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A. H. MacDonald

Publications and source records attributed to A. H. MacDonald.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
arXiv2006

Coordinate shift in the semiclassical Boltzmann equation and the anomalous Hall effect

We propose a gauge invariant expression for the side jump associated with scattering between particular Bloch states. Our expression for the side jump follows from the Born series expansion for the scattering T-matrix in powers of the strength of the scattering potential. Given our gauge invariant side jump expression, it is possible to construct a semiclassical Boltzmann theory of the anomalous Hall effect which expresses all previously identified contributions in terms of gauge invariant quantities and does not refer explicitly to off-diagonal terms in the density-matrix response.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Interlayer Transport in Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems

Bilayer quantum Hall systems have a broken symmetry ground state at filling factor $ν=1$ which can be viewed either as an excitonic superfluid or as a pseudospin ferromagnet. We present a theory of inter-layer transport in quantum Hall bilayers that highlights remarkable similarities and critical differences between transport in Josephson junction and ferromagnetic metal spin-transfer devices. Our theory is able to explain the size of the large but finite low bias interlayer conductance and the voltage width of this collective transport anomaly.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Dynamics of magnetization coupled to a thermal bath of elastic modes

We study the dynamics of magnetization coupled to a thermal bath of elastic modes using a system plus reservoir approach with realistic magnetoelastic coupling. After integrating out the elastic modes we obtain a self-contained equation for the dynamics of the magnetization. We find explicit expressions for the memory friction kernel and hence, {\em via} the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem, for the spectral density of the magnetization thermal fluctuations. For magnetic samples in which the single domain approximation is valid, we derive an equation for the dynamics of the uniform mode. Finally we apply this equation to study the dynamics of the uniform magnetization mode in insulating ferromagnetic thin films. As experimental consequences we find that the fluctuation correlation time is of the order of the ratio between the film thickness, $h$, and the speed of sound in the magnet and that the line-width of the ferromagnetic resonance peak should scale as $B_1^2h$ where $B_1$ is the magnetoelastic coupling constant.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Antiferromagnetic Metal Spintronics

Spintronics in ferromagnetic metals is built on a complementary set of phenomena in which magnetic configurations influence transport coefficients and transport currents alter magnetic configurations. In this Letter we propose that corresponding effects occur in circuits containing antiferromagnetic metals. The critical current for switching can be smaller in the antiferromagnetic case because of the absence of shape anisotropy and because spin torques act through the entire volume of an antiferromagnet. Our findings suggest that current-induced order parameter dynamics can be used to coarsen the microstructure of antiferromagnetic thin films.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Edge spin accumulation in semiconductor two-dimensional hole gases

The controlled generation of localized spin densities is a key enabler of semiconductor spintronics In this work, we study spin Hall effect induced edge spin accumulation in a two-dimensional hole gas with strong spin orbit interactions. We argue that it is an intrinsic property, in the sense that it is independent of the strength of disorder scattering. We show numerically that the spin polarization near the edge induced by this mechanism can be large, and that it becomes larger and more strongly localized as the spin-orbit coupling strength increases, and is independent of the width of the conducting strip once this exceeds the elastic scattering mean-free-path. Our experiments in two-dimensional hole gas microdevices confirm this remarkable spin Hall effect phenomenology. Achieving comparable levels of spin polarization by external magnetic fields would require laboratory equipment whose physical dimensions and operating electrical currents are million times larger than those of our spin Hall effect devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Low-temperature magnetization of (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors

We report on a comprehensive study of the ferromagnetic moment per Mn atom in (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors. Theoretical discussion is based on microscopic calculations and on an effective model of Mn local moments antiferromagnetically coupled to valence band hole spins. The validity of the effective model over the range of doping studied is assessed by comparing with microscopic tight-binding/coherent-potential approximation calculations. Using the virtual crystal k.p model for hole states, we evaluate the zero-temperature mean-field contributions to the magnetization from the hole kinetic and exchange energies, and magnetization suppression due to quantum uctuations of Mn moment orientations around their mean-field ground state values. Experimental low-temperature ferromagnetic moments per Mn are obtained by superconducting quantum interference device and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements in a series of (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors with nominal Mn doping ranging from ~2% to 8%. Hall measurements in as-grown and annealed samples are used to estimate the number of uncompensated substitutional Mn moments. Based on our comparison between experiment and theory we conclude that all these Mn moments in high quality (Ga,Mn)As materials have nearly parallel ground state alignment.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2005

Edge Magnetoplasmons in Quantum Hall Line Junction Systems

A quantum Hall line junction system consists of a one-dimensional Luttinger liquid (LL) and two chiral channels that allow density waves incident upon and reflected by the LL to be measured separately. We demonstrate that interactions in a quantum Hall line junction system can be probed by studying edge magnetoplasmon absorption spectra and their polarization dependences. Strong interactions in the junction lead to collective modes that are isolated in either Luttinger liquid or contact subsystems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Dependence of the intrinsic spin Hall effect on spin-orbit interaction character

We report on a comparative numerical study of the spin Hall conductivity in two-dimensions for three different spin-orbit interaction models; the standard k-linear Rashba model, the k-cubic Rashba model that describes two-dimensional hole systems, and a modified k-linear Rashba model in which the spin-orbit coupling strength is energy dependent. Numerical finite-size Kubo formula results indicate that the spin Hall conductivity of the k-linear Rashba model vanishes for frequency $ω$ much smaller than the scattering rate $τ^{-1}$, with order one relative fluctuations surviving out to large system sizes. For the k-cubic Rashba model case, the spin Hall conductivity does not depend noticeably on $ωτ$ and is finite in the {\em dc} limit, in agreement with experiment. For the modified k-linear Rashba model the spin Hall conductivity is noticeably $ωτ$ dependent but approaches a finite value in the {\em dc} limit. We discuss these results in the light of a spectral decomposition of the spin Hall conductivity and associated sum rules, and in relation to a proposed separation of the spin Hall conductivity into skew-scattering, intrinsic, and interband vertex correction contributions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Prospects of high temperature ferromagnetism in (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors

We report on a comprehensive combined experimental and theoretical study of Curie temperature trends in (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors. Broad agreement between theoretical expectations and measured data allows us to conclude that T_c in high-quality metallic samples increases linearly with the number of uncompensated local moments on Mn_Ga acceptors, with no sign of saturation. Room temperature ferromagnetism is expected for a 10% concentration of these local moments. Our magnetotransport and magnetization data are consistnent with the picture in which Mn impurities incorporated during growth at interstitial Mn_I positions act as double-donors and compensate neighboring Mn_Ga local moments because of strong near-neighbor Mn_Ga-Mn_I antiferromagnetic coupling. These defects can be efficiently removed by post-growth annealing. Our analysis suggests that there is no fundamental obstacle to substitutional Mn_Ga doping in high-quality materials beyond our current maximum level of 6.2%, although this achievement will require further advances in growth condition control. Modest charge compensation does not limit the maximum Curie temperature possible in ferromagnetic semiconductors based on (Ga,Mn)As.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2005

Itinerant Ferromagnetism in an Ultracold Atom Fermi Gas

We address the possible occurrence of ultracold atom ferromagnetism by evaluating the free energy of a spin polarized Fermi gas to second order in its interaction parameter. We find that Hartree-Fock theory underestimates the tendency toward ferromagnetism, predict that the ferromagnetic transition is first order at low temperatures, and point out that the spin coherence time of gases prepared in a ferromagnetic state is strongly enhanced as the transition is approached. We relate our results to recent experiments.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

