arXiv subjects

A. H. MacDonald

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

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

arXiv1996

Transverse Pseudospin Susceptibility and Tunneling Parameters of Double Layer Electron Gas Systems

The subbands of weakly coupled double-layer two dimensional electron gas systems consist of narrowly spaced pairs whose corresponding wavefunctions are symmetric and antisymmetric combinations of isolated layer subband wavefunctions. The energetic spacing within a pair is 2t where t is the interlayer tunneling amplitude. t is an important parameter in modeling these systems and, if interactions could be neglected, it would be proportional to beating frequencies seen in weak-field magnetic oscillations experiments and therefore readily measurable. We point out that interactions alter the beating frequency. We discuss similarities and differences between this effect and exchange-correlation enhanced spin-splitting.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1996

Edge-Magnetoplasmon Wave-Packet Revivals in the Quantum Hall Effect

The quantum Hall effect is necessarily accompanied by low-energy excitations localized at the edge of a two-dimensional electron system. For the case of electrons interacting via the long-range Coulomb interaction, these excitations are edge magnetoplasmons. We address the time evolution of localized edge-magnetoplasmon wave packets. On short times the wave packets move along the edge with classical E cross B drift. We show that on longer times the wave packets can have properties similar to those of the Rydberg wave packets that are produced in atoms using short-pulsed lasers. In particular, we show that edge-magnetoplasmon wave packets can exhibit periodic revivals in which a dispersed wave packet reassembles into a localized one. We propose the study of edge-magnetoplasmon wave packets as a tool to investigate dynamical properties of integer and fractional quantum-Hall edges. Various scenarios are discussed for preparing the initial wave packet and for detecting it at a later time. We comment on the importance of magnetoplasmon-phonon coupling and on quantum and thermal fluctuations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1996

No End of Tricks: Electrons in the Fractional Quantum Hall Regime

In the strong magnetic field fractional quantum Hall regime, electrons in a two-dimensional electron system are confined to their lowest Landau level. Because of the macroscopic Landau level degeneracy nearly all physical properties at low energies and temperatures are then entirely determined by electron-electron interactions. The properties of these non-Fermi-liquid electronic systems continue to surprise. In this article we briefly survey some recent advances in the physics of the fractional Hall regime.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Plasmon Modes and Correlation Functions in Quantum Wires and Hall Bars

We present microscopic derivations of the one-dimensional low-energy boson effective Hamiltonians of quantum wire and quantum Hall bar systems. The quantum Hall system is distinguished by its spatial separation of oppositely directed electrons. We discuss qualitative differences in the plasmon collective mode dispersions and the ground state correlation functions of the two systems which are consequences of this difference. The slowly-decaying quasi-solid correlations expected in a quantum wire are strongly suppressed in quantum Hall bar systems.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Electronic Spectral Functions for Quantum Hall Edge States

We have evaluated wavevector-dependent electronic spectral functions for integer and fractional quantum Hall edge states using a chiral Luttinger liquid model. The spectral functions have a finite width and a complicated line shape because of the long-range of the Coulomb interaction. We discuss the possibility of probing these line shapes in vertical tunneling experiments.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Inter-layer Edge Tunneling and Transport Properties in Double-Layer Quantum Hall Systems

A theory of transport in the quantum Hall regime is developed for separately contacted double-layer electron systems. Inter-layer tunneling provides a channel for equilibration of the distribution functions in the two layers and influences transport properties through the resulting influence on steady-state distribution functions. Resistences for various configurations of the electrodes are calculated as a function of the inter-layer tunneling amplitude. The effect of misalignment of the edges of the two layers and the effect of tilting the magnetic field away from the normal to the layers on the inter- layer tunneling amplitude near the sample edges are investigated. The results obtained in this work is consistent with recent experiments.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Mixed-state penetration depths in s-wave and d-wave superconductors

We report on a microscopic calculation of the current and magnetic field distribution in the mixed state of model s-wave and d-wave superconductors. For the d-wave case, we find that corrections to London theory are important at fields small compared to $H_{c2}$. The field distribution is influenced by both superfluid-velocity dependence and non-locality in the current response function of the mixed state. We compare our calculations with recent muon spin rotation measurements in high temperature superconductors.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Spontaneous Interlayer Coherence in Double-Layer Quantum Hall Systems: Symmetry Breaking Interactions, In-Plane Fields and Phase Solitons

At strong magnetic fields double-layer two-dimensional-electron-gas systems can form an unusual broken symmetry state with spontaneous inter-layer phase coherence. The system can be mapped to an equivalent system of pseudospin $1/2$ particles with pseudospin-dependent interactions and easy-plane magnetic order. In this paper we discuss how the presence of a weak interlayer tunneling term alters the properties of double-layer systems when the broken symmetry is present. We use the energy functional and equations of motion derived earlier to evaluate the zero-temperature response functions of the double-layer system and use our results to discuss analogies between this system and Josephson-coupled superconducting films. We also present a qualitative picture of the low-energy charged excitations of this system. We show that parallel fields induce a highly collective phase transition to an incommensurate state with broken translational symmetry.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Internal Excitations and Dissipative Damping of Quantum Hall Skyrmions

We propose an intrinsic maximum speed for dissipationless E cross B drift of Skyrmion quasiparticles in quantum Hall ferromagnets. When this speed is exceeded, Skyrmions can radiate spin-waves by making internal excitations which allow total spin to be conserved. Our proposal is illustrated by a time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation calculation of the excitation spectrum for a Skyrmion bound to an impurity.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Spontaneous coherence and the quantum Hall Effect in triple-layer electron systems

