giving rise to this physics were discussed in the first paper of this series. Here we discuss the calculation of the single particle Green's function and spectral function for Hamiltonians describing undressing transitions in the normal and superconducting states. A single parameter, $\Upsilon$, describes the strength of the undressing process and drives the transition to superconductivity. In the normal state, the spectral function evolves from predominantly incoherent to partly coherent as the hole concentration increases. In the superconducting state, the 'normal' Green's function acquires a contribution from the anomalous Green's function when $\Upsilon$ is non-zero; the resulting contribution to the spectral function is $positive$ for hole extraction and $negative$ for hole injection. It is proposed that these results explain the observation of sharp quasiparticle states in the superconducting state of cuprates along the $(\pi,0)$ direction and their absence along the $(\pi,\pi)$ direction.Comment: figures have been condensed in fewer pages for easier readin

An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output

I propose the index $h$, defined as the number of papers with citation number higher or equal to $h$, as a useful index to characterize the scientific output of a researcher.Comment: Small changes, some caveats added. Submitted to PNAS on 9/1, Pending Final Recommendatio