Light Induced Hall effect in semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling

We show that optically excited electrons by a circularly polarized light in a semiconductor with spin-orbit coupling subject to a weak electric field will carry a Hall current transverse to the electric field. This light induced Hall effect is a result of quantum interference of the light and the electric field, and can be viewed as a physical consequence of the spin current induced by the electric field. The light induced Hall conductance is calculated for the p-type GaAs bulk material, and the n-type and p-type quantum well structures.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

On the origin of biquadratic exchange in spin 1 chains

One dimensional spin 1 systems may have a rich phase diagram including Haldane gap and dimerized phases if the usually very small biquadratic exchange becomes significant. We show that this unlikely condition may be fulfilled in electron systems with quasi-degenerate orbitals. This mechanism may have been experimentally realized in the spin 1 chain LiVGe$_2$O$_6$. The implications for the exploration of the physics and quantum chemistry of spin 1 chains are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Postscript figures. To appear in Eur. Phys. J B as a Rapid Not

Vortex Structures in Model p-Wave Superconducting Sr2RuO4 -- Single 2-Dimensional Band v.s. Quasi-1-Dimensional Band

There have been an interesting debate on the primary source of chiral p-wave superconductivity in Sr2RuO4. We present a comparative study on the vortex structure between a single 2-dimensional (2D) band and quasi-1D band model by using Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory. The pattern of the iso-values of the local density of state around a vortex has a diamond shape in the quasi-1D model and is much more isotropic in the 2D model. The spin lattice relaxation rate well below the superconducting transition temperature is greatly enhanced in the vortex state in the 2D model but not in the quasi-1D model. These features can be tested by using scanning tunneling microscope and NMR to distinguish the models for the superconductivity in Sr2RuO4.Comment: 7 pages, 6 fig

Theory for superconductivity in alkali chromium arsenides A2Cr3As3 (A=K,Rb,Cs)

We propose an extended Hubbard model with three molecular orbitals on a hexagonal lattice with $D_{3h}$ symmetry to study recently discovered superconductivity in A$_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ (A=K,Rb,Cs). Effective pairing interactions from paramagnon fluctuations are derived within the random phase approximation, and are found to be most attractive in spin triplet channels. At small Hubbard $U$ and moderate Hund's coupling, the pairing arises from 3-dimensional (3D) $\gamma$ band and has a spatial symmetry $f_{y(3x^{2}-y^{2})}$, which gives line nodes in the gap function. At large $U$, a fully gapped $p$-wave state, $p_{z}\hat{z}$ dominates at the quasi-1D $\alpha$-band

Symmetry of superconducting states with two orbitals on a tetragonal lattice: application to LaO1−xFxFeAsLaO_{1-x}F_{x}FeAs

We use group theory to classify the superconducting states of systems with two orbitals on a tetragonal lattice. The orbital part of the superconducting gap function can be either symmetric or anti-symmetric. For the orbital symmetric state, the parity is even for spin singlet and odd for spin triplet; for the orbital anti-symmetric state, the parity is odd for spin singlet and even for spin triplet. The gap basis functions are obtained with the use of the group chain scheme by taking into account the spin-orbit coupling. In the weak pairing limit, the orbital anti-symmetric state is only stable for the degenerate orbitals. Possible application to iron-based superconductivity is discussed.Comment: published versio

Electronic structure near an impurity and terrace on the surface of a 3-dimensional topological insulator

Motivated by recent scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on surfaces of Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_{x'}$\cite{yazdanistm,gomesstm} and Bi$_2$Te$_3$,\cite{kaptunikstm,xuestm} we theoretically study the electronic structure of a 3-dimensional (3D) topological insulator in the presence of a local impurity or a domain wall on its surface using a 3D lattice model. While the local density of states (LDOS) oscillates significantly in space at energies above the bulk gap, the oscillation due to the in-gap surface Dirac fermions are very weak. The extracted modulation wave number as a function of energy satisfies the Dirac dispersion for in-gap energies and follows the border of the bulk continuum above the bulk gap. We have also examined analytically the effects of the defects by using a pure Dirac fermion model for the surface states and found that the LDOS decays asymptotically faster at least by a factor of 1/r than that in normal metals, consistent with the results obtained from our lattice model.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure