Ground-state instability in systems of strongly interacting fermions

The stability of a fermion system is analyzed for a model repulsive pair interaction potential. The possibility of different types of restructuring of the Fermi ground state (at sufficiently great coupling constant) is related to the analyticity properties of such potential. In particular, for the screened Coulomb law it is shown that the restructuring cannot be of the Fermi condensation type, known earlier for some exactly solvable models, but instead belongs to the class of topological transitions. A phase diagram constructed for this model in the variables “screening parameter-coupling constant” displays two kinds of topological transitions: a “5/2” kind, similar to the known Lifshitz transitions in metals, and a “2” kind, characteristic for a uniform strongly interacting system. Pis'ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 12, 893–899 (25 December 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Critical experiments in the search for fermion condensation

The specific features of fermion condensation — a phase transition associated with the rearrangement of the one-particle degrees of freedom in strongly correlated Fermi systems — by which this phenomenon can be detected experimentally are discussed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 11, 828–833 (10 June 1997)     

Fermion condensation and non Fermi liquid behavior in a model with long range forces

The phenomenon of the so called Fermion condensation, a phase transition analogous to Bose condensation but for Fermions, postulated in the past to occur in systems with strong momentum dependent forces, is reanalyzed in a model with infinite range interactions. The strongly non Fermi Liquid behavior of this system is demonstrated analytically at T = 0 and at T ≠ 0 in the superconducting and normal phases. The validity of the quasiparticle picture is investigated and seen to hold true for temperatures less than the characteristic temperature T _f of the Fermion condensation.     

Neutron matter with a model interaction

An infinite system of neutrons interacting by a model pair potential is considered. We investigate a case when this potential is sufficiently strong attractive, so that its scattering length a tends to infinity, a . It appeared, that if the structure of the potential is simple enough, including no finite parameters, reliable evidences can be presented that such a system is completely unstable at any finite density. The incompressibility as a function of the density is negative, reaching zero value when the density tends to zero. If the potential contains a sufficiently strong repulsive core then the system possesses an equilibrium density. The main features of a theory describing such systems are considered. Received: 17 December 1999 / Accepted: 23 December 1999     

Condensation Surface Temperature as a Means for Studying Film Formation Mechanisms

A rise in the condensation surface temperature during film growth is a result of energy dissipation on the condensation surface. An example of energy dissipation is the dissipation of chemical reaction heat, which releases during film deposition by reactive magnetron sputtering. The monitoring of the surface temperature during TiN film deposition by reactive (Ti–in–N₂) and nonreactive (TiN–in–Ar or TiN–in–N₂) sputtering methods has shown that this temperature is higher in the reactive case and decreases in the (TiN–in–Ar)–(TiN–in–N₂) sequence of nonreactive sputtering modifications. It has been found that the composition and crystal structure of TiN films do not depend on the growth method and are identical to those of bulk titanium nitride. Based on these results, a formation mechanism of films obtained by the above methods has been suggested. In the case of reactive sputtering, the film was supposed to grow on the condensation surface through a reaction between titanium and nitrogen atoms. In the cases of nonreactive sputtering, the film forms from TiN molecules.     

Possible universal cause of high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript> superconductivity in different metals

Using the theory of high-temperature superconductivity based on the idea of the fermion-condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT), we show that neither the d-wave pairing symmetry, the pseudogap phenomenon, nor the presence of the Cu-O₂ planes is of decisive importance for the existence of high-T _c superconductivity. We analyze recent experimental data on this type of superconductivity in different materials and show that these facts can be understood within the theory of superconductivity based on the FCQPT. The latter can be considered as a universal cause of high-T _c superconductivity. The main features of a room-temperature superconductor are discussed.     

Interplay between fermion condensation and density-wave instability

It is shown that the phase transition of density-wave origin in homogeneous liquids is preceded by fermion condensation. Thus fermion condensation may be observed in low-density electron liquids, neutron stars, and liquid He³. Three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) liquids are considered. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 3, 242–247 (10 February 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Quasi-one-dimensional quantum spin liquid in the Cu(C<Subscript>4</Subscript>H<Subscript>4</Subscript>N<Subscript>2</Subscript>)(NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> insulator

We analyze measurements of the magnetization, differential susceptibility and specific heat of quasi-onedimensional insulator Cu(C₄H₄N₂)(NO₃)₂ (CuPzN) subjected to magnetic fields. We show that the thermodynamic properties are defined by quantum spin liquid formed with spinons, with the magnetic field tuning the insulator CuPzN towards quantum critical point related to fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT) at which the spinon effective mass diverges kinematically. We show that the FCQPT concept permits to reveal and explain the scaling behavior of thermodynamic characteristics. For the first time, we construct the schematic T–H (temperature-magnetic field) phase diagram of CuPzN that contains Landau–Fermi-liquid, crossover and non-Fermi liquid parts, thus resembling that of heavy-fermion compounds.