s-wave pairing in the optimally-doped LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 superconductor

We report on the magnetic and superconducting properties of LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 by means of zero- (ZF) and transverse-field (TF) muon-spin spectroscopy measurements (uSR). Contrary to previous results on iron-based superconductors, measurements in zero field demonstrate the absence of magnetically ordered phases. TF-uSR data give access to the superfluid density, which shows a marked 2D character with a dominant s-wave temperature behavior. The field dependence of the magnetic penetration depth confirms this finding and further suggests the presence of an anisotropic superconducting gap

Nonlinear dynamics of large amplitude dust acoustic shocks and solitary pulses in dusty plasmas

We present a fully nonlinear theory for dust acoustic (DA) shocks and DA solitary pulses in a strongly coupled dusty plasma, which have been recently observed experimentally by Heinrich et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 115002 (2009)], Teng et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 245005 (2009)], and Bandyopadhyay et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 065006 (2008)]. For this purpose, we use a generalized hydrodynamic model for the strongly coupled dust grains, accounting for arbitrary large amplitude dust number density compressions and potential distributions associated with fully nonlinear nonstationary DA waves. Time-dependent numerical solutions of our nonlinear model compare favorably well with the recent experimental works (mentioned above) that have reported the formation of large amplitude non-stationary DA shocks and DA solitary pulses in low-temperature dusty plasma discharges.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Physical Review

Transport through side-coupled double quantum dots: from weak to strong interdot coupling

We report low-temperature transport measurements through a double quantum dot device in a configuration where one of the quantum dots is coupled directly to the source and drain electrodes, and a second (side-coupled) quantum dot interacts electrostatically and via tunneling to the first one. As the interdot coupling increases, a crossover from weak to strong interdot tunneling is observed in the charge stability diagrams that present a complex pattern with mergings and apparent crossings of Coulomb blockade peaks. While the weak coupling regime can be understood by considering a single level on each dot, in the intermediate and strong coupling regimes, the multi-level nature of the quantum dots needs to be taken into account. Surprisingly, both in the strong and weak coupling regimes, the double quantum dot states are mainly localized on each dot for most values of the parameters. Only in an intermediate coupling regime the device presents a single dot-like molecular behavior as the molecular wavefunctions weight is evenly distributed between the quantum dots. At temperatures larger than the interdot coupling energy scale, a loss of coherence of the molecular states is observed.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Effect of Disorder on the Quantum Coherence in Mesoscopic Wires

We present phase coherence time measurements in quasi-one-dimensional mesoscopic wires made from high mobility two-dimensional electron gas. By implanting gallium ions into a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction we are able to vary the diffusion coefficient over 2 orders of magnitude. We show that in the diffusive limit, the decoherence time follows a power law as a function of diffusion coefficient as expected by theory. When the disorder is low enough so that the samples are semi-ballistic, we observe a new and unexpected regime in which the phase coherence time is independent of disorder. In addition, for all samples the temperature dependence of the phase coherence time follows a power law down to the lowest temperatures without any sign of saturation and strongly suggests that the frequently observed low temperature saturation is not intrinsic.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Muons as Local Probes of Three-body Correlations in the Mixed State of Type-II Superconductors

The vortex glass state formed by magnetic flux lines in a type-II superconductor is shown to possess non-trivial three-body correlations. While such correlations are usually difficult to measure in glassy systems, the magnetic fields associated with the flux vortices allow us to probe these via muon-spin rotation measurements of the local field distribution. We show via numerical simulations and analytic calculations that these observations provide detailed microscopic insight into the local order of the vortex glass and more generally validate a theoretical framework for correlations in glassy systems.Comment: 4+ pages, high-quality figures available on reques

Kondo physics in the algebraic spin liquid

We study Kondo physics in the algebraic spin liquid, recently proposed to describe $ZnCu_{3}(OH)_{6}Cl_{2}$ [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 117205 (2007)]. Although spin dynamics of the algebraic spin liquid is described by massless Dirac fermions, this problem differs from the Pseudogap Kondo model, because the bulk physics in the algebraic spin liquid is governed by an interacting fixed point where well-defined quasiparticle excitations are not allowed. Considering an effective bulk model characterized by an anomalous critical exponent, we derive an effective impurity action in the slave-boson context. Performing the large-$N_{\sigma}$ analysis with a spin index $N_{\sigma}$, we find an impurity quantum phase transition from a decoupled local-moment state to a Kondo-screened phase. We evaluate the impurity spin susceptibility and specific heat coefficient at zero temperature, and find that such responses follow power-law dependencies due to the anomalous exponent of the algebraic spin liquid. Our main finding is that the Wilson's ratio for the magnetic impurity depends strongly on the critical exponent in the zero temperature limit. We propose that the Wilson's ratio for the magnetic impurity may be one possible probe to reveal criticality of the bulk system