Full t-matrix approach to quasiparticle interference in non-centrosymmetric superconductors

We develop the full t-matrix theory of quasiparticle interference (QPI)for non-centrosymmetric (NCS) superconductors with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We give aclosed solution for the QPI spectrum for arbitrary combination and strength of nonmagnetic(V _c ) and magnetic(V _m ) impurity scattering potentials interms of integrated normal and anomalous Green’s functions. The theory is applied to arealistic 2D model of the Ce-based 131-type heavy fermion superconductors. We discuss theQPI dependence on frequency, composition and strength of scattering and compare with Bornapproximation results. We show that the QPI pattern is remarkably stable against changesin the scattering model and can therefore give reliable information on the properties ofRashba-split Fermi surface sheets and in particular on the accidental nodal position ofthe mixed singlet-triplet gap function in NCS superconductors.     

Hebel-Slichter peak and superconducting energy gap in Rb3C60 observed by muon spin relaxation

Muon spin relaxation has been observed in both the normal and superconducting states of Rb₃C₆₀ (T _c=29.3K). The field dependence of theT ₁ spin relaxation rate is due to muonium undergoing spin-exchange scattering with conduction electrons, making this the first observation of muonium in a metal. The temperature dependence ofT ₁ ^–1 shows a Hebel-Slichter coherence peak just belowT _c which is not seen in¹³C spin relaxation. The peak can be fit assuming spin relaxation due to interaction with the quasiparticle excitations of a BCS superconductor provided the density of states is broadened relative to that of BCS. Such fits yield a value for the zero temperature energy gap, ₀/k _B , of 53(4)K, consistent with weak-coupling BCS.     

Spin diffusion and relaxation in dilute magnetic alloys: Electron-electron interaction

Diffusion and relaxation of conduction electrons is studied without making the usual approximation that the spin-orbit scattering be smaller than the impurity potential scattering. Renormalization of impurity vertices by the electron-electron interaction reduces the potential, enhances the s-d, but does not affect the spin-orbit scattering cross-section.     

Unified calculations of the optical band positions and spin-Hamiltonian parameters for V2+ ions in CdCl2 crystal

The eight optical spectral band positions and three spin-Hamiltonian parameters (g factors g_//, g_⊥ and zero-field splitting D) of V²⁺ ions in trigonal CdCl₂ crystal are calculated together from the complete diagonalisation (of energy matrix) method (CDM) based on the two-spin-orbit-parameter model (also called the cluster approach). In the model, differing from the usual one-spin-orbit-parameter model in the conventional crystal-field theory (where only the contribution to spin-Hamiltonian parameters due to the spin-orbit parameter of central dⁿ ion is considered), both the contributions from the spin-orbit parameter of central dⁿ ion and that of ligand ions are taken into account. The calculated results show reasonable agreement with the experimental values. The local lattice relaxation in the vicinity of V²⁺ ion due to the introduction of V²⁺ impurity is acquired from the calculations. The calculations of spin-Hamiltonian parameters from the CDM based on the one-spin-orbit-parameter and those from the perturbation theory method based on the two-spin-orbit-parameter model are also made for comparison. The results are discussed.     

等能谷间杂质散射对无序层状系统电导率的影响

本文研究了等能谷间杂质散射对无序层状系统电导率的影响,求得了依赖于平面间耦合t的系统的有效维数的电导率修正。并且发现在计及等能谷间杂质散射时,电导率修正比只考虑谷内杂质散射时小一半,我们研究了层伏系统从二维过渡到三维的跨越维数效应,发现跨越行为依赖于谷间散射时间τ′,当t<1/τ(τ₀/τ′)^1/2时,系统具有二维行为,反之系统具有三维特征。 关键词：     

EPR study of exchange interactions in the nonmagnetic Kondo system La1−x CexCu6

The EPR of paramagnetic impurities Gd³⁺ and Mn²⁺ was studied in nonmagnetic Kondo system La_1−x Ce_xCu₆ containing in the 1.6–200 K range. The exchange interaction parameters of gadolinium and manganese ions with conduction electrons, of cerium ions with conduction electrons and with one another, the Kondo temperature of cerium ions, and the temperature behavior of cerium-ion spin-fluctuation rate have been determined. A pseudogap in the density of states at the Fermi level has been detected in the CeCu₆ regular system, which is apparently due to s-f hybridization. This pseudogap can be destroyed by introducing an aluminum impurity, which induces strong conduction-electron scattering. It was also found that RKKY interaction among manganese ions in CeCu_6−y Mn_y is considerably stronger than it is in LaCu_6−y Mn_y, which implies enhancement of nonlocal spin susceptibility due to an f band contribution to conduction-electron states. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 593–599 (April 1998)     

半导体量子阱中电子自旋弛豫和动量弛豫

根据电子自旋轨道耦合对自旋极化弛豫影响的DP机理进一步导出了半导体中电子自旋弛豫与动量弛豫及载流子浓度的关系，并采用飞秒抽运探测技术在室温下测量AlGaAs/GaAs 多量子阱中载流子浓度在 1×10¹⁷—1×10¹⁸cm^-3范围内，电子自旋弛豫时间由58ps增加至82 ps的变化情况，与理论计算值符合，说明了随着载流子浓度的增加，载流子间的频繁散射加速了电子动量驰豫，减弱了电子自旋轨道耦合作用，从而延长了电子自旋寿命. 关键词： 电子自旋轨道耦合 电子自旋弛豫和动量弛豫 飞秒光谱技术     

A Hall effect without well-defined quasiparticles

Using a simple model of long-range impurity scattering, we illustrate how different transport and Hall relaxation rates may arise when the electron quasiparticle picture breaks down. We show how a broad and incoherent spectral function requires the use of a quantum version of the Boltzmann equation. This leads to unusual transport properties, in particular, a Hall relaxation rate which is independent of the quasiparticle scattering rate.     

Effect of boundaries and impurities on electron–phonon dephasing

Electron scattering from boundaries and impurities destroys the single-particle picture of the electron–phonon interaction. We show that quantum interference between ‘pure‘ electron–phonon and electron–boundary/impurity scattering may result in the reduction as well as to the significant enlargement of the electron dephasing rate. This effect crucially depends on the extent, to which electron scatterers, such as boundaries and impurities, are dragged by phonons. Static and vibrating scatterers are described by two dimensionless parametersq_Tl and q_TL, where q is the wavevector of the thermal phonon, l is the total electron mean-free path, L is the mean-free path due to scattering from static scatterers. According to the Pippard ineffectiveness condition , without static scatterers the dephasing rate at low temperatures is slower by the factor 1 / ql than the rate in a pure bulk material. However, in the presence of static potential the dephasing rate turns out to be 1 / qL times faster. Thus, at low temperatures electron dephasing and energy relaxation may be controlled by electron boundary/impurity scattering in a wide range.     

Effect of impurities scattering potential on NMR relaxation rate in impure d-wave superconductors

The purpose of our research is to study the nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate of impure d-wave superconductors. We use the Green’s function method to derive the approximation equation of density of states including the impurity scattering potential. We can get the analytic equation of the nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate that contained the impurity scattering potential in case of weak scattering potential and strong scattering potential in the simple form as the power series of Δ(T) and T. The numerical calculations show that there is coherence peak in the weak impurity scattering potential but there is no peak in the strong impurity scattering potential.     

Reversibler Gleichfeld- und Mikrowellen-Durchschlag in n-Typ-Germanium bei 4,2 °K

The microwave induced breakdown characteristic inn-type germanium at 4.2 °K has been observed and compared with the d.c. induced breakdown characteristic obtained from the same sample. The effective microwave breakdown field intensity is nearly equal to the field intensity observed in d.c. induced breakdown. However, in the breakdown region with conductivities greater than 0.1 ohm^?1 cm^?1 a relaxation effect was found and interpreted qualitatively as momentun relaxation. In the initial breakdown the relaxation time τ _m is small,ω ²τ _m ² being ?1 whereω/2π=9·10⁹s^?1 is the microwave frequency. The relaxation time is determined by predominant neutral impurity scattering with at last 5·10¹⁴ impurities per cm³. This scattering mechanism becomes ineffective when the impurities are ionized by hot carriers. Ionized impurity scattering or acoustic phonon scattering will then be predominant with increased and energy dependent values of τ _m . The increased phase shift between carriers and field causes a decreased energy transfer from the field to the carriers, an accordingly smaller ionization rate, and finally results in a nearly constant a.c. conductivity. The observed anisotropy of the breakdown field intensity is in qualitative agreement with the assumption that only carriers in “hot” valleys of the conduction band initiate the breakdown by impact ionization. The unsufficient quantitative agreement may be due to an inhomogeneity of doping which is suggested by comparing the values of the ohmic low temperature conductivity of the samples.     

Spin relaxation rates of Kondo systems measured by diffuse neutron scattering

A method for the direct measurement of spin relaxation rates of dilute magnetic systems by diffuse scattering of unpolarized neutrons is discussed. The magnetic scattering from the single magnetic impurities results from a difference measurement of doped and undoped sample. To discriminate against the large background from nonmagnetic scattering the choice of special energy windows is necessary for the detection of the magnetic scattering.Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the Kondo system CuFe for concentrations between 600 and 4800 at. ppm Fe and in the temperature range 15 K to 300 K. The measured absolute values and the temperature dependence of the spin relaxation rates, which have been measured for the first time in this experiment, are found to agree well with theoretical calculations by Götze and Schlottmann. This supports the explanation of the Kondo effect as a dynamical phenomenon and is contradictory to the static picture of a quasiparticle as proposed by Heeger.     

Anomalous spin-orbit effects in a strained InGaAs/InP quantum well structure

There is currently a large effort to explore spin-orbit effects in semiconductor structures with the ultimate goal of manipulating electron spins with gates. A search for materials with large spin-orbit coupling is therefore important. We report results of a study of spin-orbit effects in a strained InGaAs/InP quantum well. The spin-orbit relaxation time, determined from the weak antilocalization effect, was found to depend nonmonotonically on gate voltage. The spin-orbit scattering rate had a maximum value of 5×10¹⁰ s^?1 at an electron density of n=3×10¹⁵ m^?2. The scattering rate decreased from this for both increasing and decreasing densities. The smallest measured value was approximately 10⁹ s^?1 at an electron concentration of n=6×10¹⁵ m^?2. This behavior could not be explained by either the Rashba or the bulk Dresselhaus mechanisms but is attributed to asymmetry or strain effects at dissimilar quantum well interfaces.     

Electron spin resonance of ion-implanted Si:P systems

The ESR of Si:P and (Si:P):Sb systems made by ion implantation has been observed. An anomalous line-broadening appears in the (Si:P):Sb system, and is considered to be due to the large spin-orbit interaction of Sb donor impurity. The effective spin-lattice relaxation time, T_1eff, of both the systems is found to be dominated by a thin layer with the shortest relaxation time T₁(χ).     

Electronic properties of the parabolic Dirac system

We investigate the electronic properties of the parabolic Dirac system. In the presence of magnetic field, we discuss the thermodynamical potential and the anomalous diamagnetism due to the Dirac cone, and compared to the results of linear dispersion system. We found the local density of state peaks and the Landau levels are equidistant unlike the case of linear dispersion. The integer Hall conductivity and the intrinsic Hall conductivity induced by the Berry curvature are also investigated. Considering the disorder-induced self-energy in self-consistent Born approximation, the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction (temperature-dependent), long-range scattering rate and the spectral function are also calculated, which are distinct to these in the linear dispersion systems or the clean case (without impurity). In the presence of impurity scattering, the long-range scattering rate is not simply the inverse of quasiparticle lifetime, but the inverse of transport relaxation time which related also to the scattering angle θ (where the forward scattering $\theta =0$ is forbiddened due to the leading-order corrections to the current vertex). For the temperature-dependent RKKY indirect exchange interaction, its oscillation and power-law decay are shown and we found that its fluctuation amplitude decreases with the increasing temperature for itinerant electrons with parabolic dispersion.     

