Fröhlich Polarons from 0D to 3D: Concepts and Recent Developments
I analyse our present understanding of the Froehlich polaron with emphasis on the response properties, in particular optical absorption.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv subjects
J. T. Devreese
Publications and source records attributed to J. T. Devreese.
Two-phonon assisted exciton spin relaxation due to exchange interaction in spherical quantum dots
Spin relaxation in undoped quasi-spherical CdS quantum dots at zero magnetic fields is investigated using time- and polarization-resolved transient absorption measurements. Unlike in previous studies of these systems, the measured signals were corrected for spin-insensitive contributions to the exciton bleaching dynamics, {allowing us to determine} the pure spin-related exciton dynamics. To explain the observed room-temperature spin-relaxation time of several nanoseconds, we propose a novel mechanism based on intralevel exciton transitions with the emission of one LO phonon, the absorption of another LO phonon, and an electron spin flip, which is driven by the electron-hole exchange interaction. The transition rates, calculated in the present work for different sizes of quantum dots and temperatures, are in fair agreement with our experimental results.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗
Vortices on a superconducting nanoshell: phase diagram and dynamics
In superconductors, the search for special vortex states such as giant vortices focuses on laterally confined or nanopatterned thin superconducting films, disks, rings, or polygons. We examine the possibility to realize giant vortex states and states with non-uniform vorticity on a superconducting spherical nanoshell, due to the interplay of the topology and the applied magnetic field. We derive the phase diagram and identify where, as a function of the applied magnetic field, the shell thickness and the shell radius, these different vortex phases occur. Moreover, the curved geometry allows these states (or a vortex lattice) to coexist with a Meissner state, on the same curved film. We have examined the dynamics of the decay of giant vortices or states with non-uniform vorticity into a vortex lattice, when the magnetic field is adapted so that a phase boundary is crossed.
cond-mat.supr-con↗
Critical temperature and specific heat for Cooper pairing on a spherical surface
Based on an exact solution of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer type Hamiltonian on a spherical surface, we calculate the specific heat for the electron system with pair correlations on a sphere. We find that it is possible to extract from the specific heat a temperature above which many-body states with broken Cooper pairs get populated. Therefore, we define this temperature as the characteristic temperature signalling the onset of a BCS-type pair-correlated state for electrons on a spherical surface. Such spherical electron systems are realized in multielectron bubbles in liquid helium, for which the above-mentioned characteristic temperature is found to be of the order of 10-100 mK. Both the specific heat and the critical temperature show a pronounced (4-6%) odd-even parity effect that persists even for numbers of electrons as large as 10$^6$.
cond-mat.supr-con↗
Imbalanced Fermi superfluid in a one-dimensional optical potential
The superfluid properties of a two-state Fermi mixture in an optical lattice are profoundly modified when an imbalance in the population of the two states is present.We present analytical solutions for the free energy, and for the gap and number equations in the saddle-point approximation describing resonant superfluidity in the quasi-two-dimensional gas. Inhomogeneities due to the trapping potentials can be taken into account using the local density approximation. Analyzing the free energy in this approximation, we find that phase separation occurs in the layers. The phase diagram of the superfluid and normal phases is derived and analytical expressions for the phase lines are presented. We complete the investigation by accounting for effects beyond mean-field in the BEC limit where the system is more properly described as a Bose-Fermi mixture of atoms and molecules.
cond-mat.supr-con↗
Froehlich Polarons From 3D to 0D. Concepts and Recent Developments
An overview is presented of the fundamentals of continuum-polaron physics, which provide the basis of the analysis of polaron effects in ionic crystals and polar semiconductors. The present paper deals with "large", or "continuum", polarons, as described by the Froehlich Hamiltonian. The emphasis is on the polaron optical absorption.
cond-mat.stat-mech↗
On the validity of the Franck-Condon principle in the optical spectroscopy: optical conductivity of the Fröhlich polaron
The optical absorption of the Fröhlich polaron model is obtained by an approximation-free Diagrammatic Monte Carlo method and compared with two new approximate approaches that treat lattice relaxation effects in different ways. We show that: i) a strong coupling expansion, based on the the Franck-Condon principle, well describes the optical conductivity for large coupling strengths ($α>10$); ii) a Memory Function Formalism with phonon broadened levels reproduces the optical response for weak coupling strengths ($α<6$) taking the dynamic lattice relaxation into account. In the coupling regime $6<α<10$ the optical conductivity is a rapidly changing superposition of both Franck-Condon and dynamic contributions.
cond-mat.str-el↗
The light came in 1905
Our present Worldview can not be imagined without the seminal ideas of Albert Einstein.
physics.hist-ph↗
Photoluminescence of tetrahedral quantum-dot quantum wells
Taking into account the tetrahedral shape of a quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) when describing excitonic states, phonon modes and the exciton-phonon interaction in the structure, we obtain within a non-adiabatic approach a quantitative interpretation of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of a single CdS/HgS/CdS QDQW. We find that the exciton ground state in a tetrahedral QDQW is bright, in contrast to the dark ground state for a spherical QDQW.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗
On the ground state energy of a gas of interacting polarons in a magnetic field
The ground-state energy of a three-dimensional polaron gas in a magnetic field is investigated. An upper bound for the ground-state energy is derived within a variational approach which is based on a many-body generalization of the Lee-Low-Pines transformation. The basic contributing ingredients found are the ground-state energy and the static structure factor of the homogeneous electron gas in a magnetic field. Both these quantities are derived in the Hartree-Fock approximation. The resulting ground-state energy of the polaron gas is analyzed as a function of the electron density and of the magnetic field strength.
cond-mat.str-el↗
Influence of the Characteristics of the STM-tip on the Electroluminescence Spectra
We analyze the influence of the characteristics of the STM-tip (applied voltage, tip radius) on the electroluminescence spectra from an STM-tip-induced quantum dot taking into account the many-body effects. We find that positions of electroluminescence peaks, attributed to the electron-hole recombination in the quantum dot, are very sensitive to the shape and size of the confinement potential as determined by the tip radius and the applied voltage. A critical value of the tip radius is found, at which the luminescence peak positions as a function of the tip radius manifest a transition from decreasing behavior for smaller radii to increasing behavior for larger radii. We find that this critical value of the tip radius is related to the confinement in the lateral and normal direction.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗
Comment on "Froehlich Mass in GaAs-Based Structures"
The results of recent measurements of the cyclotron resonance (CR) spectra for a GaAs quantum well are interpreted in terms of the resonant magnetopolaron effect. Owing to this effect, the CR peaks split near the TO-phonon frequency and also change their positions with respect to those obtained without electron-phonon interaction. The theoretical peak positions of the CR spectra calculated within the many-polaron approach compare well with experimental data, as distinct from the CR energies calculated without electron-phonon interaction, which show no particular features in the region of the optical-phonon frequencies. We conclude that the Froehlich polaron concept is valid and even necessary to interpret the CR spectra of quantum wells.
cond-mat.mes-hall↗
Variational path-integral treatment of a translation invariant many-polaron system
A translation invariant N-polaron system is investigated at arbitrary electron-phonon coupling strength, using a variational principle for path integrals for identical particles. An upper bound for the ground state energy is found as a function of the number of spin up and spin down polarons, taking the electron-electron interaction and the Fermi statistics into account. The resulting addition energies and the criteria for multipolaron formation are discussed.
cond-mat.str-el↗
Contributions of George J. Papadopoulos
I review some of the scientific work of George Papadopoulos in the context of the Greek cultural tradition and modern theoretical physics. The main emphasis is on his works on path integrals and their applications. The review is closed by an excursus on the polaron physics, where the path-integral approach has been proven to be a method of excellence.
physics.hist-ph↗
Critical currents in the BEC/BCS crossover regime
Both the trapping geometry and the interatomic interaction strength of a dilute ultracold fermionic gas can be well controlled experimentally. When the interactions are tuned to strong attraction, Cooper pairing of neutral atoms takes place and a BCS superfluid is created. Alternatively, the presence of Feshbach resonances in the interatomic scattering allows populating a molecular (bound) state. These molecules are more tightly bound than the Cooper pairs and can form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In this contribution, we describe both the BCS and BEC regimes, and the crossover, from a functional integral point of view. In this description, the properties of the superfluid (such as vortices and Josephson tunneling) can be derived and followed as the system is tuned from BCS the BEC. In particular, we present results for the critical current of the superfluid through an optical lattice and link these results to recent experiments with atomic bosons in optical lattices.
cond-mat.other↗
Cooper pairing and superconductivity on a spherical surface
Electrons in a multielectron bubble in helium form a spherical, two-dimensional system coupled to the ripplons at the bubble surface. The electron-ripplon coupling, known to lead to polaronic effects, is shown to give rise also to Cooper pairing. A Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) Hamiltonian arises from the analysis of the electron-ripplon interaction in the bubble, and values of the coupling strength are obtained for different bubble configurations. The BCS Hamiltonian on the sphere is analysed using the Richardson method. We find that although the typical ripplon energies are smaller than the splitting between electronic levels, a redistribution of the electron density over the electronic levels is energetically favourable as pairing correlations can be enhanced. The density of states of the system with pairing correlations is derived. No gap is present, but the density of states reveals a strong step-like increase at the pair-breaking energy. This feature of the density of states should enable the unambiguous detection of the proposed state with pairing correlations in the bubble, through either capacitance spectroscopy or tunneling experiments, and allow to map out the phase diagram of the electronic system in the bubble.
cond-mat.supr-con↗
The vortex state in the BEC to BCS crossover: a path-integral description
We derive a path-integral description of the vortex state of a fermionic superfluid in the crossover region between the molecular condensate (BEC) regime and the Cooper pairing (BCS) regime. This path-integral formalism, supplemented by a suitable choice for the saddle point value of the pairing field in the presence of a vortex, offers a unified description that encompasses both the BEC and BCS limits. The vortex core size is studied as a function of the tunable interaction strength between the fermionic atoms. We find that in the BEC regime, the core size is determined by the molecular healing length, whereas in the BCS regime, the core size is proportional only to the Fermi wave length. The observation of such quantized vortices in dilute Fermi gases would provide an unambiguous proof of the realization of superfluidity in these gases.
cond-mat.other↗
Sonoluminescence and collapse dynamics of multielectron bubbles in helium
Multielectron bubbles (MEBs) differ from gas-filled bubbles in that it is the Coulomb repulsion of a nanometer thin layer of electrons that forces the bubble open rather than the pressure of an enclosed gas. We analyze the implosion of MEBs subjected to a pressure step, and find that despite the difference in the underlying processes the collapse dynamics is similar to that of gas-filled bubbles. When the MEB collapses, the electrons inside it undergo strong accelerations, leading to the emission of radiation. This type of sonoluminescence does not involve heating and ionisation of any gas inside the bubble. We investigate the conditions necessary to obtain sonoluminescence from multielectron bubbles and calculate the power spectrum of the emitted radiation.
cond-mat.other↗