text:
# ADP-02-88/T527 JLAB-THY-02-47 Light quark simulations with FLIC fermions

## 1 INTRODUCTION

The Sheikholeslami-Wohlert (clover) action  is given by

$$S_{\mathrm{SW}}=S_\mathrm{W}\frac{iC_{\mathrm{SW}}\kappa r}{2(u_0)^4}\overline{\psi }(x)\sigma _{\mu \nu }F_{\mu \nu }\psi (x),$$
(1)
where $`S_\mathrm{W}`$ is the standard Wilson action  and $`C_{\mathrm{SW}}`$ is the clover coefficient which can be tuned to remove $`𝒪(a)`$ artifacts. Nonperturbative (NP) $`𝒪(a)`$ improvement  tunes $`C_{\mathrm{SW}}`$ to all powers in $`g^2`$ and displays excellent scaling, as shown by Edwards et al .

However, the clover action is susceptible to the problem of exceptional configurations as the quark mass becomes small. In practice, this prevents the use of coarse lattices ($`\beta <5.7a>0.18`$ fm) . Furthermore, the plaquette version of $`F_{\mu \nu }`$, which is commonly used in Eq. (1), has large $`𝒪(a^2)`$ errors, which can lead to errors of the order of $`10\%`$ in the topological charge even on very smooth configurations .

Initial studies  using a Fat-Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermion action showed that, on a lattice with a spacing corresponding to $`a^2\sigma 0.08`$, where $`\sigma `$ is the string tension, it is possible to achieve superior scaling to that using a mean-field improved clover action. Furthermore, it is competitive with nonperturbatively improved clover without having to fine tune the coefficients of action improvement.

In this paper we expand on previous results  by examining the scaling of FLIC fermions at three different lattice spacings. We also investigate the problem of exceptional configurations by presenting preliminary results of simulations at light quark masses corresponding to $`m_\pi /m_\rho =0.35`$.

## 2 GAUGE ACTION

The simulations are performed using a tree-level $`𝒪(a^2)`$–Symanzik-improved  gauge action on $`12^3\times 24`$ and $`16^3\times 32`$ lattices with lattice spacings of 0.093, 0.122 and 0.165 fm determined from the string tension with $`\sqrt{\sigma }=440`$ MeV. A total of 200 configurations are used in the scaling analysis at each lattice spacing and volume. In addition, for the light quark simulations, 94 configurations are used on a $`20^3\times 40`$ lattice with $`a=0.134`$ fm. The error analysis is performed by a third-order, single-elimination jackknife, with the $`\chi ^2`$ per degree of freedom ($`N_{\mathrm{DF}}`$) obtained via covariance matrix fits.

## 3 FERMION ACTION

Fat links  are created using APE smearing  followed by a projection back to SU(3). We repeat this procedure of smearing and projection $`n`$ times. Fat links are created by setting $`\alpha =0.7`$ and $`n=4`$. Further details of FLIC fermion actions can be found in Ref.

As reported in Ref. , one finds that the plaquette measure $`u_01`$ for the fat links, so that the mean-field improved coefficient for $`C_{\mathrm{SW}}`$ is expected to be adequate. Also, one can now use highly improved definitions of $`F_{\mu \nu }`$. In particular, we employ an $`𝒪(a^4)`$ improved definition of $`F_{\mu \nu }`$  in which the standard clover-sum of four $`1\times 1`$ Wilson loops lying in the $`\mu ,\nu `$ plane is combined with $`2\times 2`$ and $`3\times 3`$ Wilson loop clovers. A fixed boundary condition is used for the fermions and gauge-invariant gaussian smearing  in the spatial dimensions is applied at the source to increase the overlap of the interpolating operators with the ground states.

## 4 RESULTS

The scaling behavior of the various actions is illustrated in Fig. 1. The present results for the Wilson action agree with those of Ref. . The FLIC action performs systematically better than the mean-field improved clover, indicating that only 4 sweeps of smearing, combined with our $`𝒪(a^4)`$ improved $`F_{\mu \nu }`$, provides excellent results, without the fine tuning of $`C_{\mathrm{SW}}`$ in the NP improvement program. The FLIC results also compete well with those obtained with the NP-improved clover fermion action.

The two different volumes used at $`a^2\sigma 0.08`$ suggest a small finite volume effect, which increases the mass for the smaller volume. Examination of points on the small and large volumes separately indicates scaling consistent with errors of $`𝒪(a^2)`$. This contrasts with mean-field improved results, where an extrapolation of the vector meson mass linear in $`a^2\sigma `$ cannot accommodate the continuum limit estimate. These results indicate that FLIC fermions provide a new form of nonperturbative $`𝒪(a)`$ improvement.

Previous work  has shown that the FLIC fermion action has extremely impressive convergence rates for matrix inversion, which provides great promise for performing cost effective simulations at quark masses closer to the physical values. Problems with exceptional configurations have prevented such simulations in the past.

The ease with which one can invert the fermion matrix using FLIC fermions leads us to attempt simulations down to small quark masses corresponding to $`m_\pi /m_\rho =`$ 0.35. Previous attempts with Wilson-type fermion actions have only succeeded in getting down to $`m_\pi /m_\rho =0.47`$ . The simulations are on a $`20^3\times 40`$ lattice with a physical length of 2.7 fm. We have used an initial set of 94 configurations, using $`n=6`$ sweeps of smearing, and preliminary results indicate exceptional configurations at the 1% level . Figure 2 shows the $`N`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ masses as a function of $`m_\pi ^2`$ for all eight masses considered. It is interesting to note an upward curvature in the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ mass, increasing the $`N\mathrm{\Delta }`$ mass spitting for decreasing quark mass. This behavior has been predicted by Young et al .

## 5 CONCLUSIONS

We have calculated hadron masses to test the scaling of a novel Fat-Link Irrelevant Clover fermion action, in which only the irrelevant, higher-dimension operators involve smeared links. One of the main conclusions of this work is that the use of fat links in the irrelevant operators provides a new form of nonperturbative $`𝒪(a)`$ improvement. This technique competes well with $`𝒪(a)`$ nonperturbative improvement on mean field-improved gluon configurations, with the advantage of a reduced exceptional configuration problem.

Quenched simulations at quark masses down to $`m_\pi /m_\rho =0.35`$ have been successfully performed on a $`20^3\times 40`$ lattice with a lattice spacing of 0.134 fm. Simulations at such light quark masses hold promise for revealing non-analytic behaviour of quenched chiral perturbation theory.

We thank the Australian National Computing Facility for Lattice Gauge Theory, and the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) for supercomputer time. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council. W.M. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy contract DE-AC05-84ER40150, under which the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab).


format: text

text:
# Giant Planar Hall Effect in Epitaxial (Ga,Mn)As Devices

(April 4, 2002)

## Abstract

Large Hall resistance jumps are observed in microdevices patterned from epitaxial (Ga,Mn)As layers when subjected to a swept, in-plane magnetic field. This giant planar Hall effect is four orders of magnitude greater than previously observed in metallic ferromagnets. This enables extremely sensitive measurements of the angle-dependent magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As. The magnetic anisotropy fields deduced from these measurements are compared with theoretical predictions.

Ferromagnetic semiconductors are of considerable current interest since they offer prospects for realizing semiconducting spintronics devices that have no analogs in metallic ferromagnetic system. citation1 ; citation2  One recent and striking example is the electric field control of ferromagnetism. citation3  Semiconductor-based magnetic materials also offer new possibilities for attaining great improvements in performance over metallic magnetic devices. Among examples here is conductivity-matching to attain efficient spin injection into semiconductors. citation4

Semiconductor ferromagnetism also gives rise to new physical phenomena because it is possible to engineer, and enhance, spin-orbit coupling in ways that are not possible in metallic systems. In this letter we report the observation of a giant planar “Hall” effect (GPHE) in epitaxial (Ga,Mn)As thin film devices. This is manifested as a spontaneous transverse voltage that develops, because of spin-orbit copling, in response to longitudinal current flow in the absence of an applied field. Analogous effects studied in metallic ferromagnets, are exceedingly small - typically of order m$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$citation6  Related phenomena have recently been investigated in ferromagnetic semiconductors citation7 , but here we report the previously unrecognized, and quite remarkable, response of the GPHE to an applied in-plane magnetic field. Within the high quality, single domain ferromagnetic semiconductors investigated here we find a switchable effect that is about four orders of magnitude stronger than found in metallic ferromagnets. Below we describe measurements that take advantage of this strong GPHE to provide insight, and unprecedented resolution, into the mechanism of magnetic switching within these materials. These data, in turn, enable complete characterization of the magnetic anisotropy of the (Ga,Mn)As epilayers. At present, the large magnitude of this PHE is not fully understood. We presume this phenomenon stems from the combined effects of significant spin-orbit coupling in the valence band of the zincblende crystal structure, and the large spin polarization of holes in (Ga,Mn)As. The temperature dependence of the magnetization and the coercivity determined by electrical measurement should provide additional insight into the underlying physical mechanisms.

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at 250C was employed to deposit 150nm-thick Ga0.948Mn0.052As epilayers on top of an insulating GaAs(001) substrate with a buffer layer. Various thicknesses and concentrations of materials have been investigated, and some samples are annealed at elevated temperatures. The devices described herein are patterned from a single wafer (UCSB -001115A, Curie temperature $`T_c45`$K), however, it is notable that all devices studied (fabricated from a variety of different epilayers) exhibit consistent behavior.

Magnetoresistance measurements are carried out on families of Hall bars (widths 6 $`\mu `$m–1 mm), and square van der Pauw devices (3$`\times `$3 mm2). The former are aligned along the  direction by a combination of photo- and electron-beam- lithography. Voltage probes on the Hall bars are carefully designed to minimize their perturbation upon current flow within the devices (cf. SEM micrograph, Fig. 1e). Standard four-probe lock-in measurements are performed by a 10 nA ac sensing current at 14 Hz, excitation is intentionally kept quite low to obviate electron heating. Magnetic fields are generated using a 3-coil superconducting magnet that allows 3D field orientation without physically disturbing the sample. We execute two classes of experiments, the first in which the field orientation is fixed in-plane along a specific direction, $`\phi _H`$, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the Hall bars, while the field magnitude is swept linearly between $`\pm `$1000 Oe. In the second, we fix the magnitude of the applied in-plane field, while stepping its orientation clockwise or counter-clockwise. Prior to each sweep, an in-plane field of 6000 Oe is applied to saturate the sample magnetization, $`𝐌`$.

At all angles, except for those along (110) directions, two abrupt jumps are observed in PHE measurements. Families of data taken from Hall bars spanning from 6 $`\mu `$m to macroscopic (1 mm) dimensions are shown in Fig. 1(a-c). These are obtained for orientation 20 away from . For comparison, the field-dependent sheet resistance of a 100 $`\mu `$m Hall bar is also displayed in Fig. 1d.

Four distinct features emerge. a) Large switching events at distinct magnetic fields are observed in the Hall resistance; these are accompanied by small jumps (relative to the background) in the longitudinal resistance. b) Between these switching fields, the planar Hall resistance remains constant at approximately 37 $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. The signal polarity reverses at each switching event. c) The switching fields appear to be independent of sample size and geometry. Measurements on samples with square, van der Pauw geometry, as large as $`3\times 3`$mm2, exhibit identical switching behavior as those of the smaller, micron-scale devices - even though the magnitude of the Hall resistance is reduced in the former, presumably due to non-uniform current distribution. d) When the width of the Hall device is reduced to $``$6 $`\mu `$m, small Barkhausen jumps are observed. These occur in close proximity to the switching transitions (Fig. 1f), and appear to demonstrate that the propagation of domain walls is constrained by geometry. citation8

We have also investigated samples with Hall bars fabricated along many other directions besides the  crystalline axis. We find that the switching fields do not depend on the orientation of the Hall bars, whereas the magnitude of planar Hall resistance jumps are systematically reduced as one moves away from the (110) directions.

Figure 2a presents the dependence of $`R`$$`H`$ loops upon field orientation angle $`\phi _H`$ as it is varied from $`30^{}`$ to 30 in the plane. In the field range of these experiments, only one jump occurs along the (110) directions. Away from these special orientations, a two-jump reversal is always observed. The first switching field $`H_{c1}`$ is almost constant, while the second switching field $`H_{c2}`$ decreases dramatically and approaches $`H_{c1}`$ at around $`\pm `$30.

We interpret the jumps in the Hall resistance as follows. The electric field within a single domain ferromagnetic film with in-plane magnetization can be written as citation5

$`E_x`$ $`=`$ $`j\rho _{}+j(\rho _{}\rho _{})\mathrm{cos}^2\phi `$ (1)
$`E_y`$ $`=`$ $`j(\rho _{}\rho _{})\mathrm{sin}\phi \mathrm{cos}\phi `$ (2)
where the current density $`j`$ is assumed to be uniformly distributed along the Hall bar, $`x`$ and $`y`$ are the longitudinal and transverse axes, and $`\phi `$ is the angle between the magnetization and current density $`j`$. $`\rho _{}`$ and $`\rho _{}`$ are the resistivities for current oriented parallel and perpendicular to the magnetization. The anisotropic magnetoresistance phenomenon is described by Eq. 1. The transverse resistance, i.e. the planar Hall resistance, is expressed in Eq. 2; it exhibits extrema at $`\phi `$ = 45 and its cubic equivalents. To verify this angular dependence of the planar Hall resistance, an in-plane field of constant magnitude 6000 Oe is applied to saturate the magnetization, and its orientation is swept through 360 degrees (Fig. 2c). In accordance with Eq. 2, the measured Hall resistance exhibits extrema for applied field orientations of $``$45, $``$135, $``$225, and $``$315. Note that the first maximum of planar Hall resistance appears at 135 instead of 45, indicating $`\rho _{}\rho _{}<0`$ ($`73\mathrm{\Omega }`$ from Eq. 2). This property of (Ga,Mn)As is distinct from that in conventional ferromagnetic metals, where $`\rho _{}\rho _{}>0`$. It may originate from the different manner in which holes and electrons contribute to the spin-orbit interaction in ferromagnetic materials.

