Interaction-Induced Magnetization of the Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

We consider the contribution of electron-electron interactions to the orbital magnetization of a two-dimensional electron gas, focusing on the ballistic limit in the regime of negligible Landau-level spacing. This regime can be described by combining diagrammatic perturbation theory with semiclassical techniques. At sufficiently low temperatures, the interaction-induced magnetization overwhelms the Landau and Pauli contributions. Curiously, the interaction-induced magnetization is third-order in the (renormalized) Coulomb interaction. We give a simple interpretation of this effect in terms of classical paths using a renormalization argument: a polygon must have at least three sides in order to enclose area. To leading order in the renormalized interaction, the renormalization argument gives exactly the same result as the full treatment.Comment: 11 pages including 4 ps figures; uses revtex and epsf.st

Spectral statistics of disordered metals in the presence of several Aharonov-Bohm fluxes

The form factor for spectral correlations in a diffusive metal is calculated in the presence of several Aharonov-Bohm fluxes. When the fluxes $\phi$ are equal, the correlations are universal functions of $n g^2 \phi$ where $g$ is the dimensionless conductance and $n$ is the number of applied fluxes. This explains recent flux dependence of the correlations found numerically at the metal-insulator transition.Comment: 3 pages, Latex, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. B Rapid Com

Magneto-polarisability of mesoscopic systems

In order to understand how screening is modified by electronic interferences in a mesoscopic isolated system, we have computed both analytically and numerically the average thermodynamic and time dependent polarisabilities of two dimensional mesoscopic samples in the presence of an Aharonov-Bohm flux. Two geometries have been considered: rings and squares. Mesoscopic correction to screening are taken into account in a self consistent way, using the response function formalism. The role of the statistical ensemble (canonical and grand canonical), disorder and frequency have been investigated. We have also computed first order corrections to the polarisability due to electron-electron interactions. Our main results concern the diffusive regime. In the canonical ensemble, there is no flux dependence polarisability when the frequency is smaller than the level spacing. On the other hand, in the grand canonical ensemble for frequencies larger than the mean broadening of the energy levels (but still small compared to the level spacing), the polarisability oscillates with flux, with the periodicity $h/2e$. The order of magnitude of the effect is given by $\delta \alpha/\alpha \propto (\lambda_s/Wg)$, where $\lambda$ is the Thomas Fermi screening length, $W$ the width of the rings or the size of the squares and $g$ their average dimensionless conductance. This magnetopolarisability of Aharonov-Bohm rings has been recently measured experimentally \cite{PRL_deblock00} and is in good agreement with our grand canonical result.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, revte

Persistent currents in diffusive metallic cavities: Large values and anomalous scaling with disorder

The effect of disorder on confined metallic cavities with an Aharonov-Bohm flux line is addressed. We find that, even deep in the diffusive regime, large values of persistent currents may arise for a wide variety of geometries. We present numerical results supporting an anomalous scaling law of the average typical current $$ with the strength of disorder $w$, $\sim w^{- \gamma}$ with $\gamma < 2$. This is contrasted with previously reported results obtained for cylindrical samples where a scaling $\sim w^{-2}$ has been found. Possible links to, up to date, unexplained experimental data are finally discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Short-range interactions in a two-electron system: energy levels and magnetic properties

The problem of two electrons in a square billiard interacting via a finite-range repulsive Yukawa potential and subjected to a constant magnetic field is considered. We compute the energy spectrum for both singlet and triplet states, and for all symmetry classes, as a function of the strength and range of the interaction and of the magnetic field. We show that the short-range nature of the potential suppresses the formation of ``Wigner molecule'' states for the ground state, even in the strong interaction limit. The magnetic susceptibility $\chi(B)$ shows low-temperature paramagnetic peaks due to exchange induced singlet-triplet oscillations. The position, number and intensity of these peaks depend on the range and strength of the interaction. The contribution of the interaction to the susceptibility displays paramagnetic and diamagnetic phases as a function of $T$.Comment: 12 pages,6 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Meissner effect in a bosonic ladder

