On the proof of the C0C^0-inextendibility of the Schwarzschild spacetime

This article presents a streamlined version of the author's original proof of the $C^0$-inextendibility of the maximal analytic Schwarzschild spacetime. Firstly, we deviate from the original proof by using the result, recently established in collaboration with Galloway and Ling, that given a $C^0$-extension of a globally hyperbolic spacetime, one can find a timelike geodesic that leaves this spacetime. This result much simplifies the proof of the inextendibility through the exterior region of the Schwarzschild spacetime. Secondly, we give a more flexible and shorter argument for the inextendibility through the interior region. Furthermore, we present a small new structural result for the boundary of a globally hyperbolic spacetime within a $C^0$-extension which serves as a new and simpler starting point for the proof.Comment: Prepared for submission to the proceedings of the meeting "Non-Regular Spacetime Geometry", Florence, 20.6.-22.6.2017. Based on arXiv:1507.00601, v2: minor changes, version accepted for publicatio

Transversal magnetotransport in Weyl semimetals: Exact numerical approach

Magnetotransport experiments on Weyl semimetals are essential for investigating the intriguing topological and low-energy properties of Weyl nodes. If the transport direction is perpendicular to the applied magnetic field, experiments have shown a large positive magnetoresistance. In this work, we present a theoretical scattering matrix approach to transversal magnetotransport in a Weyl node. Our numerical method confirms and goes beyond the existing perturbative analytical approach by treating disorder exactly. It is formulated in real space and is applicable to mesoscopic samples as well as in the bulk limit. In particular, we study the case of clean and strongly disordered samples.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Twisted-light-induced intersubband transitions in quantum wells at normal incidence

We examine theoretically the intersubband transitions induced by laser beams of light with orbital angular momentum (twisted light) in semiconductor quantum wells at normal incidence. These transitions become possible in the absence of gratings thanks to the fact that collimated laser beams present a component of the light's electric field in the propagation direction. We derive the matrix elements of the light-matter interaction for a Bessel-type twisted-light beam represented by its vector potential in the paraxial approximation. Then, we consider the dynamics of photo-excited electrons making intersubband transitions between the first and second subbands of a standard semiconductor quantum well. Finally, we analyze the light-matter matrix elements in order to evaluate which transitions are more favorable for given orbital angular momentum of the light beam in the case of small semiconductor structures.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Quantum Critical Exponents for a Disordered Three-Dimensional Weyl Node

Three-dimensional Dirac and Weyl semimetals exhibit a disorder-induced quantum phase transition between a semimetallic phase at weak disorder and a diffusive-metallic phase at strong disorder. Despite considerable effort, both numerically and analytically, the critical exponents $\nu$ and $z$ of this phase transition are not known precisely. Here we report a numerical calculation of the critical exponent $\nu=1.47\pm0.03$ using a minimal single-Weyl node model and a finite-size scaling analysis of conductance. Our high-precision numerical value for $\nu$ is incompatible with previous numerical studies on tight-binding models and with one- and two-loop calculations in an $\epsilon$-expansion scheme. We further obtain $z=1.49\pm0.02$ from the scaling of the conductivity with chemical potential

Weyl node with random vector potential

We study Weyl semimetals in the presence of generic disorder, consisting of a random vector potential as well as a random scalar potential. We derive renormalization group flow equations to second order in the disorder strength. These flow equations predict a disorder-induced phase transition between a pseudo-ballistic weak-disorder phase and a diffusive strong-disorder phase for sufficiently strong random scalar potential or for a pure three-component random vector potential. We verify these predictions using a numerical study of the density of states near the Weyl point and of quantum transport properties at the Weyl point. In contrast, for a pure single-component random vector potential the diffusive strong-disorder phase is absent.Comment: published version with minor change

Functional renormalization-group approach

We present a functional renormalization-group approach to interacting topological Green's function invariants with a focus on the nature of transitions. The method is applied to chiral symmetric fermion chains in the Mott limit that can be driven into a Haldane phase. We explicitly show that the transition to this phase is accompanied by a zero of the fermion Green's function. Our results for the phase boundary are quantitatively benchmarked against density matrix renormalization-group data

Quantum transport of disordered Weyl semimetals at the nodal point

Weyl semimetals are paradigmatic topological gapless phases in three dimensions. We here address the effect of disorder on charge transport in Weyl semimetals. For a single Weyl node with energy at the degeneracy point and without interactions, theory predicts the existence of a critical disorder strength beyond which the density of states takes on a nonzero value. Predictions for the conductivity are divergent, however. In this work, we present a numerical study of transport properties for a disordered Weyl cone at zero energy. For weak disorder our results are consistent with a renormalization group flow towards an attractive pseudoballistic fixed point with zero conductivity and a scale-independent conductance; for stronger disorder diffusive behavior is reached. We identify the Fano factor as a signature that discriminates between these two regimes