2,620 research outputs found
The importance of electron-electron interactions in the RKKY coupling in graphene
We show that the carrier-mediated exchange interaction, the so-called RKKY
coupling, between two magnetic impurity moments in graphene is significantly
modified in the presence of electron-electron interactions. Using the
mean-field approximation of the Hubbard- model we show that the
-oscillations present in the bulk for
non-interacting electrons disappear and the power-law decay becomes more long
ranged with increasing electron interactions. In zigzag graphene nanoribbons
the effects are even larger with any finite rendering the long-distance
RKKY coupling distance independent. Comparing our mean-field results with
first-principles results we also extract a surprisingly large value of
indicating that graphene is very close to an antiferromagnetic instability.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Realizing Colloidal Artificial Ice on Arrays of Optical Traps
We demonstrate how a colloidal version of artificial ice can be realized on
optical trap lattices. Using numerical simulations, we show that this system
obeys the ice rules and that for strong colloid-colloid interactions, an
ordered ground state appears. We show that the ice rule ordering can occur for
systems with as few as twenty-four traps and that the ordering transition can
be observed at constant temperature by varying the barrier strength of the
traps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures; version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
A generalized Poisson and Poisson-Boltzmann solver for electrostatic environments
The computational study of chemical reactions in complex, wet environments is
critical for applications in many fields. It is often essential to study
chemical reactions in the presence of applied electrochemical potentials,
taking into account the non-trivial electrostatic screening coming from the
solvent and the electrolytes. As a consequence the electrostatic potential has
to be found by solving the generalized Poisson and the Poisson-Boltzmann
equation for neutral and ionic solutions, respectively. In the present work
solvers for both problems have been developed. A preconditioned conjugate
gradient method has been implemented to the generalized Poisson equation and
the linear regime of the Poisson-Boltzmann, allowing to solve iteratively the
minimization problem with some ten iterations of a ordinary Poisson equation
solver. In addition, a self-consistent procedure enables us to solve the
non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann problem. Both solvers exhibit very high accuracy
and parallel efficiency, and allow for the treatment of different boundary
conditions, as for example surface systems. The solver has been integrated into
the BigDFT and Quantum-ESPRESSO electronic-structure packages and will be
released as an independent program, suitable for integration in other codes
Ground state of two unlike charged colloids: An analogy with ionic bonding
In this letter, we study the ground state of two spherical macroions of
identical radius, but asymmetric bare charge ((Q_{A}>Q_{B})). Electroneutrality
of the system is insured by the presence of the surrounding divalent
counterions. Using Molecular Dynamics simulations within the framework of the
primitive model, we show that the ground state of such a system consists of an
overcharged and an undercharged colloid. For a given macroion separation the
stability of these ionized-like states is a function of the difference
((\sqrt{N_{A}}-\sqrt{N_{B}})) of neutralizing counterions (N_{A}) and (N_{B}).
Furthermore the degree of ionization, or equivalently, the degree of
overcharging, is also governed by the distance separation of the macroions. The
natural analogy with ionic bonding is briefly discussed.Comment: published versio
Density-functional theory investigation of oxygen adsorption at Pd(11N)(N=3,5,7) vicinal surfaces
We present a density-functional theory study addressing the on-surface
adsorption of oxygen at the Pd(11N) (N =3,5,7) vicinal surfaces, which exhibit
(111) steps and (100) terraces of increasing width. We find the binding to be
predominantly governed by the local coordination at the adsorption site. This
leads to very similar bonding properties at the threefold step sites of all
three vicinal surfaces, while the binding at the central fourfold hollow site
in the four atomic row terrace of Pd(117) is already very little disturbed by
the presence of the neighboring steps.Comment: 9 pages including 4 figures; related publications can be found at
http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/th.htm
Critical Temperature Tc and Charging Energy Ec between B-B layers of Superconducting diboride materials MgB2 in 3D JJA model
The diboride materials MB2 (M = Mg, Be, Pb, etc.) are discussed on the basis
of the 3D Josephson junction array (JJA) model due to Kawabata-Shenoy-Bishop,
in terms of the B-B layers in the diborides analogous to the Cu-O ones in the
cuprates.