We investigate the effect of a magnetic field on a bosonic ladder. We show that such a system leads to the one dimensional equivalent of a vortex lattice in a superconductor. We investigate the physical properties of the vortex phase, such as vortex density and vortex correlation functions and show that magnetization has plateaus for some commensurate values of the mag netic field. The lowest plateau corresponds to a true Meissner to vortex transition at a critical field $H_{c1}$ that exists although the system has no long range superconducting order. Implications for experimental realizations such as Josephson junction arrays are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 Encapsulated Postscript figures, RevTe

Current-spin-density functional study of persistent currents in quantum rings

We present a numerical study of persistent currents in quantum rings using current spin density functional theory (CSDFT). This formalism allows for a systematic study of the joint effects of both spin, interactions and impurities for realistic systems. It is illustrated that CSDFT is suitable for describing the physical effects related to Aharonov-Bohm phases by comparing energy spectra of impurity-free rings to existing exact diagonalization and experimental results. Further, we examine the effects of a symmetry-breaking impurity potential on the density and current characteristics of the system and propose that narrowing the confining potential at fixed impurity potential will suppress the persistent current in a characteristic way.Comment: 7 pages REVTeX, including 8 postscript figure

Collective dynamics of internal states in a Bose gas

Theory for the Rabi and internal Josephson effects in an interacting Bose gas in the cold collision regime is presented. By using microscopic transport equation for the density matrix the problem is mapped onto a problem of precession of two coupled classical spins. In the absence of an external excitation field our results agree with the theory for the density induced frequency shifts in atomic clocks. In the presence of the external field, the internal Josephson effect takes place in a condensed Bose gas as well as in a non-condensed gas. The crossover from Rabi oscillations to the Josephson oscillations as a function of interaction strength is studied in detail.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure

Dynamics of short time--scale energy relaxation of optical excitations due to electron--electron scattering in the presence of arbitrary disorder

A non--equilibrium occupation distribution relaxes towards the Fermi--Dirac distribution due to electron--electron scattering even in finite Fermi systems. The dynamic evolution of this thermalization process assumed to result from an optical excitation is investigated numerically by solving a Boltzmann equation for the carrier populations using a one--dimensional disordered system. We focus on the short time--scale behavior. The logarithmically long time--scale associated with the glassy behavior of interacting electrons in disordered systems is not treated in our investigation. For weak disorder and short range interaction we recover the expected result that disorder enhances the relaxation rate as compared to the case without disorder. For sufficiently strong disorder, however, we find an opposite trend due to the reduction of scattering probabilities originating from the strong localization of the single--particle states. Long--range interaction in this regime produces a similar effect. The relaxation rate is found to scale with the interaction strength, however, the interplay between the implicit and the explicit character of the interaction produces an anomalous exponent.Comment: 4 pages, 3 EPS figure

Electromagnetic superconductivity of vacuum induced by strong magnetic field

The quantum vacuum may become an electromagnetic superconductor in the presence of a strong external magnetic field of the order of 10^{16} Tesla. The magnetic field of the required strength (and even stronger) is expected to be generated for a short time in ultraperipheral collisions of heavy ions at the Large Hadron Collider. The superconducting properties of the new phase appear as a result of a magnetic-field-assisted condensation of quark-antiquark pairs with quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. We discuss similarities and differences between the suggested superconducting state of the quantum vacuum, a conventional superconductivity and the Schwinger pair creation. We argue qualitatively and quantitatively why the superconducting state should be a natural ground state of the vacuum at the sufficiently strong magnetic field. We demonstrate the existence of the superconducting phase using both the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and an effective bosonic model based on the vector meson dominance (the rho-meson electrodynamics). We discuss various properties of the new phase such as absence of the Meissner effect, anisotropy of superconductivity, spatial inhomogeneity of ground state, emergence of a neutral superfluid component in the ground state and presence of new topological vortices in the quark-antiquark condensates.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye