Fictitious Level Dynamics: A Novel Approach to Spectral Statistics in Disordered Conductors

We establish a new approach to calculating spectral statistics in disordered conductors, by considering how energy levels move in response to changes in the impurity potential. We use this fictitious dynamics to calculate the spectral form factor in two ways. First, describing the dynamics using a Fokker-Planck equation, we make a physically motivated decoupling, obtaining the spectral correlations in terms of the quantum return probability. Second, from an identity which we derive between two- and three-particle correlation functions, we make a mathematically controlled decoupling to obtain the same result. We also calculate weak localization corrections to this result, and show for two dimensional systems (which are of most interest) that corrections vanish to three-loop order.Comment: 35 pages in REVTeX format including 10 postscript figures; to be published in a special issue (on Topics in Mesoscopic Physics) of the Journal of Mathematical Physics, October 199

Why magnesium diboride is not described by anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory

It is well established that the superconductivity in the recently discovered superconducting compound MgB$_{2}$ resides in the quasi-two-dimensional band ($\sigma$-band) and three-dimensional band ($\pi$-band). We demonstrate that, due to such band structure, the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory practically does not have region of applicability, because gradient expansion in the $c$ direction breaks down. In the case of dirty $\pi$-band we derive the simplest equations which describe properties of such superconductors near $T_{c}$ and explore some consequences of these equations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 fugures, Subm. Phys. Rev. Let

Superconductivity and short range order in metallic glasses Fex_{x}Ni1−x_{1-x}Zr2_{2}

In amorphous superconductors, superconducting and vortex pinning properties are strongly linked to the absence of long range order. Consequently, superconductivity and vortex phases can be studied to probe the underlying microstructure and order of the material. This is done here from resistance and local magnetization measurements in the superconducting state of Fe$_{x}$Ni$_{1-x}$Zr$_{2}$ metallic glasses with $0\leq x \leq 0.6$. Firstly, we present typical superconducting properties such as the critical temperature and fields and their dependence on Fe content in these alloys. Then, the observations of peculiar clockwise hysteresis loops, wide double-step transitions and large magnetization fluctuations in glasses containing a large amount of Fe are analyzed to reveal a change in short range order with Fe content.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Gapless Fermi Surfaces in anisotropic multiband superconductors in magnetic field

We propose that a new state with a fully gapless Fermi surface appears in quasi-2D multiband superconductors in magnetic field applied parallel to the plane. It is characterized by a paramagnetic moment caused by a finite density of states on the open Fermi surface. We calculate thermodynamic and magnetic properties of the gapless state for both s-wave and d-wave cases, and discuss the details of the 1-st order metamagnetic phase transition that accompanies the appearance of the new phase in s-wave superconductors. We suggest possible experiments to detect this state both in the s-wave (2-H NbSe2) and d-wave (CeCoIn5) superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

In-plane magnetic field phase diagram of superconducting Sr2RuO4

We develop the Ginzburg - Landau theory of the upper critical field in the basal plane of a tetragonal multiband metal in two-component superconducting state. It is shown that typical for the two component superconducting state the upper critical field basal plane anisotropy and the phase transition splitting still exist in a multiband case. However, the value of anisotropy can be effectively smaller than in the single band case. The results are discussed in the application to the superconducting Sr2RuO4.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

Superfluidity and excitations at unitarity

We present lattice results for spin-1/2 fermions at unitarity, where the effective range of the interaction is zero and the scattering length is infinite. We measure the spatial coherence of difermion pairs for a system of 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26 particles with equal numbers of up and down spins in a periodic cube. Using Euclidean time projection, we analyze ground state properties and transient behavior due to low-energy excitations. At asymptotically large values of t we see long-range order consistent with spontaneously broken U(1) fermion-number symmetry and a superfluid ground state. At intermediate times we see exponential decay in the t-dependent signal due to an unknown low-energy excitation. We probe this low-energy excitation further by calculating two-particle correlation functions. We find that the excitation has the properties of a chain of particles extending across the periodic lattice.Comment: 40 pages, 19 figures, revised version includes new data on two-particle density correlation

Motion and homogenization of vortices in anisotropic Type II superconductors

The motion of vortices in an anisotropic superconductor is considered. For a system of well-separated vortices, each vortex is found to obey a law of motion analogous to the local induction approximation, in which velocity of the vortex depends upon the local curvature and orientation. A system of closely packed vortices is then considered, and a mean field model is formulated in which the individual vortex lines are replaced by a vortex density

Probing interfacial pair breaking in tunnel junctions based on the first and the second harmonics of the Josephson current

It will be shown that a pronounced interfacial pair breaking can be identified in Josephson tunnel junctions provided the first j_{1c} and the second j_{2c} harmonics of the supercurrent, as well as the depairing current in the bulk j_{dp}, are known. Namely, within the Ginzburg-Landau theory a strong interfacial pair breaking results in the relation j_{2c}j_{dp}>>j_{1c}^2, while in standard junctions, with negligibly small pair breaking, the relation of opposite character takes place.Comment: 6 pages, published versio

Dissipation and coherent effects in narrow superconducting channels

We apply the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations (TDGL) to study small ac currents of frequency $\omega$ in superconducting channels narrow on the scale of London penetration depth. We show that TDGL have $t$-dependent and spatially uniform solutions that describe the order parameter with an oscillating part of the double frequency coexisting with an ac electric field. We evaluate the Ohmic losses (related neither to the flux flow nor to the phase slips) and show that the resistivity reduction on cooling through the critical temperature $T_c$ should behave as $(T_c-T)^2/\omega^2$. If the channel is cut out of an anisotropic material in a direction other than the principal axes, the transverse phase difference and the Josephson voltage between the channel sides are generated.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Multiple phase slips phenomena in mesoscopic superconducting rings

We investigate the behavior of a mesoscopic one-dimensional ring in an external magnetic field by simulating the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations with periodic boundary conditions. We analyze the stability and the different possible evolutions for the phase slip phenomena starting from a metastable state. We find a stability condition relating the winding number of the initial solution and the number of flux quanta penetrating the ring. The analysis of multiple phase slips solutions is based on analytical results and simulations. The role of the ratio of two characteristic times u is studied for the case of a multiple phase slips transition. We found out that if u>>1, consecutive multiple phase slips will be more favorable than simultaneous ones. If u>1 is often a necessary condition to reach the ground state. The influence of the Langevin noise on the kinetics of the phase transition is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure