Theory of the ferroelectric phase in organic conductors: optics and physics of solitons

Recently the ferroelectric anomaly (Nad, Monceau, et al) followed by the charge disproportionation (Brown, et al) have been discovered in (TMTTF)2X compounds. The corresponding theory of the combined Mott-Hubbard state describes both effects by interference of the build-in nonequivalence of bonds and the spontaneous one of sites. The state gives rise to three types of solitons: \pi solitons (holons) are observed via the activation energy \Delta in the conductivity $G$; noninteger \alpha solitons (the FE domain walls) provide the frequency dispersion of the ferroelectric response; combined spin-charge solitons determine G(T) below subsequent structural transitions of the tetramerisation. The photoconductivity gap 2\Delta is determined by creations of soliton - antisoliton pairs. The optical edge lies well below, given by the collective ferroelectric mode which coexists with the combined electron-phonon resonance and the phonon antiresonance. The charge disproportionation and the ferroelectricity can exist hiddenly even in the Se subfamily giving rise to the unexplained yet low frequency optical peak, the enhanced pseudogap and traces of phonons activation.Comment: small fixe

Competing Interactions, the Renormalization Group and the Isotropic-Nematic Phase Transition

We discuss 2D systems with Ising symmetry and competing interactions at different scales. In the framework of the Renormalization Group, we study the effect of relevant quartic interactions. In addition to the usual constant interaction term, we analyze the effect of quadrupole interactions in the self consistent Hartree approximation. We show that in the case of repulsive quadrupole interaction, there is a first order phase transition to a stripe phase in agreement with the well known Brazovskii result. However, in the case of attractive quadrupole interactions there is an isotropic-nematic second order transition with higher critical temperature.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, version to be published in Physical Review Letters. Some scaling dimensions corrected, conclusions are the sam

New Routes to Solitons in Quasi One-Dimensional Conductors

We collect evidences on existence of microscopic solitons, and their determining role in electronic processes of quasi-1D conductors. The ferroelectric charge ordering gives access to several types of solitons in conductivity and permittivity, and to solitons' bound pairs in optics - both in insulating and conducting cases of TMTTF and TMTSF subfamilies. The excursion to physics of conjugated polymers allows to suggest further experiments. Internal tunnelling in Charge Density Waves goes through the channel of "amplitude solitons", which correspond to the long sought quasi-particle - the spinon. The same experiment gives an access to the reversible reconstruction of the junction via spontaneous creation of a lattice of 2Pi solitons - a grid of dislocations. The individual 2Pi solitons have been visually captured in recent STM experiments. Junctions of organic and oxide conductors are anticipated to show similar effects of reconstruction.Comment: Proceedings of ISCOM 2007, to be published in Solid State Sciences (2008

Solitons: from Charge Density Waves to FFLO in superconductors

This short review aims to summarize on "What the Charge Density Waves can tell to other inhomogeneous states in strongly correlated systems, particularly to spin-polarized superconductors". We shall update on expanding observations of solitons in quasi 1D CDW conductors and link them to the growing information and demands related to inhomogeneous spin-polarized states in superconductors. The related theory, existent or awaited for, stretches from solitons in 1D models to vortex-like elementary excitations in 2D,3D ordered incommensurate CDWs and superconductors.Comment: After presentations given at the conferences STRIPES 2008 and ECRYS 200

Statistics of charged solitons and formation of stripes

The 2-fold degeneracy of the ground state of a quasi-one-dimensional system allows it to support topological excitations such as solitons. We study the combined effects of Coulomb interactions and confinement due to interchain coupling on the statistics of such defects. We concentrate on a 2D case which may correspond to monolayers of polyacetylene or other charge density waves. The theory is developped by a mapping to the 2D Ising model with long-range 4-spin interactions. The phase diagram exhibits deconfined phases for liquids and Wigner crystals of kinks and confined ones for bikinks. Also we find aggregated phases with either infinite domain walls of kinks or finite rods of bikinks. Roughening effects due to both temperature and Coulomb repulsion are observed. Applications may concern the melting of stripes in doped correlated materials.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Soliton Wall Superlattice in Quasi-One-Dimensional Conductor (Per)2Pt(mnt)2

We suggest a model to explain the appearance of a high resistance high magnetic field charge-density-wave (CDW) phase, discovered by D. Graf et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. v. 93, 076406 (2004)] in (Per)2Pt(mnt)2. In particular, we show that the Pauli spin-splitting effects improve the nesting properties of a realistic quasi-one-dimensional electron spectrum and, therefore, a high resistance Peierls CDW phase is stabilized in high magnetic fields. In low and very high magnetic fields, a periodic soliton wall superlattice (SWS) phase is found to be a ground state. We suggest experimental studies of the predicted phase transitions between the Peierls and SWS CDW phases in (Per)2Pt(mnt)2 to discover a unique SWS phase.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters (February 19, 2007

Soliton phase near antiferromagnetic quantum critical point in Q1D conductors

In the frameworks of a nesting model for Q1D organic conductor at the antiferromagnetic (SDW) quantum critical point the first-order transition separates metallic state from the soliton phase having the periodic domain structure. The low temperature phase diagram also displays the 2nd-order transition line between the soliton and the uniformly gapped SDW phases. The results agree with the phase diagram of (TMTSF)$_2$PF$_6$ near critical pressure [T. Vuletic et al., Eur. Phys. J. B 25, 319 (2002)]. Detection of the 2nd-order transition line is discussed. We comment on superconductivity at lowest temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

A Field Theory for Fermionic Ladder with Generic Intrachain Interactions

An effective low energy field theory is developed for a system of two chains. The main novelty of the approach is that it allows to treat generic intrachain repulsive interactions of arbitrary strength. The chains are coupled by a direct tunneling and four-fermion interactions. At low energies the individual chains are described as Luttinger liquids with an arbitrary ratio of spin $v_s$ and charge $v_c$ velocities. A judicious choice of the basis for the decoupled chains greatly simplifies the description and allows one to separate high and low energy degrees of freedom. In a direct analogy to the bulk cuprates the resulting effective field theory distinguishes between three qualitatively different regimes: (i) small doping ($v_c << v_s$), (ii) optimal doping ($v_s \approx v_c$) and (iii) large doping ($v_s << v_c$). I discuss the excitation spectrum and derive expressions for the electron spectral function which turns out to be highly incoherent. The degree of incoherence increases when one considers an array of ladders (stripe phase).Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures. A section explaining adiabatic approximation is modified. Typos correcte

Phase transitions in ensembles of solitons induced by an optical pumping or a strong electric field

The latest trend in studies of modern electronically and/or optically active materials is to provoke phase transformations induced by high electric fields or by short (femtosecond) powerful optical pulses. The systems of choice are cooperative electronic states whose broken symmetries give rise to topological defects. For typical quasi-one-dimensional architectures, those are the microscopic solitons taking from electrons the major roles as carriers of charge or spin. Because of the long-range ordering, the solitons experience unusual super-long-range forces leading to a sequence of phase transitions in their ensembles: the higher-temperature transition of the confinement and the lower one of aggregation into macroscopic walls. Here we present results of an extensive numerical modeling for ensembles of both neutral and charged solitons in both two- and three-dimensional systems. We suggest a specific Monte Carlo algorithm preserving the number of solitons, which substantially facilitates the calculations, allows to extend them to the three-dimensional case and to include the important long-range Coulomb interactions. The results confirm the first confinement transition, except for a very strong Coulomb repulsion, and demonstrate a pattern formation at the second transition of aggregation.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figure