From the Bose-Einstein to fermion condensation

The appearance of the fermion condensation, which can be compared to the Bose-Einstein condensation, in different Fermi liquids is considered; its properties are discussed; and a large amount of experimental evidence in favor of the existence of the fermion condensate (FC) is presented. We show that the appearance of FC is a signature of the fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT), which separates the regions of normal and strongly correlated liquids. Beyond the FCQPT point, the quasiparticle system is divided into two subsystems, one containing normal quasiparticles and the other, FC, localized at the Fermi level. In the superconducting state, the quasiparticle dispersion in systems with FC can be represented by two straight lines, characterized by effective masses M _FC ^* and M _L ^* and intersecting near the binding energy E₀, which is of the order of the superconducting gap. The same quasiparticle picture and the energy scale E₀ persist in the normal state. We demonstrate that fermion systems with FC have features of a “quantum protectorate” and show that strongly correlated systems with FC, which exhibit large deviations from the Landau Fermi liquid behavior, can be driven into the Landau Fermi liquid by applying a small magnetic field B at low temperatures. Thus, the essence of strongly correlated electron liquids can be controlled by weak magnetic fields. A reentrance into the strongly correlated regime is observed if the magnetic field B decreases to zero, while the effective mass M* diverges as \(M^ * \propto {1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt B }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt B }}\). The regime is restored at some temperature \(T^ * \propto \sqrt B \). The behavior of Fermi systems that approach FCQPT from the disordered phase is considered. This behavior can be viewed as a highly correlated one, because the effective mass is large and strongly depends on the density. We expect that FCQPT takes place in trapped Fermi gases and in low-density neutron matter, leading to stabilization of the matter by lowering its ground-state energy. When the system recedes from FCQPT, the effective mass becomes density independent and the system is suited perfectly to be conventional Landau Fermi liquid.     

Universal behavior of heavy-fermion metals near a quantum critical point

The behavior of the electronic system of heavy-fermion metals is considered. We show that there exist at least two main types of the behavior when the system is near quantum critical point, which can be identified as the fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT). We show that the first type is represented by the behavior of a highly correlated Fermi liquid, while the second type is depicted by the behavior of a strongly correlated Fermi liquid. If the system approaches FCQPT from the disordered phase, it can be viewed as a highly correlated Fermi liquid which at low temperatures exhibits the behavior of Landau Fermi liquid (LFL). At higher temperatures T, it demonstrates the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior which can be converted into the LFL behavior by the application of magnetic fields B. If the system has undergone FCQPT, it can be considered as a strongly correlated Fermi liquid which demonstrates the NFL behavior even at low temperatures. It can be turned into LFL by applying magnetic fields B. We show that the effective mass M* diverges at the very point that the Neél temperature goes to zero. The B-T phase diagrams of both liquids are studied. We demonstrate that these B-T phase diagrams have a strong impact on the main properties of heavy-fermion metals, such as the magnetoresistance, resistivity, specific heat, magnetization, and volume thermal expansion.     

Investigation of the field-tuned quantum critical point in CeCoIn<Subscript>5</Subscript>

The main properties and the type of the field-tuned quantum critical point in the heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn₅ that arise upon application of magnetic fields B are considered within a scenario based on fermion condensation quantum phase transition. We analyze the behavior of the effective mass, resistivity, specific heat, charge, and heat transport as functions of applied magnetic fields B and show that, in the Landau Fermi liquid regime, these quantities demonstrate critical behavior, which is scaled by the critical behavior of the effective mass. We show that, in the high-field non-Fermi liquid regime, the effective mass exhibits very specific behavior, M*～ T^{? 2/3}, and the resistivity demonstrates T^2/3 dependence. Finally, at elevated temperatures, it changes to M*～T^?1/2, while the resistivity becomes linear in T. In zero magnetic field, the effective mass is controlled by temperature T and the resistivity is also linear in T. The obtained results are in good agreement with recent experimental facts.     

Transition from non-fermi liquid behavior to Landau–Fermi liquid behavior induced by magnetic fields

We show that a strongly correlated Fermi system with a fermion condensate which exhibits strong deviations from Landau–Fermi liquid behavior is driven into the Landau–Fermi liquid by applying a small magnetic field B at temperature T=0. This field-induced Landau–Fermi liquid behavior provides constancy of the Kadowaki–Woods ratio. A re-entrance into the strongly correlated regime is observed if the magnetic field B decreases to zero; the effective mass M* then diverges as \(M^* \propto {1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt B }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt B }}\). At finite temperatures, the strongly correlated regime is restored at some temperature \(T^* \propto \sqrt B \). This behavior is of a general form and takes place in both three-dimensional and two-dimensional strongly correlated systems. We demonstrate that the observed \({1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt B }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt B }}\) divergence of the effective mass and other specific features of heavy-fermion metals are accounted for by our consideration.     

The magnetization reversal in CoFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/CoFe<Subscript>2</Subscript> granular systems

The temperature-dependent field cooling (FC) and zero-field cooling (ZFC) magnetizations, i.e., M _FC and M _ZFC, measured under different magnetic fields from 500 Oe to 20 kOe have been investigated on two exchange–spring CoFe₂O₄/CoFe₂ composites with different relative content of CoFe₂. Two samples exhibit different magnetization reversal behaviors. With decreasing temperature, a progressive freezing of the moments in two composites occurs at a field-dependent irreversible temperature T _irr. For the sample with less CoFe₂, the curves of ?d(M _FC ? M _ZFC)/dT versus temperature T exhibit a broad peak at an intermediate temperature T ₂ below T _irr , and the moments are suggested not to fully freeze till the lowest measuring temperature 10 K. However, for the ?d(M _FC ? M _ZFC)/dT curves of the sample with more CoFe₂, besides a broad peat at an intermediate temperature T ₂, a rapid rise around the low temperature T ₁~15 K is observed, below which the moments are suggested to fully freeze. Increase of magnetic field from 2 kOe leads to the shift of T ₂ and T _irr towards a lower temperature, and the shift of T ₂ is attributable to the moment reversal of CoFe₂O₄.

Open image in new window

Graphical abstract CoFe₂O₄/CoFe₂ composites with different relative content of CoFe₂ were prepared by reducing CoFe₂O₄ in H₂ for 4 h (S4H) and 8 h (S8H). The temperature-dependent FC and ZFC magnetizations, i.e., M _FC and M _ZFC, under different magnetic fields from 500 Oe to 20 kOe have been investigated. Two samples exhibit different magnetization reversal behaviors. With decreasing temperature, a progressive freezing of the moments in two composites occurs at field-dependent irreversible temperature T _irr. For the S4H sample, the curves of ?d(M _FC ? M _ZFC)/dT versus temperature T exhibit a broad and field-dependent relaxing peak at T ₂ below T _irr (figure a), and the moments were suggested not to fully freeze till the lowest measuring temperature 10 K. However, for the S8H sample, it exhibits the reentrant spin-glass state around 50 K, as evidenced by a peak in the M _FC curve (inset in figure b) and as a result of the cooperative effects of the random anisotropy of CoFe₂O₄, exchange–spring occurring at the interface of CoFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂ together with the inter-particle dipolar interaction (figure c); in ?d(M _FC ? M _ZFC)/dT curves, besides a broad relaxing peat at T ₂, a rapid rise around the low-temperature T ₁~15 K is observed, below which the moments are suggested to fully freeze. Increase of magnetic field from 2 kOe leads to the shift of T ₂ and T _irr towards a lower temperature, and the shift of T ₂ is attributable to the moment reversal of CoFe₂O₄.

     

Evolution of spin susceptibility from the Pauli to Curie-Weiss type in strongly correlated Fermi systems

The magnetic properties of strongly correlated Fermi systems are studied within the framework of the fermioncondensation model—phase transition associated with the rearrangement of the Landau quasiparticle distribution, resulting in the appearance of a plateau at T=0 exactly in the Fermi surface of the single-particle excitation spectrum. It is shown that the Curie-Weiss term ～T^?1 appears in the expression for the spin susceptibility χ_ac(T) of the system after the transition point at finite temperatures. The behavior of χ_ac(T, H) as a function of temperature and static magnetic field H in the region where the critical fermion-condensation temperature T _f is close to zero is discussed. The results are compared with the available experimental data.     

