Flux line lattice symmetries in the borocarbide superconductor LuNi2B2C

We compare the results of small angle neutron scattering on the flux line lattice (FLL) obtained in the borocarbide superconductor LuNi₂B₂C with the applied field along the c- and a-axes. For H‖c the temperature dependence of the FLL structural phase transition from square to hexagonal symmetry was investigated. Above 10 K the transition onset field. H ₂(T), rises sharply, bending away from H _c2(T) in contradiction to theoretical predictions of the two merging. For H‖a a first order FLL reorientation transition is observed at H _tr=3–3.5 kOe. Below H _tr the FLL nearest neighbor direction is parallel to the b-axis, and above H _tr to the c-axis. This transition cannot be explained using nonlocal corrections to the London model.     

The case for dx − y pairing in the cuprate superconductors

The nature of the orbital structure of the pairs in the superconducting phase of the high-temperature superconducting cuprates remains one of the central questions in this field. Here we examine the possibility that the superconducting state of these materials is characterized by d_{x² − y²} pairing. We begin by looking theoretically at why this type of pairing might be favored in a strongly correlated system with a short-range Coulomb interaction. Then we turn to the experimental question of how one would know if d_{x² − y²} pairing were present.     

Control of density fluctuations and electron transport in the reversed-field pinch

Contrary to what has been observed thus far collision-induced light scattering (CILS) can be completely polarized. This exceptional behavior characterizes the very far wing of the binary CILS spectrum by gaseous helium. This conclusion is drawn from an experimental study of the depolarization ratio of He (2) in a much extended, previously unexplored, spectral domain. Our analysis shows that this property, unique thus far, is mainly due to an almost perfect cancellation between polarization and exchange pair polarizability contributions to the depolarized spectrum, taking place at internuclear distances shorter than the atomic diameter.     

High-energy kink in the single-particle spectra of the two-dimensional hubbard model

Employing dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo calculations we show that the single-particle spectral weight A(k,omega) of the one-band two-dimensional Hubbard model displays a high-energy kink in the quasiparticle dispersion followed by a steep dispersion of a broad peak similar to recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy results reported for the cuprates. Based on the agreement between the Monte Carlo results and a simple calculation which couples the quasiparticle to spin fluctuations, we conclude that the kink and the broad spectral feature in the Hubbard model spectra is due to scattering with damped high-energy spin fluctuations.     

Cold attractive spin polarized Fermi lattice gases and the doped positive U Hubbard model

Experiments on polarized fermion gases performed by trapping ultracold atoms in optical lattices allow the study of an attractive Hubbard model for which the strength of the on-site interaction is tuned by means of a Feshbach resonance. Using a well-known particle-hole transformation we discuss how results obtained for this system can be reinterpreted in the context of a doped repulsive Hubbard model. In particular, we show that the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state corresponds to the striped state of the two-dimensional doped positive U Hubbard model. We then use the results of numerical studies of the striped state to relate the periodicity of the FFLO state to the spin polarization. We also comment on the relationship of the d(x(2)-y(2)) superconducting phase of the doped 2D repulsive Hubbard model to a d-wave spin density wave state for the attractive case.     

New high-energy luminescence bands from Co2+ in ZnSe

Three sharp absorption features in the energy range 2.36–2.55 eV have been detected in the transmission spectrum of Co-diffused ZnSe, and a number of luminescence transitions originating from the lowest of these states at 2.361 eV have been observed. Photoluminescence excitation spectra prove that these are high energy excited states of the Co²⁺_Zn impurity, a conclusion confirmed by comparison of measured and predicted luminescence energies. This represents the first identification of luminescence branching from a higher excited state of a transition metal ion in any semiconductor. The sharp, weakly phonon-coupled transitions involve either intra-impurity excitation or transitions from the impurity to localised states split off from a minimum in the conduction band. The implications of these observations for the mechanism of host-impurity energy transfer and for the nature of the excited state wavefunctions are discussed.     

H-transfer rates in ion-neutral complexes versus those in intact aliphatic ions

The relative rates of H-transfer between partners in ion-neutral complexes were compared with those in intramolecular rearrangements using results of first differential photoionization mass spectrometry measurements. Complex-mediated H-transfers are inferred to have rates of the same order as those for intramolecular hydrogen rearrangements, suggesting a similar range of motion of the reactive sites in both types of reactions. It is also concluded that at their fastest H-transfers take place between the partners in ion-neutral complexes within at most the time of several rotations of the partners in the complexes. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.