23 research outputs found
A new approach to the modelling of local defects in crystals: the reduced Hartree-Fock case
This article is concerned with the derivation and the mathematical study of a
new mean-field model for the description of interacting electrons in crystals
with local defects. We work with a reduced Hartree-Fock model, obtained from
the usual Hartree-Fock model by neglecting the exchange term. First, we recall
the definition of the self-consistent Fermi sea of the perfect crystal, which
is obtained as a minimizer of some periodic problem, as was shown by Catto, Le
Bris and Lions. We also prove some of its properties which were not mentioned
before. Then, we define and study in details a nonlinear model for the
electrons of the crystal in the presence of a defect. We use formal analogies
between the Fermi sea of a perturbed crystal and the Dirac sea in Quantum
Electrodynamics in the presence of an external electrostatic field. The latter
was recently studied by Hainzl, Lewin, S\'er\'e and Solovej, based on ideas
from Chaix and Iracane. This enables us to define the ground state of the
self-consistent Fermi sea in the presence of a defect. We end the paper by
proving that our model is in fact the thermodynamic limit of the so-called
supercell model, widely used in numerical simulations.Comment: Final version, to appear in Comm. Math. Phy
On the lowest eigenvalue of Laplace operators with mixed boundary conditions
In this paper we consider a Robin-type Laplace operator on bounded domains.
We study the dependence of its lowest eigenvalue on the boundary conditions and
its asymptotic behavior in shrinking and expanding domains. For convex domains
we establish two-sided estimates on the lowest eigenvalues in terms of the
inradius and of the boundary conditions
On the merit of a Central Limit Theorem-based approximation in statistical physics
The applicability conditions of a recently reported Central Limit
Theorem-based approximation method in statistical physics are investigated and
rigorously determined. The failure of this method at low and intermediate
temperature is proved as well as its inadequacy to disclose quantum
criticalities at fixed temperatures. Its high temperature predictions are in
addition shown to coincide with those stemming from straightforward appropriate
expansions up to (k_B T)^(-2). Our results are clearly illustrated by comparing
the exact and approximate temperature dependence of the free energy of some
exemplary physical systems.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Ferromagnetic Ordering of Energy Levels for Symmetric Spin Chains
We consider the class of quantum spin chains with arbitrary
-invariant nearest neighbor interactions, sometimes
called for the quantum deformation of , for
. We derive sufficient conditions for the Hamiltonian to satisfy the
property we call {\em Ferromagnetic Ordering of Energy Levels}. This is the
property that the ground state energy restricted to a fixed total spin subspace
is a decreasing function of the total spin. Using the Perron-Frobenius theorem,
we show sufficient conditions are positivity of all interactions in the dual
canonical basis of Lusztig. We characterize the cone of positive interactions,
showing that it is a simplicial cone consisting of all non-positive linear
combinations of "cascade operators," a special new basis of
intertwiners we define. We also state applications to
interacting particle processes.Comment: 23 page