arXiv subjects

Amnon Aharony

Publications and source records attributed to Amnon Aharony.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2002

Old and new results on multicritical points

Thirty years after the Liu-Fisher paper on the {\bf bicritical} and {\bf tetracritical} points in quantum lattice gases, these multicritical points continue to appear in a variety of new physical contexts. This paper reviews some recent multicritical phase diagrams, which involve e. g. high-$T_c$ superconductivity and various magnetic phases which may (or may not) coexist with it. One recent example concerns the SO(5) theory, which combines the 3-component antiferromagnetic and the 2-component superconducting order parameters. There, the competition between the isotropic, biconical and decoupled fixed points yields bicritical or tetracritical points. Recalling old results on the subject, it is shown that the {\bf decoupled} fixed point is stable, implying a {\bf tetracritical} point, contrary to recent claims, which are critically discussed. Other examples, concerning e. g. the superconducting versus charge and spin density wave phases are also discussed briefly. In all cases, extensions of old results can be used to correct new claims.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Scaling in a simple model for surface growth in a random medium

Surface growth in random media is usually governed by both the surface tension and the random local forces. Simulations on lattices mimic the former by imposing a maximum gradient $m$ on the surface heights, and the latter by site-dependent random growth probabilities. Here we consider the limit $m \to \infty$, where the surface grows at the site with minimal random number, {\it independent} of its neighbors. The resulting height distribution obeys a simple scaling law, which is destroyed when local surface tension is included. Our model is equivalent to Yee's simplification of the Bak-Sneppen model for the extinction of biological species, where the height represents the number of times a biological species is exchanged.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2001

Radial DLA: two fractal dimensions and deviations from self-similarity

When suitably rescaled, the distribution of the angular gaps between branches of off-lattice radial DLA is shown to approach a size-independent limit. The power-law expected from an asymptotic fractal dimension D=1.71 arises only for very small angular gaps, which occur only for clusters significantly larger than one million particles. Intermediate size gaps exhibit an effective dimension around 1.66, even for cluster sizes going to infinity. They dominate the distribution for clusters with less than a million particles. The largest gap approaches a finite limit extremely slowly, with a correction of order M^{-0.17}, where M is the cluster mass.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2001

Quantized pumped charge due to surface acoustic waves in a 1D channel

The adiabatic pumped current through an unbiased one dimensional (1D) channel, connected to two 1D leads and subject to surface acoustic waves (SAW), is calculated exactly for non-interacting electrons. For a broad range of the parameters, quantum interference generates a staircase structure of the time-averaged current, similar to experimental observations. This corresponds to integer values (in units of electronic charge) of the charge pumped during each period of the SAW. We also find staircases for higher harmonics. Quantum interference can thus replace Coulomb blockade in explaining the pumped charge quantization, particularly in the SAW experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2001

Comment on "Bicritical and Tetracritical Phenomena and Scaling Properties of the SO(5) Theory"

The multicritical point at which both a 3-component and a 2-component order parameters order simultaneously in 3 dimensions is shown to have the critical behavior of the decoupled fixed point, with separate n=3 and n=2 behavior. This contradicts both the extrapolation of the epsilon-expansion at leading order, which yields the biconical point, and recent Monte Carlo simulations, which gave isotropic SO(5) behavior. Thus, this tetracritical point carries no information on the relevance of the so-called SO(5) theory of high-T superconductivity.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2000

Diffusion limited aggregation as a Markovian process: site-sticking conditions

Cylindrical lattice diffusion limited aggregation (DLA), with a narrow width N, is solved for site-sticking conditions using a Markovian matrix method (which was previously developed for the bond-sticking case). This matrix contains the probabilities that the front moves from one configuration to another at each growth step, calculated exactly by solving the Laplace equation and using the proper normalization. The method is applied for a series of approximations, which include only a finite number of rows near the front. The fractal dimensionality of the aggregate is extrapolated to a value near 1.68.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2000

Direct Observation of the Quantum Energy Gap in S = 1/2 Tetragonal Cuprate Antiferromagnets

Using an electron spin resonance spectrometer covering a wide range of frequency and magnetic field, we have measured the low energy excitations of the S=1/2 tetragonal antiferromagnets, Sr_{2}CuO_{2}Cl_{2} and Sr_{2}Cu_{3}O_{4}Cl_{2}. Our observation of in-plane energy gaps of order 0.1 meV at zero external magnetic field are consistent with a spin wave calculation, which includes several kinds of quantum fluctuations that remove frustration. Results agree with other experiments and with exchange anisotropy parameters determined from a five band Hubbard model.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

Diffusion limited aggregation as a Markovian process. Part I: bond-sticking conditions

Cylindrical lattice Diffusion Limited Aggregation (DLA), with a narrow width N, is solved using a Markovian matrix method. This matrix contains the probabilities that the front moves from one configuration to another at each growth step, calculated exactly by solving the Laplace equation and using the proper normalization. The method is applied for a series of approximations, which include only a finite number of rows near the front. The matrix is then used to find the weights of the steady state growing configurations and the rate of approaching this steady state stage. The former are then used to find the average upward growth probability, the average steady-state density and the fractal dimensionality of the aggregate, which is extrapolated to a value near 1.64.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1999

