Gossamer Superconductivity near Antiferromagnetic Mott Insulator in Layered Organic Conductors

Layered organic superconductors are on the verge of the Mott insulator. We use Gutzwiller variational method to study a Hubbard model including a spin exchange coupling term. The ground state is found to be a Gossamer superconductor at small on-site Coulomb repulsion U and an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator at large U, separated by a first order phase transition. Our theory is qualitatively consistent with major experiments reported in organic superconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Comparison of the phase diagram of the half-filled layered organic superconductors with the phase diagram of the RVB theory of the Hubbard-Heisenberg model

We present an resonating valence bond (RVB) theory of superconductivity for the Hubbard--Heisenberg model on an anisotropic triangular lattice. We show that these calculations are consistent with the observed phase diagram of the half-filled layered organic superconductors, such as the beta, beta', kappa and lambda phases of (BEDT-TTF)_2X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene] and (BETS)_2X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene]. We find a first order transition from a Mott insulator to a d_{x^2-y^2} superconductor with a small superfluid stiffness and a pseudogap with d_{x^2-y^2} symmetry. The Mott--Hubbard transition can be driven either by increasing the on-site Coulomb repulsion, U, or by changing the anisotropy of the two hopping integrals, t'/t. Our results suggest that the ratio t'/t plays an important role in determining the phase diagram of the organic superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figur

The Heisenberg antiferromagnet on an anisotropic triangular lattice: linear spin-wave theory

We consider the effect of quantum spin fluctuations on the ground state properties of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on an anisotropic triangular lattice using linear spin-wave theory. This model should describe the magnetic properties of the insulating phase of the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2 X family of superconducting molecular crystals. The ground state energy, the staggered magnetization, magnon excitation spectra and spin-wave velocities are computed as a function of the ratio between the second and first neighbours, J2/J1. We find that near J2/J1 = 0.5, i.e., in the region where the classical spin configuration changes from a Neel ordered phase to a spiral phase, the staggered magnetization vanishes, suggesting the possibility of a quantum disordered state. In this region, the quantum correction to the magnetization is large but finite. This is in contrast to the frustrated Heisenberg model on a square lattice, for which the quantum correction diverges logarithmically at the transition from the Neel to the collinear phase. For large J2/J1, the model becomes a set of chains with frustrated interchain coupling. For J2 > 4 J1, the quantum correction to the magnetization, within LSW, becomes comparable to the classical magnetization, suggesting the possibility of a quantum disordered state. We show that, in this regime, quantum fluctuations are much larger than for a set of weakly coupled chains with non-frustated interchain coupling.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX + epsf, 5 figures Replaced with published version. Comparison to series expansions energies include

Superconductivity in Organic Compounds with Pseudo-Triangular Lattice

We study spin fluctuation (SF) mediated superconductivity (SC) in a half-filled square lattice Hubbard model with the transfer matrices -t between nearest neighbor sites and -t' between a half of next nearest neighbor sites neighboring along only one of the directions, considering application of this model to organic kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2X compounds. Varying the t'/t value from 0 to 1, one can interpolate between a square and an equilateral triangular lattice, the latter giving frustration to antiferromagnetically (AF) coupled spin systems. Within the fluctuation exchange (FLEX) approximation, we calculate chi(q,omega), Tc and the SC order parameter for various model parameter values and find that both AF and SC are suppressed as one approaches the frustration geometry or |(t'/t)-1| \to 0. The SC phase, however, extends beyond the AF phase boundary fairly close to t'/t=1 for realistic U/t values. The order parameter is of x2-y2-type for t'/t1.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Large-N solutions of the Heisenberg and Hubbard-Heisenberg models on the anisotropic triangular lattice: application to Cs2_2CuCl4_4 and to the layered organic superconductors κ\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2_2X

We solve the Sp(N) Heisenberg and SU(N) Hubbard-Heisenberg models on the anisotropic triangular lattice in the large-N limit. These two models may describe respectively the magnetic and electronic properties of the family of layered organic materials $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$X. The Heisenberg model is also relevant to the frustrated antiferromagnet, Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$. We find rich phase diagrams for each model. The Sp(N) antiferromagnet is shown to have five different phases as a function of the size of the spin and the degree of anisotropy of the triangular lattice. The effects of fluctuations at finite-N are also discussed. For parameters relevant to Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ the ground state either exhibits incommensurate spin order, or is in a quantum disordered phase with deconfined spin-1/2 excitations and topological order. The SU(N) Hubbard-Heisenberg model exhibits an insulating dimer phase, an insulating box phase, a semi-metallic staggered flux phase (SFP), and a metallic uniform phase. The uniform and SFP phases exhibit a pseudogap. A metal-insulator transition occurs at intermediate values of the interaction strength.Comment: Typos corrected, one reference added. 20 pages, 17 figures, RevTeX 3.

