Non-Drude Optical Conductivity of (III,Mn)V Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

We present a numerical model study of the zero-temperature infrared optical properties of (III,Mn)V diluted magnetic semiconductors. Our calculations demonstrate the importance of treating disorder and interaction effects simultaneously in modelling these materials. We find that the conductivity has no clear Drude peak, that it has a broadened inter-band peak near 220 meV, and that oscillator weight is shifted to higher frequencies by stronger disorder. These results are in good qualitative agreement with recent thin film absorption measurements. We use our numerical findings to discuss the use of f-sum rules evaluated by integrating optical absorption data for accurate carrier-density estimates.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Infrared magneto-optical properties of (III,Mn)V ferromagetic semiconductors

We present a theoretical study of the infrared magneto-optical properties of ferromagnetic (III,Mn)V semiconductors. Our analysis combines the kinetic exchange model for (III,Mn)V ferromagnetism with Kubo linear response theory and Born approximation estimates for the effect of disorder on the valence band quasiparticles. We predict a prominent feature in the ac-Hall conductivity at a frequency that varies over the range from 200 to 400 meV, depending on Mn and carrier densities, and is associated with transitions between heavy-hole and light-hole bands. In its zero frequency limit, our Hall conductivity reduces to the $\vec k$-space Berry's phase value predicted by a recent theory of the anomalous Hall effect that is able to account quantitatively for experiment. We compute theoretical estimates for magnetic circular dichroism, Faraday rotation, and Kerr effect parameters as a function of Mn concentration and free carrier density. The mid-infrared response feature is present in each of these magneto-optical effects.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Sum rules and electrodynamics of high-Tc cuprates in the pseudogap state

We explore connections between the electronic density of states (DOS) in a conducting system and the frequency dependence of the scattering rate $1/\tau(\omega)$ inferred from infrared spectroscopy. We show that changes in the DOS upon the development of energy gaps can be reliably tracked through the examination of the $1/\tau(\omega)$ spectra using the sum rules discussed in the text. Applying this analysis to the charge dynamics in high-$T_c$ cuprates we found radically different trends in the evolution of the DOS in the pseudogap state and in the superconducting state.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

An angle-resolved photoemission spectral function analysis of the electron doped cuprate Nd_1.85Ce_0.15CuO_4

Using methods made possible by recent advances in photoemission technology, we perform an indepth line-shape analysis of the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of the electron doped (n-type) cuprate superconductor Nd_1.85Ce_0.15CuO_4. Unlike for the p-type materials, we only observe weak mass renormalizations near 50-70 meV. This may be indicative of smaller electron-phonon coupling or due to the masking effects of other interactions that make the electron-phonon coupling harder to detect. This latter scenario may suggest limitations of the spectral function analysis in extracting electronic self-energies when some of the interactions are highly momentum dependent.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

An infrared probe of the insulator-to-metal transition in GaMnAs and GaBeAs

We report infrared studies of the insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) in GaAs doped with either magnetic (Mn) or non-magnetic acceptors (Be). We observe a resonance with a natural assignment to impurity states in the insulating regime of Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$As, which persists across the IMT to the highest doping (16%). Beyond the IMT boundary, behavior combining insulating and metallic trends also persists to the highest Mn doping. Be doped samples however, display conventional metallicity just above the critical IMT concentration, with features indicative of transport within the host valence band

Atom-by-Atom Substitution of Mn in GaAs and Visualization of their Hole-Mediated Interactions

