arXiv subjects

A. H. MacDonald

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

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

Chern Numbers for Spin Models of Transition Metal Nanomagnets

We argue that ferromagnetic transition metal nanoparticles with fewer than approximately 100 atoms can be described by an effective Hamiltonian with a single giant spin degree of freedom. The total spin $S$ of the effective Hamiltonian is specified by a Berry curvature Chern number that characterizes the topologically non-trivial dependence of a nanoparticle's many-electron wavefunction on magnetization orientation. The Berry curvatures and associated Chern numbers have a complex dependence on spin-orbit coupling in the nanoparticle and influence the semiclassical Landau-Liftshitz equations that describe magnetization orientation dynamics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Exact diagonalization study of domain structure in integer filling factor quantum Hall ferromagnets

Opposite spin Landau levels in a quantum well can be brought into coincidence by tilting the magnetic field away from normal orientation. We demonstrate that the magnetotransport anomaly at integer filling factors that was recently discovered by Pan {\it et al} is due to such a coincidence. By performing exact diagonalization calculations using microscopically evaluated effective electron-electron interactions, we are able to establish that the electronic ground state at coincidence is an Ising quantum Hall ferromagnet and that the low energy excitations correspond to the formation of a domain wall.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Measuring the condensate fraction of rapidly rotating trapped boson systems: off-diagonal order from the density

We demonstrate a direct connection between the density profile of a system of ultra-cold trapped bosonic particles in the rapid-rotation limit and its condensate fraction. This connection can be used to probe the crossover from condensed vortex-lattice states to uncondensed quantum fluid states that occurs in rapidly rotating boson systems as the particle density decreases or the rotation frequency increases. We illustrate our proposal with a series of examples, including ones based on models of realistic finite trap systems, and comment on its application to freely expanding boson density profile measurements.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2003

DC-transport properties of ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As semiconductors

We study the dc transport properties of (Ga,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductors with Mn concentration varying from 1.5% to 8%. Both diagonal and Hall components of the conductivity tensor are strongly sensitive to the magnetic state of these semiconductors. Transport data obtained at low temperatures are discussed theoretically within a model of band-hole quasiparticles with a finite spectral width due to elastic scattering from Mn and compensating defects. The theoretical results are in good agreement with measured anomalous Hall effect and anisotropic longitudinal magnetoresistance data. This quantitative understanding of dc magneto-transport effects in (Ga,Mn)As is unparalleled in itinerant ferromagnetic systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Infrared magneto-optical properties of (III,Mn)V ferromagetic semiconductors

We present a theoretical study of the infrared magneto-optical properties of ferromagnetic (III,Mn)V semiconductors. Our analysis combines the kinetic exchange model for (III,Mn)V ferromagnetism with Kubo linear response theory and Born approximation estimates for the effect of disorder on the valence band quasiparticles. We predict a prominent feature in the ac-Hall conductivity at a frequency that varies over the range from 200 to 400 meV, depending on Mn and carrier densities, and is associated with transitions between heavy-hole and light-hole bands. In its zero frequency limit, our Hall conductivity reduces to the $\vec k$-space Berry's phase value predicted by a recent theory of the anomalous Hall effect that is able to account quantitatively for experiment. We compute theoretical estimates for magnetic circular dichroism, Faraday rotation, and Kerr effect parameters as a function of Mn concentration and free carrier density. The mid-infrared response feature is present in each of these magneto-optical effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Fractional-quantum-Hall edge electrons and Fermi statistics

We address the quantum statistics of electrons created in the low-energy edge-state Hilbert space sector of incompressible fractional quantum Hall states, considering the possibility that they may not satisfy Fermi statistics. We argue that this property is not a priori obvious, and present numerical evidence based on finite-size exact-diagonalization calculations that it does not hold in general. We discuss different possible forms for the expression for the electron creation operator in terms of edge boson fields and show that none are consistent with our numerical results on finite-size filling-factor-2/5 states with short-range electron-electron interactions. Finally, we discuss the current body of experimental results on tunneling into quantum Hall edges in the context of this result.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Momentum Distribution Function of a Narrow Hall Bar in the FQHE Regime

The momentum distribution function ($n(k)$) of a narrow Hall bar in the fractional quantum Hall effect regime is investigated using Luttinger liquid and microscopic many-particle wavefunction approaches. For wide Hall bars with filling factor $ν=1/M$, where $M$ is an odd integer, $n(k)$ has singularities at $\pm M k_F$. We find that for narrow Hall bars additional singularities occur at smaller odd integral multiples of $k_F$: $ n(k) \sim A_p \mid k\pm pk_{F} \mid ^{2Δ_{p}-1}$ near $k=\pm pk_{F}$, where $p$ is an odd integer $M,M-2,M-4,...,1$. If inter-edge interactions can be neglected, the exponent $2 Δ_{p}= (1/ ν+p^{2} ν)/2$ is independent of the width ($w$) of the Hall bar but the amplitude of the singularity $A_p$ vanishes exponentially with $w$ for $p\not=M$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Spin-polarized current oscillations in diluted magnetic semiconductor multiple quantum wells

We study the spin and charge dynamics of electrons in n-doped II--VI semiconductor multiple quantum wells when one or more quantum wells are doped with Mn. The interplay between strongly nonlinear inter-well charge transport and the large tunable spin-splitting induced by exchange interactions with spin-polarized Mn ions produces interesting new spin dependent features. The tunneling current between quantum wells can be strongly spin polarized and, under certain conditions, can develop self sustained oscillations under a finite dc voltage. The spin polarization oscillates in both magnetic and nonmagnetic quantum wells and the time average in magnetic wells can differ from its zero-voltage value. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that the amplitude of the spin polarization oscillations depends on the distribution of magnetic wells within the sample. We discuss how the spin polarized current and the spin polarization of the quantum wells can be tailored experimentally.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Theoretical models of ferromagnetic III-V semiconductors

Recent materials research has advanced the maximum ferromagnetic transition temperature in semiconductors containing magnetic elements toward room temperature. Reaching this goal would make information technology applications of these materials likely. In this article we briefly review the status of work over the past five years which has attempted to achieve a theoretical understanding of these complex magnetic systems. The basic microscopic origins of ferromagnetism in the (III,Mn)V compounds that have the highest transition temperatures appear to be well understood, and efficient computation methods have been developed which are able to model their magnetic, transport, and optical properties. However many questions remain.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Non-Drude Optical Conductivity of (III,Mn)V Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

We present a numerical model study of the zero-temperature infrared optical properties of (III,Mn)V diluted magnetic semiconductors. Our calculations demonstrate the importance of treating disorder and interaction effects simultaneously in modelling these materials. We find that the conductivity has no clear Drude peak, that it has a broadened inter-band peak near 220 meV, and that oscillator weight is shifted to higher frequencies by stronger disorder. These results are in good qualitative agreement with recent thin film absorption measurements. We use our numerical findings to discuss the use of f-sum rules evaluated by integrating optical absorption data for accurate carrier-density estimates.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Magnetization orientation dependence of the quasiparticle spectrum and hysteresis in ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles

We use a microscopic Slater-Koster tight-binding model with short-range exchange and atomic spin-orbit interactions that realistically captures generic features of ferromagnetic metal nanoparticles to address the mesoscopic physics of magnetocrystalline anisotropy and hysteresis in nanoparticle quasiparticle excitation spectra. Our analysis is based on qualitative arguments supported by self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations for nanoparticles containing up to 260 atoms. Calculations of the total energy as a function of magnetization direction demonstrate that the magnetic anisotropy per atom fluctuates by several percents when the number of electrons in the particle changes by one, even for the largest particles we consider. Contributions of individual orbitals to the magnetic anisotropy are characterized by a broad distribution with a mean more than two orders of magnitude smaller than its variance and with no detectable correlations between anisotropy contribution and quasiparticle energy. We find that the discrete quasiparticle excitation spectrum of a nanoparticle displays a complex non-monotonic dependence on an external magnetic field, with abrupt jumps when the magnetization direction is reversed by the field, explaining recent spectroscopic studies of magnetic nanoparticles. Our results suggests the existence of a broad cross-over from a weak spin-orbit coupling to a strong spin-orbit coupling regime, occurring over the range from approximately 200- to 1000-atom nanoparticles.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Quantum-Hall Quantum-Bits

Bilayer quantum Hall systems can form collective states in which electrons exhibit spontaneous interlayer phase coherence. We discuss the possibility of using bilayer quantum dot many-electron states with this property to create two-level systems that have potential advantages as quantum bits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Lattice Pseudospin Model for $ν=1$ Quantum Hall Bilayers

