175 research outputs found
Low temperature vortex liquid in
In the cuprates, the lightly-doped region is of major interest because
superconductivity, antiferromagnetism, and the pseudogap state
\cite{Timusk,Lee,Anderson} come together near a critical doping value .
These states are deeply influenced by phase fluctuations \cite{Emery} which
lead to a vortex-liquid state that surrounds the superconducting region
\cite{WangPRB01,WangPRB06}. However, many questions
\cite{Doniach,Fisher,FisherLee,Tesanovic,Sachdev} related to the nature of the
transition and vortex-liquid state at very low tempera- tures remain open
because the diamagnetic signal is difficult to resolve in this region. Here, we
report torque magnetometry results on (LSCO) which show
that superconductivity is lost at by quantum phase fluctuations. We find
that, in a magnetic field , the vortex solid-to-liquid transition occurs at
field much lower than the depairing field . The vortex liquid
exists in the large field interval , even in the limit 0.
The resulting phase diagram reveals the large fraction of the - plane
occupied by the quantum vortex liquid.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Nature Physic
Thermally fluctuating superconductors in two dimensions
We describe the different regimes of finite temperature dynamics in the
vicinity of a zero temperature superconductor to insulator quantum phase
transition in two dimensions. New results are obtained for a low temperature
phase-only hydrodynamics, and for the intermediate temperature quantum-critical
region. In the latter case, we obtain a universal relationship between the
frequency-dependence of the conductivity and the value of the d.c. resistance.Comment: Presentation completely revised; 4 pages, 2 figure
Single and two-particle energy gaps across the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition
The competition between superconductivity and localization raises profound
questions in condensed matter physics. In spite of decades of research, the
mechanism of the superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) and the nature of
the insulator are not understood. We use quantum Monte Carlo simulations that
treat, on an equal footing, inhomogeneous amplitude variations and phase
fluctuations, a major advance over previous theories. We gain new microscopic
insights and make testable predictions for local spectroscopic probes. The
energy gap in the density of states survives across the transition, but
coherence peaks exist only in the superconductor. A characteristic pseudogap
persists above the critical disorder and critical temperature, in contrast to
conventional theories. Surprisingly, the insulator has a two-particle gap scale
that vanishes at the SIT, despite a robust single-particle gap.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures (plus supplement with 4 pages, 5 figures
Criticality in correlated quantum matter
At quantum critical points (QCP)
\cite{Pfeuty:1971,Young:1975,Hertz:1976,Chakravarty:1989,Millis:1993,Chubukov:1
994,Coleman:2005} there are quantum fluctuations on all length scales, from
microscopic to macroscopic lengths, which, remarkably, can be observed at
finite temperatures, the regime to which all experiments are necessarily
confined. A fundamental question is how high in temperature can the effects of
quantum criticality persist? That is, can physical observables be described in
terms of universal scaling functions originating from the QCPs? Here we answer
these questions by examining exact solutions of models of correlated systems
and find that the temperature can be surprisingly high. As a powerful
illustration of quantum criticality, we predict that the zero temperature
superfluid density, , and the transition temperature, , of
the cuprates are related by , where the exponent
is different at the two edges of the superconducting dome, signifying the
respective QCPs. This relationship can be tested in high quality crystals.Comment: Final accepted version not including minor stylistic correction
Dynamics and transport near quantum-critical points
The physics of non-zero temperature dynamics and transport near
quantum-critical points is discussed by a detailed study of the O(N)-symmetric,
relativistic, quantum field theory of a N-component scalar field in spatial
dimensions. A great deal of insight is gained from a simple, exact solution of
the long-time dynamics for the N=1 d=1 case: this model describes the critical
point of the Ising chain in a transverse field, and the dynamics in all the
distinct, limiting, physical regions of its finite temperature phase diagram is
obtained. The N=3, d=1 model describes insulating, gapped, spin chain
compounds: the exact, low temperature value of the spin diffusivity is
computed, and compared with NMR experiments. The N=3, d=2,3 models describe
Heisenberg antiferromagnets with collinear N\'{e}el correlations, and
experimental realizations of quantum-critical behavior in these systems are
discussed. Finally, the N=2, d=2 model describes the superfluid-insulator
transition in lattice boson systems: the frequency and temperature dependence
of the the conductivity at the quantum-critical coupling is described and
implications for experiments in two-dimensional thin films and inversion layers
are noted.Comment: Lectures presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Dynamical
properties of unconventional magnetic systems", Geilo, Norway, April 2-12,
