Superfluid density and competing orders in d-wave superconductors

We derive expressions for the superfluid density $\rho_s$ in the low-temperature limit $T \to 0$ in d-wave superconductors, taking into account the presence of competing orders such as spin-density waves, $i d_{xy}$-pairing, etc. Recent experimental data for the thermal conductivity and for elastic neutron scattering in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ suggest there are magnetic field induced anomalies that can be interpreted in terms of competing orders. We consider the implications of these results for the superfluid density and show in the case of competing spin-density wave order that the usual Volovik-like $\sqrt{H}$ depletion of $\rho_s(H)$ is replaced by a slower dependence on applied magnetic field. We find that it is crucial to include the competing order parameter in the self-consistent equation for the impurity scattering rate.Comment: 17 pages, RevTeX4, 6 EPS figures; final version published in PR

Magneto-optical and optical probes of gapped ground states of bilayer graphene

We study the influence of different kinds of gaps in a quasiparticle spectrum on longitudinal and transverse optical conductivities of bilayer graphene. An exact analytical expression for magneto-optical conductivity is derived using a low-energy two-band Hamiltonian. We consider how the layer asymmetry gap caused by a bias electric field and a time-reversal symmetry breaking gap affect the absorption lines. The limit of zero magnetic field is then analyzed for an arbitrary carrier density in the two-band model. For a neutral bilayer graphene, the optical Hall and longitudinal conductivities are calculated exactly in the four-band model with four different gaps and zero magnetic field. It is shown that two different time-reversal symmetry breaking states can be distinguished by analyzing the dependence of the optical Hall conductivity on the energy of photon. These time-reversal symmetry breaking states are expected to be observed experimentally via optical polarization rotation either in the Faraday or Kerr effects. We analyze a possibility of such an experiment for a free-standing graphene, graphene on a thick substrate, and graphene on a double-layer substrate.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; final version published in PR

Magnetic oscillations in planar systems with the Dirac-like spectrum of quasiparticle excitations II: transport properties

The quantum magnetic oscillations of electrical (Shubnikov de Haas effect) and thermal conductivities are studied for graphene which represents a distinctive example of planar systems with a linear, Dirac-like spectrum of quasiparticle excitations. We show that if a utmost care was taken to separate electron and phonon contributions in the thermal conductivity, the oscillations of electron thermal conductivity, $\kappa(B)$ and the Lorenz number, $L(B)$ would be observable in the low field (less than a few Teslas) regime.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX4, 6 EPS figures; 2 references, 1 figure and one more section are added; final version published in PR

Phase Fluctuations and Pseudogap Properties: Influence of Nonmagnetic Impurities

The presence of nonmagnetic impurities in a 2D ``bad metal'' depresses the superconducting Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature, while leaving the pairing energy scale unchanged. Thus the region of the pseudogap non-superconducting phase, where the modulus of the order parameter is non-zero but its phase is random, and which opens at the pairing temperature is substantially bigger than for the clean system. This supports the premise that fluctuations in the phase of the order parameter can in principle describe the pseudogap phenomena in high-$T_c$ materials over a rather wide range of temperatures and carrier densities. The temperature dependence of the bare superfluid density is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 1 EPS figure; final version to appear in Low.Temp.Phy

On the universal AC optical background in graphene

The latest experiments have confirmed the theoretically expected universal value $\pi e^2/2h$ of the ac conductivity of graphene and have revealed departures of the quasiparticle dynamics from predictions for the Dirac fermions in idealized graphene. We present analytical expressions for the ac conductivity in graphene which allow one to study how it is affected by interactions, temperature, external magnetic field and the opening of a gap in the quasiparticle spectrum. We show that the ac conductivity of graphene does not necessarily give a metrologically accurate value of the von Klitzing constant $h/e^2$, because it is depleted by the electron-phonon interaction. In a weak magnetic field the ac conductivity oscillates around the universal value and the Drude peak evolves into a peak at the cyclotron frequency.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures; v2: to match New J. Phys. (Focus on Graphene issue

Deformation quantization of linear dissipative systems

A simple pseudo-Hamiltonian formulation is proposed for the linear inhomogeneous systems of ODEs. In contrast to the usual Hamiltonian mechanics, our approach is based on the use of non-stationary Poisson brackets, i.e. corresponding Poisson tensor is allowed to explicitly depend on time. Starting from this pseudo-Hamiltonian formulation we develop a consistent deformation quantization procedure involving a non-stationary star-product $*_t$ and an ``extended'' operator of time derivative $D_t=\partial_t+...$, differentiating the $\ast_t$-product. As in the usual case, the $\ast_t$-algebra of physical observables is shown to admit an essentially unique (time dependent) trace functional $\mathrm{Tr}_t$. Using these ingredients we construct a complete and fully consistent quantum-mechanical description for any linear dynamical system with or without dissipation. The general quantization method is exemplified by the models of damped oscillator and radiating point charge.Comment: 14 pages, typos correcte