arXiv subjects

F. Mezzadri

Publications and source records attributed to F. Mezzadri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Propagation of Visible Light in Nanostructured Niobium Stripes Embedded in a Dielectric Polymer

Nanometric metallic stripes allow the transmission of optical signals via the excitation and propagation of surface-localized evanescent electromagnetic waves, with important applications in the field of nano-photonics. Whereas this kind of plasmonic phenomena typically exploits noble metals, like Ag or Au, other materials can exhibit viable light-transport efficiency. In this work, we demonstrate the transport of visible light in nanometric niobium stripes coupled with a dielectric polymeric layer, exploiting the remotely-excited/detected Raman signal of black phosphorus (bP) as the probe. The light-transport mechanism is ascribed to the generation of surface plasmon polaritons at the Nb/polymer interface. The propagation length is limited due to the lossy nature of niobium in the optical range, but this material may allow the exploitation of specific functionalities that are absent in noble-metal counterparts.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Intriguing relaxor ferroelectricity in a polar CT crystal at the neutral-ionic interface

We investigated the mixed-stack charge-transfer crystal, N,N'-dimethylphenazine-TCNQ (M$_2$P-TCNQ), which is polar at room temperature and just at the neutral-to-ionic interface (ionicity $ρ\approx 0.5$). We detect the typical dielectric signature of a relaxor ferroelectric and an asymmetric positive-up-negative-down behavior. While relaxor ferroelectricity is usually ascribed to disorder in the crystal, we find no evidence for structural disorder in the investigated crystals. To elucidate the origin of M$_2$P-TCNQ's dielectric properties we perform parallel structural and spectroscopic measurements, associated with theoretical modeling and quantum-mechanical calculations. Our combined effort points to a highly polarizable electronic system that is strongly coupled to lattice vibrations. The found indications for polarization reversal imply flipping of the bent conformation of the M$_2$P molecule with an associated energy barrier of a few tens of an eV, broadly consistent with an Arrhenius fit of the dielectric relaxation times. While the polarization is mostly of electronic origin, its possible reversal implies slow collective motions that are affected by solid-state intermolecular interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals separated by one spin in a chain of free fermion

We calculate the entanglement entropy of a non-contiguous subsystem of a chain of free fermions. The starting point is a formula suggested by Jin and Korepin, \texttt{arXiv:1104.1004}, for the reduced density of states of two disjoint intervals with lattice sites $P=\{1,2,\dots,m\}\cup\{2m+1,2m+2,\dots, 3m\}$, which applies to this model. As a first step in the asymptotic analysis of this system, we consider its simplification to two disjoint intervals separated just by one site, and we rigorously calculate the mutual information between these two blocks and the rest of the chain. In order to compute the entropy we need to study the asymptotic behaviour of an inverse Toeplitz matrix with Fisher-Hartwig symbol using the the Riemann--Hilbert method.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

Singling out the effect of quenched disorder in the phase diagram of cuprates

We investigate the specific influence of structural disorder on the suppression of antiferromagnetic order and on the emergence of cuprate superconductivity. We single out pure disorder, by focusing on a series of Y$_{z}$Eu$_{1-z}$Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+y}$ samples at fixed oxygen content $y=0.35$, in the range $0\le z\le 1$. The gradual Y/Eu isovalent substitution smoothly drives the system through the Mott-insulator to superconductor transition from a full antiferromagnet with Néel transition $T_N=320$ K at $z=0$ to a bulk superconductor with superconducting critical temperature $T_c=18$ K at $z=1$, YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.35}$. The electronic properties are finely tuned by gradual lattice deformations induced by the different cationic radii of the two lanthanides, inducing a continuous change of the basal Cu(1)-O chain length, as well as a controlled amount of disorder in the active Cu(2)O$_2$ bilayers. We check that internal charge transfer from the basal to the active plane is entirely responsible for the doping of the latter and we show that superconductivity emerges with orthorhombicity. By comparing transition temperatures with those of the isoelectronic clean system we deterime the influence of pure structural disorder connected with the Y/Eu alloy.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Evolution of magneto-orbital order upon B-site electron doping in Na1-xCaxMn7O12 quadruple perovskite manganites

We present the discovery and refinement by neutron powder diffraction of a new magnetic phase in the Na1-xCaxMn7O12 quadruple perovskite phase diagram, which is the incommensurate analogue of the well-known pseudo-CE phase of the simple perovskite manganites. We demonstrate that incommensurate magnetic order arises in quadruple perovskites due to the exchange interactions between A and B sites. Furthermore, by constructing a simple mean field Heisenberg exchange model that generically describes both simple and quadruple perovskite systems, we show that this new magnetic phase unifies a picture of the interplay between charge, magnetic and orbital ordering across a wide range of compounds.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Optical study of the vibrational and dielectric properties of BiMnO3

BiMnO3 (BMO), ferromagnetic (FM) below Tc = 100 K, was believed to be also ferroelectric (FE) due to a non-centro-symmetric C2 structure, until diffraction data indicated that its space group is the centro-symmetric C2/c. Here we present infrared phonon spectra of BMO, taken on a mosaic of single crystals, which are consistent with C2/c at any T > 10 K, as well as room-temperature Raman data which strongly support this conclusion. We also find that the infrared intensity of several phonons increases steadily for decreasing T, causing the relative permittivity of BMO to vary from 18.5 at 300 K to 45 at 10 K. At variance with FE materials of displacive type, no appreciable softening has been found in the infrared phonons. Both their frequencies and intensities, moreover, appear insensitive to the FM transition at Tc.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

On relations between one-dimensional quantum and two-dimensional classical spin systems

We exploit mappings between quantum and classical systems in order to obtain a class of two-dimensional classical systems with critical properties equivalent to those of the class of one-dimensional quantum systems discussed in a companion paper (J. Hutchinson, J. P. Keating, and F. Mezzadri, arXiv:1503.05732). In particular, we use three approaches: the Trotter-Suzuki mapping; the method of coherent states; and a calculation based on commuting the quantum Hamiltonian with the transfer matrix of a classical system. This enables us to establish universality of certain critical phenomena by extension from the results in our previous article for the classical systems identified.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Random matrix theory and critical phenomena in quantum spin chains

We compute critical properties of a general class of quantum spin chains which are quadratic in the Fermi operators and can be solved exactly under certain symmetry constraints related to the classical compact groups $U(N)$, $O(N)$ and $Sp(2N)$. In particular we calculate critical exponents $s$, $ν$ and $z$, corresponding to the energy gap, correlation length and dynamic exponent respectively. We also compute the ground state correlators $\left\langle σ^{x}_{i} σ^{x}_{i+n} \right\rangle_{g}$, $\left\langle σ^{y}_{i} σ^{y}_{i+n} \right\rangle_{g}$ and $\left\langle \prod^{n}_{i=1} σ^{z}_{i} \right\rangle_{g}$, all of which display quasi-long-range order with a critical exponent dependent upon system parameters. Our approach establishes universality of the exponents for the class of systems in question.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Tau-Function Theory of Quantum Chaotic Transport with beta=1,2,4

We study the cumulants and their generating functions of the probability distributions of the conductance, shot noise and Wigner delay time in ballistic quantum dots. Our approach is based on the integrable theory of certain matrix integrals and applies to all the symmetry classes beta=1,2,4 of Random Matrix Theory. We compute the weak localization corrections to the mixed cumulants of the conductance and shot noise for beta=1,4, thus proving a number of conjectures of Khoruzhenko et al. (Phys. Rev. B, Vol. 80 (2009), 125301). We derive differential equations that characterize the cumulant generating functions for all beta=1,2,4. Furthermore, we show that the cumulant generating function of the Wigner delay time can be expressed in terms of the Painleve' III' transcendant. This allows us to study properties of the cumulants of the Wigner delay time in the asymptotic limit n -> infinity. Finally, for all the symmetry classes and for any number of open channels, we derive a set of recurrence relations that are very efficient for computing cumulants at all orders.