The anomalous switching behavior of the Hall resistance shown in Figs. 1(a-c) can be explained by a two-jump sequence of magnetization:  ($`\phi `$ -45) $``$  ($`\phi `$ 45)$``$ \[$`\overline{1}`$00\] ($`\phi `$ 135). This evolution also accounts for the accompanying small longitudinal resistance jumps shown in Fig. 1d. Between the switching events, the sample remains in what appears to be a macroscopic single domain state. In this regime the magnetization evidently rotates coherently according to Stoner-Wohlfarth model, citation9  hence the planar Hall resistance continues to evolve to a small degree with field. Scanning SQUID microscopy of (Ga,Mn)As epilayers magnetized in-plane have provided evidence for the existence of macroscopic single domains on length scales extending to hundreds of microns. citation11  Domain states within the sample exist only in the vicinity of the switching field, and the associated domain wall scattering evidently generates the remarkable resistance spikes shown in Fig. 1d.

Figure 2b summarizes the signatures of the coercive fields manifested in our electrical transport measurements. The field loci delineating the resistance transitions are shown in polar coordinates. The $`H_{c1}`$ lines form a rectangular shape, whereas the $`H_{c2}`$ lines are more complicated. The latter follow the extrapolation of $`H_{c1}`$ lines at low field but evolve towards the (110) axes in higher fields. Eventually, at a field around 2500 Oe, the second jump becomes smeared and reversible. These measurements clearly elucidate behavior that is generic in our (Ga,Mn)As epilayers: the in-plane magnetic anisotropy is nearly cubic, but it is biased by a small two-fold preference along .

Unusual multiple switching, somewhat analogous to that demonstrated in this work, has also been observed in ultrathin epitaxial Fe films, through the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). A switching pattern analogous to that of Fig. 2b was measured in Ag/Fe/Ag(001) system by Cowburn et al.citation12  although with significantly less resolution in their metallic system. To explain their results a simple model is invoked, incorporating a well-defined domain wall pinning energy into a complex, anisotropic magnetocrystalline energy surface (A weak in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is superimposed along one easy axis of a strong cubic anisotropy). Our experimental data can be explained via similar domain reversal energetics, but in the present case the in-plane uniaxial easy axis is collinear with a hard axis of the cubic anisotropy. The corresponding free energy density of such a single domain magnet can be written as, $`E=K_u\mathrm{sin}^2\phi +(K_1/4)\mathrm{cos}^22\phi MH\mathrm{cos}(\phi \phi _H)`$. Here $`K_u`$, $`K_1`$ are in-plane uniaxial and cubic anisotropy constants. The equilibrium state is defined by the conditions, $`E/\phi =0`$ and $`^2E/\phi ^2>0`$. The former gives,

$$K_u\mathrm{sin}2\phi K_1\mathrm{sin}4\phi +MH\mathrm{sin}(\phi \phi _H)=0.$$
(3)
At zero field, four distinct magnetization states, corresponding to four local energy minima, can exist: $`\phi _{1,2}^0=\pm (\pi /4\delta )`$,$`\phi _{3,4}^0=\pm (3\pi /4+\delta )`$, with $`\delta =\mathrm{sin}^1(K_u/K_1)`$. Domains can exist over short length scales in a demagnetized thin film. Upon application of an in-plane field, these small-scale domains quickly become suppressed and the whole sample evolves into a macroscopic single domain state with $`\phi `$ close to one of the zero fields minima $`\phi _{14}^0`$. When the external field is reversed, magnetization reversal is achieved via an intermediate state corresponding to the sample magnetization oriented almost orthogonally (90) to the initial and final directions of the magnetization. Domain states mediate the transitions from one energy minimum to another. For a domain wall to become liberated to propagate through the sample, the reversed external field must be increased to the point where a characteristic pinning energy density, $`ϵ`$, is exceeded, i.e., $`𝐇_c(𝐌_2𝐌_1)=ϵ`$. Here $`𝐌_1,𝐌_2`$ are the initial and final magnetization, and $`𝐇_c`$ is the switching field. If $`𝐇_c`$ is small compared to the cubic anisotropy field, coherent rotation of $`𝐌_1`$ and $`𝐌_2`$ from the zero-field equilibrium is negligible. For transitions from  to , a $``$90 domain wall with core magnetization along  is required to propagate across the sample, giving $`𝐇_c\widehat{x}=ϵ_{110}/2M\mathrm{sin}(45^{}\delta )`$, in which $`ϵ_{110}`$ is the corresponding domain wall pinning energy density. Considering all possible orientational trajectories, we can describe the loci of transitions as $`𝐇\widehat{x}=\pm ϵ_{110}/2M\mathrm{sin}(45^{}\delta )`$ and $`𝐇\widehat{y}=\pm ϵ_{\overline{1}10}/2M\mathrm{sin}(45^{}+\delta )`$. At low field, these describe two parallel sets of lines that are in excellent correspondence with the switching pattern observed in our experiments (Fig. 2b). At high fields two new pieces of physics become important. First, coherent rotation of M must be considered and, second, the energy density of a domain wall also becomes significantly reduced. citation13  As a result, high field transitions progressively evolve towards the (110) directions.

Several additional points are worthy of mention. First, PHE measurements enable determination of crystallographic orientation with remarkable precision; we estimate that the angular error in establishing the (110) crystalline axes is less than 0.04. Second, apart from the singularity along these (110) directions, neither single transitions nor three-transition processes are observed. This justifies our assumption that in-plane uniaxial anisotropy does not exist along the cubic easy axes. citation14

We are able to deduce both the cubic and uniaxial anisotropy fields through PHE measurements. To achieve this, a large, constant magnetic field is applied in the plane while its orientation is rotated continuously. Fig. 2c shows data from such measurements for clockwise and counterclockwise sweeps of magnetic field orientation, for a family of field magnitudes. When $`H<H_{cA}`$, where $`H_{cA}`$ 2500 Oe is the dominant cubic anisotropy field, the magnetoresistance reverses each time the magnetization switches across the cubic hard axis. The planar Hall resistance becomes reversible for fields greater than 2500 Oe, in which case the magnetization rotates coherently according to Stoner-Wohlfarth model. Thus, for a given external field angle $`\phi _H`$, the macroscopic in-plane magnetization orientation, $`\phi `$, can be calculated by using expression in Eq. 2. Fitting all the computed data sets ($`\phi _H,\phi `$) to Eq. 3, we consistently and unambiguously extract the anisotropy fields $`H_{cA}=2K_1/M=2400`$ Oe, $`H_{uA}=2K_u/M=160`$ Oe.

Progress has recently been made toward gaining a theoretical understanding of magnetic anisotropy in III-V magnetic semiconductors. citation15 ; citation16  It is generally agreed that, in addition to an intrinsic cubic anisotropy, (Ga,Mn)As possesses a substantial out-of-plane uniaxial component with sign that is dependent on whether tensile or compressive biaxial strain exists at the interface. citation7  While attention has focused almost exclusively on the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, recent work on (Ga,Mn)As magnetic tunnel junctions TanakaHigo  highlights the importance of the in-plane anisotropy. On the other hand, theoretical models of cubic anisotropy predict that the in-plane cubic easy axes can be oriented along either (100) or (110) depending upon the hole concentration and the degree of spin-splitting. By contrast, all of our data to date, on a variety of (Ga,Mn)As epilayers, indicate that the cubic easy axes are aligned along (100) axes. Further PHE studies on additional epilayers are needed to determine if the cubic anisotropy exhibits the variations predicted by theory. Our experimental results do agree, however, with predicted magnitude of the cubic anisotropy field, which we find to be about 2400 Oe.

We have also studied the temperature dependence of PHE, which should be of significant importance in elucidating its underlying physical mechanisms. Fig. 3a shows the results for a 10 $`\mu `$m Hall bar, measured under conditions of careful temperature regulation, stepped downward from 50K to 0.32K, for fixed-orientation, swept-magnitude, applied magnetic fields. The magnitude of both PHE and the coercive fields increases rapidly with decreasing temperature (Fig. 3b). For $`T<10`$K, both the PHE and sheet resistivity appear to diverge logarithmically down to the lowest measured temperatures, while the ratio $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_H/R_{\mathrm{}}`$ remains nearly constant. Here, $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_H`$ is the PHE resistance jump and $`R_{\mathrm{}}`$ is the zero-field sheet resistance. This ratio, $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_H/R_{\mathrm{}}`$, should provide valuable information about the hole spin polarization. We find that it decreases monotonically with increasing temperature, qualitatively tracking the magnetization of a 3$`\times `$3 mm2 sample measured by SQUID magnetometry(Fig. 3c).

In conclusion, these first observations of a giant planar Hall effect in (Ga,Mn)As devices enable systematic investigation of in-plane magnetic anisotropy and magnetization reversal via electrical transport measurements. In semiconducting materials, GPHE measurements provide unique advantages over magneto-optical techniques. For example, carrier concentration changes arising from sample illumination can be circumvented. It is also notable that the high signal-to-noise attainable in GPHE measurements permits observation of behavior that emerges only in structures of reduced dimensions (e.g. Barkhausen jumps in 6 $`\mu `$m devices). Given the minimal excitation power required, this technique is compatible with very low temperature measurements ($``$mK), thus offering new possibilities for investigations in micro- and nanoscale spintronic devices.

We gratefully acknowledge support from DARPA under grants DSO/SPINS -MDA 972-01-1-0024 (Caltech) and DARPA/ONR N00014-99-1-1096 (UCSB), and from the AFOSR under grant F49620-02-10036 (UCSB). We also thank Prof. P.E. Wigen for valuable discussions.


text:
# Onset of incommensurability in quantum spin chains

## Abstract

In quantum spin chains, it has been observed that the incommensurability occurs near valence-bond-solid (VBS)-type solvable points, and the correlation length becomes shortest at VBS-type points. Besides, the correlation function decays purely exponentially at VBS-type points, in contrast with the two-dimensional (2D) Ornstein-Zernicke type behavior in other regions with an excitation gap. We propose a mechanism to explain the onset of the incommensurability and the shortest correlation length at VBS-like points. This theory can be applicable for more general cases.

Frustration is one of the important problem in many-body physics. Recently, many things in frustrated systems become clearer with field theoretical approaches and numerical calculations (density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) etc.). However, relatively little is known about commensurate-incommensurate (C-IC) transitions induced by frustration in quantum spin systems. Among them, it is observed the C-IC change in the region with an excitation gap (therefore, it is not a phase transition) in one-dimensional (1D) quantum spin models.

For example, the C-IC change begins from the Majumdar-Ghosh point  in the S=1/2 next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) chain

$$H=\underset{j}{}(S_jS_{j+1}+\alpha S_jS_{j+2}),$$
(1)
($`\alpha _D=1/2`$ is the solvable point), or from the valence-bond-solid (VBS) point  in the S=1 bilinear-biquadratic chain,

$$H=\underset{j}{}(S_jS_{j+1}+\alpha (S_jS_{j+1})^2),$$
(2)
($`\alpha _D=1/3`$ is the solvable point).

With a numerical diagonalization, Tonegawa and Harada observed in the S=1/2 NNN chain  that the incommensurability of the spin correlation begins near the solvable point. However, from the DMRG calculation, Bursill et al. stated that in the static structure factor (Fourier transform of spin-correlation function), the C-IC change begins slightly different from the solvable point for the S=1 bilinear-biquadratic chain , and for the S=1/2 NNN chain . In contrast, using the DMRG, Schollwöck, Jolicoeur, and Garel  have closely investigated the correlation function of the S=1 bilinear-biquadratic chain (2), not the structure factor, and they found that the incommensurability begins right at the VBS point. Adding this, they have pointed out the singular behavior of the modulation wavenumber.

Secondly, it has been noticed that the correlation length is shortest at the VBS-type point.

Thirdly, at the VBS-type point, the spin-correlation function decays purely exponentially, in contrast with the 2D (1+1D) Ornstein-Zernicke type (that is, 2D Green function for the free massive particle) behavior in the other region with a gap.

Although Schollwöck et al. have tried to explain these features on the analogy of the 1D classical frustrated Ising spin with finite temperature, several features are different from the quantum spin chain case, which we intend to explain in this study. After that, Kolezhuk, Roth, and Schollwöck applied their idea to the S=1 NNN chain , where they called the shortest correlation length point as the “disordered point”, generalizing the VBS-type point with the above features.

Recently, Fáth and Sütõ proposed an effective field theory  to explain these features in the C-IC change of the S=1 bilinear-biquadratic chain. Although their results seem natural, they have not derived their effective field theory directly from the lattice Hamiltonian. And from their theory, the C-IC change near the Majumdar-Gosh point cannot be explained. Therefore, it is meaningful to construct a theory on firmer ground. Considering the analyticity of the structure factor $`S(q)`$ around the disordered point, where several exact results are known, we propose another approach to this problem. Since, what we observe experimentally is not Hamiltonian itself, but structure factors or other quantities, thus our approach may be more natural in a physical sense.

We summarize the results by Schollwöck et al. as (see also Fig.1)

1. In the commensurate region ($`\alpha <\alpha _D`$), the correlation function behaves as the 2D Ornstein-Zernicke-type

$$S_0S_n(1)^n|n|^{1/2}\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi (\alpha )),$$
(3)
where far enough from the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$.
2. In the incommensurate region ($`\alpha >\alpha _D`$) ,

$$S_0S_n(1)^n\mathrm{cos}(q(\alpha )n)|n|^{1/2}\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi (\alpha )),$$
(4)
where far enough from the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$.
3. At the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$,

$$S_0S_n(1)^n\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi (\alpha _D)).$$
(5)
4. From the commensurate side,

$$\frac{d\xi (\alpha )}{d\alpha }|_{\alpha _D}=\mathrm{}.$$
(6)
5. From the incommensurate side,

$$\frac{dq(\alpha )}{d\alpha }|_{\alpha _D}=\mathrm{}.$$
(7)
6. From the incommensurate side, by fitting as

$$q(\alpha )(\alpha \alpha _D)^\sigma ,$$
(8)
we obtain $`\sigma 1/2`$.
7. Neither the $`\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi )`$ nor the $`|n|^{1/2}\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi )`$ form cannot describe the correlation function near the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$.

Note that, strictly speaking, the 2D Ornstein-Zernicke form is the modified Bessel function ,

$$G(\stackrel{}{n})=\frac{\mathrm{exp}(i\stackrel{}{q}\stackrel{}{n})d^2q}{\stackrel{}{q}^2+\xi ^2}=2\pi K_0(|n|/\xi ),$$
(9)
which behaves $`|n|^{1/2}\mathrm{exp}(|n|/\xi )`$ in large distance. And static correlation function is

$$G(0,n_1)=\pi \frac{\mathrm{exp}(iq_1n_1)}{\sqrt{q_1^2+\xi ^2}}𝑑q_1.$$
(10)
To explain these features, we consider the static structure factor in the complex $`q`$ plain,

$$S(q)\underset{n}{}\mathrm{exp}(iqn)(1)^nS_0S_n.$$
(11)
The simple minded Fourier transforms of the correlation functions are

1. At the disordered point,

$$S(q)\frac{1}{q^2+m^2}.$$
(12)
2. In the commensurate region,

$$S(q)\frac{1}{\sqrt{q^2+m^2}}.$$
(13)
3. In the incommensurate region,

$$S(q)\frac{1}{\sqrt{(qq(\alpha ))^2+m^2}}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{(q+q(\alpha ))^2+m^2}}.$$
(14)

However, with the above forms, one cannot connect these three region. In fact, in terms of the singularity in the complex $`q`$ plain, there are poles at the disordered point, in contrast with the branch-cuts in the other (commensurate, incommensurate) regions.

In order to unify these three region, we reconsider the relation between the pole and the branch-cut. A pole and a branch-cut can be deformed each other as following,

$$f(z)(z^2d)^{1/2},$$
(15)
which has two branch-points at $`z=\pm \sqrt{d}`$ for $`d>0`$, a pole at $`z=0`$ for $`d=0`$, and two branch-points at $`z=\pm i\sqrt{|d|}`$ for $`d<0`$. Note that $`f(z)`$ is an odd function $`f(z)=f(z)`$, considering the analytic continuation around the branch-cut.

Besides, to relate it with physical phenomena, we consider the following assumptions:

1. $`S(q)`$ is analytic except several algebraic singular points.
2. $`S(q)`$ is real on the real axis $`(S(q)=\overline{S}(\overline{q}))`$.
3. From parity, $`S(q)=S(q)`$.
4. $`S(q)`$ is varied continuously with a parameter $`\alpha `$.
5. At the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$, $`S(q)`$ is described with two poles.
6. Singular points and branch-cuts should not cross the real axis.

From these assumptions, we can obtain the simplest singularity structure as Fig. 2, that is, there are two poles symmetric with real axis, or four branch-points continuously deformable from them. The static structure factor, originated from the singular terms, is given as

$`S_{sing}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`Af(q+\stackrel{~}{m}i)f(q\stackrel{~}{m}i)`$ (16)
$`=`$ $`A[q^4+2(\stackrel{~}{m}^2d)q^2+\stackrel{~}{m}^4+d^2+2\stackrel{~}{m}^2d]^{1/2},`$
where real parameters $`A,\stackrel{~}{m},d`$ may depend on $`\alpha `$, especially $`d\alpha \alpha _D`$. Although this result for the static structure is the same as in , our theory is based on the analyticity of $`S(q)`$ and the exact $`S(q)`$ at the VBS point. Note that without the assumption for algebraic  singularities, there remain other possibilities

$`S_{sing}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`A{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2\stackrel{~}{m}}}[f(q+\stackrel{~}{m}i)f(q\stackrel{~}{m}i)]`$ (17)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{A}{\stackrel{~}{m}}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{(q^2\stackrel{~}{m}^2d)^2+4q^2\stackrel{~}{m}^2}}}\mathrm{cos}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{arctan}({\displaystyle \frac{2q\stackrel{~}{m}}{q^2\stackrel{~}{m}^2d}})\right),`$
$`S_{sing}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`A{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2q}}[f(q+\stackrel{~}{m}i)+f(q\stackrel{~}{m}i)].`$ (18)
The assumption for algebraic singularities physically relates to the locality of interactions.

Although it seems reasonable four branch-points in the incommensurate region, how do we interpret four branch-points in the commensurate region? In the large distance, or the small wave number $`q`$, to $`S(q)`$ on the real axis mainly contribute the two branch-points closer to the real axis, thus it seems only two branch-points when $`0<1|d|/\stackrel{~}{m}^21`$ .

When we set $`dc_1(\alpha \alpha _D);c_1>0`$ in eq. (16), we can explain systematically the singular behaviors of $`\xi (\alpha ),q(\alpha )`$ near the disordered point $`\alpha _D`$. And we can calculate the analytic form for $`S(q)`$ in the neighborhood of $`\alpha _D`$. In addition, near $`\alpha _D`$, $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$ may behave as $`\stackrel{~}{m}\stackrel{~}{m}_0+c_2(\alpha \alpha _D)`$. It should be $`c_2<0`$, since the correlation length increases in the incommensurate region.

Generally, the requirement for the amplitude is $`A0`$, since for $`A=0`$ the correlation function becomes perfectly zero. However, at the Majumdar-Ghosh point in the S=1/2 NNN chain, the correlation function behaves as

$$S_0S_n=0,(for|n|2),$$
(19)
which can be interpreted as the $`A(\alpha )(\alpha \alpha _D)`$ case or the $`A(\alpha )(\alpha \alpha _D)^2`$ case. The latter possibility comes from that spin variables may depend as $`S_n(\alpha \alpha _D)`$.

Until now, we have neglected the lattice structure and the terms which are regular in the whole complex $`q`$ plain. To include the lattice structure, we should require $`S(q)=S(q+2\pi )`$. Thus, the full static structure factor is

$$S(q)=\underset{j=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}S_{sing}(q+2\pi j)+S_{reg}(q),$$
(20)
where

$$S_{reg}(q)\underset{j=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_j\mathrm{cos}(jq).$$

Note that to calculate the spin-correlation function, it is enough to consider the singularities of $`S(q)`$ within the Brillioun zone, because of periodicity.

In summary, the C-IC change can be regarded as a fusion-fission of singularities in the complex $`q`$ plain. The Lifshitz point, where the static structure factor changes from a single peak to double peaks, is a natural consequence of this fusion-fission of singularities  (see in (16),

$$\frac{^2S_{sing}(q)}{q^2}(q=0)A(\stackrel{~}{m}^2d)$$
(21)
).

The argument in this paper should be checked in the DMRG calculation near the disordered point. After checking the expectation for the static structure factor, one can extend it to the dynamical structure factor. Since the VBS-type states  are obtained not only in the 1D quantum system, but also in the 2D and 3D quantum systems, it is interesting whether such C-IC changes may occur at the VBS-type points in higher dimensions.


text:
# Sharing data between facilities: using the NeXus time-of-flight powder diffractometer file format - NOBUGS2002/036

## I Introduction

Using an international standard file format for data storage is very appealing. Rather than having to write, or track down, a conversion utility one can directly use a variety of software packages. For scattering data the clear choice is to use NeXus. nexus;web  NeXus is a binary file format built on top of the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) hdf;web  library. The binary format allows for more efficient data storage while the hierarchical nature of HDF allows for intelligent grouping of information to describe what is in the file.

