Glasslike vs. crystalline thermal conductivity in carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 clathrates (X = Ge, Sn)

The present controversy over the origin of glasslike thermal conductivity observed in certain crystalline materials is addressed by studies on single-crystal x-ray diffraction, thermal conductivity k(T) and specific heat Cp(T) of carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Ge, Sn) clathrates. These crystals show radically different low-temperature k(T) behaviors depending on whether their charge carriers are electrons or holes, displaying the usual crystalline peak in the former case and an anomalous glasslike plateau in the latter. In contrast, Cp(T) above 4 K and the general structural properties are essentially insensitive to carrier tuning. We analyze these combined results within the framework of a Tunneling/Resonant/Rayleigh scatterings model, and conclude that the evolution from crystalline to glasslike k(T) is accompanied by an increase both in the effective density of tunnelling states and in the resonant scattering level, while neither one of these contributions can solely account for the observed changes in the full temperature range. This suggests that the most relevant factor which determines crystalline or glasslike behavior is the coupling strength between the guest vibrational modes and the frameworks with different charge carriers.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Properties of Newly Formed Dust Grains in The Luminous Type IIn Supernova 2010jl

Supernovae (SNe) have been proposed to be the main production sites of dust grains in the Universe. Our knowledge on their importance to dust production is, however, limited by observationally poor constraints on the nature and amount of dust particles produced by individual SNe. In this paper, we present a spectrum covering optical through near-Infrared (NIR) light of the luminous Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 2010jl around one and half years after the explosion. This unique data set reveals multiple signatures of newly formed dust particles. The NIR portion of the spectrum provides a rare example where thermal emission from newly formed hot dust grains is clearly detected. We determine the main population of the dust species to be carbon grains at a temperature of ~1,350 - 1,450K at this epoch. The mass of the dust grains is derived to be ~(7.5 - 8.5) x 10^{-4} Msun. Hydrogen emission lines show wavelength-dependent absorption, which provides a good estimate on the typical size of the newly formed dust grains (~0.1 micron, and most likely <~0.01 micron). We attribute the dust grains to have been formed in a dense cooling shell as a result of a strong SN-circumstellar media (CSM) interaction. The dust grains occupy ~10% of the emitting volume, suggesting an inhomogeneous, clumpy structure. The average CSM density is required to be >~3 x 10^{7} cm^{-3}, corresponding to a mass loss rate of >~0.02 Msun yr^{-1} (for a mass loss wind velocity of ~100 km s^{-1}). This strongly supports a scenario that SN 2010jl and probably other luminous SNe IIn are powered by strong interactions within very dense CSM, perhaps created by Luminous Blue Variable (LBV)-like eruptions within the last century before the explosion.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures. Accepted by ApJ on 30 July 2013. The accepted version was submitted on 8 July 2013, and the original version was submitted on 3 March 201

Commensurability, excitation gap and topology in quantum many-particle systems on a periodic lattice

Combined with Laughlin's argument on the quantized Hall conductivity, Lieb-Schultz-Mattis argument is extended to quantum many-particle systems (including quantum spin systems) with a conserved particle number, on a periodic lattice in arbitrary dimensions. Regardless of dimensionality, interaction strength and particle statistics (bose/fermi), a finite excitation gap is possible only when the particle number per unit cell of the groundstate is an integer.Comment: 4 pages in REVTE

Excitation Spectrum of the Spin-1/2 Ferromagnetic-Antiferromagnetic Alternating Heisenberg Chain:

The natural explanation of the excitation spectrum of the spin-1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain is given from the viewpoint of the spin-1/2 ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic alternating Heisenberg chain. The energy spectrum of the latter is calculated with fixed momentum $k$ by numerical diagonalization of finite size systems. It consists of a branch of propagating triplet pair (triplet wave) and the continuum of multiple triplet waves for weak ferromagnetic coupling. As the ferromagnetic coupling increases, the triplet wave branch is absorbed in the continuum for small $k$, reproducing the characteristics of the spin-1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain.Comment: 12 Pages REVTEX, Postscript file for the figures included. SKPH-94-C00

Non-perturbative approach to Luttinger's theorem in one dimension

The Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem for spin chains is generalized to a wide range of models of interacting electrons and localized spins in one-dimensional lattice. The existence of a low-energy state is generally proved except for special commensurate fillings where a gap may occur. Moreover, the crystal momentum of the constructed low-energy state is $2k_F$, where $k_F$ is the Fermi momentum of the non-interacting model, corresponding to Luttinger's theorem. For the Kondo lattice model, our result implies that $k_F$ must be calculated by regarding the localized spins as additional electrons.Comment: Note added on the rigorous proof given by H. Tasaki; also added some references; 5 pages, REVTEX (no figure

Phase Diagrams of S=3/2, 2 XXZ Spin Chains with Bond-Alternation

We study the phase diagram of S=3/2 and S=2 bond-alternating spin chains numerically. In previous papers, the phase diagram of S=1 XXZ spin chain with bond-alternation was shown to reflect the hidden $Z_{2}\times Z_{2}$ symmetry. But for the higher S Heisenberg spin chain, the successive dimerization transition occurs, and for anisotropic spin chains the phase structure will be more colorful than the S=1 case. Using recently developed methods, we show directly that the phase structure of the anisotropic spin chains relates to the $Z_{2}\times Z_{2}$ symmetry.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures(eps), RevTe

Generalization of the Luttinger Theorem for Fermionic Ladder Systems

We apply a generalized version of the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis Theorem to fermionic ladder systems to show the existence of a low-lying excited state (except for some special fillings). This can be regarded as a non-perturbative proof for the conservation under interaction of the sum of the Fermi wave vectors of the individual channels, corresponding to a generalized version of the Luttinger Theorem to fermionic ladder systems. We conclude by noticing that the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis Theorem is not applicable in this form to show the existence of low-lying excitations in the limit that the number of legs goes to infinity, e.g. in the limit of a 2D plane.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages with 4 eps figure

Electron Spin Resonance in S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chains

A systematic field-theory approach to Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) in the $S=1/2$ quantum antiferromagnetic chain at low temperature $T$ (compared to the exchange coupling $J$) is developed. In particular, effects of a transverse staggered field $h$ and an exchange anisotropy (including a dipolar interaction) $\delta$ on the ESR lineshape are discussed. In the lowest order of perturbation theory, the linewidth is given as $\propto Jh^2/T^2$ and $\propto (\delta/J)^2 T$, respectively. In the case of a transverse staggered field, the perturbative expansion diverges at lower temperature; non-perturbative effects at very low temperature are discussed using exact results on the sine-Gordon field theory. We also compare our field-theory results with the predictions of Kubo-Tomita theory for the high-temperature regime, and discuss the crossover between the two regimes. It is argued that a naive application of the standard Kubo-Tomita theory to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction gives an incorrect result. A rigorous and exact identity on the polarization dependence is derived for certain class of anisotropy, and compared with the field-theory results.Comment: 53 pages in REVTEX, 7 figures in EPS included; revised version with missing references and correction