Orbital-transverse density-wave instabilities in iron-based superconductors

Besides the conventional spin-density-wave (SDW) state, a new kind of orbital-transverse density-wave (OTDW) state is shown to exist generally in multi-orbital systems. We demonstrate that the orbital character of Fermi surface nesting plays an important role in density responses. The relationship between antiferromagnetism and structural phase transition in LaFeAsO (1111) and BaFe$_2$As$_2$ (122) compounds of iron-based superconductors may be understood in terms of the interplay between the SDW and OTDW with a five-orbital Hamiltonian. We propose that the essential difference between 1111 and 122 compounds is crucially determined by the presence of the two-dimensional $d_{xy}$-like Fermi surface around (0,0) being only in 1111 parent compounds.Comment: several parts were rewritten for clarity. 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

The vortex dynamics of a Ginzburg-Landau system under pinning effect

It is proved that the vortices are attracted by impurities or inhomogeities in the superconducting materials. The strong H^1-convergence for the corresponding Ginzburg-Landau system is also proved.Comment: 23page

Application of Instantons: Quenching of Macroscopic Quantum Coherence and Macroscopic Fermi-Particle Configurations

Starting from the coherent state representation of the evolution operator with the help of the path-integral, we derive a formula for the low-lying levels $E = \epsilon_0 - 2\triangle\epsilon cos (s+\xi)\pi$ of a quantum spin system. The quenching of macroscopic quantum coherence is understood as the vanishing of $cos (s+\xi)\pi$ in disagreement with the suppression of tunneling (i.e. $\triangle\epsilon = 0$) as claimed in the literature. A new configuration called the macroscopic Fermi-particle is suggested by the character of its wave function. The tunneling rate ($(2\triangle\epsilon)/(\pi)$) does not vanish, not for integer spin s nor for a half-integer value of s, and is calculated explicitly (for the position dependent mass) up to the one-loop approximation.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex, no figure

Gate-controllable spin-battery

We propose a gate-controllable spin-battery for spin current. The spin-battery consists of a lateral double quantum dot under a uniform magnetic field. A finite DC spin-current is driven out of the device by controlling a set of gate voltages. Spin-current can also be delivered in the absence of charge-current. The proposed device should be realizable using present technology at low temperature.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Appl. Phys. Let

Dimensional crossover of thermal conductance in graphene nanoribbons: A first-principles approach

First-principles density-functional calculations are performed to investigate the thermal transport properties in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). The dimensional crossover of thermal conductance from one to two dimensions (2D) is clearly demonstrated with increasing ribbon width. The thermal conductance of GNRs in a few nanometer width already exhibits an approximate low-temperature dependence of $T^{1.5}$, like that of 2D graphene sheet which is attributed to the quadratic nature of dispersion relation for the out-of-plane acoustic phonon modes. Using a zone-folding method, we heuristically derive the dimensional crossover of thermal conductance with the increase of ribbon width. Combining our calculations with the experimental phonon mean-free path, some typical values of thermal conductivity at room temperature are estimated for GNRs and for 2D graphene sheet, respectively. Our findings clarify the issue of low-temperature dependence of thermal transport in GNRs and suggest a calibration range of thermal conductivity for experimental measurements in graphene-based materials.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure