A new mechanism of high Tc superconductivity

On the assumption that doping creates holes on the O rather than the Cu sites, a new model to describe the CuO₂ planes in the high T_c superconductor is proposed. It is shown that the RVB state of the holes on Cu sites at half-filling will lead to an effective attraction of the holes on the O sites which is responsible for superconductivity. Specific heat and susceptibility are discussed briefly and are consistent with experimental results.     

Perturbation theory for the triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnet with Ising-like anisotropy

It has been argued that the case of strong uniaxial anisotropy is especially favourable for the formation of a spin-liquid state in theS=1/2 triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnet [77]. We reconsider the old arguments using up-to-date numerical techniques, and extend the study to general values ofS. Recent progress in the understanding of this frustrated quantum spin system sheds light on the question why the original arguments in favour of an RVB state can not be conclusive. Our present results indicate that the tendency towards three-sublattice ordering is much stronger than it had been thought. However, the caseS=1/2 is still seen to be set apart from the casesS>1/2, and forS=1/2 the existence of true longrange order in the ground state remains debatable.     

Disorder and the theory of the fractionally quantized Hall effect

In a recent article we showed that weak disorder does not change the ground states of a system of interacting electrons on a torus in a strong magnetic field at a filling factorf ₀, if the denominator off ₀ is odd and small. At filling factors near but not equalf ₀ disorder becomes important. We show that the ground states and the low excited states of such a system may be constructed from the ground states atf ₀ through adding localized electrons or holes. These states have the same degeneracy as the ground states atf ₀ and lead to the same value of the Hall conductance.     

Resonating valence bond wave functions for strongly frustrated spin systems

The resonating-valence-bond (RVB) theory for two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets is shown to be the correct paradigm for large enough "quantum frustration." This scenario, proposed a long time ago but never confirmed by microscopic calculations, is strongly supported by a new type of variational wave function, which is extremely close to the exact ground state of the J(1)-J(2) Heisenberg model for 0.4 less than approximately J(2)/J(1) less than approximately 0.5. This wave function is proposed to represent the generic spin-half RVB ground state in spin liquids.     

Spin liquid in an almost ferromagnetic Kondo lattice

A theory of stabilization of a spin liquid in a Kondo lattice at temperatures close to the temperature of antiferromagnetic instability has been developed. Kondo exchange scattering of conduction electrons leads to emergence of a state of the spin liquid of the resonating valence bonds (RVB) type at T>T _K. Owing to this stabilization, low-energy processes of Kondo scattering with energies below T _K are frozen so that the “singlet” state of the Kondo lattice is not realized; instead a strongly correlated spin liquid with developed antiferromagnetic fluctuations occurs. A new version of the Feynman diagram technique has been developed to describe interaction between spin fluctuations and resonant valence bonds in a self-consistent manner. Emergence of a strongly anisotropic RVB spin liquid is discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 729–759 (August 1997)     

Structural properties, magnetic order and electronic transport in single crystalline UPt2Si2

We present a detailed comparison of the physical properties of as-cast and annealed single crystalline UPt₂Si₂, a compound whose properties we have shown to be governed by strain disorder on the Pt/Si ligand sites. Contrary to common knowledge, and to our surprise, from our data we do not observe a significant improvement of the physical properties of UPt₂Si₂ upon annealing at 900 °C for one week. We attribute this to the specific way the strain disorder is produced in UPt₂Si₂ by presenting evidence that it results from a first order phase transition at ambient temperatures. We discuss the implications of such phase transitions occurring at comparatively low temperatures for the ground state properties of heavy fermion systems and related correlated electron materials.     

Localization lengths in disordered Peierls systems

We have studied the influence of bond- and site-type impurities on the ground state properties of one-dimensional Peierls systems. Using a functional integral formalism with both commuting and anticommuting variables we have calculated the averaged Green's function which determines the electronic density of states and localization length (Thouless formula). Some limiting cases can be solved analytically. To apply our model to doped polymers we derive the connection between doping concentration and disorder strengths D_j. For illustration we present the results with parameters appropriate for polyacetylene.     

Geometry effect on the magnetic ordering of geometrically frustrated rectangular and triangular magnets

We investigate the effect of geometry on the ground-state ordering of artificially frustrated magnetic rectangular and triangular lattices by Monte Carlo method. By varying the vertical lattice spacing while keeping the horizontal one fixed, we show that when the ratio of vertical to horizontal lattice spacing, labeled by η, is less than 1.82, the ground state of the rectangular lattice presents long-range antiferromagnetic order and for η?1.82 the ground state changes to long-range mixed ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic order. For the frustrated triangular lattice, the short-range ordered state as well as two long-range ordered ground states occurs transiently at η=0.87 and 2, where the energies of the two ground states with long-range order are approximately equal. In addition, the level of frustration of both frustrated lattices is found to be largely relevant to the ratio η.     