1997, edited by A. Skjeltorp and D. Sherrington, Kluwer Academic, to be
published. 46 page
Orbital superfluidity in the -band of a bipartite optical square lattice
The successful emulation of the Hubbard model in optical lattices has
stimulated world wide efforts to extend their scope to also capture more
complex, incompletely understood scenarios of many-body physics. Unfortunately,
for bosons, Feynmans fundamental "no-node" theorem under very general
circumstances predicts a positive definite ground state wave function with
limited relevance for many-body systems of interest. A promising way around
Feynmans statement is to consider higher bands in optical lattices with more
than one dimension, where the orbital degree of freedom with its intrinsic
anisotropy due to multiple orbital orientations gives rise to a structural
diversity, highly relevant, for example, in the area of strongly correlated
electronic matter. In homogeneous two-dimensional optical lattices, lifetimes
of excited bands on the order of a hundred milliseconds are possible but the
tunneling dynamics appears not to support cross-dimensional coherence. Here we
report the first observation of a superfluid in the -band of a bipartite
optical square lattice with -orbits and -orbits arranged in a
chequerboard pattern. This permits us to establish full cross-dimensional
coherence with a life-time of several ten milliseconds. Depending on a small
adjustable anisotropy of the lattice, we can realize real-valued striped
superfluid order parameters with different orientations or a
complex-valued order parameter, which breaks time reversal
symmetry and resembles the -flux model proposed in the context of high
temperature superconductors. Our experiment opens up the realms of orbital
superfluids to investigations with optical lattice models.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Quantum States and Phases in Driven Open Quantum Systems with Cold Atoms
An open quantum system, whose time evolution is governed by a master
equation, can be driven into a given pure quantum state by an appropriate
design of the system-reservoir coupling. This points out a route towards
preparing many body states and non-equilibrium quantum phases by quantum
reservoir engineering. Here we discuss in detail the example of a \emph{driven
dissipative Bose Einstein Condensate} of bosons and of paired fermions, where
atoms in an optical lattice are coupled to a bath of Bogoliubov excitations via
the atomic current representing \emph{local dissipation}. In the absence of
interactions the lattice gas is driven into a pure state with long range order.
Weak interactions lead to a weakly mixed state, which in 3D can be understood
as a depletion of the condensate, and in 1D and 2D exhibits properties
reminiscent of a Luttinger liquid or a Kosterlitz-Thouless critical phase at
finite temperature, with the role of the ``finite temperature'' played by the
interactions.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Repulsively bound atom pairs in an optical lattice
Throughout physics, stable composite objects are usually formed via
attractive forces, which allow the constituents to lower their energy by
binding together. Repulsive forces separate particles in free space. However,
in a structured environment such as a periodic potential and in the absence of
dissipation, stable composite objects can exist even for repulsive
interactions. Here we report on the first observation of such an exotic bound
state, comprised of a pair of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Consistent
with our theoretical analysis, these repulsively bound pairs exhibit long
lifetimes, even under collisions with one another. Signatures of the pairs are
also recognised in the characteristic momentum distribution and through
spectroscopic measurements. There is no analogue in traditional condensed
matter systems of such repulsively bound pairs, due to the presence of strong
decay channels. These results exemplify on a new level the strong
correspondence between the optical lattice physics of ultracold bosonic atoms
and the Bose-Hubbard model, a correspondence which is vital for future
applications of these systems to the study of strongly correlated condensed
matter systems and to quantum information.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Light-cone-like spreading of correlations in a quantum many-body system
How fast can correlations spread in a quantum many-body system? Based on the
seminal work by Lieb and Robinson, it has recently been shown that several
interacting many-body systems exhibit an effective light cone that bounds the
propagation speed of correlations. The existence of such a "speed of light" has
profound implications for condensed matter physics and quantum information, but
has never been observed experimentally. Here we report on the time-resolved
detection of propagating correlations in an interacting quantum many-body
system. By quenching a one-dimensional quantum gas in an optical lattice, we
reveal how quasiparticle pairs transport correlations with a finite velocity
across the system, resulting in an effective light cone for the quantum
dynamics. Our results open important perspectives for understanding relaxation
of closed quantum systems far from equilibrium as well as for engineering
efficient quantum channels necessary for fast quantum computations.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 table
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