Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

J. E. Hirsch

Publications and source records attributed to J. E. Hirsch.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
arXiv2003

Predicted electric field near small superconducting ellipsoids

We predict the existence of large electric fields near the surface of superconducting bodies of ellipsoidal shape of dimensions comparable to the penetration depth. The electric field is quadrupolar in nature with significant corrections from higher order multipoles. Prolate (oblate) superconducting ellipsoids are predicted to exhibit fields consistent with negative (positive) quadrupole moments, reflecting the fundamental charge asymmetry of matter.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

Charge expulsion and electric field in superconductors

The theory of hole superconductivity predicts that when a metal goes superconducting negative charge is expelled from its interior towards the surface. As a consequence the superconductor in its ground state is predicted to have a non-homogeneous charge distribution and an outward pointing electric field in its interior. Here we propose equations to describe the behavior of the charge density and electric field in superconductors, and solve them for a spherical geometry. The magnitude of the predicted interior electric field depends on superconducting parameters such as the condensation energy and the London penetration depth and is found to be of order $10^6 V/cm$. A physical interpretation of the result is given. It is predicted that for small superconducting bodies (compared to the penetration depth) an electric field $outside$ the superconductor should result from this physics. This may explain a recent experimental observation in $Nb$ metal clusters.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

Dynamic Hubbard Model: Effect of Finite Boson Frequency

Dynamic Hubbard models describe coupling of a boson degree of freedom to the on-site electronic double occupancy. In the limit of infinite boson frequency this coupling gives rise to a correlated hopping term in the effective Hamiltonian and to superconductivity when the Fermi level is near the top of the band. Here we study the effect of finite boson frequency through a generalized Lang-Firsov transformation and a high frequency expansion. It is found that finite frequency enhances the tendency to superconductivity in this model.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

The Lorentz force and superconductivity

To change the velocity of an electron requires that a Lorentz force acts on it, through an electric or a magnetic field. We point out that within the conventional understanding of superconductivity electrons appear to change their velocity in the absence of Lorentz forces. This indicates a fundamental problem with the conventional theory of superconductivity. A hypothesis is proposed to resolve this difficulty. This hypothesis is consistent with the theory of hole superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

Superconductors as giant atoms: qualitative aspects

When the Fermi level is near the top of a band the carriers (holes) are maximally dressed by electron-ion and electron-electron interactions. The theory of hole superconductivity predicts that only in that case can superconductivity occur, and that it is driven by $undressing$ of the carriers at the Fermi energy upon pairing. Indeed, experiments show that dressed hole carriers in the normal state become undressed electron carriers in the superconducting state. This leads to a description of superconductors as giant atoms, where undressed time-reversed electrons are paired and propagate freely in a uniform positive background. The pairing gap provides rigidity to the wavefunction, and electrons in the giant atom respond to magnetic fields the same way as electrons in diamagnetic atoms. We predict that there is an electric field in the interior of superconductors and that the charge distribution is inhomogeneous, with higher concentration of negative charge near the surface; that the ground state of superconductors has broken parity and possesses macroscopic spin currents, and that negative charge spills out when a body becomes superconducting.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

Superconductors as giant atoms predicted by the theory of hole superconductivity

The theory of hole superconductivity proposes that superconductivity originates in the fundamental electron-hole asymmetry of condensed matter and that it is an 'undressing' transition. Here we propose that a natural consequence of this theory is that superconductors behave as giant atoms. The model predicts that the charge distribution in superconductors is inhomogeneous, with higher concentration of negative charge near the surface. Some of this negative charge will spill out, giving rise to a negative electron layer right outside the surface of the superconductor, which should be experimentally detectable. Also superconductors should have a tendency to easily lose negative charge and become positively charged. Macroscopic spin currents are predicted to exist in superconducting bodies, giving rise to electric fields near the surface of multiply connected superconductors that should be experimentally detectable.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2003

Electron-hole asymmetry is the key to superconductivity

In a solid, transport of electricity can occur via negative electrons or via positive holes. In the normal state of superconducting materials experiments show that transport is usually dominated by $dressed$ $positive$ $hole$ $carriers$. Instead, in the superconducting state experiments show that the supercurrent is always carried by $undressed$ $negative$ $electron$ $carriers$. These experimental facts indicate that electron-hole asymmetry plays a fundamental role in superconductivity, as proposed by the theory of hole superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2002

Electron-hole asymmetry and superconductivity

In a solid, transport of electricity can occur via electrons or via holes. In the normal state no experiment can determine unambiguously whether the elementary mobile carriers have positive or negative charge. This is no longer true in the superconducting state: superconductors know the difference between electrons and holes. This indicates that electron-hole asymmetry plays a fundamental role in superconductivity, as proposed by the theory of hole superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2002

Quasiparticle undressing: a new route to collective effects in solids

The carriers of electric current in a metal are quasiparticles dressed by electron-electron interactions, which have a larger effective mass $m^*$ and a smaller quasiparticle weight $z$ than non-interacting carriers. If the momentum dependence of the self-energy can be neglected, the effective mass enhancement and quasiparticle weight of quasiparticles at the Fermi energy are simply related by $z=m/m^*$ ($m$=bare mass). We propose that both superconductivity and ferromagnetism in metals are driven by quasiparticle 'undressing', i.e., that the correlations between quasiparticles that give rise to the collective state are associated with an increase in $z$ and a corresponding decrease in $m^*$ of the carriers. Undressing gives rise to lowering of kinetic energy, which provides the condensation energy for the collective state. In contrast, in conventional descriptions of superconductivity and ferromagnetism the transitions to these collective states result in $increase$ in kinetic energy of the carriers and are driven by lowering of potential energy and exchange energy respectively.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2002

Electronic dynamic Hubbard model: exact diagonalization study

A model to describe electronic correlations in energy bands is considered. The model is a generalization of the conventional Hubbard model that allows for the fact that the wavefunction for two electrons occupying the same Wannier orbital is different from the product of single electron wavefunctions. We diagonalize the Hamiltonian exactly on a four-site cluster and study its properties as function of band filling. The quasiparticle weight is found to decrease and the quasiparticle effective mass to increase as the electronic band filling increases, and spectral weight in one- and two-particle spectral functions is transfered from low to high frequencies as the band filling increases. Quasiparticles at the Fermi energy are found to be more 'dressed' when the Fermi level is in the upper half of the band (hole carriers) than when it is in the lower half of the band (electron carriers). The effective interaction between carriers is found to be strongly dependent on band filling becoming less repulsive as the band filling increases, and attractive near the top of the band in certain parameter ranges. The effective interaction is most attractive when the single hole carriers are most heavily dressed, and in the parameter regime where the effective interaction is attractive, hole carriers are found to 'undress', hence become more like electrons, when they pair. It is proposed that these are generic properties of electronic energy bands in solids that reflect a fundamental electron-hole asymmetry of condensed matter. The relation of these results to the understanding of superconductivity in solids is discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2002

The True Colors of Cuprates

Optical experiments by Molegraaf et al reveal that the superconducting condensation energy of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+δ} originates in lowering of kinetic energy of the carriers. A perspective on the significance of these results is given.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2002

Quantum Monte Carlo and exact diagonalization study of a dynamic Hubbard model

A one-dimensional model of electrons locally coupled to spin-1/2 degrees of freedom is studied by numerical techniques. The model is one in the class of $dynamic$ $Hubbard$ $models$ that describe the relaxation of an atomic orbital upon double electron occupancy due to electron-electron interactions. We study the parameter regime where pairing occurs in this model by exact diagonalization of small clusters. World line quantum Monte Carlo simulations support the results of exact diagonalization for larger systems and show that kinetic energy is lowered when pairing occurs. The qualitative physics of this model and others in its class, obtained through approximate analytic calculations, is that superconductivity occurs through hole undressing even in parameter regimes where the effective on-site interaction is strongly repulsive. Our numerical results confirm the expected qualitative behavior, and show that pairing will occur in a substantially larger parameter regime than predicted by the approximate low energy effective Hamiltonian.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2002

Quasiparticle undressing in a dynamic Hubbard model: exact diagonalization study

Dynamic Hubbard models have been proposed as extensions of the conventional Hubbard model to describe the orbital relaxation that occurs upon double occupancy of an atomic orbital. These models give rise to pairing of holes and superconductivity in certain parameter ranges. Here we explore the changes in carrier effective mass and quasiparticle weight and in one- and two-particle spectral functions that occur in a dynamic Hubbard model upon pairing, by exact diagonalization of small systems. It is found that pairing is associated with lowering of effective mass and increase of quasiparticle weight, manifested in transfer of spectral weight from high to low frequencies in one- and two-particle spectral functions. This 'undressing' phenomenology resembles observations in transport, photoemission and optical experiments in high T_c cuprates. This behavior is contrasted with that of a conventional electron-hole symmetric Holstein-like model with attractive on-site interaction, where pairing is associated with 'dressing' instead of 'undressing'.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2002

Why holes are not like electrons: A microscopic analysis of the differences between holes and electrons in condensed matter

We give a detailed microscopic analysis of why holes are different from electrons in condensed matter. Starting from a single atom with zero, one and two electrons, we show that the spectral functions for electrons and for holes are qualitatively different because of electron-electron interactions. The quantitative importance of this difference increases as the charge of the nucleus decreases. Extrapolating our atomic analysis to the solid, we discuss the expected differences in the single particle spectral function and in frequency dependent transport properties for solids with nearly empty and nearly full electronic energy bands. We discuss the expected dependence of these quantities on doping, and the physics of superconductivity that results. We also discuss how these features of the atomic physics can be modeled by a variety of model Hamiltonians.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2001

Dynamic Hubbard Model

The Hubbard on-site repulsion $U$ between opposite spin electrons on the same atomic orbital is widely regarded to be the most important source of electronic correlation in solids. Here we extend the Hubbard model to account for the fact that the experimentally measured atomic $U$ is different from the one obtained by calculation of the atomic Coulomb integral. The resulting model describes quasiparticles that become increasingly dressed as the number of electrons in the band increases. Superconductivity can result in this model through quasiparticle undressing. Various signatures of this physics in spectroscopies in the normal and superconducting states are discussed. A novel effect in the normal state is predicted to be electroluminescence at the sample-positive counterelectrode boundary.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2001

Comment on "Discovery of microscopic electronic inhomogeneity in the high-$T_c$ superconductor $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+x}$", cond-mat/0107347

The paper by Pan et al, cond-mat/0107347, reports the discovery of 'electronic inhomogeneity' and 'spatial variations in the local density of states' in high $T_c$ cuprates. In my paper ``Effect of local potential variations in the model of hole superconductivity'', Physica C {\bf 194}, 119 (1992), many of the findings of Pan et al were foreshadowed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2001

Hole Superconductivity in MgB_2, Cuprates, and Other Materials

The theory of hole superconductivity proposes that MgB_2, and the high Tc cuprates, and the 'conventional superconductors', and all other superconductors, are driven by the same physical mechanism, which is not the electron-phonon interaction. That mechanism, hole undressing, evidence supporting it, and predictions for MgB_2, are briefly reviewed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