Ferromagnetic Semiconductors: Moving Beyond (Ga,Mn)As

The recent development of MBE techniques for growth of III-V ferromagnetic semiconductors has created materials with exceptional promise in spintronics, i.e. electronics that exploit carrier spin polarization. Among the most carefully studied of these materials is (Ga,Mn)As, in which meticulous optimization of growth techniques has led to reproducible materials properties and ferromagnetic transition temperatures well above 150 K. We review progress in the understanding of this particular material and efforts to address ferromagnetic semiconductors as a class. We then discuss proposals for how these materials might find applications in spintronics. Finally, we propose criteria that can be used to judge the potential utility of newly discovered ferromagnetic semiconductors, and we suggest guidelines that may be helpful in shaping the search for the ideal material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2005

Fully Frustrated Cold Atoms

Fully frustrated Josephson Junction arrays (FF-JJA's) exhibit a subtle compound phase transition in which an Ising transition associated with discrete broken translational symmetry and a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition associated with quasi-long-range phase coherence occur nearly simultaneously. In this Letter we discuss a cold atom realization of the FF-JJA system. We demonstrate that both orders can be studied by standard momentum-distribution-function measurements and present numerical results, based on a successful self-consistent spin-wave approximation, that illustrate the expected behavior of observables.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2004

Non-vanishing spin Hall currents in disordered spin-orbit coupling systems

Spin currents that flow perpendicular to the electric field direction are generic in metals and doped semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling. It has recently been argued that the spin Hall conductivity can be dominated by an intrinsic contribution which follows from Bloch state distortion in the presence of an electric field. Here we report on an numerical demonstration of the robustness of this effect in the presence of disorder scattering for the case of a two-dimensional electron-gas with Rashba spin-orbit interactions (R2DES).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2004

Bias voltage controlled magnetization switch in ferromagnetic semiconductor resonant tunneling diodes

We predict that the Curie temperature of a ferromagnetic resonant tunneling diode will decrease abruptly, by approximately a factor of two, when the downstream chemical potential falls below the quantum well resonance energy. This property follows from elementary quantum transport theory notions combined with a mean field description of diluted magnetic semiconductor ferromagnetism. We illustrate this effect by solving coupled non-equilibrium Green's function, magnetic mean-field, and electrostatic Poisson equations self-consistently to predict the bias voltage and temperature dependence of the magnetization of a model system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2004

Quantitative Probe of Pairing Correlations in a Cold Fermionic Atom Gas

A quantitative measure of the pairing correlations present in a cold gas of fermionic atoms can be obtained by studying the dependence of RF spectra on hyperfine state populations. This proposal follows from a sum rule that relates the total interaction energy of the gas to RF spectrum line positions. We argue that this indicator of pairing correlations provides information comparable to that available from the spin-susceptibility and NMR measurements common in condensed-matter systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2004

Vortex Lattice Structure of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Superconductors

In superconductors with singlet pairing, the inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state is expected to be stabilized by a large Zeeman splitting. We develop an efficient method to evaluate the Landau-Ginzburg free energies of FFLO-state vortex lattices and use it to simplify the considerations that determine the optimal vortex configuration at different points in the phasediagram. We demonstrate that the order parameter spatial profile is completely determined, up to a uniform translation, by its Landau level index n and the vortex Lattice structure and derive an explicit expression for the order parameter spatial profile that can be used to determine n from experimental data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2004

Theory of Spin-Charge Coupled Transport in a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas with Rashba Spin-Orbit Interactions

We use microscopic linear response theory to derive a set of equations that provide a complete description of coupled spin and charge diffusive transport in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with the Rashba spin-orbit (SO) interaction. These equations capture a number of interrelated effects including spin accumulation and diffusion, Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation, magnetoelectric, and spin-galvanic effects. They can be used under very general circumstances to model transport experiments in 2DEG systems that involve either electrical or optical spin injection. We comment on the relationship between these equations and the exact spin and charge density operator equations of motion. As an example of the application of our equations, we consider a simple electrical spin injection experiment and show that a voltage will develop between two ferromagnetic contacts if a spin-polarized current is injected into a 2DEG, that depends on the relative magnetization orientation of the contacts. This voltage is present even when the separation between the contacts is larger than the spin diffusion length.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