1,120 research outputs found
Electrostatics of electron-hole interactions in van der Waals heterostructures
The role of dielectric screening of electron-hole interaction in van der
Waals heterostructures is theoretically investigated. A comparison between
models available in the literature for describing these interactions is made
and the limitations of these approaches are discussed. A simple numerical
solution of Poissons equation for a stack of dielectric slabs based on a
transfer matrix method is developed, enabling the calculation of the
electron-hole interaction potential at very low computational cost and with
reasonable accuracy. Using different potential models, direct and indirect
exciton binding energies in these systems are calculated within Wannier-Mott
theory, and a comparison of theoretical results with recent experiments on
excitons in two-dimensional materials is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Finite-Temperature Auxiliary-Field Quantum Monte Carlo for Bose-Fermi Mixtures
We present a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) technique for calculating the exact
finite-temperature properties of Bose-Fermi mixtures. The Bose-Fermi
Auxiliary-Field Quantum Monte Carlo (BF-AFQMC) algorithm combines two methods,
a finite-temperature AFQMC algorithm for bosons and a variant of the standard
AFQMC algorithm for fermions, into one algorithm for mixtures. We demonstrate
the accuracy of our method by comparing its results for the Bose-Hubbard and
Bose-Fermi-Hubbard models against those produced using exact diagonalization
for small systems. Comparisons are also made with mean-field theory and the
worm algorithm for larger systems. As is the case with most fermion
Hamiltonians, a sign or phase problem is present in BF-AFQMC. We discuss the
nature of these problems in this framework and describe how they can be
controlled with well-studied approximations to expand BF-AFQMC's reach. The new
algorithm can serve as an essential tool for answering many unresolved
questions about many-body physics in mixed Bose-Fermi systems.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
Dynamical heterogeneity in a glass forming ideal gas
We conduct a numerical study of the dynamical behavior of a system of
three-dimensional crosses, particles that consist of three mutually
perpendicular line segments rigidly joined at their midpoints. In an earlier
study [W. van Ketel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 135703 (2005)] we showed that
this model has the structural properties of an ideal gas, yet the dynamical
properties of a strong glass former. In the present paper we report an
extensive study of the dynamical heterogeneities that appear in this system in
the regime where glassy behavior sets in. On the one hand, we find that the
propensity of a particle to diffuse is determined by the structure of its local
environment. The local density around mobile particles is significantly less
than the average density, but there is little clustering of mobile particles,
and the clusters observed tend to be small. On the other hand, dynamical
susceptibility results indicate that a large dynamical length scale develops
even at moderate densities. This suggests that propensity and other mobility
measures are an incomplete measure of dynamical length scales in this system.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Crossover behavior and multi-step relaxation in a schematic model of the cut-off glass transition
We study a schematic mode-coupling model in which the ideal glass transition
is cut off by a decay of the quadratic coupling constant in the memory
function. (Such a decay, on a time scale tau_I, has been suggested as the
likely consequence of activated processes.) If this decay is complete, so that
only a linear coupling remains at late times, then the alpha relaxation shows a
temporal crossover from a relaxation typical of the unmodified schematic model
to a final strongly slower-than-exponential relaxation. This crossover, which
differs somewhat in form from previous schematic models of the cut-off glass
transition, resembles light-scattering experiments on colloidal systems, and
can exhibit a `slower-than-alpha' relaxation feature hinted at there. We also
consider what happens when a similar but incomplete decay occurs, so that a
significant level of quadratic coupling remains for t>>tau_I. In this case the
correlator acquires a third, weaker relaxation mode at intermediate times. This
empirically resembles the beta process seen in many molecular glass formers. It
disappears when the initial as well as the final quadratic coupling lies on the
liquid side of the glass transition, but remains present even when the final
coupling is only just inside the liquid (so that the alpha relaxation time is