math-ph↗

arXiv2013

A matrix model with a singular weight and Painleve' III

We investigate the matrix model with weight $w(x):=\exp(-z^2/2x^2 + t/x - x^2/2)$ and unitary symmetry. and unitary symmetry. In particular we study the double scaling limit as $N \to \infty$ and $(\sqrt{N} t, Nz^2 ) \to (u_1,u_2)$, where $N$ is the matrix dimension and the parameters $(u_1,u_2)$ remain finite. Using the Deift-Zhou steepest descent method we compute the asymptotics of the partition function when $z$ and $t$ are of order $O\bigl(N^{-1/2}\bigr)$. In this regime we discover a phase transition in the $(z,N)$-plane characterised by the Painleve' III equation. This is the first time that Painleve' III appears in studies of double scaling limits in Random Matrix Theory and is associated to the emergence of an essential singularity in the weighting function. The asymptotics of the partition function is expressed in terms of a particular solution of the Painleve' III equation. We derive explicitly the initial conditions in the limit $Nz^2\rightarrow u_2$ of this solution.

math-ph↗

arXiv2012

Moments of the transmission eigenvalues, proper delay times and random matrix theory II

We systematically study the first three terms in the asymptotic expansions of the moments of the transmission eigenvalues and proper delay times as the number of quantum channels n in the leads goes to infinity. The computations are based on the assumption that the Landauer-Bütticker scattering matrix for chaotic ballistic cavities can be modelled by the circular ensembles of Random Matrix Theory (RMT). The starting points are the finite-n formulae that we recently discovered (Mezzadri and Simm, J. Math. Phys. 52 (2011), 103511). Our analysis includes all the symmetry classes beta=1,2,4; in addition, it applies to the transmission eigenvalues of Andreev billiards, whose symmetry classes were classified by Zirnbauer (J. Math. Phys. 37 (1996), 4986-5018) and Altland and Zirnbauer (Phys. Rev. B. 55 (1997), 1142-1161). Where applicable, our results are in complete agreement with the semiclassical theory of mesoscopic systems developed by Berkolaiko et al. (J. Phys. A.: Math. Theor. 41 (2008), 365102) and Berkolaiko and Kuipers (J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 43 (2010), 035101 and New J. Phys. 13 (2011), 063020). Our approach also applies to the Selberg-like integrals. We calculate the first two terms in their asymptotic expansion explicitly.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

Moments of the transmission eigenvalues, proper delay times and random matrix theory I

We develop a method to compute the moments of the eigenvalue densities of matrices in the Gaussian, Laguerre and Jacobi ensembles for all the symmetry classes beta = 1,2, 4 and finite matrix dimension n. The moments of the Jacobi ensembles have a physical interpretation as the moments of the transmission eigenvalues of an electron through a quantum dot with chaotic dynamics. For the Laguerre ensemble we also evaluate the finite n negative moments. Physically, they correspond to the moments of the proper delay times, which are the eigenvalues of the Wigner-Smith matrix. Our formulae are well suited to an asymptotic analysis as n -> infinity.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

Rate of convergence of linear functions on the unitary group

We study the rate of convergence to a normal random variable of the real and imaginary parts of Tr(AU), where U is an N x N random unitary matrix and A is a deterministic complex matrix. We show that the rate of convergence is O(N^{-2 + b}), with 0 <= b < 1, depending only on the asymptotic behaviour of the singular values of A; for example, if the singular values are non-degenerate, different from zero and O(1) as N -> infinity, then b=0. The proof uses a Berry-Esse'en inequality for linear combinations of eigenvalues of random unitary, matrices, and so appropriate for strongly dependent random variables.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

Internal-strain mediated coupling between polar Bi and magnetic Mn ions in the defect-free quadruple-perovskite BiMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$

