Phase fluctuations of s-wave superconductors on a lattice

Based on an attractive $U$ Hubbard model on a lattice with up to second neighbor hopping we derive an effective Hamiltonian for phase fluctuations. The superconducting gap is assumed to have s-wave symmetry. The effective Hamiltonian we finally arrive at is of the extended XY type. While it correctly reduces to a simple XY in the continuum limit, in the general case, it contains higher neighbor interaction in spin space. An important feature of our Hamiltonian is that it gives a much larger fluctuation region between the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature identified with $T_{c}$ for superconducting and the mean field transition temperature identified with the pseudogap temperature.Comment: 3 figure

Hidden Symmetries of Electronic Transport in a Disordered One-Dimensional Lattice

Correlated, or extended, impurities play an important role in the transport properties of dirty metals. Here, we examine, in the framework of a tight-binding lattice, the transmission of a single electron through an array of correlated impurities. In particular we show that particles transmit through an impurity array in identical fashion, regardless of the direction of transversal. The demonstration of this fact is straightforward in the continuum limit, but requires a detailed proof for the discrete lattice. We also briefly demonstrate and discuss the time evolution of these scattering states, to delineate regions (in time and space) where the aforementioned symmetry is violated

Quantum mechanics of spin transfer in coupled electron-spin chains

The manner in which spin-polarized electrons interact with a magnetized thin film is currently described by a semi-classical approach. This in turn provides our present understanding of the spin transfer, or spin torque phenomenon. However, spin is an intrinsically quantum mechanical quantity. Here, we make the first strides towards a fully quantum mechanical description of spin transfer through spin currents interacting with a Heisenberg-coupled spin chain. Because of quantum entanglement, this requires a formalism based on the density matrix approach. Our description illustrates how individual spins in the chain time-evolve as a result of spin transfer.Comment: 4 pages, 3 (colour) figure

Wiedemann-Franz violation in the vortex state of a d-wave superconductor

We show that the Wiedemann-Franz law is violated in the vortex state of a d-wave superconductor at zero temperature. We use a semiclassical approach, which includes the Doppler shift on the quasiparticles as well as the Andreev scattering from a random distribution of vortices. We also show that the vertex corrections to the electrical conductivity due to the anisotropy of impurity scattering become unimportant in the presence of a sufficiently large magnetic field.Comment: To be published in Physica C as a proceeding of M2S-HTSC Rio 200

Electron and Spin Transport in the Presence of a Complex Absorbing Potential

We examine the impact of a complex absorbing potential on electron transport both in the continuum and on a lattice. This requires the use of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians; the required formalism is briefly outlined. The lattice formulation allows us to study the interesting problem of an electron interacting with a stationary spin and the subsequent time evolution of the electron and spin properties as the electron is absorbed after the initial interaction. Remarkably, the properties of the localized spin are affected “at a distance” by the interaction of the (now entangled) electron with a complex potential