finite, but too long to measure). Our results are suggestive of how, in a
cut-off glass, the underlying `ideal' glass transition predicted by
mode-coupling theory can remain detectable through qualitative features in
dynamics.Comment: 14 pages revtex inc 10 figs; submitted to pr
Transition from non-motile behaviour to directed migration during early PGC development in zebrafish
Glasslike Arrest in Spinodal Decomposition as a Route to Colloidal Gelation
Colloid-polymer mixtures can undergo spinodal decomposition into colloid-rich
and colloid-poor regions. Gelation results when interconnected colloid-rich
regions solidify. We show that this occurs when these regions undergo a glass
transition, leading to dynamic arrest of the spinodal decomposition. The
characteristic length scale of the gel decreases with increasing quench depth,
and the nonergodicity parameter exhibits a pronounced dependence on scattering
vector. Mode coupling theory gives a good description of the dynamics, provided
we use the full static structure as input.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; replaced with published versio
Dynamical field theory for glass-forming liquids, self-consistent resummations and time-reversal symmetry
We analyse the symmetries and the self-consistent perturbative approaches of
dynamical field theories for glassforming liquids. In particular, we focus on
the time-reversal symmetry (TRS), which is crucial to obtain
fluctuation-dissipation relations (FDRs). Previous field theoretical treatment
violated this symmetry, whereas others pointed out that constructing symmetry
preserving perturbation theories is a crucial and open issue. In this work we
solve this problem and then apply our results to the mode-coupling theory of
the glass transition (MCT). We show that in the context of dynamical field
theories for glass-forming liquids TRS is expressed as a nonlinear field
transformation that leaves the action invariant. Because of this nonlinearity,
standard perturbation theories generically do not preserve TRS and in
particular FDRs. We show how one can cure this problem and set up
symmetry-preserving perturbation theories by introducing some auxiliary fields.
As an outcome we obtain Schwinger-Dyson dynamical equations that automatically
preserve FDRs and that serve as a basis for carrying out symmetry-preserving
approximations. We apply our results to MCT, revisiting previous field theory
derivations of MCT equations and showing that they generically violate FDR. We
obtain symmetry-preserving mode-coupling equations and discuss their advantages
and drawbacks. Furthermore, we show, contrary to previous works, that the
structure of the dynamic equations is such that the ideal glass transition is
not cut off at any finite order of perturbation theory, even in the presence of
coupling between current and density. The opposite results found in previous
field theoretical works, such as the ones based on nonlinear fluctuating
hydrodynamics, were only due to an incorrect treatment of TRS.Comment: 54 pages, 21 figure
Quantum quench spectroscopy of a Luttinger liquid: Ultrarelativistic density wave dynamics due to fractionalization in an XXZ chain
We compute the dynamics of localized excitations produced by a quantum quench
in the spin 1/2 XXZ chain. Using numerics combining the density matrix
renormalization group and exact time evolution, as well as analytical
arguments, we show that fractionalization due to interactions in the pre-quench
state gives rise to "ultrarelativistic" density waves that travel at the
maximum band velocity. The system is initially prepared in the ground state of
the chain within the gapless XY phase, which admits a Luttinger liquid (LL)
description at low energies and long wavelengths. The Hamiltonian is then
suddenly quenched to a band insulator, after which the chain evolves unitarily.
Through the gapped dispersion of the insulator spectrum, the post-quench
dynamics serve as a "velocity microscope," revealing initial state particle
correlations via space time density propagation. We show that the
ultrarelativistic wave production is tied to the particular way in which
fractionalization evades Pauli-blocking in the zero-temperature initial LL
state.Comment: 32 pages, 27 figures; v2: references update
Non-linear susceptibilities of spherical models
The static and dynamic susceptibilities for a general class of mean field
random orthogonal spherical spin glass models are studied. We show how the
static and dynamical properties of the linear and nonlinear susceptibilities
depend on the behaviour of the density of states of the two body interaction
matrix in the neighbourhood of the largest eigenvalue. Our results are compared
with experimental results and also with those of the droplet theory of spin
glasses.Comment: 20 pages, 2 fig
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