Linearly edge-reinforced random walks

We review results on linearly edge-reinforced random walks. On finite graphs, the process has the same distribution as a mixture of reversible Markov chains. This has applications in Bayesian statistics and it has been used in studying the random walk on infinite graphs. On trees, one has a representation as a random walk in an independent random environment. We review recent results for the random walk on ladders: recurrence, a representation as a random walk in a random environment, and estimates for the position of the random walker.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921706000000103 in the IMS Lecture Notes--Monograph Series (http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Purification of quantum trajectories

We prove that the quantum trajectory of repeated perfect measurement on a finite quantum system either asymptotically purifies, or hits upon a family of `dark' subspaces, where the time evolution is unitary.Comment: 10 page

Fluctuation Effects And Order Parameter Symmetry In The Cuprate Superconductors

Effect of phase fluctuations on superconducting states with anisotropic order parameters is studied in a BCS like lattice model of cuprate superconductors. The degradation of the mean field transition temperature due to phase fluctuations is estimated within a Kosterlitz-Thouless scenario. Values of the interaction parameters for optimal doping, corresponding to a stable superconducting state of $S_{xy}$ symmetry, which fit the nodal structure of the superconducting order parameter in the Bi2212 compound, are obtained. The angular position of the node is found to be insensitive to the dopant concentration.Comment: Latex file, 8 output pages, 5 figures (available from Authors on request), to appear in Europhysics Letter

Strong-coupling expansion for the Hubbard model in arbitrary dimension using slave bosons

A strong-coupling expansion for the antiferromagnetic phase of the Hubbard model is derived in the framework of the slave-boson mean-field approximation. The expansion can be obtained in terms of moments of the density of states of freely hopping electrons on a lattice, which in turn are obtained for hypercubic lattices in arbitrary dimension. The expansion is given for the case of half-filling and for the energy up to fifth order in the ratio of hopping integral $t$ over on-site interaction $U$, but can straightforwardly be generalized to the non-half-filled case and be extended to higher orders in $t/U$. For the energy the expansion is found to have an accuracy of better than $1 \%$ for $U/t \geq 8$. A comparison is given with an earlier perturbation expansion based on the Linear Spin Wave approximation and with a similar expansion based on the Hartree-Fock approximation. The case of an infinite number of spatial dimensions is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX2e, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Spin Stiffness in the Hubbard model

The spin stiffness $\rho_{\rm s}$ of the repulsive Hubbard model that occurs in the hydrodynamic theory of antiferromagnetic spin waves is shown to be the same as the thermodynamically defined stiffness involved in twisting the order parameter. New expressions for $\rho_{\rm s}$ are derived, which enable easier interpretation, and connections with superconducting weight and gauge invariance are discussed.Comment: 21 Pages LaTeX2e, to be published in Journal of Physics

Helicity Modulus and Effective Hopping in the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model Using Slave-Boson Methods

The slave-boson mean-field method is used to study the two-dimensional Hubbard model. A magnetic phase diagram allowing for paramagnetism, weak- and strong ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism, including all continuous and first-order transitions, is constructed and compared to the corresponding phase diagram using the Hartree-Fock approximation (HFA). Magnetically ordered regions are reduced by a factor of about 3 along both the $t/U$ and density axes compared to the HFA. Using the spin-rotation invariant formulation of the slave-boson method the helicity modulus is computed and for half-filling is found to practically coincide with that found using variational Monte Carlo calculations using the Gutzwiller wave function. Off half-filling the results can be used to compare with Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the effective hopping parameter. Contrary to the case of half-filling, the slave-boson approach is seen to greatly improve the results of the HFA when off half-filling. (Submitted to: Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter)Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX2e, 7 figures available upon request, INLO-PUB-10/9

Ultracold atoms in optical lattices

Bosonic atoms trapped in an optical lattice at very low temperatures, can be modeled by the Bose-Hubbard model. In this paper, we propose a slave-boson approach for dealing with the Bose-Hubbard model, which enables us to analytically describe the physics of this model at nonzero temperatures. With our approach the phase diagram for this model at nonzero temperatures can be quantified.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figure