Aging Effects Across the Metal-Insulator Transition in Two Dimensions

Aging effects in the relaxations of conductivity of a two-dimensional electron system in Si have been studied as a function of carrier density. They reveal an abrupt change in the nature of the glassy phase at the metal-insulator transition (MIT): (a) while full aging is observed in the insulating regime, there are significant departures from full aging on the metallic side of the MIT, before the glassy phase disappears completely at a higher density $n_g$; (b) the amplitude of the relaxations peaks just below the MIT, and it is strongly suppressed in the insulating phase. Other aspects of aging, including large non-Gaussian noise and similarities to spin glasses, also have been discussed.Comment: 4+ pages, 5 figures; minor changes, accepted for publication in PR

RXJ 0921+4529: a binary quasar or gravitational lens?

We report the new spectroscopic observations of the gravitational lens RXJ 021+4529 with the multi-mode focal reducer SCORPIO of the SAO RAS 6-m telescope. The new spectral observations were compared with the previously observed spectra of components A and B of RXJ 0921+4529, i.e. the same components observed in different epochs. We found a significant difference in the spectrum between the components that cannot be explained with microlensing and/or spectral variation. We conclude that RXJ 0921+4529 is a binary quasar system, where redshifts of quasars A and B are 1.6535 +/- 0.0005 and 1.6625 +/- 0.0015, respectively.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Nonequilibrium Relaxations and Aging Effects in a Two-Dimensional Coulomb Glass

The relaxations of conductivity have been studied in the glassy regime of a strongly disordered two-dimensional electron system in Si after a temporary change of carrier density during the waiting time t_w. Two types of response have been observed: a) monotonic, where relaxations exhibit aging, i.e. dependence on history, determined by t_w and temperature; b) nonmonotonic, where a memory of the sample history is lost. The conditions that separate the two regimes have been also determined.Comment: 4 pages; published versioi

Photo-centric variability of quasars caused by variations in their inner structure: Consequences on Gaia measurements

We study the photocenter position variability due to variations in the quasar inner structure. We consider variability in the accretion disk emissivity and torus structure variability due to different illumination by the central source. We discuss possible detection of these effects by Gaia. Observations of the photocenter variability in two AGNs, SDSS J121855+020002 and SDSS J162011+1724327 have been reported and discussed. With investigation of the variations in the quasar inner structure we explore how much this effect can affect the position determination and whether it can be (or not) detected with Gaia mission. We used (a) a model of a relativistic disk, including the perturbation that can increase brightness of a part of the disk, and consequently offset the photocenter position, and (b) a model of a dusty torus which absorbs and re-emits the incoming radiation from accretion disk. We estimated the value of the photocenter offset due to these two effects. We found that perturbations in the inner structure can significantly offset the photocenter. It depends on the characteristics of perturbation and accretion disk and structure of the torus. In the case of two considered QSOs the observed photocenter offsets cannot be explained by variations in the accretion disk and other effects should be considered. We discussed possibility of exploding stars very close to the AGN source, and also possibility that there are two variable sources in the center of these two AGNs that may indicate a binary super-massive black hole system on a kpc (pc) scale. The Gaia mission seems to be very perspective, not only for astrometry, but also for exploring the inner structure of AGNs. We conclude that variations in the quasar inner structure can affect the observed photocenter (up to several mas). There is a chance to observe such effect in the case of bright and low-redshifted QSOs.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Language improved, typos correcte

Mesoscopic Behavior Near a Two-Dimensional Metal-Insulator Transition

We study conductance fluctuations in a two-dimensional electron gas as a function of chemical potential (or gate voltage) from the strongly insulating to the metallic regime. Power spectra of the fluctuations decay with two distinct exponents (1/v_l and 1/v_h). For conductivity $\sigma\sim 0.1 e^{2}/h$, we find a third exponent (1/v_i) in the shortest samples, and non-monotonic dependence of v_i and v_l on \sigma. We study the dependence of v_i, v_l, v_h, and the variances of corresponding fluctuations on \sigma, sample size, and temperature. The anomalies near $\sigma\simeq 0.1 e^{2}/h$ indicate that the dielectric response and screening length are critically behaved, i.e. that Coulomb correlations dominate the physics.Comment: Revised according to referee remark

