Multi-band pairing of ultrarelativistic electrons and holes in graphene bilayer

Multi-band pairing of effectively ultrarelativistic electrons and holes in asymmetrically biased graphene bilayer in strong coupling regime is considered. In this regime, the pairing affects both conduction and valence bands of the both graphene layers, and the order parameter is a matrix, which indices correspond to the bands. For band-diagonal s-wave pairing, we derive the system of multi-band gap equations for the gaps in the valence and conduction bands and solve it in the approximation of constant gaps and in the approximation of separable pairing potential. For a characteristic width of the pairing region of order of magnitude of the chemical potential, the gap values are not much different from single-band BCS estimations. However, if the pairing region is wider, then the gaps can be much larger and depend exponentially on its energy width. We also predict gapped and soliton-like oscillations of a relative phase of the gaps and unpairing of quarter-vortices at Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.     

Theory of superconductivity for Dirac electrons in graphene

Phonon-exchange-induced superconducting pairing of effectively ultrarelativistic electrons in graphene is investigated. The Eliashberg equation obtained for describing pairing in the Cooper channel with allowance for delayed interaction are matrix equations with indices corresponding to the valence and conduction bands. The equations are solved in the high doping limit, in which pairing is effectively a single-band process, and in the vicinity of a critical quantum point of underdoped graphene for a value of the coupling constant for which pairing is an essentially multiband process. For such cases, analytic estimates are obtained for the superconducting transition temperature of the system. It is shown that the inclusion of dynamic effects makes it possible to determine the superconducting transition temperature, as well as the critical coupling constant for underdoped graphene, more accurately than in the static approximation of the BCS type. Estimates of the constants of electron interaction with the scalar optical phonon mode in graphene indicate that an appreciable superconducting transition temperature can be attained under a high chemical doping level of graphene.     

Theoretical investigation of the four-layered self-doped high-Tc superconductors: evidence of the pair tunneling effect

Based on a four-layered self-doped t-J type model and the slave-boson mean-field approach, we study theoretically the superconductivity in the electron-doped and hole-doped layers. The neighbor layers are coupled through both the single electron interlayer hopping and pair tunneling effect. The superconducting gap magnitude for the electron-doped band is nearly twice that of the hole-doped one, which contrasts with our previous understanding of the electron-hole asymmetry in high-T(c) superconductors but is consistent with recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments in four-layered materials Ba2Ca3Cu4O8F2. Our results propose that the pair tunneling effect is important to examine the multilayered superconducting materials.     

LOFF and breached pairing with cold atoms

We investigate here the Cooper pairing of fermionic atoms with mismatched Fermi surfaces using a variational construct for the ground state. We determine the state for different values of the mismatch of chemical potential for weak as well as strong coupling regimes including the BCS BEC cross over region. We consider Cooper pairing with both zero and finite net momentum. Within the variational approximation for the ground state and comparing the thermodynamic potentials, we show that (i) the LOFF phase is stable in the weak coupling regime; (ii) the LOFF window is maximum on the BEC side near the Feshbach resonance; and (iii) the existence of stable gapless states with a single Fermi surface for negative average chemical potential on the BEC side of the Feshbach resonance.     

Zigzag graphene nanoribbons: bandgap and midgap state modulation

We study zigzag graphene nanoribbons with periodic edge roughness and report significant band gap opening. Interestingly, such nanoribbons have a near-midgap state with a small band width. We extensively study the electronic structure and the electric-field modulation of the conduction/valence bands and the near-midgap state. We summarize the important electronic-structure features like the band gap, the band width and the effective mass. We show that by applying an external electric field in the width direction, the band width of the near-midgap state varies linearly due to the edge localization, whereas the band gap remains almost constant. Additionally, the effective mass of these states can switch polarity from negative (hole-like) to positive (carrier-like) at the Γ-point with the field modulation.     

Prediction of an excitonic ground state in InAs/InSb quantum dots

Using atomistic pseudopotential and configuration-interaction many-body calculations, we predict an excitonic ground state in the InAs/InSb quantum-dot system. For large dots, the conduction band minimum of the InAs dot lies below the valence band maximum of the InSb matrix. Due to quantum confinement, at a critical size calculated here for various shapes, the gap E(g) between InAs conduction states and InSb valence states vanishes. Strong electron-hole correlation effects are induced by the spatial proximity of the electron and hole wave functions, and by the lack of strong (exciton unbinding) screening, afforded by the existence of discrete 0D confined energy levels. These correlation effects overcome E(g), leading to the formation of a biexcitonic ground state (two electrons in InAs and two holes in InSb) being energetically more favorable (by approximately 15 meV) than the dot without excitons.     

Anomalous Fermi-surface dependent pairing in a self-doped high-Tc superconductor

We report the discovery of a self-doped multilayer high Tc superconductor Ba2Ca3Cu4O8F2 (F0234) which contains distinctly different superconducting gap magnitudes along its two Fermi-surface sheets. While formal valence counting would imply this material to be an undoped insulator, it is a self-doped superconductor with a Tc of 60 K, possessing simultaneously both electron- and hole-doped Fermi-surface sheets. Intriguingly, the Fermi-surface sheet characterized by the much larger gap is the electron-doped one, which has a shape disfavoring two electronic features considered to be important for the pairing mechanism: the van Hove singularity and the antiferromagnetic (pi/a, pi/a) scattering.     

“Influence of valence instabilities on the Curie-temperature of ferromagnetic 4f-systems”

We inspect the stability of ferromagnetism in 4f-systems, which have an insulating, ferromagnetic ground state in the integral valent phase and fluctuate between a magnetic and a nonmagnetic configuration in the intermediate valent phase. It turns out that for large gaps between 4f-level and lower edge of the empty conduction band ferromagnetism is created by a certain interplay between the s-f hybridization, which allows real or virtual electron transitions between f-level and conduction band, and the s-f exchange interaction, which mediates an indirect coupling between the localized 4f-moments. When the gap is reduced by external pressure or by alloying with proper impurities the local f-moment becomes steadily quenched while simultaneously the coupling between the more and more reduced moments is drastically enhanced. These two competitive effects lead to a distinct maximum of the Curie-temperature just in the intermediate valence phase.     

Influence of disorder on electron-hole pairing in graphene bilayer

We consider disorder effect on electron-hole pairing in the system of two graphene monolayers separated by dielectric barrier. The influence of charged impurities on temperature of phase transition is studied. In spite of large values of mobility of charge carriers in graphene disorder can considerably reduce temperature of electron-hole condensation in weak-coupling regime. The quantum hydrodynamics of the system is considered and phase stiffness of electron-hole condensate and temperature of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition to the superfluid state are calculated.     

Strongly correlated s-wave superconductivity in the N-type infinite-layer cuprate

Quasiparticle tunneling spectra of the electron-doped ( n-type) infinite-layer cuprate Sr0.9La0.1CuO2 reveal characteristics that counter a number of common phenomena in the hole-doped ( p-type) cuprates. The optimally doped Sr0.9La0.1CuO2 with T(c) = 43 K exhibits a momentum-independent superconducting gap Delta = 13.0+/-1.0 meV that substantially exceeds the BCS value, and the spectral characteristics indicate insignificant quasiparticle damping by spin fluctuations and the absence of pseudogap. The response to quantum impurities in the Cu sites also differs fundamentally from that of the p-type cuprates with d(x(2)-y(2))-wave pairing symmetry.     

Spin fluctuation spectrum of electron-doped high-Tc superconductors

The magnetic excitation spectrum of electron-doped copper oxide superconductors is calculated using the Hubbard model on a square lattice. First, the on-site repulsion is treated with the random phase approximation. The spectrum of electron-doped systems in the superconducting state is compared with that of hole-doped systems, and the relationship between the frequency at which a peak grows in the spectrum and the superconducting energy gap at a hot spot (an intersection of the Fermi surface and the magnetic Brillouin zone boundary) is investigated. As compared with the hole-doped systems, the resonance condition is difficult to be satisfied in the electron-doped systems because of the small density of states around the hot spot. Moreover, the correlation effect in the Hubbard model is treated by the fluctuation-exchange approximation (FLEX), and the spin fluctuation spectra in the superconducting state in a wide region of the wave vector and frequency are calculated. We have found that the intensity of the magnetic spectrum at incommensurate wave vectors obtained with the FLEX is considerably weaker than that obtained with the RPA. The validity of the Fermi-liquid approach is also discussed.     

Pairing in 4-component fermion systems: The bulk limit of SU(4)-symmetric Hamiltonians

Fermion systems with more than two components can exhibit pairing condensates of a much more complex structure than the well-known single BCS condensate of spin-up and spin-down fermions. In the framework of the exactly solvable SO(8) Richardson-Gaudin (RG) model with SU(4)-symmetric Hamiltonians, we show that the BCS approximation remains valid in the thermodynamic limit of large systems for describing the ground-state energy and the canonical and quasiparticle excitation gaps. Correlations beyond BCS pairing give rise to a spectrum of collective excitations, but these do not affect the bulk energy and quasiparticle gaps.     

Effect of a gap opening on the conductance of graphene superlattices

The electronic transmission and conductance of a gapped graphene superlattice were calculated by means of the transfer-matrix method. The system that we study consists of a sequence of electron-doped graphene as wells and hole-doped graphene as barriers. We show that the transmission probability approaches unity at some critical value of the gap. We also find that there is a domain around the critical gap value for which the conductance of the system attains its maximum value.     

Excitons in Si nanocrystals

The states of electron-hole pairs in spherical silicon nanocrystals are theoretically studied using the “multiband” effective-mass approximation in the limit of an infinitely high potential barrier at the boundary. The degeneracy of the states at the top of the valence band is taken into account in the spherical approximation, and the ellipsoidal character of the electronic spectrum in the conduction band is allowed for. Coulomb interaction-induced corrections to the energy of an electron-hole pair are found.     

二硫化钼/石墨烯异质结的界面结合作用及其对带边电位影响的理论研究

采用基于色散修正的平面波超软赝势方法研究了二硫化钼/石墨烯异质结的界面结合作用及其对电荷分布和带边电位的影响.研究表明二硫化钼与石墨烯之间可以形成范德瓦耳斯力结合的稳定堆叠结构.通过能带结构计算,发现二硫化钼与石墨烯的耦合导致二硫化钼成为n型半导体,石墨烯转变成小带隙的p型体系.并通过电子密度差分图证实了界面内二硫化钼附近聚集负电荷,石墨烯附近聚集正电荷,界面内形成的内建电场可以抑制光生电子-空穴对的复合.石墨烯的引入可以调制二硫化钼的能带,使其导带底上移至-0.31 eV,提高了光生电子还原能力,有利于光催化还原反应.     

浅析电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体的退火过程

铜氧化物高温超导体的发现, 打破了基于电声子相互作用BCS理论所预言的超导转变温度极限, 掀开了高温超导材料探索和高温超导机理研究的序幕. 根据掺杂类型的不同, 铜氧化物超导材料可以分为空穴型掺杂和电子型掺杂两类. 受限于样品, 对电子型掺杂铜氧化物的研究工作远少于空穴型掺杂体系. 本文简要回顾有关电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体近期研究成果, 通过对比电子型掺杂和空穴型掺杂铜氧化物的相图来阐明电子型掺杂铜氧化物的研究对探索高温超导机理的必要性, 并特别针对电子型掺杂样品制备中的关键因素“退火过程”展开讨论. 结合课题组最新实验结果和相关实验报道我们发现电子型掺杂铜氧化物超导体在制备过程中除受到温度和氧分压的影响外, 退火效果还受到界面应力的强烈调制. 在综合考虑样品生长过程中温度、气氛及应力等多种因素的基础上, 探讨了“保护退火”方法导致电子型体系化学掺杂相图变化的起因.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the electron-doped high-temperature superconducting cuprates

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been made on two of the electron-doped high-temperature superconducting cuprates (HTSCs), Pr_2−xCe_xCuO₄ and Sr_0.9La_0.1CuO₂ that represent the two known electron-doped structures. The results are compared with the more-studied hole-doped HTSCs. We show that the electron and hole-doped HTSCs probe a similar antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation spectrum in the normal state, which provides support for theories of superconductivity where the pairing is mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and the superconducting order parameter has a d_x²−y² symmetry. Contrary to results from underdoped and hole-doped HTSCs, there is no evidence for a normal-state pseudogap in the NMR data from measurements on the electron-doped HTSCs. Therefore, the electron-doped HTSCs can be better compared with overdoped and hole-doped HTSCs where the normal-state pseudogap is absent. The antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation spectrum as probed by the Cu spin–lattice relaxation rate, is independent of the doped electrons per Cu. A similar effect is observed in the overdoped and hole-doped HTSC, Y_1−xCa_xBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ for a hole concentration range of 0.063. The anomalous Cu NMR linewidth anisotropy observed in the electron-doped HTSCs suggests a small and static spin variation for temperatures up to room temperature.     

Impurity optical absorption in parabolic quantum well

Optical absorption in GaAs parabolic quantum well in the presence of hydrogenic impurity is considered. The absorption coefficient associated with the transitions between the upper valence subband and donor ground state is calculated. The impurity ground state wave function and energy are obtained using the variational method. Dependence of the absorption spectra on impurity position in quantum well was investigated. It is shown, that along with quantum well width decrease the absorption threshold shifts to higher frequencies. Results obtained within frames of parabolic approximation are compared with results for rectangular infinite-barrier quantum well case. The acceptor state → conduction band transitions considered as well.     

Electronic structure of the Sr2MgSi2O7:Eu persistent luminescence material

The electronic structures of the distrontium magnesium disilicate (Sr₂MgSi₂O₇(:Eu²⁺)) materials were studied by a combined experimental and theoretical approach. The UV-VUV synchrotron radiation was applied in the experimental study while the electronic structures were investigated theoretically by using the density functional theory. The structure of the valence and conduction bands and the band gap energy of the material as well as the position of the Eu²⁺ 4f ground state were calculated. The calculated band gap energy (6.7 eV) agrees well with the experimental value of 7.1 eV. The valence band consists mainly of the oxygen states and the bottom of the conduction band of the Sr states. The calculated occupied 4f ground state of Eu²⁺ lies in the energy gap of the host though the position depends strongly on the Coulomb repulsion strength. The position of the 4f ground state with respect to the valence and conduction bands is discussed using the theoretical and experimental evidence available.     

New Energy Spectra Structure of Polaron in Trans-Polyacetylene

In the weakly coupled electron-phonon systems, the existing theory pointed out that the energy spectra of polaron include four electronic bound states. Our work shows that, due to the non-nearest neighbor hopping interactions, the electron-hole symmetry of the energy band structure implied by SSH model is broken, and the numbers of the bound electronic states are changed. For a negative charged polaron, one new bound state is found near the bottom of conduction band, and the original two bound states below the bottom of the valence band and above the top of the conduction band disappear. For a positive charged polaron, five bound states have been found: one of them is an additional bound state at the top of the conduction band, the others are just the states found in the SSH model. Besides, the energy gap 2Δ is slightly shifted by turning on the long-range hopping interactions.