Quantum Criticality at the Metal Insulator Transition

We introduce a new method to analysis the many-body problem with disorder. The method is an extension of the real space renormalization group based on the operator product expansion. We consider the problem in the presence of interaction, large elastic mean free path, and finite temperatures. As a result scaling is stopped either by temperature or the length scale set by the diverging many-body length scale (superconductivity). Due to disorder a superconducting instability might take place at $T_{SC}\to 0$ giving rise to a metallic phase or $T>T_{SC}$. For repulsive interactions at $T\to 0$ we flow towards the localized phase which is analized within the diffusive Finkelstein theory. For finite temperatures with strong repulsive backward interactions and non-spherical Fermi surfaces characterized by $|\frac{d\ln N(b)}{\ln b}|\ll 1$ one finds a fixed point $(D^*,\Gamma^*_2)$ in the plane $(D,\Gamma_2^{(s)})$. ($D\propto(K_F\ell)^{-1}$ is the disorder coupling constant, $\Gamma_2^{(s)}$ is the particle-hole triplet interaction, $b$ is the length scale and $N(b)$ is the number of channels.) For weak disorder, $D<D^*$, one obtains a metallic behavior with the resistance $\rho(D,\Gamma_2^{(s)},T)=\rho(D,\Gamma_2^{(s)},T)\simeq \rho^*f(\frac{D-D^*}{D^*}\frac{1}{T^{z\nu_1}})$ ($\rho^*=\rho(D^*,\Gamma_2^*,1)$, $z=1$, and $\nu_1>1$) in good agreement with the experiments.Comment: 35 pages, Revte

Classical versus Quantum Effects in the B=0 Conducting Phase in Two Dimensions

In the dilute two-dimensional electron system in silicon, we show that the temperature below which Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations become apparent is approximately the same as the temperature below which an exponential decrease in resistance is seen in B=0, suggesting that the anomalous behavior in zero field is observed only when the system is in a degenerate (quantum) state. The temperature dependence of the resistance is found to be qualitatively similar in B=0 and at integer Landau level filling factors.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Emergence of quasi-metallic state in disordered 2D electron gas due to strong interactions

The interrelation between disorder and interactions in two dimensional electron liquid is studied beyond weak coupling perturbation theory. Strong repulsion significantly reduces the electronic density of states on the Fermi level. This makes the electron liquid more rigid and strongly suppresses elastic scattering off impurities. As a result the weak localization, although ultimately present at zero temperature and infinite sample size, is unobservable at experimentally accessible temperature at high enough densities. Therefore practically there exists a well defined metallic state. We study diffusion of electrons in this state and find that the diffusion pole is significantly modified due to "mixture" with static photons similar to the Anderson - Higgs mechanism in superconductivity. As a result several effects stemming from the long range nature of diffusion like the Aronov - Altshuler logarithmic corrections to conductivity are less pronounced.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.

Singular Fermi Liquids

An introductory survey of the theoretical ideas and calculations and the experimental results which depart from Landau Fermi-liquids is presented. Common themes and possible routes to the singularities leading to the breakdown of Landau Fermi liquids are categorized following an elementary discussion of the theory. Soluble examples of Singular Fermi liquids (often called Non-Fermi liquids) include models of impurities in metals with special symmetries and one-dimensional interacting fermions. A review of these is followed by a discussion of Singular Fermi liquids in a wide variety of experimental situations and theoretical models. These include the effects of low-energy collective fluctuations, gauge fields due either to symmetries in the hamiltonian or possible dynamically generated symmetries, fluctuations around quantum critical points, the normal state of high temperature superconductors and the two-dimensional metallic state. For the last three systems, the principal experimental results are summarized and the outstanding theoretical issues highlighted.Comment: 170 pages; submitted to Physics Reports; a single pdf file with high quality figures is available from http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/~saarloo

Coexistence of Weak Localization and a Metallic Phase in Si/SiGe Quantum Wells

Magnetoresistivity measurements on p-type Si/SiGe quantum wells reveal the coexistence of a metallic behavior and weak localization. Deep in the metallic regime, pronounced weak localization reduces the metallic behavior around zero magnetic field without destroying it. In the insulating phase, a positive magnetoresistivity emerges close to B=0, possibly related to spin-orbit interactions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

The Parallel Magnetoconductance of Interacting Electrons in a Two Dimensional Disordered System

The transport properties of interacting electrons for which the spin degree of freedom is taken into account are numerically studied for small two dimensional diffusive clusters. On-site electron-electron interactions tend to delocalize the electrons, while long-range interactions enhance localization. On careful examination of the transport properties, we reach the conclusion that it does not show a two dimensional metal insulator transition driven by interactions. A parallel magnetic field leads to enhanced resistivity, which saturates once the electrons become fully spin polarized. The strength of the magnetic field for which the resistivity saturates decreases as electron density goes down. Thus, the numerical calculations capture some of the features seen in recent experimental measurements of parallel magnetoconductance.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Identification and functional characterisation of CRK12:CYC9, a novel cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-cyclin complex in Trypanosoma brucei

The protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, is spread by the tsetse fly and causes trypanosomiasis in humans and animals. Both the life cycle and cell cycle of the parasite are complex. Trypanosomes have eleven cdc2-related kinases (CRKs) and ten cyclins, an unusually large number for a single celled organism. To date, relatively little is known about the function of many of the CRKs and cyclins, and only CRK3 has previously been shown to be cyclin-dependent in vivo. Here we report the identification of a previously uncharacterised CRK:cyclin complex between CRK12 and the putative transcriptional cyclin, CYC9. CRK12:CYC9 interact to form an active protein kinase complex in procyclic and bloodstream T. brucei. Both CRK12 and CYC9 are essential for the proliferation of bloodstream trypanosomes in vitro, and we show that CRK12 is also essential for survival of T. brucei in a mouse model, providing genetic validation of CRK12:CYC9 as a novel drug target for trypanosomiasis. Further, functional characterisation of CRK12 and CYC9 using RNA interference reveals roles for these proteins in endocytosis and cytokinesis, respectively

Brain enhancement through cognitive training: A new insight from brain connectome

Owing to the recent advances in neurotechnology and the progress in understanding of brain cognitive functions, improvements of cognitive performance or acceleration of learning process with brain enhancement systems is not out of our reach anymore, on the contrary, it is a tangible target of contemporary research. Although a variety of approaches have been proposed, we will mainly focus on cognitive training interventions, in which learners repeatedly perform cognitive tasks to improve their cognitive abilities. In this review article, we propose that the learning process during the cognitive training can be facilitated by an assistive system monitoring cognitive workloads using electroencephalography (EEG) biomarkers, and the brain connectome approach can provide additional valuable biomarkers for facilitating leaners' learning processes. For the purpose, we will introduce studies on the cognitive training interventions, EEG biomarkers for cognitive workload, and human brain connectome. As cognitive overload and mental fatigue would reduce or even eliminate gains of cognitive training interventions, a real-time monitoring of cognitive workload can facilitate the learning process by flexibly adjusting difficulty levels of the training task. Moreover, cognitive training interventions should have effects on brain sub-networks, not on a single brain region, and graph theoretical network metrics quantifying topological architecture of the brain network can differentiate with respect to individual cognitive states as well as to different individuals' cognitive abilities, suggesting that the connectome is a valuable approach for tracking the learning progress. Although only a few studies have exploited the connectome approach for studying alterations of the brain network induced by cognitive training interventions so far, we believe that it would be a useful technique for capturing improvements of cognitive function

Enhanced convective heat transfer using graphene dispersed nanofluids

Nanofluids are having wide area of application in electronic and cooling industry. In the present work, hydrogen exfoliated graphene (HEG) dispersed deionized (DI) water, and ethylene glycol (EG) based nanofluids were developed. Further, thermal conductivity and heat transfer properties of these nanofluids were systematically investigated. HEG was synthesized by exfoliating graphite oxide in H2 atmosphere at 200°C. The nanofluids were prepared by dispersing functionalized HEG (f-HEG) in DI water and EG without the use of any surfactant. HEG and f-HEG were characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry, electron microscopy, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. Thermal and electrical conductivities of f-HEG dispersed DI water and EG based nanofluids were measured for different volume fractions and at different temperatures. A 0.05% volume fraction of f-HEG dispersed DI water based nanofluid shows an enhancement in thermal conductivity of about 16% at 25°C and 75% at 50°C. The enhancement in Nusselts number for these nanofluids is more than that of thermal conductivity

Metallic behavior and related phenomena in two dimensions

For about twenty years, it has been the prevailing view that there can be no metallic state or metal-insulator transition in two dimensions in zero magnetic field. In the last several years, however, unusual behavior suggestive of such a transition has been reported in a variety of dilute two-dimensional electron and hole systems. The physics behind these observations is presently not understood. We review and discuss the main experimental findings and suggested theoretical models.Comment: To be published in Rev. Mod. Phy