Symmetry breaking for ratchet transport in presence of interactions and magnetic field

We study the microwave induced ratchet transport of two-dimensional electrons on an oriented semidisk Galton board. The magnetic field symmetries of ratchet transport are analyzed in presence of electron-electron interactions. Our results show that a magnetic field asymmetric ratchet current can appear due to two contributions, a Hall drift of the rectified current that depends only weakly on electron-electron interactions and a breaking of the time reversal symmetry due to the combined effects of interactions and magnetic field. In the latter case, the asymmetry between positive and negative magnetic fields vanishes in the weak interaction limit. We also discuss the recent experimental results on ratchet transport in asymmetric nanostructures.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Evidence for structural crossover in the supercritical state

The state of matter above the critical point is terra incognita, and is loosely discussed as a physically homogeneous flowing state where no differences can be made between a liquid and a gas and where properties undergo no marked or distinct changes with pressure and temperature. In particular, the structure of supercritical state is currently viewed to be the same everywhere on the phase diagram, and to change only gradually and in a featureless way while moving along any temperature and pressure path above the critical point. Here, we demonstrate that this is not the case, but that there is a well-defined structural crossover instead. Evidenced by the qualitative changes of distribution functions of interatomic distances and angles, the crossover demarcates liquid-like and gas-like configurations and the presence of medium-range structural correlations. Importantly, the discovered structural crossover is closely related to both dynamic and thermodynamic crossovers operating in the supercritical state, providing new unexpected fundamental interlinks between the supercritical structure, dynamics and thermodynamics.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure