Variational Studies of Triangular Heisenberg Antiferromagnet in Magnetic Field

We present a variational study of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the spatially anisotropic triangular lattice in magnetic field. First we construct a simple yet accurate wavefunction for the 1/3-magnetization plateau uud phase on the isotropic lattice. Beginning with this state, we obtain natural extensions to nearby commensurate coplanar phases on either side of the plateau. The latter occur also for low lattice anisotropy, while the uud state extends to much larger anisotropy. Far away from the 1/3 plateau and for significant anisotropy, incommensurate states have better energetics, and we address competition between coplanar and non-coplanar states in the high field regime. For very strong anisotropy, our study is dominated by quasi-1d physics. The variational study is supplemented by exact diagonalization calculations which provide a reference for testing the energetics of our trial wavefunctions as well as helping to identify candidate phases.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

Two distinct topological phases in the mixed valence compound YbB6 and its differences from SmB6

We discuss the evolution of topological states and their orbital textures in the mixed valence compounds SmB6 and YbB6 within the framework of the generalized gradient approximation plus onsite Coulomb interaction (GGA+U) scheme for a wide range of values of U. In SmB6, the topological Kondo insulator (TKI) gap is found to be insensitive to the value of U, but in sharp contrast, Kondo physics in isostructural YbB6 displays a surprising sensitivity to U. In particular, as U is increased in YbB6, the correlated TKI state in the weak-coupling regime transforms into a d-p-type topological insulator phase with a band inversion between Yb-5d and B-2p orbitals in the intermediate coupling range, without closing the insulating energy gap throughout this process. Our theoretical predictions related to the TKI and non-TKI phases in SmB6 and YbB6 are in substantial accord with recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.15515

Red blood cells and other non-spherical capsules in shear flow: oscillatory dynamics and the tank-treading-to-tumbling transition

We consider the motion of red blood cells and other non-spherical microcapsules dilutely suspended in a simple shear flow. Our analysis indicates that depending on the viscosity, membrane elasticity, geometry and shear rate, the particle exhibits either tumbling, tank-treading of the membrane about the viscous interior with periodic oscillations of the orientation angle, or intermittent behavior in which the two modes occur alternately. For red blood cells, we compute the complete phase diagram and identify a novel tank-treading-to-tumbling transition at low shear rates. Observations of such motions coupled with our theoretical framework may provide a sensitive means of assessing capsule properties.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Two modes of nanoleakage expression in single-step adhesives

published_or_final_versio

Technique sensitivity in bonding to acid-etched dentin

Abstract no. 14published_or_final_versio

Swinging of red blood cells under shear flow

We reveal that under moderate shear stress (of the order of 0.1 Pa) red blood cells present an oscillation of their inclination (swinging) superimposed to the long-observed steady tanktreading (TT) motion. A model based on a fluid ellipsoid surrounded by a visco-elastic membrane initially unstrained (shape memory) predicts all observed features of the motion: an increase of both swinging amplitude and period (1/2 the TT period) upon decreasing the shear stress, a shear stress-triggered transition towards a narrow shear stress-range intermittent regime of successive swinging and tumbling, and a pure tumbling motion at lower shear stress-values.Comment: 4 pages 5 figures submitted to Physical Review Letter

Non-Kondo-like Electronic Structure in the Correlated Rare-Earth Hexaboride YbB6_6

We present angle-resolved photoemission studies on the rare-earth hexaboride YbB$_6$, which has recently been predicted to be a topological Kondo insulator. Our data do not agree with the prediction and instead show that YbB$_6$ exhibits a novel topological insulator state in the absence of a Kondo mechanism. We find that the Fermi level electronic structure of YbB$_6$ has three 2D Dirac cone like surface states enclosing the Kramers' points, while the f-orbital which would be relevant for the Kondo mechanism is $\sim1$ eV below the Fermi level. Our first-principles calculation shows that the topological state which we observe in YbB$_6$ is due to an inversion between Yb $d$ and B $p$ bands. These experimental and theoretical results provide a new approach for realizing novel correlated topological insulator states in rare-earth materials.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Submitted in 2014. Published in 2015, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 01640