arXiv subjects

Y. Alhassid

Publications and source records attributed to Y. Alhassid.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Effect of a Zeeman field on the superconductor-ferromagnet transition in metallic grains

We investigate the competition between pairing correlations and ferromagnetism in small metallic grains in the presence of a Zeeman field. Our analysis is based on the universal Hamiltonian, valid in the limit of large Thouless conductance. We show that the coexistence regime of superconducting and ferromagnetic correlations can be made experimentally accessible by tuning an external Zeeman field. We compare the exact solution of the model with a mean-field theory and find that the latter cannot describe pairing correlations in the intermediate regime. We also study the occurrence of spin jumps across the phase boundary separating the superconducting and coexistence regimes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Thermal Signatures of Pairing Correlations in Nuclei and Nanoparticles

The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) mean-field theory of the pairing interaction breaks down for nuclei and ultra-small metallic grains (nanoparticles). Finite-temperature pairing correlations in such finite-size systems can be calculated beyond the BCS theory in an auxiliary-field Monte Carlo approach. We identify thermal signatures of pairing correlations in both nuclei and nanoparticles that depend on the particle-number parity.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2007

Thermodynamics of ultra-small metallic grains in the auxiliary-field Monte Carlo approach

We use an auxiliary-field Monte Carlo (AFMC) method to calculate thermodynamic properties (spin susceptibility and heat capacity) of ultra-small metallic grains in the presence of pairing correlations. This method allows us to study the crossover from bulk systems, where mean-field BCS theory is valid, to the fluctuation-dominated regime of ultra-small particles at finite temperature. The computational effort at low temperatures is significantly reduced by exploiting a simple renormalization method.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Microscopic calculation of symmetry projected nuclear level densities

We present a quantum Monte Carlo method with exact projection on parity and angular momentum that is free of sign-problems for seniority-conserving nuclear interactions. This technique allows a microscopic calculation of angular momentum and parity projected nuclear level densities. We present results for the $^{55}$Fe, $^{56}$Fe and $^{57}$Fe isotopes. Signatures of the pairing phase transition are observed in the angular momentum distribution of the nuclear level density.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2006

Spin projection in the shell model Monte Carlo method and the spin distribution of nuclear level densities

We introduce spin projection methods in the shell model Monte Carlo approach and apply them to calculate the spin distribution of level densities for iron-region nuclei using the complete $(pf+g_{9/2})$-shell. We compare the calculated distributions with the spin-cutoff model and extract an energy-dependent moment of inertia. For even-even nuclei and at low excitation energies, we observe a significant suppression of the moment of inertia and odd-even staggering in the spin dependence of level densities.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2006

Scrambling of Hartree-Fock Levels as a universal Brownian-Motion Process

We study scrambling of the Hartree-Fock single-particle levels and wave functions as electrons are added to an almost isolated diffusive or chaotic quantum dot with electron-electron interactions. We use the generic framework of the induced two-body ensembles where the randomness of the two-body interaction matrix elements is induced by the randomness of the eigenfunctions of the chaotic or diffusive single-particle Hamiltonian. After an appropriate scaling of the number of added electrons, the scrambling of both the HF levels and wave functions is described by a universal function each. These functions can be derived from a parametric random matrix process of the Brownian-motion type. An exception to this universality occurs when an empty level just gets filled, in which case scrambling is delayed by one electron. An explanation of these results is given in terms of a generalized Koopmans' approach.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Statistical Properties of Nuclei by the Shell Model Monte Carlo Method

We use quantum Monte Carlo methods in the framework of the interacting nuclear shell model to calculate the statistical properties of nuclei at finite temperature and/or excitation energies. With this approach we can carry out realistic calculations in much larger configuration spaces than are possible by conventional methods. A major application of the methods has been the microscopic calculation of nuclear partition functions and level densities, taking into account both correlations and shell effects. Our results for nuclei in the mass region A ~ 50 - 70 are in remarkably good agreement with experimental level densities without any adjustable parameters and are an improvement over empirical formulas. We have recently extended the shell model theory of level statistics to higher temperatures, including continuum effects. We have also constructed simple statistical models to explain the dependence of the microscopically calculated level densities on good quantum numbers such as parity. Thermal signatures of pairing correlations are identified through odd-even effects in the heat capacity.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2006

Mesoscopic Fluctuations in Quantum Dots, Nanoparticles and Nuclei

We discuss mesoscopic effects in quantum dots, nanoparticles and nuclei. In quantum dots, we focus on the statistical regime of dots whose single-electron dynamics are chaotic. Random matrix theory methods, developed to explain the statistics of neutron resonances in compound nuclei, are useful in describing the mesoscopic fluctuations of the conductance in such dots. However, correlation effects beyond the charging energy are important in almost-isolated dots. In particular, exchange and residual interactions are necessary to obtain a quantitative description of the mesoscopic fluctuations. Pairing correlations are important in metallic nanoparticles and nuclei. Nanoparticles smaller than \~ 3 nm and nuclei are close to the fluctuation-dominated regime in which the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory is not valid. Despite the large fluctuations, we find signatures of pairing correlations in the heat capacity of nuclei. These signatures depend on the particle-number parity of protons and neutrons

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Spin-orbit interaction in quantum dots in the presence of exchange correlations

We discuss the problem of spin-orbit interaction in a 2D chaotic or diffusive quantum dot in the presence of exchange correlations. Spin-orbit scattering breaks spin rotation invariance, and in the crossover regime between different symmetries of the spin-orbit coupling, the problem has no closed solution. A conventional choice of a many-particle basis in a numerical diagonalization is the set of Slater determinants built from the single-particle eigenstates of the one-body Hamiltonian (including the spin-orbit terms). We develop a different approach based on the use of a good-spin many-particle basis that is composed of the eigenstates of the universal Hamiltonian in the absence of spin-orbit scattering. We introduce a complete labelling of this good-spin basis and use angular momentum algebra to calculate in closed form the matrix elements of the spin-orbit interaction in this basis. Spin properties, such as the ground-state spin distribution and the spin excitation function, are easily calculated in this basis.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Shell-model Hamiltonians from Density Functional Theory

The density functional theory of nuclear structure provides a many-particle wave function that is useful for static properties, but an extension of the theory is necessary to describe correlation effects or other dynamic properties. Here we propose a procedure to extend the theory by mapping the properties of the self-consistent mean-field Hamiltonian onto an effective shell-model Hamiltonian with two-body interactions. In this initial study, we consider the sd-shell nuclei Ne-20, Mg-24, Si-28, and Ar-36. Our first application is in the framework of the USD shell-model Hamiltonian, using its mean-field approximation to construct an effective Hamiltonian and partially recover correlation effects. We find that more than half of the correlation energy is due to the quadrupole interaction. We then follow a similar procedure but using the SLy4 Skyrme energy functional as our starting point and truncating the space to the spherical $sd$ shell. The constructed shell-model Hamiltonian is found to satisfy minimal consistency requirements to reproduce the properties of the mean-field solution. The quadrupolar correlation energies computed with the mapped Hamiltonian are reasonable compared with those computed by other methods.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2005

The nuclear moment of inertia and spin distribution of nuclear levels

We introduce a simple model to calculate the nuclear moment of inertia at finite temperature. This moment of inertia describes the spin distribution of nuclear levels in the framework of the spin-cutoff model. Our model is based on a deformed single-particle Hamiltonian with pairing interaction and takes into account fluctuations in the pairing gap. We derive a formula for the moment of inertia at finite temperature that generalizes the Belyaev formula for zero temperature. We show that a number-parity projection explains the strong odd-even effects observed in shell model Monte Carlo studies of the nuclear moment of inertia in the iron region.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2004

Disordered mesoscopic systems with interactions: induced two-body ensembles and the Hartree-Fock approach

We introduce a generic approach to study interaction effects in diffusive or chaotic quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime. The randomness of the single-particle wave functions induces randomness in the two-body interaction matrix elements. We classify the possible induced two-body ensembles, both in the presence and absence of spin degrees of freedom. The ensembles depend on the underlying space-time symmetries as well as on features of the two-body interaction. Confining ourselves to spinless electrons, we then use the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation to calculate HF single-particle energies and HF wave functions for many realizations of the ensemble. We study the statistical properties of the resulting one-body HF ensemble for a fixed number of electrons. In particular, we determine the statistics of the interaction matrix elements in the HF basis, of the HF single-particle energies (including the HF gap between the last occupied and the first empty HF level), and of the HF single-particle wave functions. We also study the addition of electrons, and in particular the distribution of the distance between successive conductance peaks and of the conductance peak heights.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Extracting the ground-state spin of a quantum dot from the conductance peaks in a parallel magnetic field at finite temperature

We derive a closed expression for the finite-temperature conductance of a Coulomb-blockade quantum dot in the presence of an exchange interaction and a parallel magnetic field. Parallel-field dependence of Coulomb-blockade peak position has been used to determine experimentally the ground-state spin of quantum dots. We find that for a realistic value of the exchange interaction, the peak motion can be significantly affected at temperatures as low as kT ~ 0.1 Delta, with Delta being the mean level spacing in the dot. This temperature effect can lead to misidentification of the ground-state spin when a level crossing occurs at low fields. We propose an improved method to determine unambiguously the ground-state spin. This method takes into account level crossings and temperature effects at a finite exchange interaction.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

A universal Hamiltonian for a quantum dot in the presence of spin-orbit interaction

We derive a universal Hamiltonian for a quantum dot in the presence of spin-orbit interaction in the symmetry limits of a strong spin-dependent Aharonov-Bohm-like term. We also derive a closed expression for the conductance through such a dot, and use it to study the effects of spin-orbit on the conductance peak statistics in the presence of an exchange interaction. For a realistic strength of the exchange interaction, we find that the width of the peak-spacing distribution is sensitive to spin-orbit coupling only in the absence of an orbital magnetic field. We also find that spin-orbit coupling modifies the shape of the peak-spacing distribution and suppresses the peak-height fluctuations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Fano interference and cross-section fluctuations in molecular photodissociation

We derive an expression for the total photodissociation cross section of a molecule incorporating both indirect processes that proceed through excited resonances, and direct processes. We show that this cross section exhibits generalized Beutler-Fano line shapes in the limit of isolated resonances. Assuming that the closed system can be modeled by random matrix theory, we derive the statistical properties of the photodissociation cross section and find that they are significantly affected by the direct processes. We identify a unique signature of the direct processes in the cross-section distribution in the limit of isolated resonances.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2003

Nuclear level statistics: extending the shell model theory to higher temperatures

The Shell Model Monte Carlo (SMMC) approach has been applied to calculate level densities and partition functions to temperatures up to ~ 1.5 - 2 MeV, with the maximal temperature limited by the size of the configuration space. Here we develop an extension of the theory that can be used to higher temperatures, taking into account the large configuration space that is needed. We first examine the configuration space limitation using an independent-particle model that includes both bound states and the continuum. The larger configuration space is then combined with the SMMC under the assumption that the effects on the partition function are factorizable. The method is demonstrated for nuclei in the iron region, extending the calculated partition functions and level densities up to T ~ 4 MeV. We find that the back-shifted Bethe formula has a much larger range of validity than was suspected from previous theory. The present theory also shows more clearly the effects of the pairing phase transition on the heat capacity.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2003

The Importance of Parity-Dependence of the Nuclear Level Density in the Prediction of Astrophysical Reaction Rates

A simple description for obtaining the parity distribution of nuclear levels in the pf + g9/2 shell as a function of excitation energy was recently derived. We implement this in a global nuclear level density model. In the framework of the statistical model, cross sections and astrophysical reaction rates are calculated in the Fe region and compared to rates obtained with the common assumption of an equal distribution of parities. We find considerable differences, especially for reactions involving particles in the exit channel.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2002

Effects of spin and exchange interaction on the Coulomb-blockade peak statistics in quantum dots

We derive a closed expression for the linear conductance through a quantum dot in the Coulomb-blockade regime in the presence of a constant exchange interaction. With this expression we calculate the temperature dependence of the conductance peak-height and peak-spacing statistics. Using a realistic value of the exchange interaction, we find significantly better agreement with experimental data as compared with the statistics obtained in the absence of an exchange interaction.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