The discovery of ferromagnetism in Mn doped GaAs [1] has ignited interest in the development of semiconductor technologies based on electron spin and has led to several proof-of-concept spintronic devices [2-4]. A major hurdle for realistic applications of (Ga,Mn)As, or other dilute magnetic semiconductors, remains their below room-temperature ferromagnetic transition temperature. Enhancing ferromagnetism in semiconductors requires understanding the mechanisms for interaction between magnetic dopants, such as Mn, and identifying the circumstances in which ferromagnetic interactions are maximized [5]. Here we report the use of a novel atom-by-atom substitution technique with the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to perform the first controlled atomic scale study of the interactions between isolated Mn acceptors mediated by the electronic states of GaAs. High-resolution STM measurements are used to visualize the GaAs electronic states that participate in the Mn-Mn interaction and to quantify the interaction strengths as a function of relative position and orientation. Our experimental findings, which can be explained using tight-binding model calculations, reveal a strong dependence of ferromagnetic interaction on crystallographic orientation. This anisotropic interaction can potentially be exploited by growing oriented Ga1-xMnxAs structures to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature beyond that achieved in randomly doped samples. Our experimental methods also provide a realistic approach to create precise arrangements of single spins as coupled quantum bits for memory or information processing purposes

Universal scaling in the dynamical conductivity of heavy fermion Ce and Yb compounds

Dynamical conductivity spectra s(w) have been measured for a diverse range of heavy-fermion (HF) Ce and Yb compounds. A characteristic excitation peak has been observed in the mid-infrared region of s(w) for all the compounds, and has been analyzed in terms of a simple model based on conduction (c)-f electron hybridized band. A universal scaling is found between the observed peak energies and the estimated c-f hybridization strengths of these HF compounds. This scaling demonstrates that the model of c-f hybridized band can generally and quantitatively describe the charge excitation spectra of a wide range of HF compounds.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 76 (2007

Interplane Transport and Superfluid Density in Layered Superconductors

We report on generic trends in the behavior of the interlayer penetration depth $\lambda_c$ of several different classes of quasi two-dimensional superconductors including cuprates, Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, transition metal dichalcogenides and organic materials of the $(BEDT-TTF)_2X$-series. Analysis of these trends reveals two distinct patterns in the scaling between the values of $\lambda_c$ and the magnitude of the DC conductivity: one realized in the systems with a Fermi liquid (FL) ground state and the other seen in systems with a marked deviation from the FL response. The latter pattern is found primarily in under-doped cuprates and indicates a dramatic enhancement (factor $\simeq 10^2$) of the energy scale $\Omega_C$ associated with the formation of the condensate compared to the data for the FL materials. We discuss implications of these results for the understanding of pairing in high-$T_c$ cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Electronic correlations in the iron pnictides

In correlated metals derived from Mott insulators, the motion of an electron is impeded by Coulomb repulsion due to other electrons. This phenomenon causes a substantial reduction in the electron's kinetic energy leading to remarkable experimental manifestations in optical spectroscopy. The high-Tc superconducting cuprates are perhaps the most studied examples of such correlated metals. The occurrence of high-Tc superconductivity in the iron pnictides puts a spotlight on the relevance of correlation effects in these materials. Here we present an infrared and optical study on single crystals of the iron pnictide superconductor LaFePO. We find clear evidence of electronic correlations in metallic LaFePO with the kinetic energy of the electrons reduced to half of that predicted by band theory of nearly free electrons. Hallmarks of strong electronic many-body effects reported here are important because the iron pnictides expose a new pathway towards a correlated electron state that does not explicitly involve the Mott transition.Comment: 10 page

Nonmonotonic d_{x^2-y^2} Superconducting Order Parameter in Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4

Low energy polarized electronic Raman scattering of the electron doped superconductor Nd_1.85Ce_0.15CuO_4 (T_c=22 K) has revealed a nonmonotonic d_{x^2-y^2} superconducting order parameter. It has a maximum gap of 4.4 k_BT_c at Fermi surface intersections with antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone (the ``hot spots'') and a smaller gap of 3.3 k_BT_c at fermionic Brillouin zone boundaries. The gap enhancement in the vicinity of the ``hot spots'' emphasizes role of antiferromagnetic fluctuations and similarity in the origin of superconductivity for electron- and hole-doped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure