Abstract: We present energy calculations of a C80 molecule with D5d symmetry encapsulated in a carbon nanotube. The approximation of a continuous tube rather than a rolled-up graphene sheet, justified by comparison with atomistic calculations, allows an expansion of the energy field into symmetry-adapted rotator functions. For a given tube radius R, we observe a strong dependence of the interaction energy on the molecular tilt angle and on the molecules lateral position in the tube. We observe a transition from on-axis lying orientations to tilted orientations at R1≈6.95 Å and a subsequent transition to standing orientations at R2≈7.6 Å. For tube radii larger than R3≈8.0 Å, the molecule starts to occupy off-axis positions and assumes a lying orientation. Results are compared to the case of C70 molecules, with D5h symmetry. Our findings are consistent with recent high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements and are relevant for the design of new materials with tunable electronic properties.

Abstract: We consider ballistic transport through a lateral, two-dimensional superlattice with experimentally realizable, sinusoidally oscillating, Rashba-type spin-orbit interaction (SOI). The periodic structure of the rectangular lattice produces a spin-dependent miniband structure for static SOI. Using Floquet theory, transmission peaks are shown to appear in themini-bandgaps as a consequence of the additional, time-dependent SOI. A detailed analysis shows that this effect is due to the generation of harmonics of the driving frequency, via which, e.g., resonances that cannot be excited in the case of static SOI become available. Additionally, the transmitted current shows space-and time-dependent partial spin polarization, in other words, polarization waves propagate through the superlattice.

Abstract: Using advanced three-dimensional simulations, we show that an Abrikosov vortex, trapped inside a cavity perpendicular to an artificial Josephson junction, can serve as a very efficient source for generation of Josephson vortex-antivortex pairs in the presence of the applied electric current. In such a case, the nucleation rate of the pairs can be tuned in a broad range by an out-of-plane ac magnetic field in a broad range of frequencies. This parametrically amplified vortex-antivortex nucleation can be considered as a macroscopic analog of the dynamic Casimir effect, where fluxon pairs mimic the photons and the ac magnetic field plays the role of the oscillating mirrors. The emerging vortex pairs in our system can be detected by the pronounced features in the measured voltage characteristics, or through the emitted electromagnetic radiation, and exhibit resonant dynamics with respect to the frequency of the applied magnetic field. Reported tunability of the Josephson oscillations can be useful for developing high-frequency emission devices.

Abstract: Using the quasiclassical formalism, we determine the low-temperature phase diagram of a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor, taking into account the interchain Josephson coupling and the paramagnetic spin splitting. We show that the anisotropy of the onset of superconductivity changes in the FFLO state as compared with the conventional superconducting phase. It can result in anomalous peaks in the field-direction dependence of the upper critical field when the magnetic field length equals to the FFLO period. This regime is characterized by the lock-in effect of the FFLO modulation wave vector, which is governed by the magnetic length. Furthermore, in the FFLO phase, the anisotropy of the upper critical field is inverted at T-1(**) = 0.5T(c0), where the orbital anisotropy disappears. We suggest that an experimental study of the anisotropy of the upper critical field can provide very reach information about the parameters of the FFLO phase in quasi-1D samples.

Abstract: Crystal structure, electronic structure, and magnetic behavior of the spin-1/2 quantum magnet Na1.5VOPO4F0.5 are reported. The disorder of Na atoms leads to a sequence of structural phase transitions revealed by synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction and electron diffraction. The high-temperature second-order α↔β transition at 500 K is of the order-disorder type, whereas the low-temperature β↔γ+γ′ transition around 250 K is of the first order and leads to a phase separation toward the polymorphs with long-range (γ) and short-range (γ′) order of Na. Despite the complex structural changes, the magnetic behavior of Na1.5VOPO4F0.5 probed by magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electron spin resonance measurements is well described by the regular frustrated square lattice model of the high-temperature α-polymorph. The averaged nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor couplings are J̅ 1≃−3.7 K and J̅ 2≃6.6 K, respectively. Nuclear magnetic resonance further reveals the long-range ordering at TN=2.6 K in low magnetic fields. Although the experimental data are consistent with the simplified square-lattice description, band structure calculations suggest that the ordering of Na atoms introduces a large number of inequivalent exchange couplings that split the square lattice into plaquettes. Additionally, the direct connection between the vanadium polyhedra induces an unusually strong interlayer coupling having effect on the transition entropy and the transition anomaly in the specific heat. Peculiar features of the low-temperature crystal structure and the relation to isostructural materials suggest Na1.5VOPO4F0.5 as a parent compound for the experimental study of tetramerized square lattices as well as frustrated square lattices with different values of spin.

Abstract: A unified theory of phonon dispersions and piezoelectricity in bulk and multilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is derived. The dynamical matrix is calculated on the basis of an empirical force constant model of intralayer valence and interlayer van der Waals interactions. Coulomb interactions are calculated by Ewalds method, adapted for the three-dimensional (3D) and the multilayer case. The deformation of the ionic charge distribution with long-wave lattice displacements is taken into account. Special attention is devoted to the nonanalytic long-range Coulomb contribution to the dynamical matrix which is different for the 3D crystal and the multilayer case. Consequently there is a splitting of the transverse optical (TO) and longitudinal optical (LO) phonon branches of E1u symmetry and a discontinuity of the A2u branch at the Γ point in 3D h-BN. No such splitting and discontinuity at Γ are present in multilayer crystals with a finite number N of layers. There a diverging bundle of N overbending optical phonon branches emerges from Γ. Borns long-wave theory is applied and extended for the study of piezoelectricity in layered crystals. While 3D h-BN and h-BN multilayers with an even number of layers (symmetry D6h) are not piezoelectric, multilayers with an uneven number of Nu layers (symmetry D3h) are piezoelectric; the piezoelectric coefficient e1,11 is inversely proportional to Nu.

Abstract: Motivated by recent experimental observations of Tongay et al. [Nano Lett. 12, 5576 (2012)] we show how the electronic properties and Raman characteristics of single layer MoSe2 are affected by elastic biaxial strain. We found that with increasing strain: (1) the E' and E '' Raman peaks (E-2g and E-1g in bulk) exhibit significant redshifts (up to similar to 30 cm(-1)), (2) the position of the A'(1) peak remains at similar to 180 cm(-1) (A(1g) in bulk) and does not change considerably with further strain, (3) the dispersion of low energy flexural phonons crosses over from quadratic to linear, and (4) the electronic band structure undergoes a direct to indirect band gap crossover under similar to 3% biaxial tensile strain. Thus the application of strain appears to be a promising approach for a rapid and reversible tuning of the electronic, vibrational, and optical properties of single layer MoSe2 and similar MX2 dichalcogenides. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.87.125415

Abstract: We present a theoretical study of the plasmon and coupled plasmon-phonon modes induced by intraband electron-electron interaction in graphene in the presence of driving dc electric field. We find that the electric field dependence of these collective excitation modes in graphene differs significantly from that in a conventional two-dimensional electron gas with a parabolic energy spectrum. This is due mainly to the fact that graphene has a linear energy spectrum and the Fermi velocity of electrons in graphene is much larger than the drift velocity of electrons. The obtained results demonstrate that the plasmon and coupled plasmon-phonon modes in graphene can be tuned by applying not only the gate voltage but also the source-to-drain field. The manipulation of plasmon and coupled plasmon-phonon modes by source-to-drain voltage can let graphene be more conveniently applied as an advanced plasmonic material.

Abstract: Ca(OH)(2) crystals, well known as portlandite, are grown in layered form, and we found that they can be exfoliated on different substrates. We performed first principles calculations to investigate the structural, electronic, vibrational, and mechanical properties of bulk, bilayer, and monolayer structures of this material. Different from other lamellar structures such as graphite and transition-metal dichalcogenides, intralayer bonding in Ca(OH)(2) is mainly ionic, while the interlayer interaction remains a weak dispersion-type force. Unlike well-known transition-metal dichalcogenides that exhibit an indirect-to-direct band gap crossover when going from bulk to a single layer, Ca(OH)(2) is a direct band gap semiconductor independent of the number layers. The in-plane Young's modulus and the in-plane shear modulus of monolayer Ca(OH)(2) are predicted to be quite low while the in-plane Poisson ratio is larger in comparison to those in the monolayer of ionic crystal BN. We measured the Raman spectrum of bulk Ca(OH)(2) and identified the high-frequency OH stretching mode A(1g) at 3620 cm(-1). In this study, bilayer and monolayer portlandite [Ca(OH)(2)] are predicted to be stable and their characteristics are analyzed in detail. Our results can guide further research on ultrathin hydroxites.

Abstract: Recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements of the proximity effect in Au/La2−xSrxCuO4 and La1.55Sr0.45CuO4/La2−xSrxCuO4 bilayers showed a proximity-induced pseudogap [O. Yuli, I. Asulin, Y. Kalcheim, G. Koren, and O. Millo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 197003 (2009)]. We describe the proximity effect in mesoscopic superconductor/normal-metal bilayers by using the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a tight-binding Hamiltonian with competing antiferromagnetic and d-wave superconductivity orders. The temperature-dependent local density of states is calculated as a function of the distance from the interface. Bound state due to both d-wave and spin-density wave gaps are formed in the normal metal for energies less than the respective gaps. If there is a mismatch between the Fermi velocities in the two layers we observe that these states will shift in energy when spin-density wave order is present, thus inducing a minigap at finite energy. We conclude that the STM measurement in the proximity structures is able to distinguish between the two scenarios proposed for the pseudogap (competing or precursor to superconductivity).

Abstract: After the advent of energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD) in 2006, rapid progress in theoretical understanding and in experimental performance was achieved, recently demonstrating a spatial resolution of better than 2 nm. Similar to the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism technique, EMCD is used to study atom specific magnetic moments. The latest generation of electron microscopes opens the road to the mapping of spin moments on the atomic scale with this method. Here the theoretical background to reach this challenging aim is elaborated. Numerical simulations of the L3 transition in an Fe specimen, based on a combination of the density-matrix approach for inelastic electron scattering with the propagation of the probe electron in the lattice potential indicate the feasibility of single spin mapping in the electron microscope.

Abstract: The Coulomb interaction and the correlation of a remote electron with a single layer of graphene is investigated in the presence of a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the graphene layer. The remote electron polarizes the electron gas in the graphene layer, which we describe in terms of excitations of virtual plasmons in graphene. The composite quasiparticle formed by electron plus polarization is called a plasmon polaron. The ground-state energy of this quasiparticle is calculated within perturbation theory for remote electrons in different environments.

Abstract: Spin rotations induced by an ac electric field in a two-electron double quantum dot are studied by an exact numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in the context of recent electric-dipole spin resonance experiments on gated nanowires. We demonstrate that the splitting of the main resonance line by the spin exchange coupling is accompanied by the appearance of fractional resonances and that both these effects are triggered by interdot tunnel coupling. We find that the ac-driven system generates residual but distinct harmonics of the driving frequency, which are amplified when tuned to the main transition frequency. The mechanism is universal for electron systems in electrically driven potentials and works also in the absence of electron-electron interaction or spin-orbit coupling.

Abstract: Electrons in graphene, in addition to their spin, have two pseudospin degrees of freedom: sublattice and valley pseudospin. Valleytronics uses the valley degree of freedom as a carrier of information similarly to the way spintronics uses electron spin. We show how a double-barrier structure consisting of electric and vector potentials can be used to filter massive Dirac electrons based on their valley index. We study the resonant transmission through a finite number of barriers and we obtain the energy spectrum of a superlattice consisting of electric and vector potentials. When a mass term is included, the energy bands and energy gaps at the K and K′ points are different and they can be tuned by changing the potential.

Abstract: Although Fe2C and Fe2N are technologically important materials, the exact nature of the chemical bonding of C and N atoms and the related impact on the electronic properties are at present unclear. Here, results of first-principles electronic structure calculations for Fe2X (X = C, N) phases are presented. The electronic structure calculations show that the roles of N and C in iron nitrides and carbides are comparable, and that the X-X interactions have significant impact on electronic properties. Accurate analysis of the spatially resolved differences in electron densities reveals a subtle distinction between the chemical bonding and charge transfer of N and C ions.