Phase slip phenomena in superconductors: from ordered to chaotic dynamics

We consider flux penetration to a 2D superconducting cylinder. We show that in the low field limit the kinetics is deterministic. In the strong field limit the dynamics becomes stochastic. Surprisingly the inhomogeneity in the cylinder reduces the level of stochasticity because of the predominance of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (main text) and 1 page, 1 figure (supplementary material

Methods for The Testing of Nanopowder

Methods for the testing of nanopowders produced by wires electric explosion were considered. The following characteristics were proposed for the testing of nanopowders : main substance content, characteristic sizes of particles, specific surface area etc..Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions

Fractional-flux vortices and spin superfluidity in triplet superconductors

We discuss a novel type of fractional flux vortices along with integer flux vortices in Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions in a triplet superconductor. We show that under certain conditions a spin-triplet superconductor should exhibit a novel state of {\it spin superfluidity} without superconductivity.Comment: Physical Review Lettes, in print. v2: references added, v3: discussion of several points extended according to referee request. Latest updates and links to related papers are available at my homepage http://people.ccmr.cornell.edu/~egor

Spin fluctuations influence on quasiparticle spectrum of realistic p-d model

In the present work the multiband p-d model for $CuO_2$-layer is treated. It was shown that for the realistic set of parameters besides Zhang-Rice two-particle singlet there is non-negligible contribution of two-particle triplet state to the top of the valence band. Also shown, that to gain quantitative agreement with experimental data the minimal approximation should include the spin fluctuations beyond the Hubbard-I scheme. Quasiparticle spectrum, obtained in this approximation, is in fairly good agreement with ARPES data on Bi2212 High-$T_c$ compound.Comment: Submitted to ICM 2003 Conference 3 pages, 2 figure

The Fermi surface and the role of electronic correlations in Sm2−x_{2-x}Cex_{x}CuO4_4

Using LDA+GTB (local density approximation+generalized tight-binding) hybrid scheme we investigate the band structure of the electron-doped high-$T_c$ material Sm$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_4$. Parameters of the minimal tight-binding model for this system (the so-called 3-band Emery model) were obtained within the NMTO ($N$-th order Muffin-Tin orbital) method. Doping evolution of the dispersion and Fermi surface in the presence of electronic correlations was investigated in two regimes of magnetic order: short-range (spin-liquid) and long-range (antiferromagnetic metal). Each regime is characterized by the specific topologies of the Fermi surfaces and we discuss their relation to recent experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Published versio

Coulomb Blockade with Dispersive Interfaces

What quantity controls the Coulomb blockade oscillations if the dot--lead conductance is essentially frequency--dependent ? We argue that it is the ac dissipative conductance at the frequency given by the effective charging energy. The latter may be very different from the bare charging energy due to the interface--induced capacitance (or inductance). These observations are supported by a number of examples, considered from the weak and strong coupling (perturbation theory vs. instanton calculus) perspectives.Comment: 4 page

One- and two-particle correlation functions in the cluster perturbation theory for cuprates

Physics of high-$T_c$ superconducting cuprates is obscured by the effect of strong electronic correlations. One way to overcome the problem is to seek for an exact solution at least within the small cluster and expand it to the whole crystal. Such an approach is in the heart of the cluster perturbation theory (CPT). Here we develop CPT for the dynamic spin and charge susceptibilities (spin-CPT and charge-CPT), within which the correlation effects are explicitly taken into account by the exact diagonalization. We apply spin-CPT and charge-CPT to the effective two-band Hubbard model for the cuprates obtained from the three-band Emery model and calculate one- and two-particle correlation functions, namely, spectral function and spin and charge susceptibilities. Doping dependence of the spin susceptibility was studied within spin-CPT and CPT-RPA that is the CPT generalization of the random phase approximation (RPA). Both methods produce the low energy response at four incommensurate wave vectors in qualitative agreement to the results of the inelastic neutron scattering on overdoped cuprates.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Resistance in Superconductors

In this pedagogical review, we discuss how electrical resistance can arise in superconductors. Starting with the idea of the superconducting order parameter as a condensate wave function, we introduce vortices as topological excitations with quantized phase winding, and we show how phase slips occur when vortices cross the sample. Superconductors exhibit non-zero electrical resistance under circumstances where phase slips occur at a finite rate. For one-dimensional superconductors or Josephson junctions, phase slips can occur at isolated points in space-time. Phase slip rates may be controlled by thermal activation over a free-energy barrier, or in some circumstances, at low temperatures, by quantum tunneling through a barrier. We present an overview of several phenomena involving vortices that have direct implications for the electrical resistance of superconductors, including the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition for vortex-proliferation in thin films, and the effects of vortex pinning in bulk type II superconductors on the non-linear resistivity of these materials in an applied magnetic field. We discuss how quantum fluctuations can cause phase slips and review the non-trivial role of dissipation on such fluctuations. We present a basic picture of the superconductor-to-insulator quantum phase transitions in films, wires, and Josephson junctions. We point out related problems in superfluid helium films and systems of ultra-cold trapped atoms. While our emphasis is on theoretical concepts, we also briefly describe experimental results, and we underline some of the open questions.Comment: Chapter to appear in "Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer: 50 Years," edited by Leon N. Cooper and Dmitri Feldman, to be published by World Scientific Pres