Electronic Phase Separation Transition as the Origin of the Superconductivity and the Pseudogap Phase of Cuprates

We propose a new phase of matter, an electronic phase separation transition that starts near the upper pseudogap and segregates the holes into high and low density domains. The Cahn-Hilliard approach is used to follow quantitatively this second order transition. The resulting grain boundary potential confines the charge in domains and favors the development of intragrain superconducting amplitudes. The zero resistivity transition arises only when the intergrain Josephson coupling $E_J$ is of the order of the thermal energy and phase locking among the superconducting grains takes place. We show that this approach explains the pseudogap and superconducting phases in a natural way and reproduces some recent scanning tunneling microscopy dataComment: 4 pages and 5 eps fig

Statistical wave scattering through classically chaotic cavities in the presence of surface absorption

We propose a model to describe the statistical properties of wave scattering through a classically chaotic cavity in the presence of surface absorption. Experimentally, surface absorption could be realized by attaching an "absorbing patch" to the inner wall of the cavity. In our model, the cavity is connected to the outside by a waveguide with N open modes (or channels), while an experimental patch is simulated by an "absorbing mirror" attached to the inside wall of the cavity; the mirror, consisting of a waveguide that supports Na channels, with absorption inside and a perfectly reflecting wall at its end, is described by a subunitary scattering matrix Sa. The number of channels Na, as a measure of the geometric cross section of the mirror, and the lack of unitarity of Sa as a measure of absorption, are under our control: these parameters have an important physical significance for real experiments. The absorption strength in the cavity is quantified by the trace of the lack of unitarity. The statistical distribution of the resulting S matrix for N=1 open channel and only one absorbing channel, Na =1, is solved analytically for the orthogonal and unitary universality classes, and the results are compared with those arising from numerical simulations. The relation with other models existing in the literature, in some of which absorption has a volumetric character, is also studied.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Statistical fluctuations of the parametric derivative of the transmission and reflection coefficients in absorbing chaotic cavities

Motivated by recent theoretical and experimental works, we study the statistical fluctuations of the parametric derivative of the transmission T and reflection R coefficients in ballistic chaotic cavities in the presence of absorption. Analytical results for the variance of the parametric derivative of T and R, with and without time-reversal symmetry, are obtained for both asymmetric and left-right symmetric cavities. These results are valid for arbitrary number of channels, in completely agreement with the one channel case in the absence of absorption studied in the literature.Comment: Modified version as accepted in PR

Task planning and control synthesis for robotic manipulation in space applications

Space-based robotic systems for diagnosis, repair and assembly of systems will require new techniques of planning and manipulation to accomplish these complex tasks. Results of work in assembly task representation, discrete task planning, and control synthesis which provide a design environment for flexible assembly systems in manufacturing applications, and which extend to planning of manipulatiuon operations in unstructured environments are summarized. Assembly planning is carried out using the AND/OR graph representation which encompasses all possible partial orders of operations and may be used to plan assembly sequences. Discrete task planning uses the configuration map which facilitates search over a space of discrete operations parameters in sequential operations in order to achieve required goals in the space of bounded configuration sets

Exact Solution for the Distribution of Transmission Eigenvalues in a Disordered Wire and Comparison with Random-Matrix Theory

An exact solution is presented of the Fokker-Planck equation which governs the evolution of an ensemble of disordered metal wires of increasing length, in a magnetic field. By a mapping onto a free-fermion problem, the complete probability distribution function of the transmission eigenvalues is obtained. The logarithmic eigenvalue repulsion of random-matrix theory is shown to break down for transmission eigenvalues which are not close to unity. ***Submitted to Physical Review B.****Comment: 20 pages, REVTeX-3.0, INLO-PUB-931028

Equivalence of Fokker-Planck approach and non-linear σ\sigma-model for disordered wires in the unitary symmetry class

The exact solution of the Dorokhov-Mello-Pereyra-Kumar-equation for quasi one-dimensional disordered conductors in the unitary symmetry class is employed to calculate all $m$-point correlation functions by a generalization of the method of orthogonal polynomials. We obtain closed expressions for the first two conductance moments which are valid for the whole range of length scales from the metallic regime ($L\ll Nl$) to the insulating regime ($L\gg Nl$) and for arbitrary channel number. In the limit $N\to\infty$ (with $L/(Nl)=const.$) our expressions agree exactly with those of the non-linear $\sigma$-model derived from microscopic Hamiltonians.Comment: 9 pages, Revtex, one postscript figur

Insensitivity to Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking of Universal Conductance Fluctuations with Andreev Reflection

Numerical simulations of conduction through a disordered microbridge between a normal metal and a superconductor have revealed an anomalous insensitivity of the conductance fluctuations to a magnetic field. A theory for the anomaly is presented: Both an exact analytical calculation (using random-matrix theory) and a qualitative symmetry argument (involving the exchange of time-reversal for reflection symmetry).Comment: 8 pages, REVTeX-3.0, 2 figure

Intensity correlations in electronic wave propagation in a disordered medium: the influence of spin-orbit scattering

We obtain explicit expressions for the correlation functions of transmission and reflection coefficients of coherent electronic waves propagating through a disordered quasi-one-dimensional medium with purely elastic diffusive scattering in the presence of spin-orbit interactions. We find in the metallic regime both large local intensity fluctuations and long-range correlations which ultimately lead to universal conductance fluctuations. We show that the main effect of spin-orbit scattering is to suppress both local and long-range intensity fluctuations by a universal symmetry factor 4. We use a scattering approach based on random transfer matrices.Comment: 15 pages, written in plain TeX, Preprint OUTP-93-42S (University of Oxford), to appear in Phys. Rev.

Universal Quantum Signatures of Chaos in Ballistic Transport

The conductance of a ballistic quantum dot (having chaotic classical dynamics and being coupled by ballistic point contacts to two electron reservoirs) is computed on the single assumption that its scattering matrix is a member of Dyson's circular ensemble. General formulas are obtained for the mean and variance of transport properties in the orthogonal (beta=1), unitary (beta=2), and symplectic (beta=4) symmetry class. Applications include universal conductance fluctuations, weak localization, sub-Poissonian shot noise, and normal-metal-superconductor junctions. The complete distribution P(g) of the conductance g is computed for the case that the coupling to the reservoirs occurs via two quantum point contacts with a single transmitted channel. The result P(g)=g^(-1+beta/2) is qualitatively different in the three symmetry classes. ***Submitted to Europhysics Letters.****Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX-3.0, INLO-PUB-94032