The First Spectroscopically Resolved Sub-parsec Orbit of a Supermassive Binary Black Hole

One of the most intriguing scenarios proposed to explain how active galactic nuclei are triggered involves the existence of a supermassive binary black hole system in their cores. Here we present an observational evidence for the first spectroscopically resolved sub-parsec orbit of a such system in the core of Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151. Using a method similar to those typically applied for spectroscopic binary stars we obtained radial velocity curves of the supermassive binary system, from which we calculated orbital elements and made estimates about the masses of components. Our analysis shows that periodic variations in the light and radial velocity curves can be accounted for an eccentric, sub-parsec Keplerian orbit of a 15.9-year period. The flux maximum in the lightcurve correspond to the approaching phase of a secondary component towards the observer. According to the obtained results we speculate that the periodic variations in the observed H{\alpha} line shape and flux are due to shock waves generated by the supersonic motion of the components through the surrounding medium. Given the large observational effort needed to reveal this spectroscopically resolved binary orbital motion we suggest that many such systems may exist in similar objects even if they are hard to find. Detecting more of them will provide us with insight into black hole mass growth process.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, published in ApJ, 759, 11

Tuning from failed superconductor to failed insulator with magnetic field

Do charge modulations compete with electron pairing in high-temperature copper-oxide superconductors? We investigated this question by suppressing superconductivity in a stripe-ordered cuprate compound at low temperature with high magnetic fields. With increasing field, loss of three-dimensional superconducting order is followed by reentrant two-dimensional superconductivity and then an ultra-quantum metal phase. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the latter state is bosonic and associated with the charge stripes. These results provide experimental support to the theoretical perspective that local segregation of doped holes and antiferromagnetic spin correlations underlies the electron-pairing mechanism in cuprates.Comment: 20 pp, 4 figs.; accepted version; for open-access published version, click on DOI belo

Signatures of a pair density wave at high magnetic fields in cuprates with charge and spin orders

In underdoped cuprates, the interplay of the pseudogap, superconductivity, and charge and spin ordering can give rise to exotic quantum states, including the pair density wave (PDW), in which the superconducting (SC) order parameter is oscillatory in space. However, the evidence for a PDW state remains inconclusive and its broader relevance to cuprate physics is an open question. To test the interlayer frustration, the crucial component of the PDW picture, we performed transport measurements on La$_{1.7}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{0.1}$CuO$_{4}$ and La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_{4}$, cuprates with "striped" spin and charge orders, in perpendicular magnetic fields ($H_\perp$), and also with an additional field applied parallel to CuO$_2$ layers ($H_\parallel$). We detected several phenomena predicted to arise from the existence of a PDW, including an enhancement of interlayer SC phase coherence with increasing $H_\parallel$. Our findings are consistent with the presence of local, PDW pairing correlations that compete with the uniform SC order at $T_{c}^{0}< T<(2-6) T_{c}^{0}$, where $T_{c}^{0}$ is the $H=0$ SC transition temperature, and become dominant at intermediate $H_\perp$ as $T\rightarrow 0$. These data also provide much-needed transport signatures of the PDW in the regime where superconductivity is destroyed by quantum phase fluctuations.Comment: This is a pre-print of an article published in Nature Communications. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17138-

Infrared and Raman spectra of LiV2O5 single crystals

The phonon dynamics of LiV2O5 single crystals is studied using infrared and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The infrared-active phonon frequencies and dielectric constants are obtained by oscillator fitting procedure of the reflectivity data measured at room temperature. The Raman scattering spectra are measured at room temperature and at T=10 K in all nonequivalent polarized configurations. The assignment of the phonons is done by comparing the infrared and Raman spectra of LiV2O5 and NaV2O5. The factor-group-analysis of the LiV2O5 crystal symmetry and of its constituent layers is performed to explain the symmetry properties of the observed modes. We concluded that layer symmetry dominates in the vibrational properties of this compound.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure