arXiv subjects

A. V. Balatsky

Publications and source records attributed to A. V. Balatsky.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Infrared spectroscopy and nano-imaging of the insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide

We present a detailed infrared study of the insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. Conventional infrared spectroscopy was employed to investigate the IMT in the far-field. Scanning near-field infrared microscopy directly revealed the percolative IMT with increasing temperature. We confirmed that the phase transition is also percolative with cooling across the IMT. We present extensive near-field infrared images of phase coexistence in the IMT regime in VO2. We find that the coexisting insulating and metallic regions at a fixed temperature are static on the time scale of our measurements. A novel approach for analyzing the far-field and near-field infrared data within the Bruggeman effective medium theory was employed to extract the optical constants of the incipient metallic puddles at the onset of the IMT. We found divergent effective carrier mass in the metallic puddles that demonstrates the importance of electronic correlations to the IMT in VO2. We employ the extended dipole model for a quantitative analysis of the observed near-field infrared amplitude contrast and compare the results with those obtained with the basic dipole model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Incommensurate spin resonance in URu2Si2

We focus on inelastic neutron scattering in $URu_2Si_2$ and argue that observed gap in the fermion spectrum naturally leads to the spin feature observed at energies $ω_{res} = 4-6 meV$ at momenta at $\bQ^* = (1\pm 0.4, 0,0)$. We discuss how spin features seen in $URu_2Si_2$ can indeed be thought of in terms of {\em spin resonance} that develops in HO state and is {\em not related} to superconducting transition at 1.5K. In our analysis we assume that the HO gap is due to a particle-hole condensate that connects nested parts of the Fermi surface with nesting vector $\bf{Q}^* $. Within this approach we can predicted the behavior of the spin susceptibility at $\bQ^*$ and find it to be is strikingly similar to the phenomenology of resonance peaks in high-T$_c$ and heavy fermion superconductors. The energy of the resonance peak scales with $T_{HO}$ $ω_{res} \simeq 4 k_BT_{HO}$. We discuss observable consequences spin resonance will have on neutron scattering and local density of states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Wave function for odd frequency superconductors

We revisit the question of nature of odd-frequency superconductors, first proposed by Berezinskii in 1974. \cite{berezinskii1974} We start with the notion that order parameter of odd-frequency superconductors can be thought of as a time derivative of the odd-time pairing operator. It leads to the notion of the composite boson condensate.\cite{abrahams1995} To elucidate the nature of broken symmetry state in odd-frequency superconductors, we consider a wave function that properly captures the coherent condensate of composite charge $2e$ bosons in an odd-frequency superconductor. We consider the Hamiltonian which describes the equal-time composite boson condensation as proposed earlier in Phys. Rev. B $\textbf{52}$, 1271 (1995). We propose a BCS-like wave function that describes a composite condensate comprised of a spin-0 Cooper pair and a spin-1 magnon excitation. We derive the quasiparticle dispersion, the self-consistent equation for the order parameter and the density of states. We show that the coherent wave function approach recovers all the known proposerties of odd-frequency superconductors: the quasi-particle excitations are gapless and the superconducting transition requires a critical coupling.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Torsional oscillators and the entropy dilemma of putative supersolid He-4

Solid He-4 is viewed as a nearly perfect Debye solid. Yet, recent calorimetry measurements by the PSU group (J. Low Temp. Phys. 138, 853 (2005) and Nature 449, 1025 (2007)) indicate that at low temperatures the specific heat has both cubic and linear contributions. These features appear in the same temperature range where measurements of the torsional oscillator period suggest a supersolid transition. We analyze the specific heat and compare the measured with the estimated entropy for a proposed supersolid transition with 1% superfluid fraction and find that the observed entropy is too small. We suggest that the low-temperature linear term in the specific heat is due to a glassy state that develops at low temperatures and is caused by a distribution of tunneling systems in the crystal. We propose that dislocation related defects produce those tunneling systems. Further, we argue that the reported putative mass decoupling, that means an increase in the oscillator frequency, is consistent with a glass-like transition. The glass scenario offers an alternative interpretation of the torsional oscillator experiments in contrast to the supersolid scenario of nonclassical rotational inertia.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Detection of the spin character of Fe(001) surface states by scanning tunneling microscopy: A theoretical proposal

We consider the magnetic structure on the Fe(001) surface and theoretically study the scanning tunneling spectroscopy using a spin-polarized tip (SP-STM). We show that minority-spin surface states induce a strong bias dependence of the tunneling differential conductance which largely depends on the orientation of the magnetization in the SP-STM tip relative to the easy magnetization axis in the Fe(001) surface. We propose to use this effect in order to determine the spin character of the Fe(001) surface states. This technique can be applied also to other magnetic surfaces in which surface states are observed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Detection of coherent magnons via ultrafast pump-probe reflectance spectroscopy in multiferroic Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22

We report the detection of a magnetic resonance mode in multiferroic Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 using time domain pump-probe reflectance spectroscopy. Magnetic sublattice precession is coherently excited via picosecond thermal modification of the exchange energy. Importantly, this precession is recorded as a change in reflectance caused by the dynamic magnetoelectric effect. Thus, transient reflectance provides a sensitive probe of magnetization dynamics in materials with strong magnetoelectric coupling, such as multiferroics, revealing new possibilities for application in spintronics and ultrafast manipulation of magnetic moments.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Midgap states in corrugated graphene: Ab-initio calculations and effective field theory

We investigate the electronic properties of corrugated graphene and show how rippling-induced pseudomagnetic fields alter graphene's low-energy electronic properties by combining first principles calculations with an effective field theory. The formation of flat bands near the Fermi level corresponding to pseudo-Landau levels is studied as a function of the rippling parameters. Quenched and relaxed ripples turn out to be fundamentally different is this respect: It is demonstrated, both numerically and analytically, that annealing of quenched ripples can destroy the flat bands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Vibrating Superconducting Island in a Josephson Junction

We consider a combined nanomechanical-supercondcuting device that allows the Cooper pair tunneling to interfere with the mechanical motion of the middle superconducting island. Coupling of mechanical oscillations of a superconducting island between two superconducting leads to the electronic tunneling generate a supercurrent which is modulated by the oscillatory motion of the island. This coupling produces alternating finite and vanishing supercurrent as function of the superconducting phases. Current peaks are sensitive to the superconducting phase shifts relative to each other. The proposed device may be used to study the nanoelectromechanical coupling in case of superconducting electronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Phonon mediated tunneling into graphene

Recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiments [V. W. Brar et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 122102 (2007), Y. Zhang et. al., arXiv:0802.4315 (2008)] on graphene reported an unexpected gap of about $\pm 60$meV around the Fermi level. Here, we give a theoretical investigation explaining the experimentally observed spectra and confirming the phonon mediated tunneling as the reason for the gap: We study the real space properties of the wave functions involved in the tunneling process by means of ab-initio theory and present a model for the electron-phonon interaction, which couples the graphene's Dirac electrons with quasi free electron states at the Brillouin zone center. The self-energy associated with this electron-phonon interaction is calculated and its effects on tunneling into graphene are discussed. In particular, good agreement of the tunneling density of states within our model and the experimental[V. W. Brar et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 122102 (2007), Y. Zhang et. al., arXiv:0802.4315 (2008)] dI/dU spectra is found.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Superconductivity in Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene

Recent observation of proximity effect \cite{Morpurgo:2007} has ignited interest in superconductivity in graphene and its derivatives. We consider Ca-intercalated graphene bilayer and argue that it is a superconductor, and likely with a sizeable $T_{c}$. We find substantial and suggestive similarities between Ca-intercalated bilayer (C$_{6}$CaC$_{6}$), and CaC$_{6} $, an established superconductor with $T_{c}$ = 11.5 K. In particular, the nearly free electron band, proven to be instrumental for superconductivity in intercalated graphites, does cross the chemical potential in (C$_{6}$CaC$% _{6}$), despite the twice smaller doping level, satisfying the so-called \textquotedblleft Cambridge criterion\textquotedblright . Calculated properties of zone-center phonons are very similar to those of CaC$%_{6}.$ This suggests that the critical temperature would probably be on the same scale as in CaC$_{6}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Mott transition in VO2 revealed by infrared spectroscopy and nano-imaging

Electrons in correlated insulators are prevented from conducting by Coulomb repulsion between them. When an insulator-to-metal transition is induced in a correlated insulator by doping or heating, the resulting conducting state can be radically different from that characterized by free electrons in conventional metals. We report on the electronic properties of a prototypical correlated insulator vanadium dioxide (VO2) in which the metallic state can be induced by increasing temperature. Scanning near-field infrared microscopy allows us to directly image nano-scale metallic puddles that appear at the onset of the insulator-to-metal transition. In combination with far-field infrared spectroscopy, the data reveal the Mott transition with divergent quasiparticle mass in the metallic puddles. The experimental approach employed here sets the stage for investigations of charge dynamics on the nanoscale in other inhomogeneous correlated electron systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Importance of on-site interaction in graphene