Four-Body Bound State Calculations in Three-Dimensional Approach

The four-body bound state with two-body interactions is formulated in Three-Dimensional approach, a recently developed momentum space representation which greatly simplifies the numerical calculations of few-body systems without performing the partial wave decomposition. The obtained three-dimensional Faddeev-Yakubovsky integral equations are solved with two-body potentials. Results for four-body binding energies are in good agreement with achievements of the other methods.Comment: 29 pages, 2 eps figures, 8 tables, REVTeX

The TeV blazar Markarian 421 at the highest spatial resolution

We report the results obtained for the AGN Markarian 421 by model-fitting the data in the visibility plane, studing the proper motion of jet components, the light curve, and the spectral index of the jet features. We compare the radio data with optical light curves obtained at the Steward Observatory, considering also the optical polarization information. Mrk 421 has a bright nucleus and a one-sided jet extending towards the north-west for a few parsecs. The model-fits show that brightness distribution is well described using 6-7 circular Gaussian components, four of which are reliably identified at all epochs; all components are effectively stationary except for component D, at ~0.4 mas from the core, whose motion is however subluminal. Analysis of the light curve shows two different states, with the source being brighter and more variable in the first half of 2011 than in the second half. The highest flux density is reached in February. A comparison with the optical data reveals an increase of the V magnitude and of the fractional polarization simultaneous with the enhancement of the radio activity.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Influence of FK 506 (tacrolimus) on circulating CD4 ⁺ t cells expressing cd25 and cd45ra antigens in 19 patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis participating in an open label drug safety trial

We have taken the opportunity of a clinical trial of the potential efficacy and safety of FK 506 (tacrolimus) in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) to examine the influence of this potent new immunosuppressant on circulating T-lymphocytes in an otherwise healthy non-transplant population. Peripheral blood levels of subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes expressing the activation molecule interleukin-2 receptor (p55 α chain; CD25) or the CD45RA isoform were determined sequentially in 19 patients that were treated continuously with oral FK 506 (starting dose 0.15 mg/kg/day) for 12 months. No significant change in the proportion of circulating CD25 + CD4+ cells was observed over the study period in which the mean trough plasma FK 506 level rose from 0.3 ±0.2 to 0.5 ±0.4 ng/ml. There was also no significant effect of FK 506 on the percentage of CD45RA + CD4 + cells in the peripheral blood at 12 months compared with pretreatment values. Analysis of a subgroup of 7 patients, who showed a sustained reduction in CD25 + CD4+ cells and a reciprocal increase in CD45RA* CD4 * cells for at least 6 months after start of treatment, did not reveal any difference in disability at one year compared with the treatment group as a whole. The side effects of FK 506 were mild and the overall degree of disability estimated by the mean Kurtzke expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score or the ambulation index did not deteriorate significantly in the 19 patients studied over the 12 months of FK 506 administration. © 1994 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted

Parsec scale polarization properties of the TeV blazar Markarian 421

In this work we present a polarization analysis at radio frequencies of Markarian 421, one of the closest (z=0.03) TeV blazars. The observations were obtained, both in total and in polarized intensity, with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 15, 24, and 43 GHz throughout 2011, with one observation per month (for a total of twelve epochs). We investigate the magnetic field topology and the polarization structure on parsec scale and their evolution with time. We detect polarized emission both in the core and in the jet region, and it varies with frequency, location and time. In the core region we measure a mean fractional polarization of about 1-2%, with a peak of about 4% in March at 43 GHz; the polarization angle is almost stable at 43 GHz, but it shows significant variability in the range 114-173 deg at 15 GHz. In the jet region the polarization properties show a more stable behavior; the fractional polarization is about 16% and the polarization angle is nearly perpendicular to the jet axis. The higher EVPA variability observed at 15 GHz is due both to a variable Faraday rotation effect and to opacity. The residual variability observed in the intrinsic polarization angle, together with the low degree of polarization in the core region, could be explained with the presence of a blend of variable cross-polarized subcomponents within the beam.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of the 12th European VLBI Network Symposium and Users Meeting (7-10 October 2014, Cagliari, Italy

Local spin resonance and spin-Peierls-like phase transition in a geometrically frustrated antiferromagnet

Using inelastic magnetic neutron scattering we have discovered a localized spin resonance at 4.5 meV in the ordered phase of the geometrically frustrated cubic antiferromagnet $\rm ZnCr_2O_4$. The resonance develops abruptly from quantum critical fluctuations upon cooling through a first order transition to a co-planar antiferromagnet at $T_c=12.5(5)$ K. We argue that this transition is a three dimensional analogue of the spin-Peierls transition.Comment: 4 figures, revised and accepted in Phys. Rev. Let