阻挫三角反铁磁AgCrO2螺旋自旋序的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论的广义梯度近似(GGA)和投影缀加波(PAW)方法,分别从共线和非共线磁性结构出发,研究了自旋阻挫三角反铁磁AgCrO₂的基态、磁性以及电子结构,从理论计算的角度给出了基态磁性结构.计算结果表明:AgCrO₂具有120°螺旋自旋序反铁磁基态,其自旋螺旋面平行于(110)面或(11^-0)面;由于Cr离子间的自旋几何阻挫,导致沿晶体的a,b和a+b方向上均形成了螺旋自旋转动角为120°的 关键词： 第一性原理 交换相互作用 阻挫 反铁磁     

Pseudogap and symmetry of superconducting order parameter in cuprates

The phase diagram, nature of the normal state pseudogap, type of the Fermi surface, and behavior of the superconducting gap in various cuprates are discussed in terms of a correlated state with valence bonds. The variational correlated state, which is a band analogue of the Anderson (RVB) states, is constructed using local unitary transformations. Formation of valence bonds causes attraction between holes in the d-channel and corresponding superconductivity compatible with antiferromagnetic spin order. Our calculations indicate that there is a fairly wide range of doping with antiferromagnetic order in isolated CuO₂ planes. The shape of the Fermi surface and phase transition curve are sensitive to the value and sign of the hopping interaction t′ between diagonal neighboring sites. In underdoped samples, the dielectrization of various sections of the Fermi boundary, depending on the sign of t′, gives rise to a pseudogap detected in photoemission spectra for various quasimomentum directions. In particular, in bismuth-and yttrium-based ceramics (t′>0), the transition from the normal state of overdoped samples to the pseudogap state of underdoped samples corresponds to the onset of dielectrization on the Brillouin zone boundary near k=(0,π) and transition from “large” to “small” Fermi surfaces. The hypothesis about s-wave superconductivity of La-and Nd-based ceramics has been revised: a situation is predicted when, notwithstanding the d-wave symmetry of the superconducting order parameter, the excitation energy on the Fermi surface does not vanish at all points of the phase space owing to the dielectrization of the Fermi boundary at k _x=± k _y. The model with orthorhombic distortions and two peaks on the curve of T _c versus doping is discussed in connection with experimental data for the yttrium-based ceramic. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 649–674 (February 1999)     

Resonant acceptor states and terahertz stimulated emission of uniaxially strained germanium

The stimulated emission spectrum of uniaxially strained p-Ge is presented. The energy spectrum of the states of a shallow acceptor in Ge under uniaxial compression is calculated. The threshold pressure at which the acceptor state split off from the ground state becomes resonant is found. The pressure dependence of the width of this resonant level is calculated. The stimulated emission lines are identified. In particular, it is shown that the principal emission peak corresponds to the transition of holes from the resonant 1s (1s _r) state to the local p _±1 state. The probabilities of optical transitions are calculated. A mechanism of population inversion due to the intense resonant scattering of hot holes with an energy corresponding to the position of the 1s _r level is proposed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 89–100 (January 1999)     

Superconductivity close to the Mott state: From condensed-matter systems to superfluidity in optical lattices

Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in 1986 by Bednorz and Müller, great efforts have been devoted to finding out how and why it works. From the d-wave symmetry of the order parameter, the importance of antiferromagnetic fluctuations, and the presence of a mysterious pseudogap phase close to the Mott state, one can conclude that high-T_c superconductors are clearly distinguishable from the well-understood BCS superconductors. The d-wave superconducting state can be understood through a Gutzwiller-type projected BCS wavefunction. In this review article, we revisit the Hubbard model at half-filling and focus on the emergence of exotic superconductivity with d-wave symmetry in the vicinity of the Mott state, starting from ladder systems and then studying the dimensional crossovers to higher dimensions. This allows to confirm that short-range antiferromagnetic fluctuations can mediate superconductivity with d-wave symmetry. Ladders are also nice prototype systems allowing to demonstrate the truncation of the Fermi surface and the emergence of a Resonating Valence Bond (RVB) state with preformed pairs in the vicinity of the Mott state. In two dimensions, a similar scenario emerges from renormalization group arguments. We also discuss theoretical predictions for the d-wave superconducting phase as well as the pseudogap phase, and address the crossover to the overdoped regime. Finally, cold atomic systems with tunable parameters also provide a complementary insight into this outstanding problem.     

