arXiv subjects

J. K. Freericks

Publications and source records attributed to J. K. Freericks.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

Gap ratio in anharmonic charge-density-wave systems

Many experimental systems exist that possess charge-density-wave order in their ground state. While this order should be able to be described with models similar to those used for superconductivity, nearly all systems have a ratio of the charge-density-wave order parameter to the transition temperature that is too high for conventional theories. Recent work explained how this can happen in harmonic systems, but when the lattice distortion gets large, anharmonic effects must play an increasingly important role. Here we study the gap ratio for anharmonic charge-density wave systems to see whether the low-temperature properties possess universality as was seen previously in the transition temperature and to see whether the explanation for the large gap ratios survives for anharmonic systems as well.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Comparison of structural transformations and superconductivity in compressed Sulfur and Selenium

Density-functional calculations are presented for high-pressure structural phases of S and Se. The structural phase diagrams, phonon spectra, electron-phonon coupling, and superconducting properties of the isovalent elements are compared. We find that with increasing pressure, Se adopts a sequence of ever more closely packed structures (beta-Po, bcc, fcc), while S favors more open structures (beta-Po, simple cubic, bcc). These differences are shown to be attributable to differences in the S and Se core states. All the compressed phases of S and Se considered are calculated to have weak to moderate electron-phonon coupling strengths consistent with superconducting transition temperatures in the range of 1 to 20 K. Our results compare well with experimental data on the beta-Po --> bcc transition pressure in Se and on the superconducting transition temperature in beta-Po S. Further experiments are suggested to search for the other structural phases predicted at higher pressures and to test theoretical results on the electron-phonon interaction and superconducting properties.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

Raman scattering near a quantum critical point

Electronic Raman scattering experiments in a wide variety of materials (ranging from mixed-valence materials to Kondo insulators to high-temperature superconductors) show anomalous behavior in the B_{1g} channel when the system is on the insulating side of the metal-insulator transition. Here we provide an exact solution for B_{1g} Raman scattering in the Falicov-Kimball model, show how these theoretical results are universal near the metal-insulator transition and show how they produce the two main features seen in experiments near a quantum critical point: (i) the rapid appearance of low-energy spectral weight as T is increased from 0 and (ii) the existence of an isosbestic point (where the Raman response is independent of T at a characteristic frequency).

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

Theory of valence transitions in ytterbium-based compounds

The anomalous behavior of YbInCu4 and similar compounds is modeled by the exact solution of the spin one-half Falicov-Kimball model in infinite dimensions. The valence-fluctuating transition is related to a metal-insulator transition caused by the Falicov-Kimball interaction, and triggered by the change in the f-occupancy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Dynamical Charge Susceptibility of the Spinless Falicov-Kimball Model

An exact solution is presented for the frequency-dependent charge susceptibility of the spinless Falicov-Kimball model by using dynamical mean-field theory. We develop a nontrivial application of the Baym-Kadanoff "conserving approximation" formalism to exactly determine the frequency-dependent vertex function (which turns out to assume a particularly simple form). We show how the static and dynamic susceptibilities are decoupled in this model and how the dynamic susceptibility generically does not show any signal of the low-temperature charge-density-wave phase transition. We also examine the temperature evolution of the dynamic charge susceptibility for the special case of half-filling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Microscopic self-consistent theory of Josephson junctions including dynamical electron correlations

We formulate a fully self-consistent, microscopic model to study the retardation and correlation effects of the barrier within a Josephson junction. The junction is described by a series of planes, with electronic correlation included through a local self energy for each plane. We calculate current-phase relationships for various junctions, which include non-magnetic impurities in the barrier region, or an interfacial scattering potential. Our results indicate that the linear response of the supercurrent to phase across the barrier region is a good, but not exact indicator of the critical current. Our calculations of the local density of states show the current-carrying Andreev bound states and their energy evolution with the phase difference across the junction. We calculate the figure of merit for a Josephson junction, which is the product of the critical current, Ic, and the normal state resistance, R(N), for junctions with different barrier materials. The normal state resistance is calculated using the Kubo formula, for a system with zero current flow and no superconducting order. Semiclassical calculations would predict that these two quantities are determined by the transmission probabilities of electrons in such a way that the product is constant for a given superconductor at fixed temperature. Our self-consistent solutions for different types of barrier indicate that this is not the case. We suggest some forms of barrier which could increase the Ic.R(N) product, and hence improve the frequency response of a Josephson device.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Segregation and charge-density-wave order in the spinless Falicov-Kimball model

The spinless Falicov-Kimball model is solved exactly in the limit of infinite-dimensions on both the hypercubic and Bethe lattices. The competition between segregation, which is present for large U, and charge-density-wave order, which is prevalent at moderate U, is examined in detail. We find a rich phase diagram which displays both of these phases. The model also shows nonanalytic behavior in the charge-density-wave transition temperature when U is large enough to generate a correlation-induced gap in the single-particle density of states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Evidence for exhaustion in the conductivity of the infinite-dimensional periodic Anderson model

Monte Carlo-maximum entropy calculations of the conductivity of the infinite-dimensional periodic Anderson model are presented. We show that the optical conductivity displays anomalies associated with the exhaustion of conduction-band states near the Fermi energy including a Drude weight which rises with temperature, with weight transferred from a temperature and doping-dependent mid-IR peak and a low-frequency incoherent contribution. Both the Drude and mid-IR peaks persist up to very high temperatures. The resistivity displays a non-universal peak and two other regions associated with impurity-like physics at high temperatures and Fermi Liquid formation at low T.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Competition between phase separation and "classical" intermediate valence in an exactly solved model

The exact solution of the spin-1/2 Falicov-Kimball model on an infinite-coordination Bethe lattice is analyzed in the regime of ``classical'' intermediate valence. We find (i) either phase separation or a direct metal-insulator transition preclude intermediate valence over a large portion of the phase diagram and (ii) within the intermediate valence phase, only continuous transitions are found as functions of the localized f-electron energy or temperature.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Approximate scaling relation for the anharmonic electron-phonon problem

An approximate scaling relation is found for the transition temperature to a charge-density-wave instability in the anharmonic electron-phonon problem, which maps a wide range of interaction strengths, anharmonicities, and phonon frequencies onto a common functional form. The relation employs the wave-function renormalization parameter and is valid even for systems that are not Fermi liquids.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Phase separation and the segregation principle in the infinite-U spinless Falicov-Kimball model

The simplest statistical-mechanical model of crystalline formation (or alloy formation) that includes electronic degrees of freedom is solved exactly in the limit of large spatial dimensions and infinite interaction strength. The solutions contain both second-order phase transitions and first-order phase transitions (that involve phase-separation or segregation) which are likely to illustrate the basic physics behind the static charge-stripe ordering in cuprate systems. In addition, we find the spinodal-decomposition temperature satisfies an approximate scaling law.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1998

Strong-coupling perturbation theory for the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model in a magnetic field

The Bose-Hubbard model in an external magnetic field is investigated with strong-coupling perturbation theory. The lowest-order secular equation leads to the problem of a charged particle moving on a lattice in the presence of a magnetic field, which was first treated by Hofstadter. We present phase diagrams for the two-dimensional square and triangular lattices, showing a change in shape of the phase lobes away from the well-known power-law behavior in zero magnetic field. Some qualitative agreement with experimental work on Josephson-junction arrays is found for the insulating phase behavior at small fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1998

Vertex-corrected perturbation theory for the electron-phonon problem with non-constant density of states

A series of weak-coupling perturbation theories which include the lowest-order vertex corrections are applied to the attractive Holstein model in infinite dimensions. The approximations are chosen to reproduce the iterated perturbation theory in the limit of half-filling and large phonon frequency (where the Holstein model maps onto the Hubbard model). Comparison is made with quantum Monte Carlo solutions to test the accuracy of different approximation schemes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Reevaluating electron-phonon coupling strengths: Indium as a test case for ab initio and many-body-theory methods

Using indium as a test case, we investigate the accuracy of the electron-phonon coupling calculated with state-of-the-art ab initio and many-body theory methods. The ab initio calculations -- where electrons are treated in the local-density approximation, and phonons and the electron-phonon interaction are treated within linear response -- predict an electron-phonon spectral function alpha^2 F(omega) which translates into a relative tunneling conductance that agrees with experiment to within one part in 1000. The many-body theory calculations -- where alpha^2 F(omega) is extracted from tunneling data by means of the McMillan-Rowell tunneling inversion method -- provide spectral functions that depend strongly on details of the inversion process. For the the most important moment of alpha^2 F(omega), the mass-renormalization parameter lambda, we report 0.9 +/- 0.1, in contrast to the value 0.805 quoted for nearly three decades in the literature. The ab initio calculations also provide the transport electron-phonon spectral function alpha_{tr}^2 F(omega), from which we calculate the resistivity as a function of temperature in good agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

What are the experimentally observable effects of vertex corrections in superconductors?

We calculate the effects of vertex corrections, of non-constant density of states and of a (self-consistently determined) phonon self-energy for the Holstein model on a 3D cubic lattice. We replace vertex corrections with a Coulomb pseudopotential, mu*, adjusted to give the same Tc, and repeat the calculations, to see which effects are a distinct feature of vertex corrections. This allows us to determine directly observable effects ofvertex corrections on a variety of thermodynamic properties of superconductors. To this end, we employ conserving approximations (in the local approximation) to calculate the superconducting critical temperatures, isotope coefficients, superconducting gaps, free-energy differences and thermodynamic critical fields for a range of parameters. We find that the dressed value of lambda is significantly larger than the bare value. While vertex corrections can cause significant changes in all the above quantities (even whenthe bare electron-phonon coupling is small), the changes can usually be well-modeled by an appropriate Coulomb pseudopotential. The isotope coefficient proves to be the quantity that most clearly shows effects of vertex corrections that can not be mimicked by a mu*.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Anomalous magnetic response of the spin-one-half Falicov-Kimball model

The infinite-dimensional spin one-half Falicov-Kimball model in an external magnetic field is solved exactly. We calculate the magnetic susceptibility in zero field, and the magnetization as a function of the field strength. The model shows an anomalous magnetic response from thermally excited local moments that disappear as the temperature is lowered. We describe possible real materials that may exhibit this kind of anomalous behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1998

Charge-transfer metal-insulator transitions in the spin-one-half Falicov-Kimball model

The spin-one-half Falicov-Kimball model is solved exactly on an infinite-coordination-number Bethe lattice in the thermodynamic limit. This model is a paradigm for a charge-transfer metal-insulator transition where the occupancy of localized and delocalized electronic orbitals rapidly changes at the metal-insulator transition (rather than the character of the electronic states changing from insulating to metallic as in a Mott-Hubbard transition). The exact solution displays both continuous and discontinuous (first-order) transitions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Low-temperature coherence in the periodic Anderson model: Predictions for photoemission of heavy Fermions

We present numerically exact predictions of the periodic and single-impurity Anderson models to address photoemission experiments on heavy Fermion systems. Unlike the single impurity model the lattice model is able to account for the enhanced intensity, dispersion, and apparent weak temperature dependence of the Kondo resonant peak seen in recent controversial photoemission experiments. We present a consistent interpretation of these results as a crossover from the impurity regime to an effective Hubbard model regime described by Nozieres.

cond-mat.str-el↗