3,408 research outputs found
Topological Order and the Quantum Spin Hall Effect
The quantum spin Hall (QSH) phase is a time reversal invariant electronic
state with a bulk electronic band gap that supports the transport of charge and
spin in gapless edge states. We show that this phase is associated with a novel
topological invariant, which distinguishes it from an ordinary insulator.
The classification, which is defined for time reversal invariant
Hamiltonians, is analogous to the Chern number classification of the quantum
Hall effect. We establish the order of the QSH phase in the two band
model of graphene and propose a generalization of the formalism applicable to
multi band and interacting systems.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX. Added reference, minor correction
A SUSY Inspired Simplified Model for the 750 GeV Diphoton Excess
The evidence for a new singlet scalar particle from the 750 GeV diphoton
excess, and the absence of any other signal of new physics at the LHC so far,
suggest the existence of new coloured scalars. To study this possibility, we
propose a supersymmetry inspired simplified model, extending the Standard Model
with a singlet scalar and with heavy scalar fields carrying both colour and
electric charges -- the `squarks'. To allow the latter to decay, and to
generate the dark matter of the Universe, we also add a neutral fermion to the
particle content. We show that this model provides a two-parameter fit to the
observed diphoton excess consistently with cosmology, while the allowed
parameter space is bounded by the consistency of the model. In the context of
our simplified model this implies the existence of other supersymmetric
particles accessible at the LHC, rendering this scenario falsifiable. If this
excess persists, it will imply a paradigm shift in assessing supersymmetry
breaking and the role of scalars in low scale physics.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, SUSY incarnat
Spin texture on the Fermi surface of tensile strained HgTe
We present ab initio and k.p calculations of the spin texture on the Fermi
surface of tensile strained HgTe, which is obtained by stretching the
zincblende lattice along the (111) axis. Tensile strained HgTe is a semimetal
with pointlike accidental degeneracies between a mirror symmetry protected
twofold degenerate band and two nondegenerate bands near the Fermi level. The
Fermi surface consists of two ellipsoids which contact at the point where the
Fermi level crosses the twofold degenerate band along the (111) axis. However,
the spin texture of occupied states indicates that neither ellipsoid carries a
compensating Chern number. Consequently, the spin texture is locked in the
plane perpendicular to the (111) axis, exhibits a nonzero winding number in
that plane, and changes winding number from one end of the Fermi ellipsoids to
the other. The change in the winding of the spin texture suggests the existence
of singular points. An ordered alloy of HgTe with ZnTe has the same effect as
stretching the zincblende lattice in the (111) direction. We present ab initio
calculations of ordered Hg_xZn_1-xTe that confirm the existence of a spin
texture locked in a 2D plane on the Fermi surface with different winding
numbers on either end.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Dirac semimetal in three dimensions
In a Dirac semimetal, the conduction and valence bands contact only at
discrete (Dirac) points in the Brillouin zone (BZ) and disperse linearly in all
directions around these critical points. Including spin, the low energy
effective theory around each critical point is a four band Dirac Hamiltonian.
In two dimensions (2D), this situation is realized in graphene without
spin-orbit coupling. 3D Dirac points are predicted to exist at the phase
transition between a topological and a normal insulator in the presence of
inversion symmetry. Here we show that 3D Dirac points can also be protected by
crystallographic symmetries in particular space-groups and enumerate the
criteria necessary to identify these groups. This reveals the possibility of 3D
analogs to graphene. We provide a systematic approach for identifying such
materials and present ab initio calculations of metastable \beta-cristobalite
BiO_2 which exhibits Dirac points at the three symmetry related X points of the
BZ.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
The Ah receptor: adaptive metabolism, ligand diversity, and the xenokine model
Author Posting. © American Chemical Society, 2020. This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License. The definitive version was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology, 33(4), (2020): 860-879, doi:10.1021/acs.chemrestox.9b00476.The Ah receptor (AHR) has been studied for almost five decades. Yet, we still have many important questions about its role in normal physiology and development. Moreover, we still do not fully understand how this protein mediates the adverse effects of a variety of environmental pollutants, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (“dioxins”), and many polyhalogenated biphenyls. To provide a platform for future research, we provide the historical underpinnings of our current state of knowledge about AHR signal transduction, identify a few areas of needed research, and then develop concepts such as adaptive metabolism, ligand structural diversity, and the importance of proligands in receptor activation. We finish with a discussion of the cognate physiological role of the AHR, our perspective on why this receptor is so highly conserved, and how we might think about its cognate ligands in the future.This review is dedicated in memory of the career of Alan Poland, one of the truly great minds in pharmacology and toxicology. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants R35-ES028377, T32-ES007015, P30-CA014520, P42-ES007381, and U01-ES1026127, The UW SciMed GRS Program, and The Morgridge Foundation. The authors would like to thank Catherine Stanley of UW Media Solutions for her artwork
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