Generalized Lifshitz-Kosevich scaling at quantum criticality from the holographic correspondence

We characterize quantum oscillations in the magnetic susceptibility of a quantum critical non-Fermi liquid. The computation is performed in a strongly interacting regime using the nonperturbative holographic correspondence. The temperature dependence of the amplitude of the oscillations is shown to depend on a critical exponent nu. For general nu the temperature scaling is distinct from the textbook Lifshitz-Kosevich formula. At the `marginal' value nu = 1/2, the Lifshitz-Kosevich formula is recovered despite strong interactions. As a by-product of our analysis we present a formalism for computing the amplitude of quantum oscillations for general fermionic theories very efficiently.Comment: 18 pages, pdftex, 1 figure. v2: figure and few comments adde

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

Magnetic spectrum of trigonally warped bilayer graphene - semiclassical analysis, zero modes, and topological winding numbers

We investigate the fine structure in the energy spectrum of bilayer graphene in the presence of various stacking defaults, such as a translational or rotational mismatch. This fine structure consists of four Dirac points that move away from their original positions as a consequence of the mismatch and eventually merge in various manners. The different types of merging are described in terms of topological invariants (winding numbers) that determine the Landau-level spectrum in the presence of a magnetic field as well as the degeneracy of the levels. The Landau-level spectrum is, within a wide parameter range, well described by a semiclassical treatment that makes use of topological winding numbers. However, the latter need to be redefined at zero energy in the high-magnetic-field limit as well as in the vicinity of saddle points in the zero-field dispersion relation.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures; published version with enhanced discussion of experimental finding

Local polariton states in impure ionic crystals

We consider the dynamics of an ionic crystal with a single impurity in the vicinity of the polariton resonance. We show that if the polariton spectrum of the host crystal allows for a gap between polariton branches, the defect gives rise to a novel kind of local states with frequencies within the gap. Despite the atomic size of the impurity we find that new local states are predominated by long-wavelength polaritons. The properties of these states are shown to be different from the properties of the well-known vibrational local states. The difference is due to the singular behavior of the density of states of polaritons near the low-frequency boundary of the polariton gap. Assuming cubic simmetry of the defect site we consider a complete set of the local states arising near the bottom of the polariton gap.Comment: 10 pages, 3 Postscript figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B 1998, Vol. 57, No.

Wave localization in strongly nonlinear Hertzian chains with mass defect

We investigate the dynamical response of a mass defect in a one-dimensional non-loaded horizontal chain of identical spheres which interact via the nonlinear Hertz potential. Our experiments show that the interaction of a solitary wave with a light intruder excites localized mode. In agreement with dimensional analysis, we find that the frequency of localized oscillations exceeds the incident wave frequency spectrum and nonlinearly depends on the size of the intruder and on the incident wave strength. The absence of tensile stress between grains allows some gaps to open, which in turn induce a significant enhancement of the oscillations amplitude. We performed numerical simulations that precisely describe our observations without any adjusting parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted for publicatio

Bose-Einstein Condensates in Strongly Disordered Traps

A Bose-Einstein condensate in an external potential consisting of a superposition of a harmonic and a random potential is considered theoretically. From a semi-quantitative analysis we find the size, shape and excitation energy as a function of the disorder strength. For positive scattering length and sufficiently strong disorder the condensate decays into fragments each of the size of the Larkin length ${\cal L}$. This state is stable over a large range of particle numbers. The frequency of the breathing mode scales as $1/{\cal L}^2$. For negative scattering length a condensate of size ${\cal L}$ may exist as a metastable state. These finding are generalized to anisotropic traps

Homoclinic orbits and chaos in a pair of parametrically-driven coupled nonlinear resonators

We study the dynamics of a pair of parametrically-driven coupled nonlinear mechanical resonators of the kind that is typically encountered in applications involving microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS & NEMS). We take advantage of the weak damping that characterizes these systems to perform a multiple-scales analysis and obtain amplitude equations, describing the slow dynamics of the system. This picture allows us to expose the existence of homoclinic orbits in the dynamics of the integrable part of the slow equations of motion. Using a version of the high-dimensional Melnikov approach, developed by Kovacic and Wiggins [Physica D, 57, 185 (1992)], we are able to obtain explicit parameter values for which these orbits persist in the full system, consisting of both Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian perturbations, to form so-called Shilnikov orbits, indicating a loss of integrability and the existence of chaos. Our analytical calculations of Shilnikov orbits are confirmed numerically

Topological phase transitions in ultra-cold Fermi superfluids: the evolution from BCS to BEC under artificial spin-orbit fields

We discuss topological phase transitions in ultra-cold Fermi superfluids induced by interactions and artificial spin orbit fields. We construct the phase diagram for population imbalanced systems at zero and finite temperatures, and analyze spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties to characterize various phase transitions. For balanced systems, the evolution from BCS to BEC superfluids in the presence of spin-orbit effects is only a crossover as the system remains fully gapped, even though a triplet component of the order parameter emerges. However, for imbalanced populations, spin-orbit fields induce a triplet component in the order parameter that produces nodes in the quasiparticle excitation spectrum leading to bulk topological phase transitions of the Lifshitz type. Additionally a fully gapped phase exists, where a crossover from indirect to direct gap occurs, but a topological transition to a gapped phase possessing Majorana fermions edge states does not occur.Comment: With no change in text, the labels in the figures are modifie

Generalized Kinetic Theory of Electrons and Phonons

A Generalized Kinetic Theory was proposed in order to have the possibility to treat particles which obey a very general statistics. By adopting the same approach, we generalize here the Kinetic Theory of electrons and phonons. Equilibrium solutions and their stability are investigated.Comment: Proceedings of the International School and Workshop on Nonextensive Thermodynamics and Physical Applications, NEXT 2001, 23-30 May 2001, Cagliari (Italy) (To appear in Physica A

Casimir-Lifshitz force out of thermal equilibrium

We study the Casimir-Lifshitz interaction out of thermal equilibrium, with particular attention devoted to the surface-surface and surface-atom configurations. A systematic investigation of the contributions to the force coming from the propagating and evanescent components of the electromagnetic radiation is performed. The large distance behaviors of such interactions is discussed, and both analytical and numerical results are compared with the equilibrium ones. A detailed analysis of the crossing between the surface-surface and the surface-rarefied body, and finally the surface-atom force is shown, and a complete derivation and discussion of the recently predicted non-additivity effects and new asymptotic behaviors is presented.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. Published version, revised and more detaile