865 research outputs found
Van der Waals density functional: Self-consistent potential and the nature of the van der Waals bond
We derive the exchange-correlation potential corresponding to the nonlocal
van der Waals density functional [M. Dion, H. Rydberg, E. Schroder, D. C.
Langreth, and B. I. Lundqvist, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 246401 (2004)]. We use this
potential for a self-consistent calculation of the ground state properties of a
number of van der Waals complexes as well as crystalline silicon. For the
latter, where little or no van der Waals interaction is expected, we find that
the results are mostly determined by semilocal exchange and correlation as in
standard generalized gradient approximations (GGA), with the fully nonlocal
term giving little effect. On the other hand, our results for the van der Waals
complexes show that the self-consistency has little effect at equilibrium
separations. This finding validates previous calculations with the same
functional that treated the fully nonlocal term as a post GGA perturbation. A
comparison of our results with wave-function calculations demonstrates the
usefulness of our approach. The exchange-correlation potential also allows us
to calculate Hellmann-Feynman forces, hence providing the means for efficient
geometry relaxations as well as unleashing the potential use of other standard
techniques that depend on the self-consistent charge distribution. The nature
of the van der Waals bond is discussed in terms of the self-consistent bonding
charge.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
How Large is the Intrinsic Flux Noise of a Magnetic Flux Quantum, of Half a Flux Quantum and of a Vortex-Free Superconductor?
This article addresses the question whether the magnetic flux of stationary
vortices or of half flux quanta generated by frustrated superconducting rings
is noisy. It is found that the flux noise generated intrinsically by a
superconductor is, in good approximation, not enhanced by stationary vortices.
Half flux quanta generated by -rings are characterized by considerably
larger noise.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. in: A. Bussmann-Holder, H. Keller (Eds.) High Tc
Superconductors and Related Transition Metal Oxides, Springer, 237-242; also
to be published in: Journal of Superconductivity (2007
Quasiparticle Interface States in Junctions Involving d-Wave Superconductors
Influence of surface pair breaking, barrier transmission and phase difference
on quasiparticle bound states in junctions with d-wave superconductors is
examined. Based on the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity, an approach
is developed to handle interface bound states. It is shown in SIS' junctions
that low energy bound states get their energies reduced by surface pair
breaking, which can be taken into account by introducing an effective order
parameter for each superconductor at the junction barrier. More interestingly,
for the interface bound states near the continuous spectrum the effect of
surface pair breaking may result in a splitting of the bound states. In the
tunneling limit this can lead to a square root dependence of a nonequilibrium
Josephson current on the barrier transmision, which means an enhancement as
compared to the conventional critical current linear in the transmission.
Reduced broadening of bound states in NIS junctions due to surface pair
breaking is found.Comment: 27 pages, Latex fil
Universality versus material dependence of fluctuation forces between metallic wires
We calculate the Casimir interaction between two parallel wires and between a
wire and a metall plate. The dielectric properties of the objects are described
by the plasma, Drude and perfect metal models. We find that at asymptotically
large separation interactions involving plasma wires and/or plates are
independent of the material properties, but depend on the dc conductivity
for Drude wires. Counterintuitively, at intermediate separations the
interaction involving Drude wires can become independent of . At
smaller separations, we compute the interaction numerically and observe an
approach to the proximity approximation
Nature and strength of bonding in a crystal of semiconducting nanotubes: van der Waals density functional calculations and analytical results
The dispersive interaction between nanotubes is investigated through ab
initio theory calculations and in an analytical approximation. A van der Waals
density functional (vdW-DF) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 246401 (2004)] is used to
determine and compare the binding of a pair of nanotubes as well as in a
nanotube crystal. To analyze the interaction and determine the importance of
morphology, we furthermore compare results of our ab initio calculations with a
simple analytical result that we obtain for a pair of well-separated nanotubes.
In contrast to traditional density functional theory calculations, the vdW-DF
study predicts an intertube vdW bonding with a strength that is consistent with
recent observations for the interlayer binding in graphitics. It also produce a
nanotube wall-to-wall separation which is in very good agreement with
experiments. Moreover, we find that the vdW-DF result for the nanotube-crystal
binding energy can be approximated by a sum of nanotube-pair interactions when
these are calculated in vdW-DF. This observation suggests a framework for an
efficient implementation of quantum-physical modeling of the CNT bundling in
more general nanotube bundles, including nanotube yarn and rope structures.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Orientation-dependent Casimir force arising from highly anisotropic crystals: application to Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta
We calculate the Casimir interaction between parallel planar crystals of Au
and the anisotropic cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta (BSCCO), with
BSCCO's optical axis either parallel or perpendicular to the crystal surface,
using suitable generalizations of the Lifshitz theory. We find that the strong
anisotropy of the BSCCO permittivity gives rise to a difference in the Casimir
force between the two orientations of the optical axis, which depends on
distance and is of order 10-20% at the experimentally accessible separations 10
to 5000 nm.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Casimir torque
We develop a formalism for the calculation of the flow of angular momentum
carried by the fluctuating electromagnetic field within a cavity bounded by two
flat anisotropic materials. By generalizing a procedure employed recently for
the calculation of the Casimir force between arbitrary materials, we obtain an
expression for the torque between anisotropic plates in terms of their
reflection amplitude matrices. We evaluate the torque in 1D for ideal and
realistic model materials.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figs, Submitted to Proc. of QFEXT'05, to appear in J.
Phys.
Electronic structure of d-wave superconducting quantum wires
We present analytical and numerical results for the electronic spectra of
wires of a d-wave superconductor on a square lattice. The spectra of Andreev
and other quasiparticle states, as well as the spatial and particle-hole
structures of their wave functions, depend on interference effects caused by
the presence of the surfaces and are qualitatively different for half-filled
wires with even or odd number of chains. For half-filled wires with an odd
number of chains N at (110) orientation, spectra consist of N doubly degenerate
branches. By contrast, for even N wires, these levels are split, and all
quasiparticle states, even the ones lying above the maximal gap, have the
characteristic properties of Andreev bound states. These Andreev states above
the gap can be interpreted as a consequence of an infinite sequence of Andreev
reflections experienced by quasiparticles along their trajectories bounded by
the surfaces of the wire. Our microscopic results for the local density of
states display atomic-scale Friedel oscillations due to the presence of the
surfaces, which should be observable by scanning tunneling microscopy. For
narrow wires the self-consistent treatment of the order parameter is found to
play a crucial role. In particular, we find that for small wire widths the
finite geometry may drive strong fluctuations or even stablilize exotic
quasi-1D pair states with spin triplet character.Comment: 21 pages, 20 figures. Slightly modified version as published in PR
A General Approach to Casimir Force Problems Based on Local Reflection Amplitudes and Huygen's Principle
In this paper we describe an approach to Casimir Force problems that is
ultimately generalizable to all fields, boundary conditions, and cavity
geometries. This approach utilizes locally defined reflection amplitudes to
express the energy per unit area of any Casimir interaction. To demonstrate
this approach we solve a number of Casimir Force problems including the case of
uniaxial boundary conditions in a parallel-plate cavity.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Equation 18 has been corrected, [v1] contained a
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Dispersion Interactions between Optically Anisotropic Cylinders at all Separations: Retardation Effects for Insulating and Semiconducting Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes
We derive the complete form of the van der Waals dispersion interaction
between two infinitely long anisotropic semiconducting/insulating thin
cylinders at all separations. The derivation is based on the general theory of
dispersion interactions between anisotropic media as formulated in [J. N.
Munday, D. Iannuzzi, Yu. S. Barash and F. Capasso, {\sl Phys. Rev. A} {\bf 71},
042102 (2005)]. This formulation is then used to calculate the dispersion
interactions between a pair of single walled carbon nanotubes at all
separations and all angles. Non-retarded and retarded forms of the interactions
are developed separately. The possibility of repulsive dispersion interactions
and non-monotonic dispersion interactions is discussed within the framework of
the new formulation
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