Universal Ratios of Characteristic Lengths in Semidilute Polymer Solutions

We use experimental and simulation data from the literature to infer five characteristic lengths, denoted $\xi_s$, $\xi_f$, $\xi_\Pi$, $\xi_\phi$, and $\xi_D$ of a semidilute polymer solution. The first two of these are defined in terms of scattering from the solution, the third is defined in terms of osmotic pressure, the fourth by the spatial monomer concentration profile, and the last by co-operative diffusion. In a given solution the ratios of any of these five lengths are expected to be universal constants. Knowing these constants thus allows one to use one measured property of a solution as a means of inferring others. We calculate these ratios and estimate their uncertainties for solutions in theta as well as good-solvent conditions. The analysis is strengthened by use of scattering properties of isolated polymers inferred from computer simulations.Comment: 15 pages(pdf), to be submitted to Macromolecules or J. Chem. Phy

Quantum Zeno effect as a topological phase transition in full counting statistics and spin noise spectroscopy

When the interaction of a quantum system with a detector is changing from weak to strong coupling limits, the system experiences a transition from the regime with quantum mechanical coherent oscillations to the regime with a frozen dynamics. In addition to this quantum Zeno transition, we show that the full counting statistics of detector signal events experiences a topological phase transition at the boundary between two phases at intermediate coupling of a quantum system to the detector. We demonstrate that this transition belongs to the class of topological phase transitions that can be classified by elements of the braid group. We predict that this transition can be explored experimentally by means of the optical spin noise spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Ultrafast Collective Dynamics in the Charge-Density-Wave Conductor K0.3_{0.3}MoO3_{3}

Low-energy coherent charge-density wave excitations are investigated in blue bronze (K$_{0.3}$MoO$_{3}$) and red bronze (K$_{0.33}$MoO$_{3}$) by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. A linear gapless, acoustic-like dispersion relation is observed for the transverse phasons with a pronounced anisotropy in K$_{0.33}$MoO$_{3}$. The amplitude mode exhibits a weak (optic-like) dispersion relation with a frequency of 1.67 THz at 30 K. Our results show for the first time that the time-resolved optical technique provides momentum resolution of collective excitations in strongly correlated electron systems.Low-energy coherent charge-density wave excitations are investigated in blue bronze (K$_{0.3}$MoO$_{3}$) and red bronze (K$_{0.33}$MoO$_{3}$) by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. A linear gapless, acoustic-like dispersion relation is observed for the transverse phasons with a pronounced anisotropy in K$_{0.33}$MoO$_{3}$. The amplitude mode exhibits a weak (optic-like) dispersion relation with a frequency of 1.67 THz at 30 K. Our results show for the first time that the time-resolved optical technique provides momentum resolution of collective excitations in strongly correlated electron systems.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Strong Correlations and Magnetic Frustration in the High Tc Iron Pnictides

We consider the iron pnictides in terms of a proximity to a Mott insulator. The superexchange interactions contain competing nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor components. In the undoped parent compound, these frustrated interactions lead to a two-sublattice collinear antiferromagnet (each sublattice forming a Neel ordering), with a reduced magnitude for the ordered moment. Electron or hole doping, together with the frustration effect, suppresses the magnetic ordering and allows a superconducting state. The exchange interactions favor a d-wave superconducting order parameter; in the notation appropriate for the Fe square lattice, its orbital symmetry is $d_{xy}$. A number of existing and future experiments are discussed in light of the theoretical considerations.Comment: (v2) 4+ pages, 4 figures, discussions on several points expanded; references added. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Rethinking Secure Precoding via Interference Exploitation: A Smart Eavesdropper Perspective

Based on the concept of constructive interference (CI), multiuser interference (MUI) has recently been shown to be beneficial for communication secrecy. A few CI-based secure precoding algorithms have been proposed that use both the channel state information (CSI) and knowledge of the instantaneous transmit symbols. In this paper, we examine the CI-based secure precoding problem with a focus on smart eavesdroppers that exploit statistical information gleaned from the precoded data for symbol detection. Moreover, the impact of correlation between the main and eavesdropper channels is taken into account. We first modify an existing CI-based preocding scheme to better utilize the destructive impact of the interference. Then, we point out the drawback of both the existing and the new modified CI-based precoders when faced with a smart eavesdropper. To address this deficiency, we provide a general principle for precoder design and then give two specific design examples. Finally, the scenario where the eavesdropper's CSI is unavailable is studied. Numerical results show that although our modified CI-based precoder can achieve a better energy-secrecy trade-off than the existing approach, both have a limited secrecy benefit. On the contrary, the precoders developed using the new CI-design principle can achieve a much improved trade-off and significantly degrade the eavesdropper's performance

Possibility of Unconventional Pairing Due to Coulomb Interaction in Fe-Based Pnictide Superconductors: Perturbative Analysis of Multi-Band Hubbard Models

Possibility of unconventional pairing due to Coulomb interaction in iron-pnictide superconductors is studied by applying a perturbative approach to realistic 2- and 5-band Hubbard models. The linearized Eliashberg equation is solved by expanding the effective pairing interaction perturbatively up to third order in the on-site Coulomb integrals. The numerical results for the 5-band model suggest that the eigenvalues of the Eliashberg equation are sufficiently large to explain the actual high Tc for realistic values of Coulomb interaction and the most probable pairing state is spin-singlet s-wave without any nodes just on the Fermi surfaces, although the superconducting order parameter changes its sign between the small Fermi pockets. On the other hand the 2-band model is quite insufficient to explain the actual high Tc.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of the Intl. Symposium on Fe-Oxypnictide Superconductors (Tokyo, 28-29th June 2008

Thorium-doping induced superconductivity up to 56 K in Gd1-xThxFeAsO

Following the discovery of superconductivity in an iron-based arsenide LaO1-xFxFeAs with a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 26 K[1], Tc was pushed up surprisingly to above 40 K by either applying pressure[2] or replacing La with Sm[3], Ce[4], Nd[5] and Pr[6]. The maximum Tc has climbed to 55 K, observed in SmO1-xFxFeAs[7, 8] and SmFeAsO1-x[9]. The value of Tc was found to increase with decreasing lattice parameters in LnFeAsO1-xFx (Ln stands for the lanthanide elements) at an apparently optimal doping level. However, the F- doping in GdFeAsO is particularly difficult[10,11] due to the lattice mismatch between the Gd2O2 layers and Fe2As2 layers. Here we report observation of superconductivity with Tc as high as 56 K by the Th4+ substitution for Gd3+ in GdFeAsO. The incorporation of relatively large Th4+ ions relaxes the lattice mismatch, hence induces the high temperature superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Theory of the Magnetic Moment in Iron Pnictides

We show that the combined effects of spin-orbit, monoclinic distortion, and p-d hybridization in tetrahedrally coordinated Fe in LaOFeAs invalidates the naive Hund's rule filling of the Fe d-levels. The two highest occupied levels have one electron each but as a result of the p-d hybridization have very different on-site repulsions. As a result, electrons in the upper level are more itinerant while those in the lower level are more localized. It is the xy-projection of the spin in the lower level that orders antiferromagnetically as the z-components of the spins in the two levels is shown to be vanishingly small in the ground state. The resulting magnetic moment is highly anisotropic with an in-plane value of $0.25-0.35\mu_B$ per Fe and a z-projection of $0.06\mu_B$, both of which are in agreement with experiment. As a consequence, we arrive the minimal model that describes the electronic properties of LaOFeAs.Comment: Published Versio