Der Grundzustand der Urfermionen im Gitterraum

The energy of the Dirac sea of interacting urfermions in a lattice space withZ ³ points is calculated using Heisenberg's Hamiltonian and a two-particle approximation which is a variational calculation with the test function ¦?〉=e ⁱη¦D ₀〉; ¦D ₀〉 is the Dirac sea without interaction,η=(ψ ^° ψ) a bilinear expression of the urfermion creation and annihilation operators. The same result is obtained by a BCS-calculation. Beyond that, we derive simple lower and upper bounds for the energy. Excited states are considered consisting of a particle-antiparticle pair with the energyE=2√ω ²+M ². The massM and the interaction constantW are connected by the equation (4W)^?1=Z ^?3∑(ω ²+M ²)^?1/2. For usual masses 4W～√Z/1 (1 a nuclear length). Methods are discussed to improve the results.     

Topological Scenario for High-Temperature Superconductivity in Cuprates

The structure of the joint phase diagram of high-temperature superconducting cuprates has been studied within the theory of fermion condensation. Prerequisites of the topological rearrangement of the Landau state with the formation of a flat band adjacent to the nominal Fermi surface have been established. The related non-Fermi-liquid behavior of cuprates in the normal phase has been studied with focus on the non-Fermi-liquid behavior of the resistivity ρ(T), including the observed crossover from the linear temperature behavior ρ(T, x) = A₁(x)T at doping levels x below the critical value x _c ^h corresponding to the boundary of the superconducting region to the quadratic temperature behavior at x > x _c ^h , which is incompatible with predictions of the conventional quantum-critical-point scenario. It has been demonstrated that the slope of the coefficient A₁(x) is universal and is the same on both boundaries of the joint phase diagram of cuprates in agreement with available experimental data. It has also been shown that the fermion condensate is responsible for pairing in the D-wave state in cuprates. The effective Coulomb repulsion in the Cooper channel, which prevents the existence of superconductivity in normal metals in the S channel, leads to high-temperature superconductivity in the D channel.     

Effect of heterovalent substitution of rare-earth elements on the magnetic and transport properties of YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript>

The Y_{(1 ? x} Ce _x Ba₂Cu₃O₇ system with low cerium concentrations has been synthesized. The cerium solubility limit measured using x-ray powder diffraction analysis is about 2.4 at. %. The temperature dependences of the magnetization M(T) are measured for samples cooled in a magnetic field (FC) and in a zero field (ZFC). The difference between the magnetizations M _ZFC-M _FC at 77.4 K, which is proportional to the pinning potential, passes through a maximum at x = 0.0156. This concentration corresponds to the average distance (equal to eight lattice constants) between the impurity ions in the plane of the rare-earth elements, which is comparable to the diameter of Abrikosov vortices in YBa₂Cu₃O₇.     

Novel features of the fragment mass variance in fission of hot nuclei

On the basis of data obtained by the incomplete fusion reactions ⁷Li(43A MeV)+²³²Th and ¹⁴N(34A MeV)+¹⁹⁷Au, the energy dependence of the variance (σ _M ² ) of the fragment mass in fission of highly heated nuclei has been investigated for total excitation energies E _tot ^* ranging from 50 up to 350 MeV. The dependence σ _M ² E _tot ^* shows some unexpected features when E _tot ^* exceeds a value of about 70 MeV. After this value, the steady increase of σ _M ² expected from its temperature dependence changes to some kind of plateau between 100 and 200 MeV. Further on, at E _tot ^* in excess of about 250 MeV, the variance is found to increase again sharply. In order to analyze this behavior quantitatively, a dynamical stochastic model has been developed. The model employs the one-body dissipation mechanism and describes the decay of highly excited and rotating nuclei by fission and light-particle evaporation. It satisfactorily explains the measured prior-to-scission neutron multiplicities and the experimental mass variances up to E _tot ^* ?250 MeV, but the stochastic treatment does not reveal any increase in σ _M ² at higher excitation energies in contradiction with the data.     

