Transport of interacting electrons through a potential barrier: nonperturbative RG approach

We calculate the linear response conductance of electrons in a Luttinger liquid with arbitrary interaction g_2, and subject to a potential barrier of arbitrary strength, as a function of temperature. We first map the Hamiltonian in the basis of scattering states into an effective low energy Hamiltonian in current algebra form. Analyzing the perturbation theory in the fermionic representation the diagrams contributing to the renormalization group (RG) \beta-function are identified. A universal part of the \beta-function is given by a ladder series and summed to all orders in g_2. First non-universal corrections beyond the ladder series are discussed. The RG-equation for the temperature dependent conductance is solved analytically. Our result agrees with known limiting cases.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

RKKY interaction in Layered Superconductors with Anisotropic Pairing

The RKKY interaction between rare-earth (RE) ions in high-$T_c$ superconductors is considered at $T\ll T_c$. It is shown that this interaction consists of two terms: conventional oscillating one and the positive term, which is proportional to the gap function and decreases in the $2D$ case inversely proportional to the distance. In the antiferromagnetic state of the RE subsystem this positive interaction gives rise for frustrations which diminishes the Neel temperature. In the case of strongly anisotropic gap function this frustration produces two different values of the effective nearest neighbor exchange coupling between RE ions along the $a$ and $b$. This anisotropy has been established experimentally in Ref.\cite{6,7,8}.Comment: 10 pages, REVTEX, no figure

Luttinger liquids with curvature: Density correlations and Coulomb drag effect

We consider the effect of the curvature in fermionic dispersion on the observable properties of Luttinger liquid (LL). We use the bosonization technique where the curvature is irrelevant perturbation, describing the decay of LL bosons (plasmon modes). When possible, we establish the correspondence between the bosonization and the fermionic approach. We analyze modifications in density correlation functions due to curvature at finite temperatures, T. The most important application of our approach is the analysis of the Coulomb drag by small momentum transfer between two LL, which is only possible due to curvature. Analyzing the a.c. transconductivity in the one-dimensional drag setup, we confirm the results by Pustilnik et al. for T-dependence of drag resistivity, R_{12} ~ T^2 at high and R_{12} ~ T^5 at low temperatures. The bosonization allows for treating both intra- and inter-wire electron-electron interactions in all orders, and we calculate exact prefactors in low-T drag regime. The crossover temperature between the two regimes is T_1 ~ E_F \Delta, with \Delta relative difference in plasmon velocities. We show that \Delta \neq 0 even for identical wires, due to lifting of degeneracy by interwire interaction, U_{12}, leading to crossover from R_{12} ~ U_{12}^2 T^2 to R_{12} \~ T^5/U_{12} at T ~ U_{12}.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, REVTE

Electronic correlations on a metallic nanosphere

We consider the correlation functions in a gas of electrons moving within a thin layer on the surface of nanosize sphere. A closed form of expressions for the RKKY indirect exchange, superconducting Cooper loop and `density-density' correlation function is obtained. The systematic comparison with planar results is made, the effects of spherical geometry are outlined. The quantum coherence of electrons leads to the enhancement of all correlations for the points--antipodes on the sphere. This effect is lost when the radius of the sphere exceeds the temperature coherence length.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, to appear in PRB (RC

Asymmetric spin-1/2 two-leg ladders

We consider asymmetric spin-1/2 two-leg ladders with non-equal antiferromagnetic (AF) couplings J_|| and \kappa J_|| along legs (\kappa <= 1) and ferromagnetic rung coupling, J_\perp. This model is characterized by a gap \Delta in the spectrum of spin excitations. We show that in the large J_\perp limit this gap is equivalent to the Haldane gap for the AF spin-1 chain, irrespective of the asymmetry of the ladder. The behavior of the gap at small rung coupling falls in two different universality classes. The first class, which is best understood from the case of the conventional symmetric ladder at \kappa=1, admits a linear scaling for the spin gap \Delta ~ J_\perp. The second class appears for a strong asymmetry of the coupling along legs, \kappa J_|| << J_\perp << J_|| and is characterized by two energy scales: the exponentially small spin gap \Delta ~ J_\perp \exp(-J_|| / J_\perp), and the bandwidth of the low-lying excitations induced by a Suhl-Nakamura indirect exchange ~ J_\perp^2 /J_|| . We report numerical results obtained by exact diagonalization, density matrix renormalization group and quantum Monte Carlo simulations for the spin gap and various spin correlation functions. Our data indicate that the behavior of the string order parameter, characterizing the hidden AF order in Haldane phase, is different in the limiting cases of weak and strong asymmetry. On the basis of the numerical data, we propose a low-energy theory of effective spin-1 variables, pertaining to large blocks on a decimated lattice.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure

RKKY interaction in the nearly-nested Fermi liquid

We present the results of analytical evaluation of the indirect RKKY interaction in a layered metal with nearly nested (almost squared) Fermi surface. The final expressions are obtained in closed form as a combination of Bessel functions. We discuss the notion of the ``2k_F'' oscillations and show that they occur as the far asymptote of our expressions. We show the existence of the intermediate asymptote of the interaction which is of the sign-reversal antiferromagnetic type and is the only term surviving in the limit of exact nesting. A good accordance of our analytical formulas with numerical findings is demonstrated until the interatomic distances. The obtained expressions for the Green's functions extend the previous analytical results into the region of intermediate distances as well.Comment: 9 pages, REVTEX, 3 .eps figures, to appear in PRB 1 Oct 199

Optical-conductivity sum rule in cuprates and unconventional charge density waves: a short review

We begin with an overview of the experimental results for the temperature and doping dependences of the optical-conductivity spectral weight in cuprate superconductors across the whole phase diagram. Then we discuss recent attempts to explain the observed behavior of the spectral weight using reduced and full models with unconventional $d_{x^2-y^2}$ charge-density waves.Comment: 17 pages, RevTeX4, 4 EPS figures; Invited paper for a special issue of Low Temperature Physics dedicated to the 20th anniversary of HTS

Spin gap and string order parameter in the ferromagnetic Spiral Staircase Heisenberg Ladder: a quantum Monte Carlo study

We consider a spin-1/2 ladder with a ferromagnetic rung coupling J_\perp and inequivalent chains. This model is obtained by a twist (\theta) deformation of the ladder and interpolates between the isotropic ladder (\theta=0) and the SU(2) ferromagnetic Kondo necklace model (\theta=\pi). We show that the ground state in the (\theta,J_\perp) plane has a finite string order parameter characterising the Haldane phase. Twisting the chain introduces a new energy scale, which we interpret in terms of a Suhl-Nakamura interaction. As a consequence we observe a crossover in the scaling of the spin gap at weak coupling from \Delta/J_\| \propto J_\perp/J_\| for \theta < \theta_c \simeq 8\pi/9 to \Delta/J_\| \propto (J_\perp/J_\|)^2 for \theta > \theta_c. Those results are obtained on the basis of large scale Quantum Monte Carlo calculations.Comment: 4 page