151 research outputs found
Heat flux operator, current conservation and the formal Fourier's law
By revisiting previous definitions of the heat current operator, we show that
one can define a heat current operator that satisfies the continuity equation
for a general Hamiltonian in one dimension. This expression is useful for
studying electronic, phononic and photonic energy flow in linear systems and in
hybrid structures. The definition allows us to deduce the necessary conditions
that result in current conservation for general-statistics systems. The
discrete form of the Fourier's Law of heat conduction naturally emerges in the
present definition
Introduction to Configuration Path Integral Monte Carlo
In low-temperature high-density plasmas quantum effects of the electrons are
becoming increasingly important. This requires the development of new
theoretical and computational tools. Quantum Monte Carlo methods are among the
most successful approaches to first-principle simulations of many-body quantum
systems. In this chapter we present a recently developed method---the
configuration path integral Monte Carlo (CPIMC) method for moderately coupled,
highly degenerate fermions at finite temperatures. It is based on the second
quantization representation of the -particle density operator in a basis of
(anti-)symmetrized -particle states (configurations of occupation numbers)
and allows to tread arbitrary pair interactions in a continuous space.
We give a detailed description of the method and discuss the application to
electrons or, more generally, Coulomb-interacting fermions. As a test case we
consider a few quantum particles in a one-dimensional harmonic trap. Depending
on the coupling parameter (ratio of the interaction energy to kinetic energy),
the method strongly reduces the sign problem as compared to direct path
integral Monte Carlo (DPIMC) simulations in the regime of strong degeneracy
which is of particular importance for dense matter in laser plasmas or compact
stars. In order to provide a self-contained introduction, the chapter includes
a short introduction to Metropolis Monte Carlo methods and the second
quantization of quantum mechanics.Comment: chapter in book "Introduction to Complex Plasmas: Scientific
Challenges and Technological Opportunities", Michael Bonitz, K. Becker, J.
Lopez and H. Thomsen (Eds.) Springer Series "Atomic, Optical and Plasma
Physics", vol. 82, Springer 2014, pp. 153-194 ISBN: 978-3-319-05436-0 (Print)
978-3-319-05437-7 (Online
Macroscopic Quantum Phase Interference in Antiferromagnetic Particles
The tunnel splitting in biaxial antiferromagnetic particles is studied with a
magnetic field applied along the hard anisotropy axis. We observe the
oscillation of tunnel splitting as a function of the magnetic field due to the
quantum phase interference of two tunneling paths of opposite windings. The
oscillation is similar to the recent experimental result with Fe}\textrm{\
molecular clusters.}Comment: 8 pages, 2 postscript figures, to appear in J. Phys.: Condes. Matte
An alternate model for magnetization plateaus in the molecular magnet V_15
Starting from an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg Hamiltonian for the fifteen
spin-1/2 ions in V_15, we construct an effective spin Hamiltonian involving
eight low-lying states (spin-1/2 and spin-3/2) coupled to a phonon bath. We
numerically solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation of this system, and
obtain the magnetization as a function of temperature in a time-dependent
magnetic field. The magnetization exhibits unusual patterns of hysteresis and
plateaus as the field sweep rate and temperature are varied. The observed
plateaus are not due to quantum tunneling but are a result of thermal
averaging. Our results are in good agreement with recent experimental
observations.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, 5 eps figure
Dynamics of a Quantum Particle in Asymmetric Bistable Potential with Environmental Noise
In this work we analyze the dynamics of a quantum particle subject to an asymmetric bistable potential and interacting with a thermal reservoir. We obtain the time evolution of the population distributions in both energy and position eigenstates of the particle, for different values of the coupling strength with the thermal bath. The calculation is carried out using the Feynman-
Vernon functional under the discrete variable representation
Fermi edge singularities in X-ray spectra of strongly correlated fermions
We discuss the problem of the X-ray absorption in a system of interacting
fermions and, in particular, those features in the X-ray spectra that can be
used to discriminate between conventional Fermi-liquids and novel "strange
metals". Focusing on the case of purely forward scattering off the core-hole
potential, we account for the relevant interactions in the conduction band by
means of the bosonization technique. We find that the X-ray Fermi edge
singularities can still be present, although modified, even if the density of
states vanishes at the Fermi energy, and that, in general, the relationship
between the two appears to be quite subtle.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, Princeton preprin
Signatures of Spin and Charge Energy Scales in the Local Moment and Specific Heat of the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model
Local moment formation driven by the on--site repulsion is one of the
most fundamental features in the Hubbard model. At the simplest level, the
temperature dependence of the local moment is expected to have a single
structure at , reflecting the suppression of the double occupancy. In
this paper we show new low temperature Quantum Monte Carlo data which emphasize
that the local moment also has a signature at a lower energy scale which
previously had been thought to characterize only the temperatures below which
moments on {\it different} sites begin to correlate locally. We discuss
implications of these results for the structure of the specific heat, and
connections to quasiparticle resonance and pseudogap formation in the density
of states.Comment: 13 pages, 19 figure
Asymmetric Lineshape due to Inhomogeneous Broadening of the Crystal-Field Transitions in Mn12ac Single Crystals
The lineshape of crystal-field transitions in single crystals of Mn12ac
molecular magnets is determined by the magnetic history. The absorption lines
are symmetric and Gaussian for the non-magnetized state obtained by zero-field
cooling (zfc). In the magnetized state which is reached when the sample is
cooled in a magnetic field (fc), however, they are asymmetric even in the
absence of an external magnetic field. These observations are quantitatively
explained by inhomogeneous symmetrical (Gaussian) broadening of the
crystal-field transitions combined with a contribution of off-diagonal
components of the magnetic susceptibility to the effective magnetic
permeability.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Non-Fermi liquid behavior and Griffiths phase in {\it f}-electron compounds
We study the interplay among disorder, RKKY and Kondo interactions in {\it
f}-electron alloys. We argue that the non-Fermi liquid behavior observed in
these systems is due to the existence of a Griffiths phase close to a quantum
critical point. The existence of this phase provides a unified picture of a
large class of materials. We also propose new experiments that can test these
ideas.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Figure. NEW version of the original manuscript. A single
framework for NFL behavior in different kinds of alloys is presented. Final
version finally allowed to appear on the glorious Physical Review Letter
Search for Low Scale Gravity Effects in e+e- Collisions at LEP
Recent theories propose that quantum gravity effects may be observable at LEP
energies via gravitons that couple to Standard Model particles and propagate
into extra spatial dimensions. The associated production of a graviton and a
photon is searched for as well as the effects of virtual graviton exchange in
the processes: e+e- -> gamma gamma, ZZ, WW, mu mu, tau tau, qq and ee No
evidence for this new interaction is found in the data sample collected by the
L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies up to 183 GeV. Limits close to 1
TeV on the scale of this new scenario of quantum gravity are set
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