Short-wavelength plasmons in low-dimensional systems

The dispersion of plasma waves in systems of various dimensions is investigated up to the end point of the spectrum. In 2D and 3D systems, the plasmon spectrum still ends (due to Landau damping) within the applicability range of the quasi-classical approximation, i.e., for ?k ? p _F (?k is the plasmon momentum and p _F is the electron Fermi momentum). In 1D systems, the results are qualitatively different, since the Landau damping is concentrated in a region where the quantum effects cannot be ignored. This peculiarity of 1D systems gives rise to undamped branches of acoustic plasmons with a phase velocity lower than the electron Fermi velocity in multicomponent 1D plasmas.     

Magnetoresistance of a highly correlated electron liquid

The behavior in a magnetic field of a highly correlated electron liquid approaching the fermion condensation quantum phase transition from the disordered phase is considered. We show that, at sufficiently high temperatures T≥T*(x), the effective mass starts to depend on T, M* ∝T^?1/2. This T^?1/2 dependence of the effective mass at elevated temperatures leads to the non-Fermi liquid behavior of the resistivity, σ(T) ∝ T and at higher temperatures σ(T) ∝ T^3/2. The application of a magnetic field B restores the common T² behavior of the resistivity. The effective mass depends on the magnetic field, M*(B) ∝ B^?2/3, being approximately independent of the temperature at T≤T*(B) ∝ B^4/3. At T≥T*(B), the T^?1/2 dependence of the effective mass is reestablished. We demonstrate that this B-T phase diagram has a strong impact on the magnetoresistance (MR) of the highly correlated electron liquid. The MR as a function of the temperature exhibits a transition from negative values of MR at T→0 to positive values at T ∝ B^4/3. Thus, at T≥T*(B), MR as a function of the temperature possesses a node at T ∝ B^4/3.     

Magnetization behavior and metamagnetic transitions in electron-doped manganites induced by a strong magnetic field

The behavior of magnetization M of the R_xA_1?xMnO₃ manganites (R=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, etc., A=Ca, Sr, Ba) in the electron doping region (x<0.4) is studied as a function of external magnetic field H. The M(H) relations for homogeneous magnetic structures are obtained by performing band calculations in the double-exchange model. Three different types of magnetization behavior corresponding to three electron concentration ranges (x<0.14, 0.14<x<0.27, x>0.27) are revealed. The M(H) relations are interpreted in terms of the phase diagram for the homogeneous ground state of the manganites calculated for H=0, and the results agree qualitatively with experimental data on the magnetization of Sm_xCa_1?xMnO₃.     

Anomalous thermopower in heavy-fermion compounds CeB<Subscript>6</Subscript>, CeAl<Subscript>3</Subscript>, and CeCu<Subscript>6 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Au<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>

High-precision measurements of thermopower have been performed in a wide temperature range (2–300 K) for a series of cerium-based heavy-fermion compounds, including CeB₆, CeAl₃, CeCu₆, and substitutional solid solutions of the CeCu_{6 ? x} Au _x system (x = 0.1, 0.2). All compounds exhibit an unusual (logarithmic) asymptotic behavior of the temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient: S ∝ ?lnT. In the case of cerium hexaboride, this anomalous behavior of S(T) is accompanied by the appearance of weak-carrier-localization-mode asymptotics in the conductivity (σ(T) ∝ T ^0.39), while the paramagnetic susceptibility χ(T) and the effective mass of charge carriers m _eff(T) vary according to a power law (χ(T), m _eff(T) ∝ T ^?0.8) in the temperature interval T = 10–80 K. This behavior corresponds to renormalization of the density of states at the Fermi level. The observed anomalous behavior of thermopower in CeB₆ and other cerium-based intermetallic compounds is attributed to the formation of heavy fermions (many-body states in the metal matrix) at low temperatures.     

On the Negative Spectrum of the Two-Dimensional Schrödinger Operator with Radial Potential

For a two-dimensional Schrödinger operator H _{α V}  = ?Δ ?αV with the radial potential V(x) = F(|x|), F(r) ≥ 0, we study the behavior of the number N _?(H _{α V} ) of its negative eigenvalues, as the coupling parameter α tends to infinity. We obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions for the semi-classical growth N _?(H _{α V} ) = O(α) and for the validity of the Weyl asymptotic law.     