The early development of NeXus concentrated on providing a powerful application program interface (API) implemented in C with wrappers for FORTRAN 77/90, IDL, and Java. The variety of supported languages simplifies the work for those who do want to read or write NeXus files directly. More recently the focus turned to standardizing the organization of the data and associated information. Originally, the NeXus standard provided a mechanism for storing information in the file, but did not spell out a detailed policy for using that mechanism. Instrument definitions were incomplete and did not provide enough information to generate truly portable data files. This was the main problem when the authors began to collaborate.

NeXus was starting to define what constituted a generic compliant file. Each file contains multiple NXentries, and each NXentry is of the form seen in Fig. 1.

The key to NeXus is that while very little information is required, if it is to be included in the file it has to be included in the manner specified by the standard.

The Integrated Spectral Analysis Workbench (ISAW) was designed to visualize and analyze data taken at time-of-flight neutron sources. In order to appeal to a broader community it looked to support the NeXus format. The data acquisition system (DAS) team at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (MLNSC) was working on an upgrade of their system which included moving to a more widely used file format to reduce some of the work involved in analyzing data. Immediately the two groups tried to share files and found that, while the data could be written by one system and loaded into the other, much information was lost due to organizational differences. To solve this problem the authors decided to specify what needed to be included in a time-of-flight neutron powder diffractometer (TOFNPD) file. While this is a conceptually simple instrument, information such as detector position is needed by many other instruments. This paper will discus several of the decisions made during a meeting at Los Alamos National Laboratory concerning the description of detectors.

## II Identifying Detector Pixels

In NeXus, data is stored as a multidimensional rectangular array inside the NXdata object as seen in Fig. 1 with separate arrays for the independent variable and the detector identifiers. For a simple instrument, with only tube detectors (Fig. 2(a)), the data is two dimensional (data\[i,j\]) with the first axis being time-of-flight (time\_of\_flight\[i\]) and the second axis being detector number (id\[j\]). Newer powder diffractometers tend to use linear position sensitive detectors (LPSD) (Fig. 2(b)) which would store data in a three dimensional data array, (data\[i,j,k\]) with the first axis being the same as the simple tube (time\_of\_flight\[i\]) and the other axes representing the detector and pixel number (id\[j,k\]). The case for area detector (Fig. 2(c)) is easy to extend from these two cases with a four dimensional data array (data\[i,j,k,l\]), with the axes being time-of-flight (time\_of\_flight\[i\]), detector number, row, and column (id\[j,k,l\]). Since NeXus only provides for rectangular arrays the case of an instrument with more than one type of detector must store the data in multiple NXdata. This is also the case when there is more than one time-of-flight range. To this end the group decided that if two data arrays have the same name attribute then they are intended to be part of the same data set.

## III Describing Detectors

Arguably the most important information, after the data, is a description of the detector configuration. The detector’s position is needed for conversions to wavelength ($`\lambda `$), $`d`$-spacing, and momentum transfer ($`Q`$) as well as data corrections such as inelastic scattering. The solid angle covered is needed to normalize the spectra for measurement area effects. Other information is useful for diagnostics such as physical size (length, width, and depth), orientation, electronics configuration, and type (such as 3He or scintillator). Some information about the detector is redundant as well. For example if the size and orientation is known then the solid angle covered is straightforward to calculate and does not need to be explicitly included. This section will discus some of the properties of a detector.

### III.1 Specifying Position

Due to the differences in preferred coordinate systems and the variety of naming conventions, specifying a detector position is more difficult than one would expect. While the choice of spherical coordinates is fairly straightforward, the decision of what to call the angles, and what to reference them from, was a long topic of discussion. With diffraction experiments the beam direction is always special since things such as the Bragg angle giaco;bk92  are with respect to it. Due to this symmetry the preferred coordinate system is spherical with the pole coinciding with the beam direction. This is shown in Fig. 3 with the azimuthal angle being zero at the horizontal plane of the instrument.

The zero point for the azimuthal angle was chosen to be in the horizontal plane, to coincide with the location of detectors on many diffractometers and to be consistent with the traditional labeling of detector position. The angles labeled in the figure are some of the standard choices used with spherical coordinates. The one way that the group could speak and not have any inconsistencies was discussing the angle $`\alpha `$ as the polar angle and $`\beta `$ as the azimuthal angle. Other possibilities for $`\alpha `$ were Bragg angle, $`2\theta `$, $`\theta `$, and $`\varphi `$. $`\beta `$ was also possibly $`\theta `$ or $`\varphi `$. All greek labels are used in most mathematics texts, (except $`2\theta `$) however, their interpretations vary greatly. For this reason we decided that the most precise way to refer to the angles were as polar\_angle and azimuthal\_angle.

### III.2 Specifying Orientation and Size

Another important correction in data analysis is to normalize the detectors by the solid angle they cover. Therefore, the information needed is either the solid angle itself, or the physical size (length, width, and depth) and orientation of the detector so the solid angle can be calculated. In Fig. 4 a couple of the ways of determining the detector orientation are shown.

$`d_0`$ is the coordinates of the center of the instrument, shown for clarity. The second frame of reference, $`d_1`$, is parallel to $`d_0`$ but shifted to the position of the detector. $`d_2`$ is coincident with the major symmetry axes of the detector. Looking at this picture the simplest description of the orientation is the Euler angles to rotate $`d_1`$ to $`d_2`$.

## IV Summary

This paper reviewed the results of discussions concerning storing data in a NeXus file. We described the format for the data itself as well as specifying the layout of the detectors that measured the data.

###### Acknowledgements.

Summer support for this work has benefitted through Department of Educational Programs and the Summer Faculty Research Program. Argonne National Laboratory is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, BES-Materials Science, under Contract W-31-109-ENG-38. Los Alamos National Laboratory is funded by the US Department of Energy under contract W-7405-ENG-36.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The proximity to the metal-insulator transition is well known to lead to an anomalous normal state of the high $`T_c`$ superconductors. It is therefore interesting to ask whether, apart from the $`d`$-wave symmetry of pairing, also the superconducting state of the cuprates can be regarded as unconventional. Most studies attempt to answer this question by considering the properties of quasiparticle excitations. For instance, photoemission experiments seem to support the conventional alternative, since sharp spectral functions have been observed at low temperatures . On the other hand, the effect of strong correlations on the condensate has remained largely unexplored so far. This is surprising, since large quantum phase fluctuations are to be expected in the cuprates as a combined effect of the suppression of charge fluctuations and of the uncertainty principle. In particular, such fluctuations have been suggested to stabilize the RVB state and the presumably related pseudogap phase of the cuprates . In this paper we argue that by a detailed analysis of the Josephson effect, new insights into the nature of quantum fluctuations in the cuprates can be obtained.

Josephson junctions involving the cuprate superconductors have been studied mainly because they enable phase-sensitive tests of pairing symmetry . Attention has been paid especially to two particular types of Josephson junctions: grain boundary  and intrinsic  Josephson junctions. The best studied type of grain boundary Josephson junctions involves junctions built on $`c`$-axis oriented films, where the weak link forms at the boundary of grains which are rotated around the  axis with respect to each other. Idealized junctions of this type are characterized by a planar interface and two angles $`\theta _1`$ and $`\theta _2`$ between the interface normal and the crystallographic directions in the grains forming the junction. The properties of the junctions depend dominantly on the misorientation angle $`\theta =\theta _2\theta _1`$. It is well known  that the transparency $`D`$ of grain boundary junctions decays exponentially with increasing misorientation angle $`\theta `$, $`D(\theta )\mathrm{exp}(\theta /\theta _0)`$. Thus, for $`\theta >\theta _05^{}`$, grain boundary junctions are in the tunnel limit and (for $`\theta `$ not too close to $`45^{}`$, see Section 3) their current-phase relation $`I(\varphi )=I_1\mathrm{sin}\varphi +I_2\mathrm{sin}2\varphi +\mathrm{}`$ can be well approximated by $`I(\varphi )=I_1\mathrm{sin}\varphi `$, neglecting the higher-order harmonics.

## 2 The Josephson product

A useful quantity characterizing the superconducting electrodes forming the Josephson junction is the product of the first harmonic $`I_1`$ with the junction resistance in the normal state, $`R_N`$. According to standard theory (for homogeneous featureless barriers), this so-called Josephson product is independent of the junction area and of the barrier transparency, thus giving an intrinsic information about the superconducting banks. It is well known that at interfaces between $`d`$-wave superconductors, anomalous bound Andreev levels may form . At temperatures larger than the energy of such Andreev levels, BCS-like theory for rough interfaces between $`d`$-wave superconductors  predicts

$$(I_1R_N)_{\mathrm{BCS}}=(\pi /4)(\mathrm{\Delta }/e)\mathrm{cos}2\theta ,$$
(1)
where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the maximal superconducting gap. The measured Josephson product of cuprate grain boundary junctions  can be well described by $`I_1R_N=\alpha ^2(I_1R_N)_{\mathrm{BCS}}`$ with a $`\theta `$-independent renormalization factor $`\alpha ^210^1`$. In addition to the $`\theta >\theta _0`$ data of , this functional form can be tested also for $`\theta =0`$ (which case can be realized in break junctions) with the result that average Josephson products of such junctions  are fully consistent with the grain boundary data. Moreover, in  it has been shown that $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is not depressed in the junction region, thus explicitly demonstrating the breakdown of the BCS prediction for $`I_1R_N`$ in the cuprates.

There exists no generally accepted explanation of the small renormalization factor $`\alpha ^2`$. One of the reasons is that the microstructure of Josephson junctions is typically quite complicated. In fact, it is well known that small angle grain boundaries can be modelled by a sequence of edge dislocations, while at larger misorientation angles the dislocation cores start to overlap and no universal picture applies to the structure of the grain boundary. For large-angle grain boundaries, Halbritter has proposed  that the junction can be thought of as a nearly impenetrable barrier with randomly placed highly conductive channels across it. If due to strong Coulomb repulsion only the normal current (and no supercurrent) is supported by these channels, the small value of $`I_1R_N`$ follows quite naturally.

In this paper we shall argue that the smallness of the Josephson product does not follow from the particular properties of the barrier, but is rather an intrinsic property of the cuprates. Such a point of view has been first advocated in . However, that paper did not consider alternative more conventional explanations. In order to support our point of view, let us begin by discussing the Josephson product for intrinsic Josephson junctions in the $`c`$-axis direction. Such junctions can be viewed as an analogue of $`ab`$-plane break junctions (since the misorientation angle vanishes for both), but are preferable because of simpler geometry of the interface. Moreover, zero energy surface bound states which may develop at $`ab`$-plane surfaces because of the $`d`$-wave symmetry of the pairing state  do not form in the $`c`$-axis direction, simplifying the analysis of intrinsic Josephson junctions.

Standard BCS theory applied to the case of tunneling between two-dimensional superconductors  predicts (for coherent $`c`$-axis tunneling) that the $`c`$-axis critical Josephson current density is $`j_1=(2e/\mathrm{})N(0)z_kt_k^2`$, where $`\mathrm{}`$ denotes an average along the (two dimensional) Fermi line, $`z_k`$ is the wavefunction renormalization, and $`t_k`$ is the matrix element for $`c`$-axis tunneling between neighboring CuO2 planes. $`N(0)`$ is the bare (unrenormalized) density of states, $`N(0)=𝑑k(4\pi ^2\mathrm{}v_k)^1`$, where the integration runs along the two dimensional Fermi line and $`v_k`$ is the bare Fermi velocity at the Fermi surface point $`k`$. Note that although we have assumed that the self-energy is only frequency dependent, for this geometry $`z_k`$ enters the expression for $`j_1`$ (and also the normal-state resistance, see below).

Let us also note that the use of ordinary perturbation theory in deriving an expression for $`j_c`$ has been criticized recently . However, our formula yields the correct answer for $`t_k<\mathrm{\Delta }`$. This can be shown either by an explicit solution of a $`4\times 4`$ Bogoliubov problem for two coupled planes with phase differences 0 and $`\pi `$ between the planes, or by considering solutions to the gap equation in an infinite layered system with a finite $`c`$-axis total momentum of the Cooper pairs (for a similar calculation, see e.g. ).

The conductance per square in the normal state is given by $`G_N=(2e^2/\mathrm{})N(0)z_kt_k^2\mathrm{\Gamma }_k^1_N`$, where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_k`$ is the inverse lifetime of the quasiparticles and the index $`N`$ in the Fermi line average means that the quantities are to be evaluated in the normal state. Therefore standard theory predicts for the Josephson product of intrinsic Josephson junctions $`I_1R_N=j_1G_N^1e^1z_kt_k^2/z_kt_k^2\mathrm{\Gamma }_k^1_N`$. In conventional superconductors $`R_N`$ can be measured at low temperatures in a sufficiently large magnetic field. This is impossible for the cuprates and thus $`R_N`$ is usually defined as the $`c`$-axis resistivity at $`T_c`$.

Unfortunately, due to the unknown temperature dependence of $`z_k`$, the theoretical $`I_1R_N`$ can not be directly tested by experiment. In order to overcome this problem, in  instead of the usual Josephson product a related characteristic of intrinsic Josephson junctions has been studied, namely the product of the critical current $`I_1`$ and of the resistivity $`R_S`$ in the resistive mode of the junction (at low temperatures). Since the conductance per square in the resistive mode of the superconductor is  $`G_S(8e^2/h)N(0)(z_kt_k^2)_{\mathrm{node}}/\mathrm{\Delta }`$, standard BCS-like theory predicts $`I_1R_S=j_1G_S^1(\pi /2)(\mathrm{\Delta }/e)z_kt_k^2/(z_kt_k^2)_{\mathrm{node}}`$. In , $`I_1R_S\mathrm{\Delta }/e`$ has been found experimentally and good agreement with theory has been claimed, since momentum-independent $`t_k`$ and $`z_k`$ were assumed. However, according to band structure calculations , $`t_k`$ is strongly suppressed in the nodal directions. If this modulation of the tunnel matrix element $`t_k`$ is taken into account and the presumably only moderate $`k`$-space dependence of $`z_k`$ is neglected, the experimental $`I_1R_S`$ is seen to be drastically reduced with respect to the theoretical predictions.

