arXiv subjects

D. A. Pesin

Publications and source records attributed to D. A. Pesin.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Mott physics and band topology in materials with strong spin-orbit interaction

Recent theory and experiment have revealed that strong spin-orbit coupling can have dramatic qualitative effects on the band structure of weakly interacting solids. Indeed, it leads to a distinct phase of matter, the topological band insulator. In this paper, we consider the combined effects of spin-orbit coupling and strong electron correlation, and show that the former has both quantitative and qualitative effects upon the correlation-driven Mott transition. As a specific example we take Ir-based pyrochlores, where the subsystem of Ir 5d electrons is known to undergo a Mott transition. At weak electron-electron interaction, we predict that Ir electrons are in a metallic phase at weak spin-orbit interaction, and in a topological band insulator phase at strong spin-orbit interaction. Very generally, we show that with increasing strength of the electron-electron interaction, the effective spin-orbit coupling is enhanced, increasing the domain of the topological band insulator. Furthermore, in our model, we argue that with increasing interactions, the topological band insulator is transformed into a "topological Mott insulator" phase, which is characterized by gapless surface spin-only excitations. The full phase diagram also includes a narrow region of gapless Mott insulator with a spinon Fermi surface, and a magnetically ordered state at still larger electron-electron interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Conductance of d-wave superconductor/normal metal/d-wave superconductor junctions

We develop a theory of the conductance of superconductor/normal metal/superconductor junctions in the case where the superconducting order parameter has d-wave symmetry. At low temperature the conductance is proportional to the square root of the inelastic electron relaxation time in the bulk of the superconductor. As a result it turns out to be much larger than the conductance of the normal part of the junction.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Nonperturbative interaction effects in the thermodynamics of disordered wires

We study nonperturbative interaction corrections to the thermodynamic quantities of multichannel disordered wires in the presence of the Coulomb interactions. Within the replica nonlinear $σ$-model (NL$σ$M) formalism, they arise from nonperturbative soliton saddle points of the NL$σ$M action. The problem is reduced to evaluating the partition function of a replicated classical one dimensional Coulomb gas. The state of the latter depends on two parameters: the number of transverse channels in the wire, N_{ch}, and the dimensionless conductance, G(L_T), of a wire segment of length equal to the thermal diffusion length, L_T. At relatively high temperatures, $G(L_T) \gtrsim \ln N_{ch} $, the gas is dimerized, i.e. consists of bound neutral pairs. At lower temperatures, $\ln N_{ch} \gtrsim G(L_T) \gtrsim 1$, the pairs overlap and form a Coulomb plasma. The crossover between the two regimes occurs at a parametrically large conductance $G(L_T) \sim \ln N_{ch}$, and may be studied independently from the perturbative effects. Specializing to the high temperature regime, we obtain the leading nonperturbative correction to the wire heat capacity. Its ratio to the heat capacity for noninteracting electrons, C_0, is $δC/C_0\sim N_{ch}G^2(L_T)e^{-2G(L_T)}$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Suppression of superconductivity due to non-perturbative saddle points in the nonlinear $σ$-model

We study superconductivity suppression due to thermal fluctuations in disordered wires using the replica nonlinear $σ$-model ($NLσM$). We show that in addition to the thermal phase slips there is another type of fluctuations that result in a finite resistivity. These fluctuations are described by saddle points in $NLσM$ and cannot be treated within the Ginzburg-Landau approach. The contribution of such fluctuations to the wire resistivity is evaluated with exponential accuracy. The magnetoresistance associated with this contribution is negative.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Quantum Charge Fluctuations in a Superconducting Grain

We consider charge quantization in a small superconducting grain that is contacted by a normal-metal electrode and is controlled by a capacitively coupled gate. At zero temperature and zero conductance $G$ between the grain and the electrode, the charge $Q$ as a function of the gate voltage $V_g$ changes in steps. The step height is $e$ if $Δ<E_c$, where $Δ$ and $E_c$ are, respectively, the superconducting gap and the charging energy of the grain. Quantum charge fluctuations at finite conductance remove the discontinuity in the dependence of $Q$ on $V_g$ and lead to a finite step width $\propto G^2Δ$. The resulting shape of the Coulomb blockade staircase is of a novel type. The grain charge is a continuous function of $V_g$ while the differential capacitance, $dQ/dV_g$, has discontinuities at certain values of the gate voltage. We determine analytically the shape of the Coulomb blockade staircase also at non-zero temperatures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Coulomb-blockade-induced bound quasiparticle states in a double-island qubit

We study the low temperature thermodynamic properties of a superconducting double-island qubit. For an odd number of electrons in the device, the ground state corresponds to the intrinsic quasiparticle bound to the tunneling contact. The ground state is separated from the continuum of excited states by a finite gap of order of the Josephson energy E_J. The presence of the bound quasiparticle state results in a nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the width of the transition region between Coulomb blockade plateaus. The minimum width occurs at the ionization temperature of the bound state, T_i\sim E_J/\ln(\sqrt{ΔE_J}/δ), with Δand δbeing respectively the superconducting gap and single particle mean level spacing in the island. For an even number of electrons in the system, we show that the Coulomb enhancement of the Josephson energy can be significantly stronger than that in the case of a single grain coupled to a superconducting lead. If the electrostatic energy favors a single broken Cooper pair, the resulting quasiparticles are bound to the contact with an energy that is exponentially small in the inverse dimensionless conductance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