Wavevector-dependent spin filtering and spin transport through magnetic barriers in graphene

We study the spin-resolved transport through magnetic nanostructures in monolayer and bilayer graphene. We take into account both the orbital effect of the inhomogeneous perpendicular magnetic field as well as the in-plane spin splitting due to the Zeeman interaction and to the exchange coupling possibly induced by the proximity of a ferromagnetic insulator. We find that a single barrier exhibits a wavevector-dependent spin filtering effect at energies close to the transmission threshold. This effect is significantly enhanced in a resonant double barrier configuration, where the spin polarization of the outgoing current can be increased up to 100% by increasing the distance between the barriers

Magnetic confinement of massless Dirac fermions in graphene

Due to Klein tunneling, electrostatic potentials are unable to confine Dirac electrons. We show that it is possible to confine massless Dirac fermions in a monolayer graphene sheet by inhomogeneous magnetic fields. This allows one to design mesoscopic structures in graphene by magnetic barriers, e.g. quantum dots or quantum point contacts.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in PR

On the transition to efficiency in Minority Games

The existence of a phase transition with diverging susceptibility in batch Minority Games (MGs) is the mark of informationally efficient regimes and is linked to the specifics of the agents' learning rules. Here we study how the standard scenario is affected in a mixed population game in which agents with the `optimal' learning rule (i.e. the one leading to efficiency) coexist with ones whose adaptive dynamics is sub-optimal. Our generic finding is that any non-vanishing intensive fraction of optimal agents guarantees the existence of an efficient phase. Specifically, we calculate the dependence of the critical point on the fraction $q$ of `optimal' agents focusing our analysis on three cases: MGs with market impact correction, grand-canonical MGs and MGs with heterogeneous comfort levels.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; contribution to the special issue "Viewing the World through Spin Glasses" in honour of David Sherrington on the occasion of his 65th birthda

Topology-Induced Inverse Phase Transitions

Inverse phase transitions are striking phenomena in which an apparently more ordered state disorders under cooling. This behavior can naturally emerge in tricritical systems on heterogeneous networks and it is strongly enhanced by the presence of disassortative degree correlations. We show it both analytically and numerically, providing also a microscopic interpretation of inverse transitions in terms of freezing of sparse subgraphs and coupling renormalization.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Von Neumann's expanding model on random graphs

Within the framework of Von Neumann's expanding model, we study the maximum growth rate r achievable by an autocatalytic reaction network in which reactions involve a finite (fixed or fluctuating) number D of reagents. r is calculated numerically using a variant of the Minover algorithm, and analytically via the cavity method for disordered systems. As the ratio between the number of reactions and that of reagents increases the system passes from a contracting (r1). These results extend the scenario derived in the fully connected model (D\to\infinity), with the important difference that, generically, larger growth rates are achievable in the expanding phase for finite D and in more diluted networks. Moreover, the range of attainable values of r shrinks as the connectivity increases.Comment: 20 page

Rashba spin-orbit coupling and spin precession in carbon nanotubes

The Rashba spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes and its effect on spin-dependent transport properties are analyzed theoretically. We focus on clean non-interacting nanotubes with tunable number of subbands $N$. The peculiar band structure is shown to allow in principle for Datta-Das oscillatory behavior in the tunneling magnetoresistance as a function of gate voltage, despite the presence of multiple bands. We discuss the conditions for observing Datta-Das oscillations in carbon nanotubes.Comment: 12 pages, published versio

Magnetic barriers and confinement of Dirac-Weyl quasiparticles in graphene

We discuss the properties of the two-dimensional massless Dirac-Weyl quasiparticles realized in graphene monolayers in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields. We show that in contrast to electrostatic barriers, appropriate magnetic barriers are able to confine these quasiparticles. This allows for a novel way of designing mesoscopic structures (e.g., quantum dots, quantum point contacts) in graphene

Conductance quantization and snake states in graphene magnetic waveguides

We consider electron waveguides (quantum wires) in graphene created by suitable inhomogeneous magnetic fields. The properties of uni-directional snake states are discussed. For a certain magnetic field profile, two spatially separated counter-propagating snake states are formed, leading to conductance quantization insensitive to backscattering by impurities or irregularities of the magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, final version accepted as Rapid Comm. in PR

Experimental evidence of laser power oscillations induced by the relative Fresnel (Goos-Haenchen) phase

The amplification of the relative Fresnel (Goos-Haenchen) phase by an appropriate number of total internal reflections and the choice of favorable incidence angles allow to observe full oscillations in the power of a DPSS laser transmitted through sequential BK7 blocks. The experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions. The optical apparatus used in this letter can be seen as a new type of two-phase ellipsometric system where the phase of the complex refractive index is replaced by the relative Fresnel (Goos-Haenchen) phase.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Detecting the traders' strategies in Minority-Majority games and real stock-prices

Price dynamics is analyzed in terms of a model which includes the possibility of effective forces due to trend followers or trend adverse strategies. The method is tested on the data of a minority-majority model and indeed it is capable of reconstructing the prevailing traders' strategies in a given time interval. Then we also analyze real (NYSE) stock-prices dynamics and it is possible to derive an indication for the the ``sentiment'' of the market for time intervals of at least one day.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure