2,509 research outputs found
Scattering by impurity-induced order parameter ``holes'' in d-wave superconductors
Nonmagnetic impurities in d-wave superconductors cause strong local
suppressions of the order parameter. We investigate the observable effects of
the scatterigng off such suppressions in bulk samples by treating the order
parameter "hole" as a pointlike off-diagonal scatterer treated within a
self-consistent t-matrix approximation. Strong scattering potentials lead to a
finite-energy spectral feature in the d-wave "impurity band", the observable
effects of which include enhanced low-temperature microwave power absorption
and a stronger sensitivity of the London penetration depth to disorder than
found previously in simpler ``dirty'' d-wave models.Comment: 5 pp. Revtex including 4 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Robustness of Quasiparticle Interference Test for Sign-changing Gaps in Multiband Superconductors
Recently, a test for a sign-changing gap function in a candidate multiband
unconventional superconductor involving quasiparticle interference data was
proposed. The test was based on the antisymmetric, Fourier transformed
conductance maps integrated over a range of momenta corresponding to
interband processes, which was argued to display a particular resonant form,
provided the gaps changed sign between the Fermi surface sheets connected by
. The calculation was performed for a single impurity, however, raising
the question of how robust this measure is as a test of sign-changing pairing
in a realistic system with many impurities. Here we reproduce the results of
the previous work within a model with two distinct Fermi surface sheets, and
show explicitly that the previous result, while exact for a single nonmagnetic
scatterer and also in the limit of a dense set of random impurities, can be
difficult to implement for a few dilute impurities. In this case, however,
appropriate isolation of a single impurity is sufficient to recover the
expected result, allowing a robust statement about the gap signs to be made.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure
Cubic Curves, Finite Geometry and Cryptography
Some geometry on non-singular cubic curves, mainly over finite fields, is
surveyed. Such a curve has 9,3,1 or 0 points of inflexion, and cubic curves are
classified accordingly. The group structure and the possible numbers of
rational points are also surveyed. A possible strengthening of the security of
elliptic curve cryptography is proposed using a `shared secret' related to the
group law. Cubic curves are also used in a new way to construct sets of points
having various combinatorial and geometric properties that are of particular
interest in finite Desarguesian planes.Comment: This is a version of our article to appear in Acta Applicandae
Mathematicae. In this version, we have corrected a sentence in the third
paragraph. The final publication is available at springerlink.com at
http://www.springerlink.com/content/xh85647871215644
Signatures of unconventional pairing in near-vortex electronic structure of LiFeAs
A major question in Fe-based superconductors remains the structure of the
pairing, in particular whether it is of unconventional nature. The electronic
structure near vortices can serve as a platform for phase-sensitive
measurements to answer this question. By solving Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations
for LiFeAs, we calculate the energy-dependent local electronic structure near a
vortex for different nodeless gap-structure possibilities. At low energies, the
local density of states (LDOS) around a vortex is determined by the
normal-state electronic structure. However, at energies closer to the gap
value, the LDOS can distinguish an anisotropic from a conventional isotropic
s-wave gap. We show within our self-consistent calculation that in addition,
the local gap profile differs between a conventional and an unconventional
pairing. We explain this through admixing of a secondary order parameter within
Ginzburg-Landau theory. In-field scanning tunneling spectroscopy near vortices
can therefore be used as a real-space probe of the gap structure
On the Veldkamp Space of GQ(4, 2)
The Veldkamp space, in the sense of Buekenhout and Cohen, of the generalized
quadrangle GQ(4, 2) is shown not to be a (partial) linear space by simply
giving several examples of Veldkamp lines (V-lines) having two or even three
Veldkamp points (V-points) in common. Alongside the ordinary V-lines of size
five, one also finds V-lines of cardinality three and two. There, however,
exists a subspace of the Veldkamp space isomorphic to PG(3, 4) having 45 perps
and 40 plane ovoids as its 85 V-points, with its 357 V-lines being of four
distinct types. A V-line of the first type consists of five perps on a common
line (altogether 27 of them), the second type features three perps and two
ovoids sharing a tricentric triad (240 members), whilst the third and fourth
type each comprises a perp and four ovoids in the rosette centered at the
(common) center of the perp (90). It is also pointed out that 160 non-plane
ovoids (tripods) fall into two distinct orbits -- of sizes 40 and 120 -- with
respect to the stabilizer group of a copy of GQ(2, 2); a tripod of the
first/second orbit sharing with the GQ(2, 2) a tricentric/unicentric triad,
respectively. Finally, three remarkable subconfigurations of V-lines
represented by fans of ovoids through a fixed ovoid are examined in some
detail.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures; v2 - slightly polished, subsection on fans of
ovoids and three figures adde
Microwave Conductivity due to Impurity Scattering in a d-wave Superconductor
The self-consistent t-matrix approximation for impurity scattering in
unconventional superconductors is used to interpret recent measurements of the
temperature and frequency dependence of the microwave conductivity of YBCO
crystals below 20K. In this theory, the conductivity is expressed in terms of a
fequency dependent single particle self-energy, determined by the impurity
scattering phase shift which is small for weak (Born) scattering and approaches
for unitary scattering. Inverting this process, microwave
conductivity data are used to extract an effective single-particle self-energy
and obtain insight into the nature of the operative scattering processes. It is
found that the effective self-energy is well approximated by a constant plus a
linear term in frequency with a small positive slope for thermal quasiparticle
energies below 20K. Possible physical origins of this form of self-energy are
discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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