Theory of Andreev reflection in a two-orbital model of iron-pnictide superconductors

A recently developed theory for the problem of Andreev reflection between a normal metal (N) and a multiband superconductor (MBS) assumes that the incident wave from the normal metal is coherently transmitted through several bands inside the superconductor. Such splitting of the probability amplitude into several channels is the analogue of a quantum waveguide. Thus, the appropriate matching conditions for the wave function at the N/MBS interface are derived from an extension of quantum waveguide theory. Interference effects between the transmitted waves inside the superconductor manifest themselves in the conductance. We provide results for a FeAs superconductor, in the framework of a recently proposed effective two-band model and two recently proposed gap symmetries: in the sign-reversed s-wave ($\Delta\cos(k_x)\cos(k_y)$) scenario resonant transmission through surface Andreev bound states (ABS) at nonzero energy is found as well as destructive interference effects that produce zeros in the conductance; in the extended s-wave ($\Delta[\cos(k_x)+\cos(k_y)]$) scenario no ABS at finite energy are found.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Estudo do polimorfismo do gene do hormônio de crescimento em rebanhos da raça Nelore do estado da Bahia.

Título em inglês: Study of the polymorphism of the gene of the hormone of growth in a Nelore breed of the state of the Bahia

Mixed-valent regime of the two-channel Anderson impurity as a model for UBe_13

We investigate the mixed-valent regime of a two-configuration Anderson impurity model for uranium ions, with separate quadrupolar and magnetic doublets. With a new Monte Carlo approach and the non-crossing approximation we find: (i) A non-Fermi-liquid fixed point with two-channel Kondo model critical behavior; (ii) Distinct energy scales for screening the low-lying and excited doublets; (iii) A semi-quantitative explanation of magnetic-susceptibility data for U$_{1-x}$Th$_x$Be$_{13}$ assuming 60-70% quadrupolar doublet ground-state weight, supporting the quadrupolar-Kondo interpretation.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 eps figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Spin-density Wave in Ising-coupled Antiferromagnetic Chains

The effect of anisotropy in the nearest-neighbor spin interactions that couple $N\geq 2$ consecutive spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic chains is studied theoretically by considering the limit where the coupling is purely of the Ising type. An analysis based on the equivalent Luttinger model reveals that the groundstate is an Ising antiferromagnet in general.Comment: 11 pgs. of plain TeX, one postscript fig., to appear in Phys. Rev.

Supercurrent induced domain wall motion

We study the dynamics of a magnetic domain wall, inserted in, or juxtaposed to, a conventional superconductor, via the passage of a spin polarized current through a FSF junction. Solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion for the magnetic moments we calculate the velocity of the domain wall and compare it with the case of a FNF junction. We find that in several regimes the domain wall velocity is larger when it is driven by a supercurrent.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Dephasing in Metals by Two-Level Systems in the 2-Channel-Kondo Regime

We point out a novel, non-universal contribution to the dephasing rate 1/\tau_\phi \equiv \gamma_\phi of conduction electrons in metallic systems: scattering off non-magnetic two-level systems (TLSs) having almost degenerate Kondo ground states. In the regime \Delta_{ren} < T < T_K (\Delta_{ren} = renormalized level splitting, T_K = Kondo temperature), such TLSs exhibit non-Fermi-liquid physics that can cause \gamma_\phi, which generally decreases with decreasing T, to seemingly saturate in a limited temperature range before vanishing for T \to 0. This could explain the saturation of dephasing recently observed in gold wires [Mohanty et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3366 (1997)].Comment: Final published version, including minor improvements suggested by referees. 4 pages, Revtex, 1 figur

Gapless spectrum in a class of S=1 exchange models with long-range interactions

We present evidence for the absence of a gap in a class of S=1 antiferromagnetic exchange models. The spin exchange is long-ranged of the type $-(-1)^{i-j}/|i-j|^{\alpha}$ where $1<\alpha<3$. We have shown previously that without the alternating factor the model for $\alpha=2$ (S=1 Haldane-Shastry model) has a gap, exponentially decaying correlation functions and exponentially small susceptibility at very low temperatures. In the case of the alternated interaction the stabilizing next nearest neighbor ferromagnetic interaction changes qualitatively the behavior of the system. We have studied the groundstate and first excited state using a modified Lanczos algorithm for system sizes up to 16 sites. Also, we performed exact diagonalization for systems up to 8 sites and obtained the thermodynamics. The correlation functions decay with distance like a power law. These models define a new class of integer spin chains that do not show a Haldane gap. The results may be relevant to describe impurity spins coupled by a RKKY-interaction through a half-filled conduction-electron band.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, RevTex, improved version, to appear in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Single vortex structure in two models of iron pnictide s±s^\pm superconductivity

The structure of a single vortex in a FeAs superconductor is studied in the framework of two formulations of superconductivity for the recently proposed sign-reversed $s$ wave ($s^\pm$) scenario: {\it (i)} a continuum model taking into account the existence of an electron and a hole band with a repulsive local interaction between the two; {\it (ii)} a lattice tight-binding model with two orbitals per unit cell and a next-nearest-neighbour attractive interaction. In the first model, the local density of states (LDOS) at the vortex centre, as a function of energy, exhibits a peak at the Fermi level, while in the second model such LDOS peak is deviated from the Fermi level and its energy depends on band filling. An impurity located outside the vortex core has little effect on the LDOS peak, but an impurity close to the vortex core can almost suppress it and modify its position.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in New Journal of Physic

Kondo Effect in Systems with Spin Disorder

We consider the role of static disorder in the spin sector of the one- and two-channel Kondo models. The distribution functions of the disorder-induced effective energy splitting between the two levels of the Kondo impurity are derived to the lowest order in the concentration of static scatterers. It is demonstrated that the distribution functions are strongly asymmetric, with the typical splitting being parametrically smaller than the average rms value. We employ the derived distribution function of splittings to study the temperature dependence of the low-temperature conductance of a sample containing an ensemble of two-channel Kondo impurities. The results are used to analyze the consistency of the two-channel Kondo interpretation of the zero-bias anomalies observed in Cu/(Si:N)/Cu nanoconstrictions.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, REVTe