We use the Gutzwiller method to investigate the importance of the on-site Coulomb interaction in graphene. We apply it to Hubbard Hamiltonian to study the renormalization of the kinetic energy in graphene due to the on-site Coulomb interaction. We find that a reasonable strength of the interaction has a very weak effect in reducing the kinetic energy. Hence we predict that the Brinkmann-Rice metal-insulator transition in graphene is not possible. The effect is understood in terms of the high kinetic energy in graphene.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Tuning impurity states in bilayer graphene

We study the impurity states in bilayer graphene in the unitary limit using Green's function method. Unlike in single layer graphene, the presence of impurities at two non-equivalent sites in bilayer graphene produce different impurity states which is understood as the change in the band structure due to interlayer hopping of electrons. The impurity states can also be tuned by changing the band structure of bilayer grahene through external electric field bias.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Isotope effect on superconductivity in Josephson coupled stripes in underdoped cuprates

Inelastic neutron scattering data for YBaCuO as well as for LaSrCuO indicate incommensurate neutron scattering peaks with incommensuration $δ(x)$ away from the $(π,π)$ point. $T_c(x)$ can be replotted as a linear function of the incommensuration for these materials. This linear relation implies that the constant that relates these two quantities, one being the incommensuration (momentum) and another being $T_c(x)$ (energy), has the dimension of velocity we denote $v^*$: $k_B T_c(x) = \hbar v^* δ(x)$. We argue that this experimentally derived relation can be obtained in a simple model of Josephson coupled stripes. Within this framework we address the role of the $O^{16} \to O^{18}$ isotope effect on the $T_c(x)$. We assume that the incommensuration is set by the {\em doping} of the sample and is not sensitive to the oxygen isotope given the fixed doping. We find therefore that the only parameter that can change with O isotope substitution in the relation $T_c(x) \sim δ(x)$ is the velocity $v^*$. We predict an oxygen isotope effect on $v^*$ and expect it to be $\simeq 5%$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

On the origin of the decrease in the torsional oscillator period of solid He4

A decrease in the rotational period observed in torsional oscillator measurements was recently taken as a possible indication of a supersolid state of helium. We reexamine this interpretation and note that the decrease in the rotation period is also consistent with a solidification of a small liquid-like component into a low-temperature glass. Such a solidification may occur by a low-temperature quench of topological defects (e.g., grain boundaries or dislocations) which we examined in an earlier work. The low-temperature glass can account for not only a monotonic decrease in the rotation period as the temperature is lowered but also explains the peak in the dissipation occurring near the transition point. Unlike the non-classical rotational inertia scenario, which depends on the supersolid fraction, the dependence of the rotational period on external parameters, e.g., the oscillator velocity, provides an alternate interpretation of the oscillator experiments. Future experiments might explore this effect.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Wigner crystallization in a single and bilayer graphene

We study the possibility of Wigner crystallization in both single- and and bi-layer graphene using a real space tight binding model. In addition to verifying our earlier prediction for single layer graphene, we predict that the bilayer graphene can undergo a Wigner crystal transition at low enough carrier density thus offering a possibility of tunable and bipolar Wigner crystal. We find that aside from the Coulomb interaction of the carriers of two layers that stabilizes the charge ordered state, so does the inter layer coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Surface imaging of inelastic Friedel oscillations

Impurities that are present on the surface of a metal often have internal degrees of freedom. Inelastic scattering due to impurities can be revealed by observing local features seen in the tunneling current with scanning tunneling microscope (STM). We consider localized vibrational modes coupled to the electronic structure of a surface. We argue that vibrational modes of impurities produce Fermi momentum $k_F$ oscillations in second derivative of current with respect to voltage $\partial^2I(\br, V)/\partial V^2$. These oscillations are similar to the well known Friedel oscillations of screening charge on the surface. We propose to measure inelastic scattering generated by the presence of the vibrational modes with STM by imaging the $\partial^2I/\partial V^2$ oscillations on the metal surface.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Exchange interaction and Fano resonances in diatomic molecular systems

We propose a mechanism to use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) for direct measurements of the two-electron singlet-triplet exchange splitting $J$ in diatomic molecular systems, unsing the coupling between the molecule and the substrate electrons. The different pathways for electrons lead to interference effects and generate kinks in the differential conductance at the energies for the singlet and triplet states. These features are related to Fano resonance due to the branched electron wave functions. The ratio between the tunneling amplitudes through the two atoms can be modulated by spatial movements of the tip along the surface.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