We investigate spontaneous interlayer phase coherence and the occurrence of the quantum Hall effect in triple-layer electron systems. Our work is based on a simple tight-binding model that greatly facilitates calculations and whose accuracy is verified by comparison with recent experiments. By calculating the ground state in an unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation and the collective-mode spectrum in a time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation, we construct a phase diagram delimiting regions in the parameter space of the model where the integer quantum Hall effect occurs in the absence of interlayer tunneling.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Spontaneous Coherence and Collective Modes in Double-Layer Quantum Dot Systems

We study the ground state and the collective excitations of parabolically-confined double-layer quantum dot systems in a strong magnetic field. We identify parameter regimes where electrons form maximum density droplet states, quantum-dot analogs of the incompressible states of the bulk integer quantum Hall effect. In these regimes the Hartree-Fock approximation and the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximations can be used to describe the ground state and collective excitations respectively. We comment on the relationship between edge excitations of dots and edge magneto-plasmon excitations of bulk double-layer systems.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Edge State Transport in Separately Contacted Double-Layer Quantum Hall Systems

We develop a theory of edge state transport in separately contacted double-layer quantum Hall systems which are tuned close to the resonance condition for tunneling between the layers. When applied to the case where contact is made to only one layer, the theory gives a quantized Hall resistance and zero longitudinal resistance in both weak and strong inter-layer coupling limits. For weak coupling, the leading correction to the Hall resistance occurs at second order, while the longitudinal resistance appears at first order. Recent experiments which show almost quantized Hall resistance and a substantial longitudinal resistance are explained and predictions are made for other contact configurations.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Long-lived charged multiple-exciton complexes in strong magnetic fields

We consider the charged exciton complexes of an ideal two-dimensional electron-hole system in the limit of strong magnetic fields. A series of charged multiple-exciton states is identified and variational and finite-size exact diagonalization calculations are used to estimate their binding energies. We find that, because of a hidden symmetry, bound states of excitons and an additional electron cannot be created by direct optical absorption and, once created, have an infinite optical recombination lifetime. We also estimate the optical recombination rates when electron and hole layers are displaced and the hidden symmetry is violated.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Absence of Persistent Magnetic Oscillations in Type-II Superconductors

We report on a numerical study intended to examine the possibility that magnetic oscillations persist in type II superconductors beyond the point where the pairing self-energy exceeds the normal state Landau level separation. Our work is based on the self-consistent numerical solution for model superconductors of the Bogoliubov-deGennes equations for the vortex lattice state. In the regime where the pairing self-energy is smaller than the cyclotron energy, magnetic oscillations resulting from Landau level quantization are suppressed by the broadening of quasiparticle Landau levels due to the non-uniform order parameter of the vortex lattice state, and by splittings of the quasiparticle bands. Plausible arguments that the latter effect can lead to a sign change of the fundamental harmonic of the magnetic oscillations when the pairing self-energy is comparable to the cyclotron energy are shown to be flawed. Our calculations indicate that magnetic oscillations are strongly suppressed once the pairing self-energy exceeds the Landau level separation.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Electron-electron interactions and two-dimensional - two-dimensional tunneling

We derive and evaluate expressions for the dc tunneling conductance between interacting two-dimensional electron systems at non-zero temperature. The possibility of using the dependence of the tunneling conductance on voltage and temperature to determine the temperature-dependent electron-electron scattering rate at the Fermi energy is discussed. The finite electronic lifetime produced by electron-electron interactions is calculated as a function of temperature for quasiparticles near the Fermi circle. Vertex corrections to the random phase approximation substantially increase the electronic scattering rate. Our results are in an excellent quantitative agreement with experiment.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Correlations, compressibility, and capacitance in double-quantum-well systems in the quantum Hall regime

In the quantum Hall regime, electronic correlations in double-layer two-dimensional electron systems are strong because the kinetic energy is quenched by Landau quantization. In this article we point out that these correlations are reflected in the way the partitioning of charge between the two-layers responds to a bias potential. We report on illustrative calculations based on an unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation which allows for spontaneous inter-layer phase coherence. The possibility of studying inter-layer correlations by capacitive coupling to separately contacted two-dimensional layers is discussed in detail.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Non Possum Comprimi Ergo Sum: Skyrmions and Edge States in the Quantum Hall Effect

When the chemical potential of an electron system has a discontinuity at a density $n^{*}$, the system is said to be incompressible and a finite energy is required to create mobile charges in the bulk of the system. The quantum Hall effect is associated with incompressibilities in a two-dimensional electron system that occur at magnetic-field dependent densities, $n^{*}(B)$. In these notes we discuss two aspects of the physics of quantum Hall systems that follow directly from this association.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Compressible Strips, Chiral Luttinger Liquids and All That Jazz

When the quantum Hall effect occurs in a two-dimensional electron gas, all low-energy elementary excitations are localized near the system edge. The edge acts in many ways like a one-dimensional ring of electrons, except that a finite current flows around the ring in equilibrium. This article is a brief and informal review of some of the physics of quantum Hall system edges. We discuss the implications of macroscopic {\em compressible strip} models for microscopic {chiral Luttinger liquid} models and make an important distinction between the origin of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in fractional quantum Hall edges and in usual one-dimensional electron gas systems.

cond-mat↗