Phonon spectral function for an interacting electron-phonon system

Using exact diagonalzation techniques, we study a model of interacting electrons and phonons. The spectral width of the phonons is found to be reduced as the Coulomb interaction U is increased. For a system with two modes per site, we find a transfer of coupling strength from the upper to the lower mode. This transfer is reduced as U is increased. These results give a qualitative explanation of differences between Raman and photoemission estimates of the electron-phonon coupling constants for A3C60 (A= K, Rb).Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 2 eps figur

Nonlocal density functionals and the linear response of the homogeneous electron gas

The known and usable truly nonlocal functionals for exchange-correlation energy of the inhomogeneous electron gas are the ADA (average density approximation) and the WDA (weighted density approximation). ADA, by design, yields the correct linear response function of the uniform electron gas. WDA is constructed so that it is exact in the limit of one-electron systems. We derive an expression for the linear response of the uniform gas in the WDA, and calculate it for several flavors of WDA. We then compare the results with the Monte-Carlo data on the exchange-correlation local field correction, and identify the weak points of conventional WDA in the homogeneous limit. We suggest how the WDA can be modified to improve the response function. The resulting approximation is a good one in both opposite limits, and should be useful for practical nonlocal density functional calculations.Comment: 4 pages, two eps figures embedde

Goal conflicts in long-term cropping system trials - the example of carrots

Agricultural research on multiple cropping systems in parallel increases the potential for knowledge transfer between organic and conventional systems. This project aims to develop cropping systems towards greater sustainability through work in long-term trials that have a unique opportunity to contribute to a holistic research perspective. Data on the fourth crop rotation (2007-2012) are now being compiled. This paper presents preliminary results from cultivation of carrots as an example to demonstrate goal conflicts in organic and conventional systems between good nutrient management and good economy on one hand and nematode control and intensive cropping systems (good short-term economy) on the other. Good productivity and sustainable production levels are major overall goals in the project. The conclusion is that more research on nematode susceptibility and propagating at different crops and varieties is very important

Metal-insulator transitions: Influence of lattice structure, Jahn-Teller effect, and Hund's rule coupling

We study the influence of the lattice structure, the Jahn-Teller effect and the Hund's rule coupling on a metal-insulator transition in AnC60 (A= K, Rb). The difference in lattice structure favors A3C60 (fcc) being a metal and A4C60 (bct) being an insulator, and the coupling to Hg Jahn-Teller phonons favors A4C60 being nonmagnetic. The coupling to Hg (Ag) phonons decreases (increases) the value Uc of the Coulomb integral at which the metal-insulator transition occurs. There is an important partial cancellation between the Jahn-Teller effect and the Hund's rule coupling.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 3 eps figure, additional material available at http://www.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/docs/ANDERSEN/fullerene

Screening, Coulomb pseudopotential, and superconductivity in alkali-doped Fullerenes

We study the static screening in a Hubbard-like model using quantum Monte Carlo. We find that the random phase approximation is surprisingly accurate almost up to the Mott transition. We argue that in alkali-doped Fullerenes the Coulomb pseudopotential $\mu^\ast$ is not very much reduced by retardation effects. Therefore efficient screening is important in reducing $\mu^{\ast}$ sufficiently to allow for an electron-phonon driven superconductivity. In this way the Fullerides differ from the conventional picture, where retardation effects play a major role in reducing the electron-electron repulsion.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX with 2 eps figures, additional material available at http://www.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/docs/ANDERSEN/fullerene

Asymptotically exact mean field theory for the Anderson model including double occupancy

The Anderson impurity model for finite values of the Coulomb repulsion $U$ is studied using a slave boson representation for the empty and doubly occupied $f$-level. In order to avoid well known problems with a naive mean field theory for the boson fields, we use the coherent state path integral representation to first integrate out the double occupancy slave bosons. The resulting effective action is linearized using {\bf two-time} auxiliary fields. After integration over the fermionic degrees of freedom one obtains an effective action suitable for a $1/N_f$-expansion. Concerning the constraint the same problem remains as in the infinite $U$ case. For $T \rightarrow 0$ and $N_f \rightarrow \infty$ exact results for the ground state properties are recovered in the saddle point approximation. Numerical solutions of the saddle point equations show that even in the spindegenerate case $N_f = 2$ the results are quite good.Comment: 19, RevTeX, cond-mat/930502

Mott-Hubbard insulators for systems with orbital degeneracy

We study how the electron hopping reduces the Mott-Hubbard band gap in the limit of a large Coulomb interaction U and as a function of the orbital degeneracy N. The results support the conclusion that the hopping contribution grows as roughly \sqrt{N}W, where W is the one-particle band width, but in certain models a crossover to a \sim NW behavior is found for a sufficiently large N.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, 6 figures more information at http://www.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/dokumente/andersen/fullerene

Crystal-field splittings in CeX (X= N, P, As, Sb, Bi) compounds

The unusual and interesting physical properties of rare earth intemetallic compounds have their origin in the combination of strongly correlated 4f states and their hybridization with the conduction electron sea, which gives rise to their complex low temperature Kondo behavior. In particular, Ce compounds are very sensitive to the crystalline and chemical environment, as compared to other rare earth systems. The interaction of the 4f state with the conduction band plays an important role in the determination of the different magnetic, structural and transport properties of these systems. Among the cerium compounds, those of the type CeX, which crystallize in the rock salt structure, exhibit extremely unusual magnetic properties. By making use of the mixed LDA-NCA calculation technique we analyse the crystal-field splittings of CeX compounds (X=N, P, As, Sb, Bi). The obtained ab-initio hybridization functions are taken as imputs to calculate the crystal-field splittings within NCA (non crossing approximation) and the tendencies are contrasted with experiments. KEY WORDS: Highly correlated systems, crystal fields, p-electron.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

The healing mechanism for excited molecules near metallic surfaces

Radiation damage prevents the ability to obtain images from individual molecules. We suggest that this problem can be avoided for organic molecules by placing them in close proximity with a metallic surface. The molecules will then quickly dissipate any electronic excitation via their coupling to the metal surface. They may therefore be observed for a number of elastic scattering events that is sufficient to determine their structure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Added reference

Ex-situ Tunnel Junction Process Technique Characterized by Coulomb Blockade Thermometry

We investigate a wafer scale tunnel junction fabrication method, where a plasma etched via through a dielectric layer covering bottom Al electrode defines the tunnel junction area. The ex-situ tunnel barrier is formed by oxidation of the bottom electrode in the junction area. Room temperature resistance mapping over a 150 mm wafer give local deviation values of the tunnel junction resistance that fall below 7.5 % with an average of 1.3 %. The deviation is further investigated by sub-1 K measurements of a device, which has one tunnel junction connected to four arrays consisting of N junctions (N = 41, junction diameter 700 nm). The differential conductance is measured in single-junction and array Coulomb blockade thermometer operation modes. By fitting the experimental data to the theoretical models we found an upper limit for the local tunnel junction resistance deviation of ~5 % for the array of 2N+1 junctions. This value is of the same order as the minimum detectable deviation defined by the accuracy of our experimental setup