Supersolid phase induced by correlated hopping in spin-1/2 frustrated quantum magnets

We show that correlated hopping of triplets, which is often the dominant source of kinetic energy in dimer-based frustrated quantum magnets, produces a remarkably strong tendency to form supersolid phases in a magnetic field. These phases are characterized by simultaneous modulation and ordering of the longitudinal and transverse magnetization respectively. Using Quantum Monte Carlo and a semiclassical approach for an effective hard-core boson model with nearest-neighbor repulsion on a square lattice, we prove in particular that a supersolid phase can exist even if the repulsion is not strong enough to stabilize an insulating phase at half-filling. Experimental implications for frustrated quantum antiferromagnets in a magnetic field at zero and finite temperature are discussed.Comment: 4 pages; 4 figures; published versio

Subband Engineering Even-Denominator Quantum Hall States

Proposed even-denominator fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) states suggest the possibility of excitations with non-Abelian braid statistics. Recent experiments on wide square quantum wells observe even-denominator FQHE even under electrostatic tilt. We theoretically analyze these structures and develop a procedure to accurately test proposed quantum Hall wavefunctions. We find that tilted wells favor partial subband polarization to yield Abelian even-denominator states. Our results show that tilting quantum wells effectively engineers different interaction potentials allowing exploration of a wide variety of even-denominator states

Dynamical mean field solution of the Bose-Hubbard model

We present the effective action and self-consistency equations for the bosonic dynamical mean field (B-DMFT) approximation to the bosonic Hubbard model and show that it provides remarkably accurate phase diagrams and correlation functions. To solve the bosonic dynamical mean field equations we use a continuous-time Monte Carlo method for bosonic impurity models based on a diagrammatic expansion in the hybridization and condensate coupling. This method is readily generalized to bosonic mixtures, spinful bosons, and Bose-Fermi mixtures.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. includes supplementary materia

Quantum Monte Carlo Loop Algorithm for the t-J Model

We propose a generalization of the Quantum Monte Carlo loop algorithm to the t-J model by a mapping to three coupled six-vertex models. The autocorrelation times are reduced by orders of magnitude compared to the conventional local algorithms. The method is completely ergodic and can be formulated directly in continuous time. We introduce improved estimators for simulations with a local sign problem. Some first results of finite temperature simulations are presented for a t-J chain, a frustrated Heisenberg chain, and t-J ladder models.Comment: 22 pages, including 12 figures. RevTex v3.0, uses psf.te

Interacting classical dimers on the square lattice

We study a model of close-packed dimers on the square lattice with a nearest neighbor interaction between parallel dimers. This model corresponds to the classical limit of quantum dimer models [D.S. Rokhsar and S.A. Kivelson, Phys. Rev. Lett.{\bf 61}, 2376 (1988)]. By means of Monte Carlo and Transfer Matrix calculations, we show that this system undergoes a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition separating a low temperature ordered phase where dimers are aligned in columns from a high temperature critical phase with continuously varying exponents. This is understood by constructing the corresponding Coulomb gas, whose coupling constant is computed numerically. We also discuss doped models and implications on the finite-temperature phase diagram of quantum dimer models.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2 : Added results on doped models; published versio

Swift/UVOT grism monitoring of NGC 5548 in 2013: an attempt at MgII reverberation mapping

Reverberation-mapping-based scaling relations are often used to estimate the masses of black holes from single-epoch spectra of AGN. While the radius-luminosity relation that is the basis of these scaling relations is determined using reverberation mapping of the H$\beta$ line in nearby AGN, the scaling relations are often extended to use other broad emission lines, such as MgII, in order to get black hole masses at higher redshifts when H$\beta$ is redshifted out of the optical waveband. However, there is no radius-luminosity relation determined directly from MgII. Here, we present an attempt to perform reverberation mapping using MgII in the well-studied nearby Seyfert 1, NGC 5548. We used Swift to obtain UV grism spectra of NGC 5548 once every two days from April to September 2013. Concurrent photometric UV monitoring with Swift provides a well determined continuum lightcurve that shows strong variability. The MgII emission line, however, is not strongly correlated with the continuum variability, and there is no significant lag between the two. We discuss these results in the context of using MgII scaling relations to estimate high-redshift black hole masses.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Mechanisms for Spin-Supersolidity in S=1/2 Spin-Dimer Antiferromagnets

Using perturbative expansions and the contractor renormalization (CORE) algorithm, we obtain effective hard-core bosonic Hamiltonians describing the low-energy physics of $S=1/2$ spin-dimer antiferromagnets known to display supersolid phases under an applied magnetic field. The resulting effective models are investigated by means of mean-field analysis and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. A "leapfrog mechanism", through means of which extra singlets delocalize in a checkerboard-solid environment via correlated hoppings, is unveiled that accounts for the supersolid behavior.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

The Two-Dimensional S=1 Quantum Heisenberg Antiferromagnet at Finite Temperatures

The temperature dependence of the correlation length, susceptibilities and the magnetic structure factor of the two-dimensional spin-1 square lattice quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet are computed by the quantum Monte Carlo loop algorithm (QMC). In the experimentally relevant temperature regime the theoretically predicted asymptotic low temperature behavior is found to be not valid. The QMC results however, agree reasonably well with the experimental measurements of La2NiO4 even without considering anisotropies in the exchange interactions.Comment: 4 Pages, 1 table, 4 figure