We present a new theoretical approach to the study of $ν=1$ quantum Hall bilayer that is based on a systematic mapping of the microscopic Hamiltonian to an anisotropic SU(4) spin model on a lattice. To study the properties of this model we generalize the Heisenberg model Schwinger boson mean field theory (SBMFT) of Arovas and Auerbach to spin models with anisotropy. We calculate the temperature dependence of experimentally observable quantities, including the spin magnetization, and the differential interlayer capacitance. Our theory represents a substantial improvement over the conventional Hartree-Fock picture which neglects quantum and thermal fluctuations, and has advantages over long-wavelength effective models that fail to capture important microscopic physics at all realistic layer separations. The formalism we develop can be generalized to treat quantum Hall bilayers at filling factor $ν=2$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

$ν=2$ Bilayer Quantum Hall System in Tilted Magnetic Field

We report on a theoretical study of $ν=2$ bilayer quantum Hall systems with a magnetic field that has a component parallel to the layers. As in the $ν=1$ case, interlayer phase coherence is closely coupled to electron correlations and the Aharonov-Bohm phases introduced by a parallel magnetic field can have a strong influence on the ground state of the system. We find that response of a $ν=2$ system to a parallel field is more subtle than that of a $ν=1$ system because of the interplay between spin and layer degrees of freedom. There is no commensurate-incommensurate transition as the parallel field is increased. Instead, we find a new phase transition which can occur in fixed parallel field as the interlayer bias potential is varied. The transition is driven by the competition between canted antiferromagnetic order and interlayer phase coherence in the presence of the parallel field. We predict a strong singularity in the differential capacitance of the bilayer which can be used to detect the phase transition.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Boltzmann theory of engineered anisotropic magnetoresistance in (Ga,Mn)As

We report on a theoretical study of dc transport coefficients in (Ga,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductor ferromagnets that accounts for quasiparticle scattering from ionized Mn$^{2+}$ acceptors with a local moment $S=5/2$ and from non-magnetic compensating defects. In metallic samples Boltzmann transport theory with Golden rule scattering rates accounts for the principle trends of the measured difference between resistances for magnetizations parallel and perpendicular to the current. We predict that the sign and magnitude of the anisotropic magnetoresistance can be changed by strain engineering or by altering chemical composition.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Quantum Melting and Absence of Bose-Einstein Condensation in Two-Dimensional Vortex Matter

We demonstrate that quantum fluctuations suppress Bose-Einstein condensation of quasi-two-dimensional bosons in a rapidly-rotating trap. Our conclusions rest in part on an effective-Lagrangian description of the triangular vortex lattice, and in part on microscopic Bogoliubov equations in the rapid-rotation limit. We obtain analytic expressions for the collective-excitation dispersion, which, in a rotating system, is quadratic rather than linear. Our estimates for the boson filling factor at which the vortex lattice melts at zero temperature due to quantum fluctuations are consistent with recent exact-diagonalization calculations.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Infrared conductivity of metallic (III,Mn)V ferromagnets

We present a theory of the infrared conductivity and absorption coefficients of metallic (III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductors. We find that the conductivity is dominated by inter-valence-band transitions that produce peaks at $\hbar ω\sim 220 {\rm meV}$ and obscure the broadened Drude peak. We demonstrate that transverse f-sum rule measurements can be used to extract accurate values for the free carrier density, bypassing the severe characterization difficulties that have till now been created by the large anomalous Hall effect in these materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Electron-Phonon Interactions in Polyacene Organic Transistors

We present a simple model for the electron-phonon interactions between the energy subbands in polyacene field-effect transistors and the vibrations of the crystal. We introduce a generalized Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, arguing that the strongest electron-phonon interactions in these systems originate from the dependence of inter-molecule hopping amplitudes on collective molecular motion. We compute the electron-phonon spectral function $α^2F(ω)$ as a function of two-dimensional hole density and the coupling strength constant. Our results are in agreement with the sharp onset of superconductivity near half-filling discovered in recent experiments by Schön {\it et al.} [Batlogg] and predict an increase of $T_c$ with pressure. We further speculate on the implications that the observation of the quantum Hall effect in these systems has on the effective band mass in the low carrier density regime.

cond-mat.supr-con↗