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

Quantum Monte Carlo and exact diagonalization study of a dynamic Hubbard model

A one-dimensional model of electrons locally coupled to spin-1/2 degrees of freedom is studied by numerical techniques. The model is one in the class of $dynamic$ $Hubbard$ $models$ that describe the relaxation of an atomic orbital upon double electron occupancy due to electron-electron interactions. We study the parameter regime where pairing occurs in this model by exact diagonalization of small clusters. World line quantum Monte Carlo simulations support the results of exact diagonalization for larger systems and show that kinetic energy is lowered when pairing occurs. The qualitative physics of this model and others in its class, obtained through approximate analytic calculations, is that superconductivity occurs through hole undressing even in parameter regimes where the effective on-site interaction is strongly repulsive. Our numerical results confirm the expected qualitative behavior, and show that pairing will occur in a substantially larger parameter regime than predicted by the approximate low energy effective Hamiltonian.Comment: Some changes made in response to referees comments. To be published in Phys.Rev.

Meissner effect, Spin Meissner effect and charge expulsion in superconductors

The Meissner effect and the Spin Meissner effect are the spontaneous generation of charge and spin current respectively near the surface of a metal making a transition to the superconducting state. The Meissner effect is well known but, I argue, not explained by the conventional theory, the Spin Meissner effect has yet to be detected. I propose that both effects take place in all superconductors, the first one in the presence of an applied magnetostatic field, the second one even in the absence of applied external fields. Both effects can be understood under the assumption that electrons expand their orbits and thereby lower their quantum kinetic energy in the transition to superconductivity. Associated with this process, the metal expels negative charge from the interior to the surface and an electric field is generated in the interior. The resulting charge current can be understood as arising from the magnetic Lorentz force on radially outgoing electrons, and the resulting spin current can be understood as arising from a spin Hall effect originating in the Rashba-like coupling of the electron magnetic moment to the internal electric field. The associated electrodynamics is qualitatively different from London electrodynamics, yet can be described by a small modification of the conventional London equations. The stability of the superconducting state and its macroscopic phase coherence hinge on the fact that the orbital angular momentum of the carriers of the spin current is found to be exactly $\hbar/2$, indicating a topological origin. The simplicity and universality of our theory argue for its validity, and the occurrence of superconductivity in many classes of materials can be understood within our theory.Comment: Submitted to SLAFES XX Proceeding

Correcting 100 years of misunderstanding: electric fields in superconductors, hole superconductivity, and the Meissner effect

From the outset of superconductivity research it was assumed that no electrostatic fields could exist inside superconductors, and this assumption was incorporated into conventional London electrodynamics. Yet the London brothers themselves initially (in 1935) had proposed an electrodynamic theory of superconductors that allowed for static electric fields in their interior, which they unfortunately discarded a year later. I argue that the Meissner effect in superconductors necessitates the existence of an electrostatic field in their interior, originating in the expulsion of negative charge from the interior to the surface when a metal becomes superconducting. The theory of hole superconductivity predicts this physics, and associated with it a macroscopic spin current in the ground state of superconductors ("Spin Meissner effect"), qualitatively different from what is predicted by conventional BCS-London theory. A new London-like electrodynamic description of superconductors is proposed to describe this physics. Within this theory superconductivity is driven by lowering of quantum kinetic energy, the fact that the Coulomb repulsion strongly depends on the character of the charge carriers, namely whether electron- or hole-like, and the spin-orbit interaction. The electron-phonon interaction does not play a significant role, yet the existence of an isotope effect in many superconductors is easily understood. In the strong coupling regime the theory appears to favor local charge inhomogeneity. The theory is proposed to apply to all superconducting materials, from the elements to the high $T_c$ cuprates and pnictides, is highly falsifiable, and explains a wide variety of experimental observations.Comment: Proceedings of the conference "Quantum phenomena in complex matter 2011 - Stripes 2011", Rome, 10 July -16 July 2011, to be published in J. Supercond. Nov. Mag

R-parity Conserving Supersymmetry, Neutrino Mass and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

We consider contributions of R-parity conserving softly broken supersymmetry (SUSY) to neutrinoless double beta (\znbb) decay via the (B-L)-violating sneutrino mass term. The latter is a generic ingredient of any weak-scale SUSY model with a Majorana neutrino mass. The new R-parity conserving SUSY contributions to \znbb are realized at the level of box diagrams. We derive the effective Lagrangian describing the SUSY-box mechanism of \znbb-decay and the corresponding nuclear matrix elements. The 1-loop sneutrino contribution to the Majorana neutrino mass is also derived. Given the data on the \znbb-decay half-life of $^{76}$Ge and the neutrino mass we obtain constraints on the (B-L)-violating sneutrino mass. These constraints leave room for accelerator searches for certain manifestations of the 2nd and 3rd generation (B-L)-violating sneutrino mass term, but are most probably too tight for first generation (B-L)-violating sneutrino masses to be searched for directly.Comment: LATEX, 29 pages + 4 (uuencoded) figures appende

Quasiparticle undressing in a dynamic Hubbard model: exact diagonalization study

Dynamic Hubbard models have been proposed as extensions of the conventional Hubbard model to describe the orbital relaxation that occurs upon double occupancy of an atomic orbital. These models give rise to pairing of holes and superconductivity in certain parameter ranges. Here we explore the changes in carrier effective mass and quasiparticle weight and in one- and two-particle spectral functions that occur in a dynamic Hubbard model upon pairing, by exact diagonalization of small systems. It is found that pairing is associated with lowering of effective mass and increase of quasiparticle weight, manifested in transfer of spectral weight from high to low frequencies in one- and two-particle spectral functions. This 'undressing' phenomenology resembles observations in transport, photoemission and optical experiments in high T_c cuprates. This behavior is contrasted with that of a conventional electron-hole symmetric Holstein-like model with attractive on-site interaction, where pairing is associated with 'dressing' instead of 'undressing'