Heat Transport in low-dimensional systems

Recent results on theoretical studies of heat conduction in low-dimensional systems are presented. These studies are on simple, yet nontrivial, models. Most of these are classical systems, but some quantum-mechanical work is also reported. Much of the work has been on lattice models corresponding to phononic systems, and some on hard particle and hard disc systems. A recently developed approach, using generalized Langevin equations and phonon Green's functions, is explained and several applications to harmonic systems are given. For interacting systems, various analytic approaches based on the Green-Kubo formula are described, and their predictions are compared with the latest results from simulation. These results indicate that for momentum-conserving systems, transport is anomalous in one and two dimensions, and the thermal conductivity kappa, diverges with system size L, as kappa ~ L^alpha. For one dimensional interacting systems there is strong numerical evidence for a universal exponent alpha =1/3, but there is no exact proof for this so far. A brief discussion of some of the experiments on heat conduction in nanowires and nanotubes is also given.Comment: 78 pages, 25 figures, Review Article (revised version

Observation of spin Coulomb drag in a two-dimensional electron gas

An electron propagating through a solid carries spin angular momentum in addition to its mass and charge. Of late there has been considerable interest in developing electronic devices based on the transport of spin, which offer potential advantages in dissipation, size, and speed over charge-based devices. However, these advantages bring with them additional complexity. Because each electron carries a single, fixed value (-e) of charge, the electrical current carried by a gas of electrons is simply proportional to its total momentum. A fundamental consequence is that the charge current is not affected by interactions that conserve total momentum, notably collisions among the electrons themselves. In contrast, the electron's spin along a given spatial direction can take on two values, "up" and "down", so that the spin current and momentum need not be proportional. Although the transport of spin polarization is not protected by momentum conservation, it has been widely assumed that, like the charge current, spin current is unaffected by electron-electron (e-e) interactions. Here we demonstrate experimentally not only that this assumption is invalid, but that over a broad range of temperature and electron density, the flow of spin polarization in a two-dimensional gas of electrons is controlled by the rate of e-e collisions

Chiral tunneling and the Klein paradox in graphene

The so-called Klein paradox - unimpeded penetration of relativistic particles through high and wide potential barriers - is one of the most exotic and counterintuitive consequences of quantum electrodynamics (QED). The phenomenon is discussed in many contexts in particle, nuclear and astro- physics but direct tests of the Klein paradox using elementary particles have so far proved impossible. Here we show that the effect can be tested in a conceptually simple condensed-matter experiment by using electrostatic barriers in single- and bi-layer graphene. Due to the chiral nature of their quasiparticles, quantum tunneling in these materials becomes highly anisotropic, qualitatively different from the case of normal, nonrelativistic electrons. Massless Dirac fermions in graphene allow a close realization of Klein's gedanken experiment whereas massive chiral fermions in bilayer graphene offer an interesting complementary system that elucidates the basic physics involved.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Observation of Magnon Polarization

We measure the mode-resolved direction of the precessional motion of the magnetic order, i.e., magnon polarization, via the chiral term of inelastic polarized neutron scattering spectra. The magnon polarization is a unique and unambiguous signature of magnets and is important in spintronics, affecting thermodynamic properties such as the magnitude and sign of the spin Seebeck effect. However, it has never been directly measured in any material until this work. The observation of both signs of magnon polarization in Y3Fe5O12 also gives direct proof of its ferrimagnetic nature. The experiments agree very well with atomistic simulations of the scattering cross section

Spin entropy as the likely source of enhanced thermopower in $\rm\bf Na_xCo_2O_4

In an electric field, the flow of electrons in a solid produces an entropy current in addition to the familiar charge current. This Peltier effect underlies all thermoelectric refrigerators. The upsurge in thermoelectric cooling applications has led to a search for more efficient Peltier materials and to renewed theoretical interest in how electron-electron interaction may enhance the thermopower $Q$ of materials such as the transition-metal oxides \cite{Mahan,Beni,Kotliar,Chaikin}. An important factor in this enhancement is the electronic spin entropy, which is predicted \cite{Chaikin,Kwak,KwakChaikin} to dominate the entropy current. Here we report evidence for such suppression in the layered oxide $\rm Na_xCo_2O_4$, and present evidence that it is a strong-correlation effect.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, already publishe

From Luttinger to Fermi liquids in organic conductors

This chapter reviews the effects of interactions in quasi-one dimensional systems, such as the Bechgaard and Fabre salts, and in particular the Luttinger liquid physics. It discusses in details how transport measurements both d.c. and a.c. allow to probe such a physics. It also examine the dimensional crossover and deconfinement transition occurring between the one dimensional case and the higher dimensional one resulting from the hopping of electrons between chains in the quasi-one dimensional structure.Comment: To be published In the book "The Physics of Organic Conductors and Superconductors", Springer, 2007, ed. A. Lebe

Thermal Properties of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructured Carbon Materials

Recent years witnessed a rapid growth of interest of scientific and engineering communities to thermal properties of materials. Carbon allotropes and derivatives occupy a unique place in terms of their ability to conduct heat. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of carbon materials span an extraordinary large range - of over five orders of magnitude - from the lowest in amorphous carbons to the highest in graphene and carbon nanotubes. I review thermal and thermoelectric properties of carbon materials focusing on recent results for graphene, carbon nanotubes and nanostructured carbon materials with different degrees of disorder. A special attention is given to the unusual size dependence of heat conduction in two-dimensional crystals and, specifically, in graphene. I also describe prospects of applications of graphene and carbon materials for thermal management of electronics.Comment: Review Paper; 37 manuscript pages; 4 figures and 2 boxe

Physics of Neutron Star Crusts

The physics of neutron star crusts is vast, involving many different research fields, from nuclear and condensed matter physics to general relativity. This review summarizes the progress, which has been achieved over the last few years, in modeling neutron star crusts, both at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The confrontation of these theoretical models with observations is also briefly discussed.Comment: 182 pages, published version available at <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2008-10