Temperature dependence of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in the heavy-fermion superconducting state

Some features of the experimental data on nuclear spin relaxation time T₁ in the heavy-fermion superconducting state can be explained by taking into account the effect of the electron Zeeman energy. It is found that at intermediate temperatures the usual quasiparticle spin-flip scattering dominates, while at very low temperatures a new process, pair creation (annihilation), dominates and gives T^-1₁ ∝ T.     

Electric field induced non-linear multisubband electron mobility in V-shaped asymmetric double quantum well structure

ABSTRACT

We study the effect of the external electric field F_ext on the low-temperature electron mobility μ in an asymmetrically doped Al_xGa_1-xAs based V-shaped double quantum well (VDQW) structure. We show that nonlinearity of µ occurs under double subband occupancy on account of intersubband effects. The field F_ext alters the VDQW potential leading to transfer of subband wave functions between the wells, which affects the scattering potentials and hence μ. In the VDQW structure, due to the alloy channel layer, the alloy disorder (Al-) scattering happens to be significant along with the ionised impurity (Imp-) scattering. The non-linear behaviour of μ is because of μ^Imp, while the overall magnitude of μ is mostly due to μ^Al. The increase of difference in the doping concentrations of the outer barriers increases the nonlinearity of μ. The oscillatory character of μ is amended by varying the width of the well and barrier and also the height of the VDQW. Our results can be used to study VDQW based nanoscale field effect transistor structures.     

Interwell exciton relaxation in semimagnetic asymmetric double quantum wells

The possibility of magnetic field control of the spectral and polarization characteristics of exciton recombination is examined in Cd(Mg, Mn) Te-based asymmetric double quantum wells. At low fields, the exciton transition in a semimagnetic well is higher in energy than that in a nonmagnetic well and the interwell exciton relaxation is fast. In contrast, when the energy order of the exciton transitions reverses at high fields, unexpectedly slow relaxation of σ⁻ polarized excitons from the nonmagnetic well to the σ⁺-polarized ground state in the semimagnetic well is observed. Strong dependence of the total circular polarization degree on the heavy-light hole splitting Δ _hh-lh in the nonmagnetic well is found and attributed to the spin dependent interwell tunneling controlled by exciton spin relaxation. Such a slowing down of the relaxation allows separation of oppositely spin-polarized excitons in adjacent wells. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Conductivity of Wigner liquid

The conductivity of two-dimensional electron systems with low carrier concentration is considered on the basis of the previously suggested model (Fermi liquid with a soft mode) under the assumption that the equilibrium in each of the (fermion and boson) subsystems is established faster than the impurity relaxation and the relaxation between the subsystems (hydrodynamic approximation). The conductivity of the system depends on three characteristic times: τ₁(τ₂) is determined by the fermion (boson) impurity scattering and τ₁₂ is determined by the friction between the subsystems; the respective temperature dependences are obtained. The conductivity is related to the relaxation time τ in the usual way, and τ obeys the relationship τ^?1=τ ₁ ^?1 +(τ₂+τ₁₂)^?1. It follows from the results obtained that the resistivity of pure samples should increase with temperature and tend towards saturation.     

Superconductivity-induced phonon self-energy effects in high-T c superconductors

The superconductivity-induced self-energy of phonons has been calculated in the lowest-order conserving approximation using conventional strong-coupling theory and also including scattering at nonmagnetic impurities. Results for the dependence of the shift and the width of phonons on temperature and scattering rates are presented and their sensitivity on the strength of the electron-phonon coupling and on impurities is pointed out. The theory is applied to optical data in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ using the experimental one-phonon density, the value ofT _c and [^*=0.25 as inputs. Neglecting anisotropies and the momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling the resulting strong-coupling model with 2.9 yields results which are in good agreement with the data, in particular, if impurity scattering is taken into account.