Medium polarization and pairing in asymmetric nuclear matter

The many-body theory of asymmetric nuclear matter is developed beyond the Brueckner–Hartree–Fock approximation to incorporate the medium polarization effects. The extension is performed within the Babu–Brown induced interaction theory. After deriving the particle–hole interaction in the form of Landau–Migdal parameters, the effects of the induced component on the symmetry energy are investigated along with the screening of ¹ S ₀ proton–proton and ³ PF ₂ neutron–neutron pairing, which are relevant for the neutron-star cooling. The crossover from repulsive (screening) to attractive (anti-screening) interaction going from pure neutron matter to symmetric nuclear matter is discussed.     

Unconventional superconductivity in low density electron systems and conventional superconductivity in hydrogen metallic alloys

In this short review, we first discuss the results, which are mainly devoted to the generalizations of the famous Kohn–Luttinger mechanism of superconductivity in purely repulsive fermion systems at low electron densities. In the context of repulsive-U Hubbard model and Shubin–Vonsovsky model we consider briefly the superconducting phase diagrams and the symmetries of the order parameter in novel strongly correlated electron systems including idealized monolayer and bilayer graphene. We stress that purely repulsive fermion systems are mainly the subject of unconventional low-temperature superconductivity. To get the high temperature superconductivity in cuprates (with T_C of the order of 100 K) we should proceed to the t–J model with the van der Waals interaction potential and the competition between short-range repulsion and long-range attraction. Finally we note that to describe superconductivity in metallic hydrogen alloys under pressure (with T_C of the order of 200 K) it is reasonable to reexamine more conventional mechanisms connected with electron–phonon interaction. These mechanisms arise in the attractive-U Hubbard model with static onsite or intersite attractive potential or in more realistic theories (which include retardation effects) such as Migdal–Eliashberg strong coupling theory or even Fermi–Bose mixture theory of Ranninger et al. and its generalizations.     

Using Harmonic Analysis to Determine the Coefficients of Expansion in the Electrical Energy of a Rb<Subscript>2</Subscript>ZnCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> Crystal from Its Polarization

Values of the expansion coefficients of electrical energy W_c in a series with respect to even powers of polarization P_c are determined using the Landau–Devonshire theory by studying the repolarization dynamics of an Rb₂ZnCl₄ crystal. Experimental results obtained from the dynamics are compared to theoretical representations of the Landau–Devonshire theory that describe the dependences of W_c(P_c) in statics.     

The c-axis fluctuation conductivity in layered superconductors in a strong electric field under a magnetic field

The effect of a high electric field on the c-axis fluctuation conductivity in layered superconductors near the superconducting transition is investigated by the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation. The c-axis fluctuation conductivity is calculated in self-consistent Gaussian approximation for an arbitrarily strong electric field and a magnetic field perpendicular to the layers. Our results include all Landau levels and have refined analytical form. The results in linear response are in good agreement with the experimental data in a wide region around T _c in high T _c superconductor. We also show that high electric fields can be effectively used to suppress the c-axis fluctuation conductivity in high-temperature superconductors.     

Electron–phonon heat exchange in quasi-two-dimensional nanolayers

We study the heat power P transferred between electrons and phonons in thin metallic films deposited on free-standing dielectric membranes. The temperature range is typically below 1 K, such that the wavelengths of the excited phonon modes in the system is large enough so that the picture of a quasi-two-dimensional phonon gas is applicable. Moreover, due to the quantization of the components of the electron wavevectors perpendicular to the metal film’s surface, the electrons spectrum forms also quasi two-dimensional sub-bands, as in a quantum well (QW). We describe in detail the contribution to the electron–phonon energy exchange of different electron scattering channels, as well as of different types of phonon modes. We find that heat flux oscillates strongly with thickness of the film d while having a much smoother variation with temperature (T _e for the electrons temperature and T _ph for the phonons temperature), so that one obtains a ridge-like landscape in the two coordinates, (d, T _e ) or (d, T _ph ), with crests and valleys aligned roughly parallel to the temperature axis. For the valley regions we find P ∝ T _e ^3.5 – T _ph ^3.5 . From valley to crest, P increases by more than one order of magnitude and on the crests P cannot be represented by a simple power law. The strong dependence of P on d is indicative of the formation of the QW state and can be useful in controlling the heat transfer between electrons and crystal lattice in nano-electronic devices. Nevertheless, due to the small value of the Fermi wavelength in metals, the surface imperfections of the metallic films can reduce the magnitude of the oscillations of P vs. d, so this effect might be easier to observe experimentally in doped semiconductors.     

Thermal conductivity and heat capacity of LuMgCu<Subscript>4</Subscript>

This paper reports on the measurements of the thermal conductivity κ and electrical resistivity ρ in the temperature range 5–300 K and the heat capacity at constant pressure C _p in the range 80–300 K for the metallic nonmagnetic compound LuMgCu₄. The experimental values of κ and C _p for the LuMgCu₄ compound are compared with the corresponding data available in the literature for the light heavy-fermion compound YbMgCu₄. It is shown that, in the low-temperature range (5–20 K), the phonon thermal conductivity κ_ph of YbMgCu₄ is lower than κ_ph of LuMgCu₄ as a result of phonon scattering from magnetic moment fluctuations of the Yb 4f electrons and, conversely, the heat capacity of LuMgCu₄ in the range 80–300 K is lower than that of YbMgCu₄ because the heat capacity of the latter compound has an additional magnetic component.     

Landau-Level Quantization of the Yellow Excitons in Cuprous Oxide

Lately, the yellow series of P-excitons in cuprous oxide could be resolved up to the principal quantum number n = 25. Adding a magnetic field, leads to additional confinement normal to the field. Thereby, the transition associated with the exciton n is transformed into the transition between the electron and hole Landau levels with quantum number n, once the associated magnetic length becomes smaller than the related exciton Bohr radius. The magnetic field of this transition scales roughly as n^–3. As a consequence of the extended exciton series, we are able to observe Landau level transitions with unprecedented high quantum numbers of more than 75.     

A quantitative mean-field theory of the hydrophobic effect of neutral and charged molecules of arbitrary geometry

A self-consistent two-length scale theory of the interaction between a hydrophobic molecule and a water environment is considered. This theory allows the width of the hydrophobic layer to be calculated for molecules of arbitrary geometry by explicitly taking into account the water structure through the correlation function of a pure liquid. This approach is used to calculate the density profile ρ(r) around a molecule of arbitrary geometry and the solvation free energy ΔG(R) related to the transport of the molecule from a vacuum to a liquid. The model parameters are adjusted by comparing the results of numerical Monte Carlo simulations taken from the literature with predictions of the model for molecules of spherical geometry. The free energy of the interaction Δ G(D) between two spheres of radius R separated by distance D is also determined using the developed approach. The model is generalized to electrostatic interactions within the framework of a self-consistent scheme in which water is modeled by a gas of point dipoles. Analysis of the derived equations shows that this theory coincides with the electrostatic theory of a continuous medium with an effective permittivity in the limit of weak electric fields.     

A model of classical thermodynamics based on the partition theory of integers,Earth gravitation,and semiclassical asymptotics. I

In the paper, a new construction of the theory of partitions of integers is proposed. The author defines entropy as the natural logarithm of the number of partitions of a number M into natural summands with repetitions allowed p(M) and repetitions forbidden q(M). The passage from ln p(M) to lnq(M) through the mesoscopic values M → 0 is studied. The topological transition from the mesoscopic lower levels of the Bohr–Kalckar construction to the macroscopic levels corresponding to the critical number of neutrons according to the consequence of Einstein’s inequality M ≤ c N _c , where c is determined for the particles of the given atomic nucleus. The role of quantum mechanics in establishing the new world outlook in physics is analyzed. It is pointed out that the main equations of thermodynamics in the volume “Statistical Physics” of the Landau–Lifshits treatise are obtained without appealing to the so-called “three main principles of thermodynamics”. It is also pointed out that Niels Bohr’s liquid model of the nucleus does not involve any interaction of particles in the form of attraction and is based on the presence of a common potential trough for all elements of the nucleus. The author constructs a new approach to thermodynamics, using quantum mechanics and the Earth’s gravitational attraction as a common potential trough.     

Behavior of Fermi systems approaching the fermion condensation quantum phase transition from the disordered phase

The behavior of Fermi systems that approach the fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT) from the disordered phase is considered. We show that the quasiparticle effective mass M* diverges as M* ∝ 1/¦x?x_FC¦, where x is the system density and x_FC is the critical point at which FCQPT occurs. Such behavior is of general form and takes place in both three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) systems. Since the effective mass M* is finite, the system exhibits the Landau Fermi liquid behavior. At ¦x? x_FC¦/x_FC?1, the behavior can be viewed as highly correlated, because the effective mass is large and strongly depends on the density. In the case of electronic systems, the Wiedemann-Franz law is valid and the Kadowaki-Woods ratio is preserved. Beyond the region ¦x–x_FC¦/x_FC?1, the effective mass is approximately constant and the system becomes a conventional Landau Fermi liquid.     

Electronic properties of a Weyl semimetal in crossed magnetic and electric fields

The study of Weyl semimetals is one of the most challenging problems of condensed matter physics. These materials exhibit interesting properties in a magnetic field. In this work, we investigate the Landau bands and the density of states (DOS) oscillations in a Weyl semimetal in crossed magnetic and electric fields. An expression is obtained for the energy spectrum of the system using the following three different methods: an algebraic approach, a Lorentz shift-based approach, and a quasi-classical approach. It is interesting that the energy spectrum calculated in terms of the quasi-classical approach coincides with the spectrum obtained using the microscopic approaches. An electric field is shown to change the Landau bands radically. In addition, the classical motion of a three-dimensional Dirac fermion in crossed fields is studied. In the case of a Dirac spectrum, the longitudinal (with respect to magnetic field) component of momentum (p _z ∥ H) is shown to be an oscillating function of the magnetic field. When the electric field is v⊥H/c, the Landau levels collapse and the motion becomes fully linear in an unusual manner. In this case, the wavefunction of bulk states vanishes and only states with p _z = 0 are retained. An electric field affects the character of DOS oscillations. An analytical expression is obtained for the quantum capacitance in crossed fields in the cases of strong and weak electric fields. Thus, an electric field is an additional parameter for adjusting the diamagnetic properties of Weyl semimetals.     

Dynamic correlation effects on drag resistivity of a symmetric electron–electron bilayer

We have studied the effect of dynamic electron correlations on Coulomb drag in a low density symmetric electron–electron bilayer. The drag resistivity is calculated considering the contribution from direct e–e scattering processes using the semi-classical Boltzmann approach, with the effective inter-layer interaction W₁₂(q, ω; T) determined within the ?wierkowski, Szyman?ki, and Gortel model, generalized to include the dynamics of electron correlations through the frequency-dependent intra- and inter-layer local-field correction (LFC) factors. In turn, the LFCs are obtained by extending the quantum Singwi, Tosi, Land, and Sjölander (qSTLS) approach to finite temperatures. At low temperatures (T ? 2 K), the calculated drag resistivity is found to agree nicely with the measurements by Kellogg et al., while it is somewhat overestimated at higher temperatures. The overestimation is seen to increase with decreasing density of electrons. However, there is found to be a marked improvement over the predictions of the conventional (i.e., static) STLS and random-phase approximation (RPA). It turns out that the inclusion of exchange-correlations in the RPA causes a red-shift in the bilayer plasmons which leads to an enhancement of drag resistivity. Our study demonstrates clearly the importance of including the dynamical nature of correlations to have a reasonable account of measured drag resistivity.     

