arXiv subjects

C. Kallin

Publications and source records attributed to C. Kallin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2009

Experimentally Realized Correlated Electron Materials: From Superconductors to Topological Insulators

Recent discoveries, as well as open questions, in experimentally realized correlated electron materials are reviewed. In particular, high temperature superconductivity in the cuprates and in the recently discovered iron pnictides, possible chiral p-wave superconductivity in strontium ruthenate, the search for quantum spin liquid behavior in real materials, and new experimental discoveries in topological insulators are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Is Sr2RuO4 a Chiral P-Wave Superconductor?

Much excitement surrounds the possibility that strontium ruthenate exhibits chiral p-wave superconducting order. Such order would be a solid state analogue of the A phase of He-3, with the potential for exotic physics relevant to quantum computing. We take a critical look at the evidence for such time-reversal symmetry breaking order. The possible superconducting order parameter symmetries and the evidence for and against chiral p-wave order are reviewed, with an emphasis on the most recent theoretical predictions and experimental observations. In particular, attempts to reconcile experimental observations and theoretical predictions for the spontaneous supercurrents expected at sample edges and domain walls of a chiral p-wave superconductor and for the polar Kerr effect, a key signature of broken time-reversal symmetry, are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Superfluid density near the critical temperature in the presence of random planar defects

The superfluid density near the superconducting transition is investigated in the presence of spatial inhomogeneity in the critical temperature. Disorder is accounted for by means of a random $T_c$ term in the conventional Ginzburg-Landau action for the superconducting order parameter. Focusing on the case where a low-density of randomly distributed planar defects are responsible for the variation of $T_c$, we derive the lowest order correction to the superfluid density in powers of the defect concentration. The correction is calculated assuming a broad Gaussian distribution for the strengths of the defect potentials. Our results are in a qualitative agreement with the superfluid density measurements in the underdoped regime of high-quality YBCO crystals by Broun and co-workers.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Upper limit on spontaneous supercurrents in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

It is widely believed that the perovskite Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is an unconventional superconductor with broken time reversal symmetry. It has been predicted that superconductors with broken time reversal symmetry should have spontaneously generated supercurrents at edges and domain walls. We have done careful imaging of the magnetic fields above Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ single crystals using scanning Hall bar and SQUID microscopies, and see no evidence for such spontaneously generated supercurrents. We use the results from our magnetic imaging to place upper limits on the spontaneously generated supercurrents at edges and domain walls as a function of domain size. For a single domain, this upper limit is below the predicted signal by two orders of magnitude. We speculate on the causes and implications of the lack of large spontaneous supercurrents in this very interesting superconducting system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

The pseudogap: friend or foe of high Tc?

Although nineteen years have passed since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity, there is still no consensus on its physical origin. This is in large part because of a lack of understanding of the state of matter out of which the superconductivity arises. In optimally and underdoped materials, this state exhibits a pseudogap at temperatures large compared to the superconducting transition temperature. Although discovered only three years after the pioneering work of Bednorz and Muller, the physical origin of this pseudogap behavior and whether it constitutes a distinct phase of matter is still shrouded in mystery. In the summer of 2004, a band of physicists gathered for five weeks at the Aspen Center for Physics to discuss the pseudogap. In this perspective, we would like to summarize some of the results presented there and discuss its importance in the context of strongly correlated electron systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Ordering and Spin Waves in NaNiO2 : A Stacked Quantum Ferromagnet

Neutron scattering measurements on powder NaNiO2 reveal magnetic Bragg peaks and spin waves characteristic of strongly correlated s=1/2 magnetic moments arranged in ferromagnetic layers which are stacked antiferromagnetically. This structure lends itself to stacking sequence frustration in the presence of mixing between nickel and alkali metal sites, possibly providing a natural explanation for the enigmatic spin glass state of the isostructural compound, LiNiO2.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Pseudogap Kondo Physics from Charge Fluctuations in a Quantum Dot

We consider charge fluctuations in a quantum dot coupled to an interacting one-dimensional electron liquid. We find the behavior of this system to be similar to the multichannel pseudogap Kondo model. By tuning the coupling between the dot and the one-dimensional electron liquid, one can access the quantum critical point and the various fixed points which arise. The differential capacitance is computed and is shown to contain detailed information about the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Kondo Effect in Carbon Nanotube Single-Electron Transistors

Recently, Coulomb blockade physics was observed at room temperature in a carbon nanotube single-electron transistor (H. W. Ch. Postma, et. al., Science 293, 76 (2001)). In this work, we suggest that these devices may be promising for studying the Kondo effect. In particular, they could allow for a detailed investigation of the 2-channel Kondo fixed point. Moreover, fabricating a similar device in a short nanotube could be promising for studying the effect of a magnetic impurity in an ultrasmall metallic grain. Experimental signatures of the Kondo effect in these systems is discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Microwave Conductivity due to Impurity Scattering in a d-wave Superconductor

The self-consistent t-matrix approximation for impurity scattering in unconventional superconductors is used to interpret recent measurements of the temperature and frequency dependence of the microwave conductivity of YBCO crystals below 20K. In this theory, the conductivity is expressed in terms of a fequency dependent single particle self-energy, determined by the impurity scattering phase shift which is small for weak (Born) scattering and approaches $π/ 2$ for unitary scattering. Inverting this process, microwave conductivity data are used to extract an effective single-particle self-energy and obtain insight into the nature of the operative scattering processes. It is found that the effective self-energy is well approximated by a constant plus a linear term in frequency with a small positive slope for thermal quasiparticle energies below 20K. Possible physical origins of this form of self-energy are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Spin-lattice relaxation in the mixed state of YBaCuO: Can we see Doppler-shifted d-wave quasiparticles?

