2,261 research outputs found
High Temperature Superconductivity: the explanation
Soon after the discovery of the first high temperature superconductor by
Georg Bednorz and Alex Mueller in 1986 the late Sir Nevill Mott answering his
own question "Is there an explanation?" [Nature v 327 (1987) 185] expressed a
view that the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of small bipolarons, predicted
by us in 1981, could be the one. Several authors then contemplated BEC of real
space tightly bound pairs, but with a purely electronic mechanism of pairing
rather than with the electron-phonon interaction (EPI). However, a number of
other researchers criticized the bipolaron (or any real-space pairing) scenario
as incompatible with some angle-resolved photoemission spectra (ARPES), with
experimentally determined effective masses of carriers and unconventional
symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in cuprates. Since then the
controversial issue of whether the electron-phonon interaction (EPI) is crucial
for high-temperature superconductivity or weak and inessential has been one of
the most challenging problems of contemporary condensed matter physics. Here I
outline some developments in the bipolaron theory suggesting that the true
origin of high-temperature superconductivity is found in a proper combination
of strong electron-electron correlations with a significant finite-range
(Froehlich) EPI, and that the theory is fully compatible with the key
experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, invited comment to Physica Script
Parameter-free expression for superconducting Tc in cuprates
A parameter-free expression for the superconducting critical temperature of
layered cuprates is derived which allows us to express Tc in terms of
experimentally measured parameters. It yields Tc values observed in about 30
lanthanum, yttrium and mercury-based samples for different levels of doping.
This remarkable agreement with the experiment as well as the unusual critical
behaviour and the normal-state gap indicate that many cuprates are close to the
Bose-Einstein condensation regime.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Will be published in Physical Review
S-duality in Twistor Space
In type IIB string compactifications on a Calabi-Yau threefold, the
hypermultiplet moduli space must carry an isometric action of the modular
group SL(2,Z), inherited from the S-duality symmetry of type IIB string theory
in ten dimensions. We investigate how this modular symmetry is realized at the
level of the twistor space of , and construct a general class of
SL(2,Z)-invariant quaternion-Kahler metrics with two commuting isometries,
parametrized by a suitably covariant family of holomorphic transition
functions. This family should include corrected by D3-D1-D(-1)-instantons
(with fivebrane corrections ignored) and, after taking a suitable rigid limit,
the Coulomb branch of five-dimensional N=2 gauge theories compactified on a
torus, including monopole string instantons. These results allow us to
considerably simplify the derivation of the mirror map between type IIA and IIB
fields in the sector where only D1-D(-1)-instantons are retained.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figur
Coherent `ab' and `c' transport theory of high- cuprates
We propose a microscopic theory of the `'-axis and in-plane transport of
copper oxides based on the bipolaron theory and the Boltzmann kinetics. The
fundamental relationship between the anisotropy and the spin susceptibility is
derived, . The
temperature and doping dependence of the in-plane, and
out-of-plane, resistivity and the spin susceptibility,
are found in a remarkable agreement with the experimental data in underdoped,
optimally and overdoped for the entire temperature
regime from up to . The normal state gap is explained and its
doping and temperature dependence is clarified.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 3 figures available upon reques
A possibility to measure elastic photon--photon scattering in vacuum
Photon--photon scattering in vacuum due to the interaction with virtual
electron-positron pairs is a consequence of quantum electrodynamics. A way for
detecting this phenomenon has been devised based on interacting modes generated
in microwave waveguides or cavities [G. Brodin, M. Marklund and L. Stenflo,
Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{87} 171801 (2001)]. Here we materialize these ideas,
suggest a concrete cavity geometry, make quantitative estimates and propose
experimental details. It is found that detection of photon-photon scattering
can be within the reach of present day technology.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
D3-instantons, Mock Theta Series and Twistors
The D-instanton corrected hypermultiplet moduli space of type II string
theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold is known in the type IIA picture
to be determined in terms of the generalized Donaldson-Thomas invariants,
through a twistorial construction. At the same time, in the mirror type IIB
picture, and in the limit where only D3-D1-D(-1)-instanton corrections are
retained, it should carry an isometric action of the S-duality group SL(2,Z).
We prove that this is the case in the one-instanton approximation, by
constructing a holomorphic action of SL(2,Z) on the linearized twistor space.
Using the modular invariance of the D4-D2-D0 black hole partition function, we
show that the standard Darboux coordinates in twistor space have modular
anomalies controlled by period integrals of a Siegel-Narain theta series, which
can be canceled by a contact transformation generated by a holomorphic mock
theta series.Comment: 42 pages; discussion of isometries is amended; misprints correcte
Cut-and-Join operator representation for Kontsevich-Witten tau-function
In this short note we construct a simple cut-and-join operator representation
for Kontsevich-Witten tau-function that is the partition function of the
two-dimensional topological gravity. Our derivation is based on the Virasoro
constraints. Possible applications of the obtained expression are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, minor correction
Degenerate Plebanski Sector and Spin Foam Quantization
We show that the degenerate sector of Spin(4) Plebanski formulation of
four-dimensional gravity is exactly solvable and describes covariantly embedded
SU(2) BF theory. This fact ensures that its spin foam quantization is given by
the SU(2) Crane-Yetter model and allows to test various approaches of imposing
the simplicity constraints. Our analysis strongly suggests that restricting
representations and intertwiners in the state sum for Spin(4) BF theory is not
sufficient to get the correct vertex amplitude. Instead, for a general theory
of Plebanski type, we propose a quantization procedure which is by construction
equivalent to the canonical path integral quantization and, being applied to
our model, reproduces the SU(2) Crane-Yetter state sum. A characteristic
feature of this procedure is the use of secondary second class constraints on
an equal footing with the primary simplicity constraints, which leads to a new
formula for the vertex amplitude.Comment: 34 pages; changes in the abstract and introduction, a few references
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Breakdown of the Migdal-Eliashberg theory in the strong-coupling adiabatic regime
In view of some recent works on the role of vertex corrections in the
electron-phonon system we readress an important question of the validity of the
Migdal-Eliashberg theory.
Based on the solution of the Holstein model and inverse coupling constant
expansion, we argue that the standard Feynman-Dyson perturbation theory by
Migdal and Eliashberg with or without vertex corrections cannot be applied if
the electron-phonon coupling constant is larger than 1 for any ratio
of the phonon and Fermi energies.
In the extreme adiabatic limit of the Holstein model electrons collapse into
self-trapped small polarons or bipolarons due to spontaneous
translational-symmetry breaking when is between 0.5 and 1.3
(depending on the lattice dimensionality). With the increasing phonon frequency
the region of the applicability of the theory shrinks to lower values of the
coupling constant.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
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