Is the σ\sigma meson dynamically generated?

We study the problem whether the $\sigma$ meson is generated `dynamically'. A pedagogical analysis on the toy O(N) linear sigma model is performed and we find that the large $N_c$ limit and the $m_\sigma\to \infty$ limit does not commute. The sigma meson may not necessarily be described as a dynamically generated resonance. On the contrary, the sigma meson may be more appropriately described by considering it as an explicit degree of freedom in the effective lagrangian.Comment: Contribution to ``Quark Confinement and Hadron Spectrum VII'', 2--7 Sept. 2006, Ponta Delgada, Acores, Portuga

Hydrogen as a Source of Flux Noise in SQUIDs

Superconducting qubits are hampered by flux noise produced by surface spins from a variety of microscopic sources. Recent experiments indicated that hydrogen (H) atoms may be one of those sources. Using density functional theory calculations, we report that H atoms either embedded in, or adsorbed on, an a-Al2O3(0001) surface have sizeable spin moments ranging from 0.81 to 0.87 uB with energy barriers for spin reorientation as low as ~10 mK. Furthermore, H adatoms on the surface attract gas molecules such as O2, producing new spin sources. We propose coating the surface with graphene to eliminate H-induced surface spins and to protect the surface from other adsorbates.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Topological energy gaps in the [111]-oriented InAs/GaSb and GaSb/InAs core-shell nanowires

The [111]-oriented InAs/GaSb and GaSb/InAs core-shell nanowires have been studied by the $8\times 8$ Luttinger-Kohn $\vec{k}\cdot\vec{p}$ Hamiltonian to search for non-vanishing fundamental gaps between inverted electron and hole bands. We focus on the variations of the topologically nontrivial fundamental gap, the hybridization gap, and the effective gap with the core radius and shell thickness of the nanowires. The evolutions of all the energy gaps with the structural parameters are shown to be dominantly governed by quantum size effects. With a fixed core radius, a topologically nontrivial fundamental gap exists only at intermediate shell thicknesses. The maximum gap is $\sim 4.4$ meV for GaSb/InAs and $\sim 3.5$ meV for InAs/GaSb core-shell nanowires, and for the GaSb/InAs core-shell nanowires the gap persists over a wider range of geometrical parameters. The intrinsic reason for these differences between the two types of nanowires is that in the shell the electron-like states of InAs is more delocalized than the hole-like state of GaSb, while in the core the hole-like state of GaSb is more delocalized than the electron-like state of InAs, and both features favor stronger electron-hole hybridization. Since similar features of the electron- and hole-like states have been found in nanowires of other materials, it could serve as a common rule to put the hole-like state in the core while the electron-like state in the shell of a core-shell nanowire to achieve better topological properties.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Is the f0(600)f_0(600) meson a dynamically generated resonance? -- a lesson learned from the O(N) model and beyond

O(N) linear $\sigma$ model is solvable in the large $N$ limit and hence provides a useful theoretical laboratory to test various unitarization approximations. We find that the large $N_c$ limit and the $m_\sigma\to \infty$ limit do not commute. In order to get the correct large $N_c$ spectrum one has to firstly take the large $N_c$ limit. We argue that the $f_0(600)$ meson may not be described as generated dynamically. On the contrary, it is most appropriately described at the same level as the pions, i.e, both appear explicitly in the effective lagrangian. Actually it is very likely the $\sigma$ meson responsible for the spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in a lagrangian with linearly realized chiral symmetry.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figurs; references added; discussions slightly modified; revised version accepted by IJMP

Spin Current and Shot Noise in Single-Molecule Quantum Dots with a Phonon Mode

In this paper we investigate the spin-current and its shot-noise spectrum in a single-molecule quantum dot coupled with a local phonon mode. We pay special attention on the effect of phonon on the quantum transport property. The spin-polarization dependent current is generated by a rotating magnetic filed applied in the quantum dot. Our results show the remarkable influence of phonon mode on the zero-frequency shot noise. The electron-phonon interaction leads to sideband peaks which are located exactly on the integer number of the phonon frequency and moreover the peak-height is sensitive to the electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 17 pages,5 figure