Magnetic quasicrystals: What can we expect to see in their neutron diffraction data?

The theory of magnetic symmetry in quasicrystals is used to characterize the nature of magnetic peaks, expected in elastic neutron diffraction experiments. It is established that there is no symmetry-based argument which forbids the existence of quasiperiodic long-range magnetic order. Suggestions are offered as to where one should look for the simplest kinds of antiferromagnetic quasicrystals.Comment: 4 pages. Submitted to Materials Science and Engineering

Magnetic point groups and space groups

We review the notion of magnetic symmetry of finite structures as well as infinite periodic and quasiperiodic crystals. We describe one of the most direct consequences of having magnetic symmetry in crystals which is the extinction of magnetic Bragg peaks in neutron diffraction patterns. We finish by mentioning the generalization of magnetic groups to spin groups and color groups.Comment: Written for the Encyclopedia of Condensed Matter Physics. Contains 2 color figures - gray scale version available from the author's website: http://www.tau.ac.il/~ronlif

Comment on "Quantum Quasicrystals of Spin-Orbit-Coupled Dipolar Bosons"

In a recent Letter, Gopalakrishnan, Martin, and Demler [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 (2013) 185304] show that quasi-two-dimensional dipolar Bose gases, subject to a Rashba spin-orbit coupling, exhibit a variety of spatially ordered, or crystalline, ground states, including a pentagonal quasicrystal. Indeed, as the authors say, realizing quasicrystalline condensates would provide new ways to explore the physics of quasicrystals, and in particular to study the quantum dynamics of their unique collective phason modes. Yet, the authors conclude that "there are typically additional phasons in quantum-mechanical quasicrystals, when compared with their classical equivalents." In this Comment I review the notion of phason modes in quasicrystals, and explain why their number does not depend on whether they are classical or quantum

Anomalous galvanomagnetism, cyclotron resonance and microwave spectroscopy of topological insulators

The surface quantum Hall state, magneto-electric phenomena and their connection to axion electrodynamics have been studied intensively for topological insulators. One of the obstacles for observing such effects comes from nonzero conductivity of the bulk. To overcome this obstacle we propose to use an external magnetic field to suppress the conductivity of the bulk carriers. The magnetic field dependence of galvanomagnetic and electromagnetic responses of the whole system shows anomalies due to broken time-reversal symmetry of the surface quantum Hall state, which can be used for its detection. In particular, we find linear bulk dc magnetoresistivity and a quadratic field dependence of the Hall angle, shifted rf cyclotron resonance, nonanalytic microwave transmission coefficient and saturation of the Faraday rotation angle with increasing magnetic field or wave frequency.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, version as publishe

Thermal van der Waals Interaction between Graphene Layers

The van de Waals interaction between two graphene sheets is studied at finite temperatures. Graphene's thermal length $(\xi_T = \hbar v / k_B T)$ controls the force versus distance $(z)$ as a crossover from the zero temperature results for $z\ll \xi_T$, to a linear-in-temperature, universal regime for $z\gg \xi_T$. The large separation regime is shown to be a consequence of the classical behavior of graphene's plasmons at finite temperature. Retardation effects are largely irrelevant, both in the zero and finite temperature regimes. Thermal effects should be noticeable in the van de Waals interaction already for distances of tens of nanometers at room temperature.Comment: enlarged version, 9 pages, 4 figures, updated reference

Casimir Force between two Half Spaces of Vortex Matter in Anisotropic Superconductors

We present a new approach to calculate the attractive long-range vortex-vortex interaction of the van der Waals type present in anisotropic and layered superconductors. The mapping of the statistical mechanics of two-dimensional charged bosons allows us to define a Casimir problem: Two half spaces of vortex matter separated by a gap of width R are mapped to two dielectric half planes of charged bosons interacting via a massive gauge field. We determine the attractive Casimir force between the two half planes and show that it agrees with the pairwise summation of the van der Waals force between vortices.Comment: Submitted to Physica C (4 pages, 2 figures

Surface-atom force out of thermal equilibrium and its effect on ultra-cold atoms

The surface-atom Casimir-Polder-Lifshitz force out of thermal equilibrium is investigated in the framework of macroscopic electrodynamics. Particular attention is devoted to its large distance limit that shows a new, stronger behaviour with respect to the equilibrium case. The frequency shift produced by the surface-atom force on the the center-of-mass oscillations of a harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate and on the Bloch oscillations of an ultra-cold fermionic gas in an optical lattice are discussed for configurations out of thermal equilibrium.Comment: Submitted to JPA Special Issue QFEXT'0