On Strongly Correlated Eelectrons in Metals

A procedure, dedicated to superconductivity, is extended to study the properties of interacting electrons in normal metals in the thermodynamic limit. Each independent-electron band is shown to split into two correlated-electron bands. Excellent agreement is achieved with Bethe's wave-function for the one-dimensional Hubbard model. The groundstate energy, reckoned for the two-dimensional Hubbard Hamiltonian, is found to be lower than values, obtained thanks to the numerical methods. This analysis applies for any spatial dimension and temperature.

Spin-neutral currents for spintronics

Electric currents carrying a net spin polarization are widely used in spintronics, whereas globally spin-neutral currents are expected to play no role in spin-dependent phenomena. Here we show that, in contrast to this common expectation, spin-independent conductance in compensated antiferromagnets and normal metals can be efficiently exploited in spintronics, provided their magnetic space group symmetry supports a non-spin-degenerate Fermi surface. Due to their momentum-dependent spin polarization, such antiferromagnets can be used as active elements in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) and produce a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect. Using RuO2 as a representative compensated antiferromagnet exhibiting spin-independent conductance along the [001] direction but a non-spin-degenerate Fermi surface, we design a RuO2/TiO2/RuO2 (001) AFMTJ, where a globally spin-neutral charge current is controlled by the relative orientation of the Néel vectors of the two RuO2 electrodes, resulting in the TMR effect as large as ~500%. These results are expanded to normal metals which can be used as a counter electrode in AFMTJs with a single antiferromagnetic layer or other elements in spintronic devices. Our work uncovers an unexplored potential of the materials with no global spin polarization for utilizing them in spintronics.

EXACTLY SOLVABLE MODEL OF TOPOLOGICAL TRANSITIONS IN METALS

In this paper, we consider ETP using a precisely solvable model of an electron in a crystal. The main characteristics of the transition are given by analytical functions that contain only the parameters of the potential. The results of calculations are compared with experimental data on the Lifshitz phase transition (genus transition) in normal metals. The practical significance of the work is to increase the accuracy of quantitative predictions of the physical properties of alloys of various transition metals.

The Application of a CMR-B-Scalar Sensor for the Investigation of the Electromagnetic Acceleration of Type II Superconductors

In this paper, we investigated the behavior of a type II superconducting armature when accelerated by a pulsed magnetic field generated by a single-stage pancake coil. While conducting this investigation, we performed a numerical finite element simulation and an experimental study of the magnetic field dynamics at the edge of the pancake coil when the payload was a superconducting disc made from YBa2Cu3O7−x, cooled down to 77 K. The magnetic field measurements were performed using a CMR-B-scalar sensor, which was able to measure the absolute magnitude of the magnetic field and was specifically manufactured in order to increase the sensor’s sensitivity up to 500 mT. It was obtained that type II superconducting armatures can outperform normal metals when the launch conditions are tailored to their electromagnetic properties.

Tunneling in Fermi Systems with Quadratic Band Crossing Points

We investigate the tunneling of quasiparticles through a potential barrier of finite height and width, in a system with a band structure consisting of a quadratic band crossing point (QBCP). We compute the results of the transmission coefficient at various incident angles, and also the conductivity and the Fano factor. We discuss the distinguishing signatures of these transport properties in comparison with other semimetals, as well as electrons in normal metals.

Incoherent strange metal sharply bounded by a critical doping in Bi2212

In normal metals, macroscopic properties are understood using the concept of quasiparticles. In the cuprate high-temperature superconductors, the metallic state above the highest transition temperature is anomalous and is known as the “strange metal.” We studied this state using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. With increasing doping across a temperature-independent critical value pc ~ 0.19, we observed that near the Brillouin zone boundary, the strange metal, characterized by an incoherent spectral function, abruptly reconstructs into a more conventional metal with quasiparticles. Above the temperature of superconducting fluctuations, we found that the pseudogap also discontinuously collapses at the very same value of pc. These observations suggest that the incoherent strange metal is a distinct state and a prerequisite for the pseudogap; such findings are incompatible with existing pseudogap quantum critical point scenarios.

An Observable Prerequisite for the Existence of Persistent Currents

A classical model is presented for persistent currents in superconductors. Their existence is argued to be warranted because their decay would violate the second law of thermodynamics. This conclusion is achieved by analyzing comparatively Ohm's law and the Joule effect in normal metals and superconducting materials. Whereas Ohm's law applies in identical terms in both cases, the Joule effect is shown to cause the temperature of a superconducting sample to \textit{decrease}. An experiment is proposed to check the validity of this work in superconductors of both types I and II.