Fermi-liquid effects in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state of two-dimensional d-wave superconductors

We study the effects of Fermi-liquid interactions on quasi-two-dimensional d-wave superconductors in a magnetic field. The phase diagram of the superconducting state, including the periodic Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state in high magnetic fields, is discussed for different strengths of quasiparticle many-body interactions within Landau's theory of Fermi liquids. Decreasing the Fermi-liquid parameter $F_0^a$ causes the magnetic spin susceptibility to increase, which in turn leads to a reduction of the FFLO phase. It is shown that a negative $F_0^a$ results in a first-order phase transition from the normal to the uniform superconducting state in a finite temperature interval. Finally, we discuss the thermodynamic implications of a first-order phase transition for CeCoIn$_5$.Comment: published version; removed direct comparison with experiment for the upper critical field, as required by the referee

Cold Attractive Spin Polarized Fermi Lattice Gases and the Doped Positive U Hubbard Model

Experiments on polarized fermion gases performed by trapping ultracold atoms in optical lattices, allow the study of an attractive Hubbard model for which the strength of the on site interaction is tuned by means of a Feshbach resonance. Using a well-known particle-hole transformation we discuss how results obtained for this system can be reinterpreted in the context of a doped repulsive Hubbard model. In particular we show that the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state corresponds to the striped state of the two-dimensional doped positive U Hubbard model. We then use the results of numerical studies of the striped state to relate the periodicity of the FFLO state to the spin polarization. We also comment on the relationship of the $d_{x^2-y^2}$ superconducting phase of the doped 2D repulsive Hubbard model to a d-wave spin density wave state for the attractive case.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Exotic superfluid states of lattice fermions in elongated traps

We present real-space dynamical mean-field theory calculations for attractively interacting fermions in three-dimensional lattices with elongated traps. The critical polarization is found to be 0.8, regardless of the trap elongation. Below the critical polarization, we find unconventional superfluid structures where the polarized superfluid and Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov-type states emerge across the entire core region

Resonant pairing between Fermions with unequal masses

We study the pairing between Fermions of different masses, especially at the unitary limit. At equal populations, the thermodynamic properties are identical with the equal mass case provided an appropriate rescaling is made. At unequal populations, for sufficiently light majority species, the system does not phase separate. For sufficiently heavy majority species, the phase separated normal phase have a density larger than that of the superfluid. For atoms in harmonic traps, the density profiles for unequal mass Fermions can be drastically different from their equal-mass counterparts.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Quantitative Probe of Pairing Correlations in a Cold Fermionic Atom Gas

A quantitative measure of the pairing correlations present in a cold gas of fermionic atoms can be obtained by studying the dependence of RF spectra on hyperfine state populations. This proposal follows from a sum rule that relates the total interaction energy of the gas to RF spectrum line positions. We argue that this indicator of pairing correlations provides information comparable to that available from the spin-susceptibility and NMR measurements common in condensed-matter systems.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Interplay between phase defects and spin polarization in the specific heat of the spin density wave compound (TMTTF)_2Br in a magnetic field

Equilibrium heat relaxation experiments provide evidence that the ground state of the commensurate spin density wave (SDW) compound (TMTTF)$_2$Br after the application of a sufficient magnetic field is different from the conventional ground state. The experiments are interpreted on the basis of the local model of strong pinning as the deconfinement of soliton-antisoliton pairs triggered by the Zeeman coupling to spin degrees of freedom, resulting in a magnetic field induced density wave glass for the spin carrying phase configuration.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Superfluid stability in BEC-BCS crossover

We consider a dilute atomic gas of two species of fermions with unequal concentrations under a Feshbach resonance. We find that the system can have distinct properties due to the unbound fermions. The uniform state is stable only when either (a) beyond a critical coupling strength, where it is a gapless superfluid, or (b) when the coupling strength is sufficiently weak, where it is a normal Fermi gas mixture. Phase transition(s) must therefore occur when the resonance is crossed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Vortex-assisted photon counts and their magnetic field dependence in single-photon detectors

We argue that photon counts in a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) are caused by the transition from a current-biased metastable superconducting state to the normal state. Such a transition is triggered by vortices crossing the thin film superconducting strip from one edge to another due to the Lorentz force. Detector counts in SNSPDs may be caused by three processes: (a) a single incident photon with energy sufficient to break enough Cooper pairs to create a normal-state belt across the entire width of the strip (direct photon count), (b) thermally induced single-vortex crossing in the absence of photons (dark count), which at high bias currents releases the energy sufficient to trigger the transition to the normal state in a belt across the whole width of the strip, and (c) a single incident photon with insufficient energy to create a normal-state belt but initiating a subsequent single-vortex crossing, which provides the rest of the energy needed to create the normal-state belt (vortex-assisted single photon count). We derive the current dependence of the rate of vortex-assisted photon counts. The resulting photon count rate has a plateau at high currents close to the critical current and drops as a power-law with high exponent at lower currents. While the magnetic field perpendicular to the film plane does not affect the formation of hot spots by photons, it causes the rate of vortex crossings (with or without photons) to increase. We show that by applying a magnetic field one may characterize the energy barrier for vortex crossings and identify the origin of dark counts and vortex-assisted photon counts.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures [v3: added extensive discussion of boundary condition of Fokker-Planck equation and magnitude of vortex crossing rate

Interplay between disorder, quantum and thermal fluctuations in ferromagnetic alloys: The case of UCu2Si(2-x)Ge(x)

We consider, theoretically and experimentally, the effects of structural disorder, quantum and thermal fluctuations in the magnetic and transport properties of certain ferromagnetic alloys.We study the particular case of UCu2Si(2-x)Ge(x). The low temperature resistivity, rho(T,x), exhibits Fermi liquid (FL) behavior as a function of temperature T for all values of x, which can be interpreted as a result of the magnetic scattering of the conduction electrons from the localized U spins. The residual resistivity, rho(0,x), follows the behavior of a disordered binary alloy. The observed non-monotonic dependence of the Curie temperature, Tc(x), with x can be explained within a model of localized spins interacting with an electronic bath whose transport properties cross-over from ballistic to diffusive regimes. Our results clearly show that the Curie temperature of certain alloys can be enhanced due to the interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations with disorder.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Local electronic structure near oxygen dopants in BSCCO-2212: a window on the high-Tc pair mechanism?

The cuprate material BSCCO-2212 is believed to be doped by a combination of cation switching and excess oxygen. The interstitial oxygen dopants are of particular interest because scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments have shown that they are positively correlated with the local value of the superconducting gap, and calculations suggest that the fundamental attraction between electrons is modulated locally. In this work, we use density functional theory to try to ascertain which locations in the crystal are energetically most favorable for the O dopant atoms, and how the surrounding cage of atoms deforms. Our results provide support for the identification of STM resonances at -1eV with dopant interstitial O atoms, and show how the local electronic structure is modified nearby.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure