arXiv subjects

G. Vignale

Publications and source records attributed to G. Vignale.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Spin Coulomb drag beyond the random phase approximation

We study the spin Coulomb drag in a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas beyond the random phase approximation (RPA). We find that the finite transverse width of the electron gas causes a significant reduction of the spin Coulomb drag. This reduction, however, is largely compensated by the enhancement coming from the inclusion of many-body local field effects beyond the RPA, thereby restoring good agreement with the experimental observations by C. P. Weber \textit{et al.}, Nature, \textbf{437}, 1330 (2005).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Including nonlocality in exchange-correlation kernel from time-dependent current density functional theory: Application to the stopping power of electron liquids

We develop a scheme for building the scalar exchange-correlation (xc) kernel of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) from the tensorial kernel of time-dependent {\em current} density functional theory (TDCDFT) and the Kohn-Sham current density response function. Resorting to the local approximation to the kernel of TDCDFT results in a nonlocal approximation to the kernel of TDDFT, which is free of the contradictions that plague the standard local density approximation (LDA) to TDDFT. As an application of this general scheme, we calculate the dynamical xc contribution to the stopping power of electron liquids for slow ions to find that our results are in considerably better agreement with experiment than those obtained using TDDFT in the conventional LDA.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Quantum Theory of Orbital Magnetization and its Generalization to Interacting Systems

Based on standard perturbation theory, we present a full quantum derivation of the formula for the orbital magnetization in periodic systems. The derivation is generally valid for insulators with or without a Chern number, for metals at zero or finite temperatures, and at weak as well as strong magnetic fields. The formula is shown to be valid in the presence of electron-electron interaction, provided the one-electron energies and wave functions are calculated self-consistently within the framework of the exact current and spin density functional theory.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

"Phase Diagram" of the Spin Hall Effect

We obtain analytic formulas for the frequency-dependent spin-Hall conductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the presence of impurities, linear spin-orbit Rashba interaction, and external magnetic field perpendicular to the 2DEG. We show how different mechanisms (skew-scattering, side-jump, and spin precession) can be brought in or out of focus by changing controllable parameters such as frequency, magnetic field, and temperature. We find, in particular, that the d.c. spin Hall conductivity vanishes in the absence of a magnetic field, while a magnetic field restores the skew-scattering and side-jump contributions proportionally to the ratio of magnetic and Rashba fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Lorentz shear modulus of a two-dimensional electron gas at high magnetic field

We show that the Lorentz shear modulus -- one of the three elastic moduli of a homogeneous electron gas in a magnetic field -- can be calculated exactly in the limit of high magnetic field (i.e. in the lowest Landau level). Its value is $\pm \hbar n/4$, where $n$ is the two-dimensional electron density and the sign is determined by the orientation of the magnetic field. We use this result to refine our previous calculations of the dispersion of the collective modes of fractional quantum Hall liquids.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Theory of the Pseudospin Resonance in Semiconductor Bilayers

The pseudospin degree of freedom in a semiconductor bilayer gives rise to a collective mode analogous to the ferromagnetic resonance mode of a ferromagnet. We present a theory of the dependence of the energy and the damping of this mode on layer separation $d$. Based on these results, we discuss the possibility of realizing transport-current driven pseudospin-transfer oscillators in semiconductors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Gilbert damping and spin Coulomb drag in a magnetized electron liquid with spin-orbit interaction

We present a microscopic calculation of the Gilbert damping constant for the magnetization of a two-dimensional spin-polarized electron liquid in the presence of intrinsic spin-orbit interaction. First we show that the Gilbert constant can be expressed in terms of the auto-correlation function of the spin-orbit induced torque. Then we specialize to the case of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and we show that the Gilbert constant in this model is related to the spin-channel conductivity. This allows us to study the Gilbert damping constant in different physical regimes, characterized by different orderings of the relevant energy scales -- spin-orbit coupling, Zeeman coupling, momentum relaxation rate, spin-momentum relaxation rate, spin precession frequency -- and to discuss its behavior in various limits. Particular attention is paid to electron-electron interaction effects,which enter the spin conductivity and hence the Gilbert damping constant via the spin Coulomb drag coefficient.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Exchange and correlation effects on the plasmon dispersions and the Coulomb drag in low-density electron bilayers