Colossal room-temperature magnetoresistance in thin La<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ag<Subscript>y</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> epitaxial films

The first thin La_1?xAg_yMnO₃ epitaxial films (_y ≤ x) were grown on SrTiO₃ (110) substrates with silver present in the ionized state (Ag⁺) only. The Curie temperatures T_C of the compositions with x = y = 0.05, x = y = 0.1, and x = 0.3 and y = 0.27 crystallizing in the hexagonal structure \(R\bar 3c\) above or close to room temperature. The temperature dependences of electrical resistivity ρ and of magnetoresistance ¦Δρ/ρ/¦ = ¦(ρ_H ? ρ _H = 0)/ρ_H=0¦ pass through maxima near T_C, with the magnetoresistance being negative and reaching colossal values of ～7–20% in a magnetic field H = 8.2 kOe not only at T_C but also at room temperature. The magnetic moment per formula unit as derived from the saturation magnetization at T = 5 K is substantially smaller than expected for complete ferromagnetic ordering. The magnetization in fields of up to 6 kOe depends on the actual sample cooling conditions, and the hysteresis loop of a field-cooled sample is displaced along the H axis by ΔH. The above properties can be accounted for by the fact that the films are in a two-phase magnetic (ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic) state induced by strong s-d exchange. The maximum value of Δ H was used to calculate the energy of exchange coupling between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic parts of a sample.     

Intersubband cyclotron resonance of holes in strained Ge/GeSi(111) heterostructures with germanium wide quantum wells and cyclotron resonance of 1<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis> electrons in GeSi layers

The submillimeter (?ω=0.5–5 meV) magnetoabsorption spectra of strained Ge/Ge_1?xSi_x(111) multilayer heterostructures with thick Ge layers (d_Ge=300–850 Å, d_GeSi≈200 Å, x≈0.1) are investigated at T=4.2 K upon band-gap optical excitation. It is revealed that the absorption spectra contain cyclotron resonance lines of 1L electrons localized in GeSi solid solution layers (unlike the previously studied structures with thin Ge layers as quantum wells for 3L electrons). The absorption spectra of the samples with thick Ge layers (d_Ge=800–850 Å) exhibit cyclotron resonance lines of holes due to transitions from the lower Landau levels in the first quantum-well subband to the Landau levels belonging to the third and fifth higher subbands.     

Gottfried Sum Rule in QCD Nonsinglet Analysis of DIS Fixed-Target Data

Deep-inelastic-scattering data from fixed-target experiments on the structure function F₂ were analyzed in the valence-quark approximation at the next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy level in the strong-coupling constant. In this analysis, parton distributions were parametrized by employing information from the Gottfried sum rule. The strong-coupling constant was found to be α _s (M²_Z) = 0.1180 ± 0.0020 (total expt. error), which is in perfect agreement with the world-averaged value from an updated Particle Data Group (PDG) report, α^PDG _s (M²_Z) = 0.1181 ± 0.0011. Also, the value of 〈x〉_u?d = 0.187 ± 0.021 found for the second moment of the difference in the u- and d-quark distributions complies very well with the most recent lattice result 〈x〉^LATTICE_u?d = 0.208 ± 0.024.     

The influence of intercalation on the phonon spectrum of titanium dichalcogenides

A systematic investigation of the inelastic neutron scattering spectra is carried out for intercalation titanium diselenide compounds of the general formula M _x TiSe₂ (M = Cr, Fe, Ni, Ag). It is shown that the effect of intercalation on the phonon spectrum of the material is determined primarily by the modification of the host lattice due to the formation of Ti-M-Ti covalent centers. It is established that the lattice can undergo a substantial softening when the impurity band coincides with the Fermi level.     

Ferrimagnetic nanoparticles for self-controlled magnetic hyperthermia

Based on the Heisenberg model including single-site uniaxial anisotropy and using aGreen’s function technique we studied the influence of size and composition effects on theCurie temperature T _C , saturationmagnetization M _S and coercivityH _C of spherical nanoparticles with astructural formulaM e _1?x Zn _x Fe₂O₄,Me = Ni, Cu, Co, Mn. It is shown that for x = 0.4–0.5and d = 10–20 nm these nanoparticles have aT _C  = 315 K and are suitable for aself-controlled magnetic hyperthermia.