Semi-classical theory of magnetic quantum oscillations in a two-dimensional multiband canonical Fermi liquid

The semi-classical Lifshitz-Kosevich (LK) description of quantum oscillations is extended to a multiband two-dimensional Fermi liquid with a constant number of electrons. The amplitudes of novel oscillations with combination frequencies, recently predicted and observed experimentally, are analytically derived and compared with the single-band amplitudes. The combination amplitudes decay with temperature exponentially faster than the standard harmonics, and this provides a valuable tool for their experimental identification.Comment: 3 pages, REVTeX 3.0, one eps-figure included in the tex

The weak localization for the alloy-type Anderson model on a cubic lattice

We consider alloy type random Schr\"odinger operators on a cubic lattice whose randomness is generated by the sign-indefinite single-site potential. We derive Anderson localization for this class of models in the Lifshitz tails regime, i.e. when the coupling parameter $\lambda$ is small, for the energies $E \le -C \lambda^2$.Comment: 45 pages, 2 figures. To appear in J. Stat. Phy

Phase diagram for unzipping DNA with long-range interactions

We present a critique and extension of the mean-field approach to the mechanical pulling transition in bound polymer systems. Our model is motivated by the theoretically and experimentally important examples of adsorbed polymers and double-stranded DNA, and we focus on the case in which quenched disorder in the sequence of monomers is unimportant for the statistical mechanics. We show how including excluded volume interactions in the model affects the phase diagram for the critical pulling force, and we predict a re-entrancy phase at low temperatures which has not been previously discussed. We also consider the case of non-equilibrium pulling, in which the external force probes the local, rather than the global structure of the dsDNA or adsorbed polymer. The dynamics of the pulling transition in such experiments could illuminate the polymer's loop structure, which depends on the nature of excluded volume interactions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; this version clarifies Eq. 8, and corrects errors in Fig.

Scaling anomalies in the coarsening dynamics of fractal viscous fingering patterns

We analyze a recent experiment of Sharon \textit{et al.} (2003) on the coarsening, due to surface tension, of fractal viscous fingering patterns (FVFPs) grown in a radial Hele-Shaw cell. We argue that an unforced Hele-Shaw model, a natural model for that experiment, belongs to the same universality class as model B of phase ordering. Two series of numerical simulations with model B are performed, with the FVFPs grown in the experiment, and with Diffusion Limited Aggregates, as the initial conditions. We observed Lifshitz-Slyozov scaling $t^{1/3}$ at intermediate distances and very slow convergence to this scaling at small distances. Dynamic scale invariance breaks down at large distances.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Lifshitz-Slyozov Scaling For Late-Stage Coarsening With An Order-Parameter-Dependent Mobility

The coarsening dynamics of the Cahn-Hilliard equation with order-parameter dependent mobility, $\lambda(\phi) \propto (1-\phi^2)^\alpha$, is addressed at zero temperature in the Lifshitz-Slyozov limit where the minority phase occupies a vanishingly small volume fraction. Despite the absence of bulk diffusion for $\alpha>0$, the mean domain size is found to grow as $\propto t^{1/(3+\alpha)}$, due to subdiffusive transport of the order parameter through the majority phase. The domain-size distribution is determined explicitly for the physically relevant case $\alpha = 1$.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, no figure

Domain Growth and Finite-Size-Scaling in the Kinetic Ising Model

This paper describes the application of finite-size scaling concepts to domain growth in systems with a non-conserved order parameter. A finite-size scaling ansatz for the time-dependent order parameter distribution function is proposed, and tested with extensive Monte-Carlo simulations of domain growth in the 2-D spin-flip kinetic Ising model. The scaling properties of the distribution functions serve to elucidate the configurational self-similarity that underlies the dynamic scaling picture. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the application of finite-size-scaling techniques facilitates the accurate determination of the bulk growth exponent even in the presence of strong finite-size effects, the scale and character of which are graphically exposed by the order parameter distribution function. In addition it is found that one commonly used measure of domain size--the scaled second moment of the magnetisation distribution--belies the full extent of these finite-size effects.Comment: 13 pages, Latex. Figures available on request. Rep #9401

Resonant scattering on impurities in the Quantum Hall Effect

We develop a new approach to carrier transport between the edge states via resonant scattering on impurities, which is applicable both for short and long range impurities. A detailed analysis of resonant scattering on a single impurity is performed. The results are used for study of the inter-edge transport by multiple resonant hopping via different impurities' sites. It is shown that the total conductance can be found from an effective Schroedinger equation with constant diagonal matrix elements in the Hamiltonian, where the complex non-diagonal matrix elements are the amplitudes of a carrier hopping between different impurities. It is explicitly demonstrated how the complex phase leads to Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the total conductance. Neglecting the contribution of self-crossing resonant-percolation trajectories, one finds that the inter-edge carrier transport is similar to propagation in one-dimensional system with off-diagonal disorder. We demonstrated that each Landau band has an extended state $\bar E_N$, while all other states are localized. The localization length behaves as $L_N^{-1}(E)\sim (E-\bar E_N)^2$.Comment: RevTex 41 pages; 3 Postscript figure on request; Final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B. A new section added contained a comparison with other method

Quantum cavitation in liquid helium

Using a functional-integral approach, we have determined the temperature below which cavitation in liquid helium is driven by thermally assisted quantum tunneling. For both helium isotopes, we have obtained the crossover temperature in the whole range of allowed negative p essures. Our results are compatible with recent experimental results on 4He.Comment: Typeset using Revtex, 10 pages and 2 figures, Phys. Rev B (1996

Distribution of the area enclosed by a 2D random walk in a disordered medium

The asymptotic probability distribution for a Brownian particle wandering in a 2D plane with random traps to enclose the algebraic area A by time t is calculated using the instanton technique.Comment: 4 pages, ReVTeX. Phys. Rev. E (March 1999), to be publishe

Theory of Phase Ordering Kinetics

The theory of phase ordering dynamics -- the growth of order through domain coarsening when a system is quenched from the homogeneous phase into a broken-symmetry phase -- is reviewed, with the emphasis on recent developments. Interest will focus on the scaling regime that develops at long times after the quench. How can one determine the growth laws that describe the time-dependence of characteristic length scales, and what can be said about the form of the associated scaling functions? Particular attention will be paid to systems described by more complicated order parameters than the simple scalars usually considered, e.g. vector and tensor fields. The latter are needed, for example, to describe phase ordering in nematic liquid crystals, on which there have been a number of recent experiments. The study of topological defects (domain walls, vortices, strings, monopoles) provides a unifying framework for discussing coarsening in these different systems.Comment: To appear in Advances in Physics. 85 pages, latex, no figures. For a hard copy with figures, email [email protected]