Abstract: An interface modification of (LaCa)MnO3-BaTiO3 superlattices was found to massively influence magnetic and magnetotransport properties. Moreover it determines the crystal structure of the manganite layers, changing it from orthorhombic (Pnma) for the conventional superlattice (cSL), to rhombohedral (R3̅ c) for the modified one (mSL). While the cSL shows extremely nonlinear ac transport, the mSL is an electrically homogeneous material. The observations go beyond an oversimplified picture of dead interface layers and evidence the importance of electronic correlations at perovskite interfaces.

Abstract: We theoretically investigate the intrinsic optical anisotropy or polarization induced by the microscopic interface asymmetry (MIA) in no-common-atom (NCA) InAs/GaSb superlattices (SLs) grown along the [001] direction. The eight-band K⋅P model is used to calculate the electronic band structures and incorporates the MIA effect. A Boltzmann equation approach is employed to calculate the optical properties. We found that in NCA InAs/GaSb SLs, the MIA effect causes a large in-plane optical anisotropy for linearly polarized light and the largest anisotropy occurs for light polarized along the [110] and [11̅ 0] directions. The relative difference between the optical-absorption coefficient for [110]-polarized light and that for [11̅ 0]-polarized light is found to be larger than 50%. The dependence of the in-plane optical anisotropy on temperature, photoexcited carrier density, and layer width is examined in detail. This study is important for optical devices which require the polarization control and selectivity.

Abstract: The effect of electron-impurity and electron-electron interactions on the energy spectrum of electrons moving in graphene is investigated in the presence of a high magnetic field. We find that the width of the broadened Landau levels exhibits an approximate 1/B dependence near half filling for charged impurity scattering. The Landau-level width, the density of states, and the Fermi energy exhibit an oscillatory behavior as a function of magnetic field. Comparison with experiment shows that scattering with charged impurities cannot be the main scattering mechanism that determines the width of the Landau levels.

Abstract: Using time-differential perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy we have measured the electric field gradient (EFG) at 111Cd probe nuclei in solid Ce in a pressure range up to 8 GPa. Covering various allotropic phases of Ce, we find that the value of the EFG in the cubic α phase is almost four times larger than in the cubic γ phase and close to values in the noncubic phases α′ and α″. These results together with the differences in time modulation of the spectra are interpreted as evidence for quadrupolar electronic charge-density ordering and symmetry lowering at the γ→α transition while the lattice remains face-centered cubic

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: Flux entry in type-II superconductors without prominent symmetry is a first-order phase transition, where flux enters conventionally gradual in units of a flux quantum. Here we show that neither is necessarily the case in a mesoscopic superconducting sphere with a perforation. In axially applied magnetic field, vortices initially occupy the hole, and can oppose further flux entry in the sample. As a result, multiple-quanta flux entry is found at significantly higher field, and it can manifest as a second-order transition due to suppressed geometric barrier at the equatorial belt of the sample. At high fields a new state is found, with gradually destroyed condensate from the equator inwards, the exact opposite of surface superconductivity.

Abstract: The effect of the Coulomb interaction on the energy spectrum and anisotropic distribution of two electron states in a quantum ring in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI) and Dresselhaus SOI (DSOI) is investigated in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. We find that the interplay between the RSOI and DSOI makes the single quantum ring behaves like a laterally coupled quantum dot and the interdot coupling can be tuned by changing the strengths of the SOIs. The interplay can lead to singlet-triplet state mixing and anticrossing behavior when the singlet and triplet states meet with increasing magnetic field. The two electron ground state displays a bar-bell-like spatial anisotropic distribution in a quantum ring at a specific crystallographic direction, i.e., [110] or [11̅ 0], which can be switched by reversing the direction of the perpendicular electric field. The ground state exhibits a singlet-triplet state transition with increasing magnetic field and strengths of RSOI and DSOI. An anisotropic electron distribution is predicted which can be detected through the measurement of its optical properties.

Abstract: The time evolution of a wave packet in strained graphene is studied within the tight-binding model and continuum model. The effect of an external magnetic field, as well as a strain-induced pseudomagnetic field, on the wave-packet trajectories and zitterbewegung are analyzed. Combining the effects of strain with those of an external magnetic field produces an effective magnetic field which is large in one of the Dirac cones, but can be practically zero in the other. We construct an efficient valley filter, where for a propagating incoming wave packet consisting of momenta around the K and K' Dirac points, the outgoing wave packet exhibits momenta in only one of these Dirac points while the components of the packet that belong to the other Dirac point are reflected due to the Lorentz force. We also found that the zitterbewegung is permanent in time in the presence of either external or strain-induced magnetic fields, but when both the external and strain-induced magnetic fields are present, the zitterbewegung is transient in one of the Dirac cones, whereas in the other cone the wave packet exhibits permanent spatial oscillations.

Abstract: The lowest-energy configurations of Cn(n≤55) clusters are obtained using the energy-minimization technique with the conjugate gradient method where a modified Brenner potential is invoked to describe the carbon and hydrocarbon interaction. We found that the ground-state configuration consists of a single ring for small number of C atoms and multiring structures are found with increasing n, which can be in planar, bowl-like or caplike form. Contrary to previous predictions, the binding energy Eb does not show even-odd oscillations and only small jumps are found in the Eb(n) curve as a consequence of specific types of edges or equivalently the number of secondary atoms. We found that hydrogenation of the edge atoms may change the ground-state configuration of the nanocluster. In both cases we determined the magic clusters. Special attention is paid to trigonal and hexagonal shaped carbon clusters and to clusters having a graphenelike configuration. Trigonal clusters are never the ground state while hexagonal-shaped clusters are only the ground state when they have zigzag edges.

Abstract: We study the structural phase transitions in confined systems of strongly interacting particles. We consider infinite quasi-one-dimensional systems with different pairwise repulsive interactions in the presence of an external confinement following a power law. Within the framework of Landaus theory, we find the necessary conditions to observe continuous transitions and demonstrate that the only allowed continuous transition is between the single- and the double-chain configurations and that it only takes place when the confinement is parabolic. We determine analytically the behavior of the system at the transition point and calculate the critical exponents. Furthermore, we perform Monte Carlo simulations and find a perfect agreement between theory and numerics.

Abstract: We study the dynamics of vortex shells in mesoscopic superconducting Corbino disks, where vortices form shells as recently observed in micrometer-sized Nb disks. Due to the interplay between the vortex-vortex interaction, the gradient Lorentz force and the (in)commensurability between the numbers of vortices in shells, the process of angular melting of vortex-shell configurations becomes complex. Angular melting can start either from the center of the disk (where the shear stress is maximum) or from its boundary (where the shear stress is minimum) depending on the specific vortex configuration. Furthermore, we found that two kinds of defects can exist in such vortex-shell structures: intrashell and intershell defects. An intrashell defect may lead to an inverse dynamic behavior, i.e., one of the vortex shells under a stronger driving force can rotate slower than the adjacent shell that is driven by a weaker Lorentz force. An intershell defect always locks more than two shells until the gradient of the Lorentz force becomes large enough to break the rigid-body rotation of the locked shells. Such a lock-unlock process leads to hysteresis in the angular velocities of the shells.

Abstract: We investigate the emergence of extra Dirac points in the electronic structure of a periodically spaced barrier system, i.e., a superlattice, on single-layer graphene, using a Dirac-type Hamiltonian. Using square barriers allows us to find analytic expressions for the occurrence and location of these new Dirac points in k space and for the renormalization of the electron velocity near them in the low-energy range. In the general case of unequal barrier and well widths the new Dirac points move away from the Fermi level and for given heights of the potential barriers there is a minimum and maximum barrier width outside of which the new Dirac points disappear. The effect of these extra Dirac points on the density of states and on the conductivity is investigated.

Abstract: Crystal structure and magnetic properties of the layered vanadium phosphate PbZnVO(PO4)2 are studied using x-ray powder diffraction, magnetization and specific-heat measurements, as well as band-structure calculations. The compound resembles AA′VO(PO4)2 vanadium phosphates and fits to the extended frustrated square-lattice model with the couplings J1, J1′ between nearest neighbors and J2, J2′ between next-nearest neighbors. The temperature dependence of the magnetization yields estimates of averaged nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor couplings, J̅ 1≃−5.2 K and J̅ 2≃10.0 K, respectively. The effective frustration ratio α=J̅ 2/J̅ 1 amounts to −1.9 and suggests columnar antiferromagnetic ordering in PbZnVO(PO4)2. Specific-heat data support the estimates of J̅ 1 and J̅ 2 and indicate a likely magnetic ordering transition at 3.9 K. However, the averaged couplings underestimate the saturation field, thus pointing to the spatial anisotropy of the nearest-neighbor interactions. Band-structure calculations confirm the identification of ferromagnetic J1, J1′ and antiferromagnetic J2, J2′ in PbZnVO(PO4)2 and yield (J1′−J1)≃1.1 K in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 1.1 K, deduced from the difference between the expected and experimentally measured saturation fields. Based on the comparison of layered vanadium phosphates with different metal cations, we show that a moderate spatial anisotropy of the frustrated square lattice has minor influence on the thermodynamic properties of the model. We discuss relevant geometrical parameters, controlling the exchange interactions in these compounds and propose a strategy for further design of strongly frustrated square-lattice materials.

Abstract: Quantization of the transverse electron motion in high-quality superconducting metallic nanowires and nanofilms results in the formation of well-distinguished single-electron subbands. They shift in energy with changing thickness, which is known to cause quantum-size superconducting oscillations. The formation of multiple subbands results in a multigap structure induced by the interplay between quantum confinement and Andreev mechanism. We investigate multisubband superconductivity in a hollow nanocylinder by numerically solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. When changing the inner radius and thickness of the hollow nanocylinder, we find a crossover from an irregular pattern of quantum-size superconducting oscillations, typical of nanowires, to an almost regular regime, specific for superconducting nanofilms. At this crossover the multigap structure becomes degenerate. The ratio of the critical temperature to the energy gap increases and approaches its bulk value while being reduced by 20-30% due to Andreev-type states driven by quantum confinement in the irregular regime.