Schiff moment of the mercury nucleus and the proton dipole moment

The Schiff moment of the ¹⁹⁹Hg nucleus is calculated using finite range P-and T-violating weak nucleon-nucleon interaction. Both the contributions of the P-and T-odd interaction and of internal nucleon electric dipole moments to the Schiff moment of ¹⁹⁹Hg are calculated. The contribution of the proton electric dipole moment is obtained via core-polarization effects treated in the framework of RPA with effective residual interactions. We derive a new upper bound |d _p |<5.4×10^?24e cm for the proton electric dipole moment.     

Nonadiabatic superconductivity in fullerene-based materials

Fullerene compounds have phonon frequencies up to ω_max=0.2 eV and a Fermi energy of the order E_F=0.3 eV. It is, therefore, expected that the adiabatic parameter λω_ph/E_F (where λ is the electron-phonon coupling constant and ω_ph is a typical phonon frequency) is not a priori negligible and the conventional theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity is inapplicable in this case. Here, we discuss how the conventional theory is inconsistent with a number of experimental data and provide a generalization of the theory in order to include nonadiabatic electron-phonon effects. We show that the inclusion of nonadiabatic channels in the electron-phonon interaction is a key element for the high values of T_c in these materials. We make several predictions regarding the superconducting and normal-state properties of fullerene compounds that can be tested experimentally.     

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.     

Electron gas induced in SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

This mini-review is dedicated to the 85th birthday of Prof. L.V. Keldysh, from whom we have learned so much. In this paper, we study the potential and electron density depth profiles in surface accumulation layers in crystals with a large and nonlinear dielectric response such as SrTiO₃ (STO) in the cases of planar, spherical, and cylindrical geometries. The electron gas can be created by applying an induction D₀ to the STO surface. We describe the lattice dielectric response of STO using the Landau–Ginzburg free energy expansion and employ the Thomas–Fermi (TF) approximation for the electron gas. For the planar geometry, we arrive at the electron density profile n(x) ∝ (x + d)^–12/7, where d ∝ D₀^–12/7. We extend our results to overlapping electron gases in GTO/STO/GTO heterojunctions and electron gases created by spill-out from NSTO (heavily n-type doped STO) layers into STO. Generalization of our approach to a spherical donor cluster creating a big TF atom with electrons in STO brings us to the problem of supercharged nuclei. It is known that for an atom with a nuclear charge Ze where Z > 170, electrons collapse onto the nucleus, resulting in a net charge Zn < Z. Here, instead of relativistic physics, the collapse is caused by the nonlinear dielectric response. Electrons collapse into the charged spherical donor cluster with radius R when its total charge number Z exceeds the critical value Z_c ≈ R/a, where a is the lattice constant. The net charge eZ_n grows with Z until Z exceeds Z* ≈ (R/a)^9/7. After this point, the charge number of the compact core Z_n remains ≈ Z*, with the rest Z* electrons forming a sparse TF atom with it. We extend our studies of collapse to the case of long cylindrical clusters as well.     

Bound states of three and four resonantly interacting particles

We present an exact diagrammatic approach for the problem of dimer-dimer scattering in 3D for dimers being a resonance bound state of two fermions in a spin-singlet state, with corresponding scattering length a _F . Applying this approach to the calculation of the dimmer-dimer scattering length a _B , we recover exactly the already known result a _B = 0.6 a _F . We use the developed approach to obtain new results in 2D for fermions and bosons. Namely, we calculate bound state energies for three bbb and four bbbb resonantly interacting bosons in 2D. For the case of resonance interaction between fermions and bosons, we exactly calculate bound state energies of the following complexes: two bosons plus one fermion bbf, two bosons plus two fermions bf↑bf↓, and three bosons plus one fermion bbbf.     

Harmonic analysis of coefficients of free energy decomposition in the polarization of a Rb<Subscript>2</Subscript>ZnCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal

Landau–Devonshire decomposition coefficients W_C in a series with respect to P_C are determined via harmonic analysis of experimental free energy coordinates W_C of a Rb₂ZnCl₄ crystal, depending on its polarization P_C. The number of terms needed in W_C decomposition is determined for quantitative evaluation of the measured data.