We propose a possibility of superconducting materials with the MgB2-type
structure which exhibit higher critical temperature Tc over 39K of MgB2.
We point out a role of interstitial ionic atoms (e.g., Mg in MgB2) as
capacitors between the B-B layers, which reduce the charging coupling energy in
JJA.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure included; to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 70,
No.10 (2001
The 6-vertex model of hydrogen-bonded crystals with bond defects
It is shown that the percolation model of hydrogen-bonded crystals, which is
a 6-vertex model with bond defects, is completely equivalent with an 8-vertex
model in an external electric field. Using this equivalence we solve exactly a
particular 6-vertex model with bond defects. The general solution for the
Bethe-like lattice is also analyzed.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; added references for section
Manifestation of geometric frustration on magnetic and thermodynamic properties of pyrochlores (X=Ti, Zr)
We present here magnetization, specific heat and Raman studies on
single-crystalline specimens of the first pyrochlore member of
the rare-earth titanate series. Its analogous compound in the
rare-earth zirconate series is also investigated in the polycrystalline form.
The Sm spins in remain unordered down to at least T = 0.5 K. The
absence of magnetic ordering is attributed to very small values of exchange
() and dipolar interaction ()
between the spins in this pyrochlore. In contrast, the pyrochlore
is characterized by a relatively large value of Sm-Sm spin
exchange (); however, long-range ordering of the
spins is not established at least down to T = 0.67 K, due to
frustration of the spins on the pyrochlore lattice. The ground state
of ions in both pyrochlores is a well-isolated Kramer's doublet. The
higher-lying crystal field excitations are observed in the low-frequency region
of the Raman spectra of the two compounds recorded at T = 10 K. At higher
temperatures, the magnetic susceptibility of shows a broad
maximum at T = 140 K while that of changes monotonically. Whereas
is a promising candidate for investigating spin-fluctuations on a
frustrated lattice as indicated by our data, the properties of
seem to conform to a conventional scenario where geometrical frustration of the
spin exclude their long-range ordering.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Bi2Te1.6S1.4 - a Topological Insulator in the Tetradymite Family
We describe the crystal growth, crystal structure, and basic electrical
properties of Bi2Te1.6S1.4, which incorporates both S and Te in its Tetradymite
quintuple layers in the motif -[Te0.8S0.2]-Bi-S-Bi-[Te0.8S0.2]-. This material
differs from other Tetradymites studied as topological insulators due to the
increased ionic character that arises from its significant S content.
Bi2Te1.6S1.4 forms high quality crystals from the melt and is the S-rich limit
of the ternary Bi-Te-S {\gamma}-Tetradymite phase at the melting point. The
native material is n-type with a low resistivity; Sb substitution, with
adjustment of the Te to S ratio, results in a crossover to p-type and resistive
behavior at low temperatures. Angle resolved photoemission study shows that
topological surface states are present, with the Dirac point more exposed than
it is in Bi2Te3 and similar to that seen in Bi2Te2Se. Single crystal structure
determination indicates that the S in the outer chalcogen layers is closer to
the Bi than the Te, and therefore that the layers supporting the surface states
are corrugated on the atomic scale.Comment: To be published in Physical Review B Rapid Communications 16 douuble
spaced pages. 4 figures 1 tabl
The Van der Waals interaction of the hydrogen molecule - an exact local energy density functional
We verify that the van der Waals interaction and hence all dispersion
interactions for the hydrogen molecule given by: W"= -{A/R^6}-{B/R^8}-{C/R^10}-
..., in which R is the internuclear separation, are exactly soluble. The
constants A=6.4990267..., B=124.3990835 ... and C=1135.2140398... (in Hartree
units) first obtained approximately by Pauling and Beach (PB) [1] using a
linear variational method, can be shown to be obtainable to any desired
accuracy via our exact solution. In addition we shall show that a local energy
density functional can be obtained, whose variational solution rederives the
exact solution for this problem. This demonstrates explicitly that a static
local density functional theory exists for this system. We conclude with
remarks about generalising the method to other hydrogenic systems and also to
helium.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures and 28 reference
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