Competing frustration and dilution effects on the antiferrromagnetism in La(2-x)Sr(x)Cu(1-z)Zn(z)O(4)

The combined effects of hole doping and magnetic dilution on a lamellar Heisenberg antiferromagnet are studied in the framework of the frustration model. Magnetic vacancies are argued to remove some of the frustrating bonds generated by the holes, thus explaining the increase in the temperature and concentration ranges exhibiting three dimensional long range order. The dependence of the Neel temperature on both hole and vacancy concentrations is derived quantitatively from earlier renormalization group calculations for the non--dilute case, and the results reproduce experimental data with no new adjustable parameters.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1999

Path Crossing Exponents and the External Perimeter in 2D Percolation

2D Percolation path exponents $x^{\cal P}_{\ell}$ describe probabilities for traversals of annuli by $\ell$ non-overlapping paths, each on either occupied or vacant clusters, with at least one of each type. We relate the probabilities rigorously to amplitudes of $O(N=1)$ models whose exponents, believed to be exact, yield $x^{\cal P}_{\ell}=({\ell}^2-1)/12$. This extends to half-integers the Saleur--Duplantier exponents for $k=\ell/2$ clusters, yields the exact fractal dimension of the external cluster perimeter, $D_{EP}=2-x^{\cal P}_3=4/3$, and also explains the absence of narrow gate fjords, as originally found by Grossman and Aharony.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1998

Suppression of antiferromagnetic correlations by quenched dipole--type impurities

The effect of quenched random ferromagnetic bonds on the antiferromagnetic correlation length of a two--dimensional Heisneberg model is studied, applying the renormalization group method to the classical non--linear sigma model with quenched random dipole moments. It is found that the antiferromagnetic long range order is destroyed for any non--zero concentration, of the dipolar defects, even at zero temperature. Below a line T ~ concentration, the correlation length is independent of T, and decreases exponentially with concentration. At higher temperatures, itdecays exponentially with an effective stiffness constant which decreases with concentration/T. The results are used to estimate the three--dimensional Néel temperature, which decays linearly with $x$ at small concentrations, and drops precipitously at a critical concentration. These predictions are compared with experiments on doped copper oxides, and are shown to reproduce successfully some of the prominent features of the data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Exact solution of diffusion limited aggregation in a narrow cylindrical geometry

The diffusion limited aggregation model (DLA) and the more general dielectric breakdown model (DBM) are solved exactly in a two dimensional cylindrical geometry with periodic boundary conditions of width 2. Our approach follows the exact evolution of the growing interface, using the evolution matrix E, which is a temporal transfer matrix. The eigenvector of this matrix with an eigenvalue of one represents the system's steady state. This yields an estimate of the fractal dimension for DLA, which is in good agreement with simulations. The same technique is used to calculate the fractal dimension for various values of eta in the more general DBM model. Our exact results are very close to the approximate results found by the fixed scale transformation approach.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1997

Suppression of antiferromagnetic correlations by dipole-type impurities in lamellar cuprates

In doped lamellar cuprates, localized holes create ferromagnetic bonds and cause spin canting similar to that caused by magnetic dipoles. At low temperatures, these dipoles are frozen, behaving like quenched correlated random fields. Renormalization group methods are used to show that such impurities cause a strong reduction of the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic correlations in the non-linear $σ$ model, and a related decrease in the three dimensional Néel temperature, in quantitative agreement with experiments.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Magnetic anisotropies and general on--site Coulomb interactions in the cuprates

This paper derives the anisotropic superexchange interactions from a Hubbard model for excitations within the copper 3d band and the oxygen 2p band of the undoped insulating cuprates. We extend the recent calculation of Yildirim et al. [Phys. Rev. B {\bf VV}, pp, 1995] in order to include the most general on--site Coulomb interactions (including those which involve more than two orbitals) when two holes occupy the same site. Our general results apply when the oxygen ions surrounding the copper ions form an octahedron which has tetragonal symmetry (but may be rotated as in lanthanum cuprate). For the tetragonal cuprates we obtain an easy--plane anisotropy in good agreement with experimental values. We predict the magnitude of the small in--plane aniso

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Anisotropic Spin Hamiltonians due to Spin-Orbit and Coulomb Exchange Interactions

This paper contains the details of Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 2919 (1994) and, to a lesser extent, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 3710 (1994). We treat a Hubbard model which includes all the 3d states of the Cu ions and the 2p states of the O ions. We also include spin-orbit interactions, hopping between ground and excited crystal field states of the Cu ions, and rather general Coulomb interactions. Our analytic results for the spin Hamiltonian, H, are corroborated by numerical evaluations of the energy splitting of the ground manifold for two holes on either a pair of Cu ions or a Cu-O-Cu complex. In the tetragonal symmetry case and for the model considered, we prove that H is rotationally invariant in the absence of Coulomb exchange. When Coulomb exchange is present, each bond Hamiltonian has full biaxial anisotropy, as expected for this symmetry. For lower symmetry situations, the single bond spin Hamiltonian is anisotropic at order t**6 for constant U and at order t**2 for nonconstant U. (Constant U means that the Coulomb interaction between orbitals does not depend on which orbitals are involved.)

cond-mat↗