First excitations of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagomé lattice

We study the exact low energy spectra of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on small samples of the kagomé lattice of up to N=36 sites. In agreement with the conclusions of previous authors, we find that these low energy spectra contradict the hypothesis of Néel type long range order. Certainly, the ground state of this system is a spin liquid, but its properties are rather unusual. The magnetic () excitations are separated from the ground state by a gap. However, this gap is filled with nonmagnetic () excitations. In the thermodynamic limit the spectrum of these nonmagnetic excitations will presumably develop into a gapless continuum adjacent to the ground state. Surprisingly, the eigenstates of samples with an odd number of sites, i.e. samples with an unsaturated spin, exhibit symmetries which could support long range chiral order. We do not know if these states will be true thermodynamic states or only metastable ones. In any case, the low energy properties of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagomé lattice clearly distinguish this system from either a short range RVB spin liquid or a standard chiral spin liquid. Presumably they are facets of a generically new state of frustrated two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets. Received: 27 November 1997 / Accepted: 29 January 1998     

Magnetism,disorder and frustration in heavy-fermion compounds

We examine the magnetic properties of four strongly correlated electron compounds based upon the presence or absence of crystallographic disorder and geometric frustration. All four materials (URu2Si₂, CePd₂Al₃, UNi₄B and URh₂Ge₂) exhibit unusual and not fully understood behavior in their magnetic ordering that are surprising for stoichiometric intermetallic compounds. We summarize these behaviors and relate them to the appearance of disorder and frustration     

Quasihole Tunneling in Disordered Fractional Quantum Hall Systems

Fractional quantum Hall systems are often described by model wave functions,which are the ground states of pure systems with short-range interaction.A primary example is the Laughlin wave function,which supports Abelian quasiparticles with fractionalized charge.In the presence of disorder,the wave function of the ground state is expected to deviate from the Laughlin form.We study the disorder-driven colla.pse of the quantum Hall state by analyzing the evolution of the ground state and the single-quasihole state.In particular,we demonstrate that the quasihole tunneling amplitude can signal the fractional quantum Hall phase to insulator transition.     

Modulated phases in Ising models with diluted frustration

A particular class of periodic Ising models with diluted frustration is studied using a simple recursion relation for spinor correlation functions. A modulated phase is found at T = 0 which extends into a modulated paramagnetic phase for finite temperatures. The disorder line at which this latter phase changes into a paramagnetic phase is located. In a study of the ground state excitations of the model contact is made with results known for the ANNNI-model.     

Magnetic and non-magnetic ground states of the Kondo lattice

We use the variational method to investigate the ground state phase diagram of the Kondo lattice Hamiltonian for arbitraryJ/W, and conduction electron concentrationn _c (J is the Kondo coupling andW the bandwidth). We are particularly interested in the question under which circumstances the globally singlet (collective Kondo) Fermi liquid type ground state becomes unstable against magnetic ordering. For the collective Kondo singlet we use the lattice generalization of Yosida's wavefunction which implies the existence of a large Fermi volume, in accordance with Luttinger's theorem. Using the Gutzwiller approximation, we derive closed-form results for the ground state energy at arbitraryJ/W andn _c, and for the Kondo gap atn _c=1. We introduce simple trial states to describe ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and spiral ordering in the small-J (RKKY) regime, and Nagaoka type ferromagnetism at largeJ/W. We study three particular cases: a band with a constant density of states, and the (tight binding) linear chain, and square lattice periodic Kondo models. We find that the lattice enhancement of the Kondo effect, which is described in our theory of the Fermi liquid state, pushes the RKKY-to-nonmagnetic phase boundary to much smaller values ofJ/W than it was previously thought. In our study of the square lattice case, we also find a region of itinerant, Nagaoka-type ferromagnetism at largeJ/W forn _c 1/3.     

Phase transition to the resonating valence bond state

A Ginzburg-Landau expansion for the free energy functional of the resonating valence bond state is performed for the mean field approximation (MFA) and for a functional integral approach (FIA) which includes correlations. Phase diagrams obtained in both approximations are presented. The FIA differs form the MFA in three main aspects: (i) Above the mean field transition temperature an instability exists towards the formation of degenerate singlet pair states, indicating the onset of the RVB state. (ii) The extendeds-wave phase is favoured over the extendedd-wave phase. (iii) Phase fluctuations are included, destroying off-diagonal order in the absence of holes.