By means of neutron powder diffraction, we investigated the effect of the polar Bi$^{3+}$ ion on the magnetic ordering of the Mn$^{3+}$ ions in BiMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$, the counterpart with \textit{quadruple} perovskite structure of the \textit{simple} perovskite BiMnO$_3$. The data are consistent with a \textit{noncentrosymmetric} spacegroup $Im$ which contrasts the \textit{centrosymmetric} one $I2/m$ previously reported for the isovalent and isomorphic compound LaMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$, which gives evidence of a Bi$^{3+}$-induced polarization of the lattice. At low temperature, the two Mn$^{3+}$ sublattices of the $A'$ and $B$ sites order antiferromagnetically (AFM) in an independent manner at 25 and 55 K, similarly to the case of LaMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$. However, both magnetic structures of BiMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$ radically differ from those of LaMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$. In BiMn$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$ the moments $\textbf{M}_{A'}$ of the $A'$ sites form an anti-body AFM structure, whilst the moments \textbf{M}$_{B}$ of the $B$ sites result from a large and \textit{uniform} modulation $\pm \textbf{M}_{B,b}$ along the b-axis of the moments \textbf{M}$_{B,ac}$ in the $ac$-plane. The modulation is strikingly correlated with the displacements of the Mn$^{3+}$ ions induced by the Bi$^{3+}$ ions. Our analysis unveils a strong magnetoelastic coupling between the internal strain created by the Bi$^{3+}$ ions and the moment of the Mn$^{3+}$ ions in the $B$ sites. This is ascribed to the high symmetry of the oxygen sites and to the absence of oxygen defects, two characteristics of quadruple perovskites not found in simple ones, which prevent the release of the Bi$^{3+}$-induced strain through distortions or disorder. This demonstrates the possibility of a large magnetoelectric coupling in proper ferroelectrics and suggests a novel concept of internal strain engineering for multiferroics design.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

On an average over the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble

We study the asymptotic limit for large matrix dimension N of the partition function of the unitary ensemble with weight exp(-z^2/2x^2 + t/x - x^2/2). We compute the leading order term of the partition function and of the coefficients of its Taylor expansion. Our results are valid in the range N^(-1/2) < z < N^(1/4). Such partition function contains all the information on a new statistics of the eigenvalues of matrices in the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE) that was introduced by Berry and Shukla (J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., Vol. 41 (2008), 385202, arXiv:0807.3474). It can also be interpreted as the moment generating function of a singular linear statistics.

math-ph↗

arXiv2008

Synthesis and characterization of multiferroic BiMn$_7$O$_{12}$

We report on the high pressure synthesis of BiMn$_7$O$_{12}$, a manganite displaying a "quadruple perovskite" structure. Structural characterization of single crystal samples shows a distorted and asymmetrical coordination around the Bi atom, due to presence of the $6s^{2}$ lone pair, resulting in non-centrosymmetric space group Im, leading to a permanent electrical dipole moment and ferroelectric properties. On the other hand, magnetic characterization reveals antiferromagnetic transitions, in agreement with the isostructural compounds, thus evidencing two intrinsic properties that make BiMn$_7$O$_{12}$ a promising multiferroic material.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Entanglement entropy in quantum spin chains with finite range interaction

We study the entropy of entanglement of the ground state in a wide family of one-dimensional quantum spin chains whose interaction is of finite range and translation invariant. Such systems can be thought of as generalizations of the XY model. The chain is divided in two parts: one containing the first consecutive L spins; the second the remaining ones. In this setting the entropy of entanglement is the von Neumann entropy of either part. At the core of our computation is the explicit evaluation of the leading order term as L tends to infinity of the determinant of a block-Toeplitz matrix whose symbol belongs to a general class of 2 x 2 matrix functions. The asymptotics of such determinant is computed in terms of multi-dimensional theta-functions associated to a hyperelliptic curve of genus g >= 1, which enter into the solution of a Riemann-Hilbert problem. Phase transitions for thes systems are characterized by the branch points of the hyperelliptic curve approaching the unit circle. In these circumstances the entropy diverges logarithmically. We also recover, as particular cases, the formulae for the entropy discovered by Jin and Korepin (2004) for the XX model and Its, Jin and Korepin (2005,2006) for the XY model.

math-ph↗

arXiv2006

A new correlator in quantum spin chains

We propose a new correlator in one-dimensional quantum spin chains, the $s-$Emptiness Formation Probability ($s-$EFP). This is a natural generalization of the Emptiness Formation Probability (EFP), which is the probability that the first $n$ spins of the chain are all aligned downwards. In the $s-$EFP we let the spins in question be separated by $s$ sites. The usual EFP corresponds to the special case when $s=1$, and taking $s>1$ allows us to quantify non-local correlations. We express the $s-$EFP for the anisotropic XY model in a transverse magnetic field, a system with both critical and non-critical regimes, in terms of a Toeplitz determinant. For the isotropic XY model we find that the magnetic field induces an interesting length scale.

cond-mat.str-el↗