Crystalline electron pairs

This is a nontechnical Perspective Commentary on the recent developments in cuprate STM and their ramifications for the theories of the pseudogap state, focusing on the paper by Hanaguri et al. [Nature 430, 1001 (2004)].Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure. For related work and info visit http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~franz

Book Review: Brentidae of the World (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)

Book Review: SFORZI, A., AND L. BARTOLOZZI. 2004. Brentidae of the World (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Monografie XXXIX (39), Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy. 976 pp., 225 figs. Hardcover. ISBN 88-86041-35-7. Price: € 50.00 + postage. May be ordered from the Museo Regionale di Scienze Regionali, via Giolitti, 10123 Torino, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

A note on the Guerra and Talagrand theorems for Mean Field Spin Glasses: the simple case of spherical models

The aim of this paper is to discuss the main ideas of the Talagrand proof of the Parisi Ansatz for the free-energy of Mean Field Spin Glasses with a physicist's approach. We consider the case of the spherical $p$-spin model, which has the following advantages: 1) the Parisi Ansatz takes the simple ``one step replica symmetry breaking form'', 2) the replica free-energy as a function of the order parameters is simple enough to allow for numerical maximization with arbitrary precision. We present the essential ideas of the proof, we stress its connections with the theory of effective potentials for glassy systems, and we reduce the technically more difficult part of the Talagrand's analysis to an explicit evaluation of the solution of a variational problem.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. Added references and minor language correction

Vortex-boson duality in four space-time dimensions

A continuum version of the vortex-boson duality in (3+1) dimensions is formulated and its implications studied in the context of a pair Wigner crystal in underdoped cuprate superconductors. The dual theory to a phase fluctuating superconductor (or superfluid) is shown to be a theory of bosonic strings interacting through a Kalb-Ramond rank-2 tensorial gauge field. String condensation produces Higgs mass for the gauge field and the expected Wigner crystal emerges as an interesting space-time analog of the Abrikosov lattice.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX; for related work and info visit http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~fran

Metastable States, Relaxation Times and Free-energy Barriers in Finite Dimensional Glassy Systems

In this note we discuss metastability in a long-but-finite range disordered model for the glass transition. We show that relaxation is dominated by configuration belonging to metastable states and associate an in principle computable free-energy barrier to the equilibrium relaxation time. Adam-Gibbs like relaxation times appear naturally in this approach.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Typos correcte