We investigate the effect of exchange and correlation (xc) on the plasmon spectrum and the Coulomb drag between spatially separated low-density two-dimensional electron layers. We adopt a new approach, which employs dynamic xc kernels in the calculation of the bi-layer plasmon spectra and of the plasmon-mediated drag, and static many-body local field factors in the calculation of the particle-hole contribution to the drag. The spectrum of bi-layer plasmons and the drag resistivity are calculated in a broad range of temperatures taking into account both intra- and inter-layer correlation effects. We observe that both plasmon modes are strongly affected by xc corrections. After the inclusion of the complex dynamic xc kernels, a decrease of the electron density induces shifts of the plasmon branches in opposite directions. And this is in stark contrast to the tendency obtained within the RPA that both optical and acoustical plasmons move away from the boundary of the particle-hole continuum with a decrease in the electron density. We find that the introduction of xc corrections results in a significant enhancement of the transresistivity and qualitative changes in its temperature dependence. In particular, the large high-temperature plasmon peak that is present in the random phase approximation is found to disappear when the xc corrections are included. Our numerical results at low temperatures are in good agreement with the results of recent experiments by M. Kellogg {\it et al.}, Solid State Commun. \textbf{123}, 515 (2002).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Spin-Hall effect in a [110] quantum well

A self-consistent treatment of the spin-Hall effect requires consideration of the spin-orbit coupling and electron-impurity scattering on equal footing. This is done here for the experimentally relevant case of a [110] GaAs quantum well [Sih {\it et al.}, Nature Physics 1, 31 (2005)]. Working within the framework of the exact linear response formalism we calculate the spin-Hall conductivity including the Dresselhaus linear and cubic terms in the band structure, as well as the electron-impurity scattering and electron-electron interaction to all orders. We show that the spin-Hall conductivity naturally separates into two contributions, skew-scattering and side-jump, and we propose an experiment to distinguish between them.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Degenerate ground states and nonunique potentials: breakdown and restoration of density functionals

The Hohenberg-Kohn (HK) theorem is one of the most fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics, and constitutes the basis for the very successful density-functional approach to inhomogeneous interacting many-particle systems. Here we show that in formulations of density-functional theory (DFT) that employ more than one density variable, applied to systems with a degenerate ground state, there is a subtle loophole in the HK theorem, as all mappings between densities, wave functions and potentials can break down. Two weaker theorems which we prove here, the joint-degeneracy theorem and the internal-energy theorem, restore the internal, total and exchange-correlation energy functionals to the extent needed in applications of DFT to atomic, molecular and solid-state physics and quantum chemistry. The joint-degeneracy theorem constrains the nature of possible degeneracies in general many-body systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

A new collective mode in the fractional quantum Hall liquid

We apply the methods of continuum mechanics to the study of the collective modes of the fractional quantum Hall liquid. Our main result is that at long wavelength there are {\it two} distinct modes of oscillations, while previous theories predicted only {\it one}. The two modes are shown to arise from the internal dynamics of shear stresses created by the Coulomb interaction in the liquid. Our prediction is supported by recent light scattering experiments, which report the observation of two long-wavelength modes in a quantum Hall liquid.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Exchange and correlation effects on drag in low density electron bilayers: Coulomb and virtual-optical-phonon-mediated electron-electron interaction

We investigate the effect of exchange and correlation (xc) in low-density electron bilayers. Along with the direct Coulomb interaction, the effective electron-electron interaction mediated by the exchange of virtual polar optical (PO) phonons is considered. We find that the introduction of xc corrections results in a significant enhancement of the transresistivity and qualitative changes in its temperature dependence. The virtual PO-phonon contribution behaves similarly to the Coulomb drag and reduces noticeably the total drag thereby resulting in a better agreement with the recent experimental findings.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Many-body effective mass enhancement in a two-dimensional electron liquid

Motivated by a large number of recent magnetotransport studies we have revisited the problem of the microscopic calculation of the quasiparticle effective mass in a paramagnetic two-dimensional (2D) electron liquid (EL). Our systematic study is based on a generalized $GW$ approximation which makes use of the many-body local fields and takes advantage of the results of the most recent QMC calculations of the static charge- and spin-response of the 2D EL. We report extensive calculations for the many-body effective mass enhancement over a broad range of electron densities. In this respect we critically examine the relative merits of the on-shell approximation, commonly used in weak-coupling situations, {\it versus} the actual self-consistent solution of the Dyson equation. We show that already for $r_s \simeq 3$ and higher, a solution of the Dyson equation proves here necessary in order to obtain a well behaved effective mass. Finally we also show that our theoretical results for a quasi-2D EL, free of any adjustable fitting parameters, are in good qualitative agreement with some recent measurements in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Heterostructure unipolar spin transistors

We extend the analogy between charge-based bipolar semiconductor electronics and spin-based unipolar electronics by considering unipolar spin transistors with different equilibrium spin splittings in the emitter, base, and collector. The current of base majority spin electrons to the collector limits the performance of ``homojunction'' unipolar spin transistors, in which the emitter, base, and collector all are made from the same magnetic material. This current is very similar in origin to the current of base majority carriers to the emitter in homojunction bipolar junction transistors. The current in bipolar junction transistors can be reduced or nearly eliminated through the use of a wide band gap emitter. We find that the choice of a collector material with a larger equilibrium spin splitting than the base will similarly improve the device performance of a unipolar spin transistor. We also find that a graded variation in the base spin splitting introduces an effective drift field that accelerates minority carriers through the base towards the collector.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Observing the spin-Coulomb drag in spin-valve devices

The Coulomb interaction between electrons of opposite spin orientations in a metal or in a doped semiconductor results in a negative off-diagonal component of the electrical resistivity matrix -- the so-called "spin-drag resistivity". It is generally quite difficult to separate the spin-drag contribution from more conventional mechanisms of resistivity. In this paper I discuss two methods to accomplish this separation in a spin-valve device.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Mapping from current densities to vector potentials in time-dependent current-density functional theory

We show that the time-dependent particle density $n(\vec r,t)$ and the current density ${\vec j}(\vec r,t)$ of a many-particle system that evolves under the action of external scalar and vector potentials $V(\vec r,t)$ and $\vec A(\vec r,t)$ and is initially in the quantum state $|ψ(0)>$, can always be reproduced (under mild assumptions) in another many-particle system, with different two-particle interaction, subjected to external potentials $V'(\vec r,t)$ and $\vec A'(\vec r,t)$, starting from an initial state $|ψ' (0)>$, which yields the same density and current as $|ψ(0)>$. Given the initial state of this other many-particle system, the potentials $V'(\vec r,t)$ and $\vec A'(\vec r,t)$ are uniquely determined up to gauge transformations that do not alter the initial state. As a special case, we obtain a new and simpler proof of the Runge-Gross theorem for time-dependent current density functional theory. This theorem provides a formal basis for the application of time-dependent current density functional theory to transport problems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Quasiparticle self-energy and many-body effective mass enhancement in a two-dimensional electron liquid

Motivated by a number of recent experimental studies we have revisited the problem of the microscopic calculation of the quasiparticle self-energy and many-body effective mass enhancement in a two-dimensional electron liquid. Our systematic study is based on the many-body local fields theory and takes advantage of the results of the most recent Diffusion Monte Carlo calculations of the static charge and spin response of the electron liquid. We report extensive calculations of both the real and imaginary parts of the quasiparticle self-energy. We also present results for the many-body effective mass enhancement and the renormalization constant over an extensive range of electron density. In this respect we critically examine the relative merits of the on-shell approximation versus the self-consistent solution of the Dyson equation. We show that in the strongly-correlated regime a solution of the Dyson equation proves necessary in order to obtain a well behaved effective mass. The inclusion of both charge- and spin-density fluctuations beyond the Random Phase Approximation is indeed crucial to get reasonable agreement with recent measurements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Effect of electrical bias on spin transport across a magnetic domain wall

We present a theory of the current-voltage characteristics of a magnetic domain wall between two highly spin-polarized materials, which takes into account the effect of the electrical bias on the spin-flip probability of an electron crossing the wall. We show that increasing the voltage reduces the spin-flip rate, and is therefore equivalent to reducing the width of the domain wall. As an application, we show that this effect widens the temperature window in which the operation of a unipolar spin diode is nearly ideal.

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