We present calculations of the rate of planar Cu spin lattice relaxation in the mixed state of YBaCuO due to (i) vortex vibrations and (ii) electron spin-flip scattering. We emphasize that both mechanisms give position dependent rates due to the presence of vortices, and hence the magnetization recovery is characterized by a distribution of rates. We conclude that relaxation by vortex vibrations is too slow to be a significant factor in this material. Using a semiclassical model of Doppler shifted d-wave quasiparticles with a linear dispersion around the nodes, our calculation of the relaxation rate from electron spin-flip scattering shows partial agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Stripe Formation within SO(5) Theory

We study the formation of stripe order within the SO(5) theory of high T_c superconductivity. We show that spin and charge modulations arise as a result of the competition between a local tendency to phase separate and the long-range Coulomb interaction. This frustrated phase separation leads to hole-rich and hole-poor regions which are respectively superconducting and antiferromagnetic. A rich variety of microstructures ranging from droplet and striped to inverted-droplet phases are stabilized, depending on the charge carrier concentration. We show that the SO(5) energy functional favors non-topological stripes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Properties of SAS Josephson junctions in SO(5) theory

We derive the qualitative behavior of superconductor-antiferromagnet- superconductor (SAS) Josephson junctions described by Zhang's SO(5) theory. The main differences between these junctions and conventional SIS junctions arise from the non-sinusoidal current-phase relation derived by Demler et al. for thin SAS junctions. Using a simple approximation to this non-sinusoidal function, the current voltage relation, Shapiro steps, thermal fluctuation effects and the diffraction pattern in a magnetic field are obtained.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1997

Critical temperature and superfluid density suppression in disordered high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors

We argue that the standard Abrikosov-Gorkov (AG) type theory of $T_c$ in disordered $d$-wave superconductors breaks down in short coherence length high-$T_c$ cuprates. Numerical calculations within the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism demonstrate that the correct description of such systems must allow for the spatial variation of the order parameter, which is strongly suppressed in the vicinity of impurities but mostly unaffected elsewhere. Suppression of $T_c$ as measured with respect to the attendant decrease in the superfluid density is found to be significantly weaker than that predicted by the AG theory, in good agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1997

Proximity Effect and Josephson Coupling in the SO(5) Theory of High-Tc Superconductivity

We consider proximity effect coupling in Superconducting/Antiferromagnetic/Superconducting (S-A-S) sandwiches using the recently developed SO(5) effective theory of high temperature superconductivity. We find that, for narrow junctions, the A region acts like a strong superconductor, and that there is a critical junction thickness which depends on the effective SO(5) coupling constants and on the phase difference across the junction, at which the A region undergoes a Freedericksz-like transition to a state which is intermediate between superconductor and antiferromagnet. For thick junctions, the current-phase relation is sinusoidal, as in standard S-N-S and S-I-S junctions, but for thin junctions it shows a sharp break in slope at the Freedericksz point.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1997

Superconducting Vortex with Antiferromagnetic Core

We show that a superconducting vortex in underdoped high T_c superconductors could have an antiferromagnetic core. This type of vortex configuration arises as a topological solution in the recently constructed SO(5) nonlinear sigma model and in Ginzburg-Landau theory with competing antiferromagnetic and superconducting order parameters. Experimental detection of this type of vortex by μSR and neutron scattering is proposed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1997

Twin boundaries in d-wave superconductors

Twin boundaries in orthorhombic d-wave superconductors are investigated numerically using the Bogoliubov-deGennes formalism within the context of an extended Hubbard model. The twin boundaries are represented by tetragonal regions of variable width, with a reduced chemical potential. For sufficiently large twin boundary width and change in chemical potential, an induced s-wave component may break time-reversal symmetry at a low temperature. This temperature, and the magnitude of the complex component, are found to depend strongly on electron density. The results are compared with recent tunneling measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1996

Microscopic Derivation of the Ginzburg-Landau Equations for a d-wave Superconductor

The Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equations for a d-wave superconductor are derived within the context of two microscopic lattice models used to describe the cuprates: the extended Hubbard model and the Antiferromagnetic-van Hove model. Both models have pairing on nearest-neighbour links, consistent with theories for d-wave superconductivity mediated by spin fluctuations. Analytical results obtained for the extended Hubbard model at low electron densities and weak-coupling are compared to results reported previously for a d-wave superconductor in the continuum. The variation of the coefficients in the GL equations with carrier density, temperature, and coupling constants are calculated numerically for both models. The relative importance of anisotropic higher-order terms in the GL free energy is investigated, and the implications for experimental observations of the vortex lattice are considered.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1996

Impurity scattering and localization in $d$-wave superconductors

Strong evidence is presented for the localization of low energy quasiparticle states in disordered $d$-wave superconductors. Within the framework of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) theory applied to the extended Hubbard model with a finite concentration of non-magnetic impurities, we carry out a fully self-consistent numerical diagonalization of the BdG equations on finite clusters containing up to $50\times 50$ sites. Localized states are identified by probing their sensitivity to the boundary conditions and by analyzing the finite size dependence of inverse participation ratios.

cond-mat↗