Thus we have shown that although the barriers in grain boundaries and in intrinsic Josephson junctions are of very different nature, both types of junctions exhibit a suppressed Josephson product. Therefore we believe that this suppression is not due to specific barrier properties as suggested in , but rather due to some intrinsic property of the high-$`T_c`$ superconductors.

## 3 The second harmonic of the current-phase relation

Since the second harmonic $`I_2`$ is not forced by symmetry to depend on the angles $`\theta _i`$, its Josephson product can be estimated (for temperatures larger than the energy of anomalous Andreev levels) using the standard BCS theory as $`I_2R_ND\mathrm{\Delta }/e`$. Comparison with Eq. (1) implies that for junctions with $`\theta 45^{}`$ the $`d`$-wave symmetry of pairing leads to a suppression of $`I_1`$, and $`I_2`$ may become comparable to $`I_1`$. This has in fact been observed in two different types of 45 grain boundary Josephson junctions .

However, the results of  are quite mysterious, if we take into account the actual experimental setup. In fact, standard BCS theory with ideal featureless barriers implies that in order that $`|I_2||I_1|`$, the average misorientation angle $`\theta `$ would have to be given with a precision $`D`$, where $`D10^3`$. This is not realistic and therefore two alternative explanations have been proposed, in both of which the origin of the anomalously large $`|I_2/I_1|`$ ratio has been sought in the barrier properties.

(i) Faceted scenario has been considered as an alternative explanation for symmetric $`45^{}`$ junctions (i.e. junctions with nominal geometry $`\theta _1=0^{}`$ and $`\theta _2=45^{}`$), in which $`|I_2|>|I_1|`$ has been found . It takes into account the faceting of the grain boundary and also the twinned nature of the (orthorhombic) YBCO thin films. Due to both of these features, the junction can be viewed as a parallel set of 0 and $`\pi `$ junctions . It has been shown  that in such a case spontaneous currents are generated along the interface, the ground state energy of the junction is minimized at a macroscopic phase difference $`\pm \pi /2`$, and consequently the current-phase relation is dominated by the second harmonic $`I_2`$.

In what follows we analyze quantitatively whether the faceted scenario can apply to the results of . Let us denote the current densities corresponding to the harmonics $`I_i`$ (with $`i=1,2`$) as $`j_i`$ and introduce the Josephson penetration depth of the junction, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_J=(\mathrm{\Phi }_0/4\pi \lambda \mu _0j_2)^{1/2}`$. Moreover, let the local critical current density in the 0 and $`\pi `$ junctions be $`\pm j_0`$, their typical length $`a`$, and the bulk penetration depth be $`\lambda `$. Then, since $`a0.010.1\mu `$m, $`\lambda 0.15\mu `$m, and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_J3\mu `$m (estimated making use of  $`j_210^4`$ A/cm2), the inequalities $`\pi \lambda a`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_J^2a\lambda `$ are well satisfied. Following  it is easy to show that these inequalities guarantee that the spontaneously generated currents along the Josephson junction can be calculated within perturbation theory. If we denote the total junction length by $`L`$, then a straightforward calculation yields $`j_2/j_0\mu _0j_0a\lambda ^2/\mathrm{\Phi }_0`$ and $`j_1/j_0(a/L)^{1/2}`$. The equation for $`j_1`$ is a random walk-type formula, indicating that $`j_1`$ averages to zero in a sufficiently long junction. After some algebra the above equations are seen to imply $`j_2/j_1\sqrt{L\lambda /(4\pi \mathrm{\Lambda }_J^2)}`$. Therefore, standard theory predicts that $`I_2>I_1`$ can be realized only in sufficiently long junctions with $`L>4\pi \mathrm{\Lambda }_J^2/\lambda `$. This requires $`L>500\mu `$m, whereas in  much shorter junctions with $`L1\mu `$m were studied.

(ii) Pinhole scenario has been proposed in  as an explanation for symmetric $`45^{}`$ junctions (i.e. junctions nominally characterized by $`\theta _2=\theta _1=22.5^{}`$). It views the barrier as basically impenetrable, the conduction being due to randomly placed highly conductive pinholes. This explains quite naturally the small value of the effective barrier transmission and, at the same time, the large value of $`|I_2/I_1|`$. Note that in order to explain the small value of the Josephson product, in addition to pinholes also Halbritter’s conductive channels  have to be postulated, which are assumed to be highly conductive only in the normal and not in the superconducting channel. Because of this ad hoc nature of the pinhole scenario, and mainly because of the absence of higher harmonics in $`I(\varphi )`$ at 4 K  whose presence it predicts, we believe that the pinhole picture should be discarded.

Thus we conclude that the large value of the second harmonic $`I_2`$ (compared with predictions of the standard BCS theory) is most probably not an extrinsic (barrier-related) effect, but rather an intrinsic property of the cuprates.

## 4 Microscopic implications

The two apparently unrelated experimental facts, namely the suppressed Josephson product $`I_1R_N`$ and the enhanced ratio $`|I_2/I_1|`$, can be explained by a single assumption that in the cuprates some mechanism is operative which leads to a suppression of $`I_1`$, while leaving $`R_N`$ and $`I_2`$ intact. In what follows we describe one such mechanism which we believe to be the most promising one. Namely, we suggest that at low temperatures the superconducting state of the cuprates supports fluctuations of pairing symmetry towards $`s`$-wave pairing (which pairing is expected to be locally stable within several microscopic models of the cuprates). Such fluctuations presumably do not affect $`R_N`$, while they do influence the Josephson current. In simplest terms, if we denote the phases of the superconducting grains forming the junction as $`\varphi _i`$, then the fluctuations renormalize the first and second harmonics by the factors $`e^{i\varphi _1}e^{i\varphi _2}`$ and $`e^{2i\varphi _1}e^{2i\varphi _2}`$, respectively, where $`\mathrm{}`$ denotes a ground-state expectation value. Thus experiment requires that the fluctuations have to be of such type that $`|e^{i\varphi }|=\alpha 0.3`$ and $`|e^{2i\varphi }|1`$. Precisely this behavior is expected if the $`d`$-wave order parameter fluctuates towards $`s`$-wave pairing.

Now we proceed by introducing a minimal model of such fluctuations. Unlike in standard literature on this subject (see, e.g.,  and references therein), we assign a phase field $`\phi _i`$ to each bond $`i`$ of the square Cu lattice. In other words, $`\phi _i`$ lives on the sites of the dual lattice. Since large phase fluctuations are expected, the compactness of phase fluctuations is explicitly taken into account and the model reads

$`H=H_{\mathrm{fluct}}+{\displaystyle \underset{i,j}{}}\left[V\mathrm{cos}(2\phi _i2\phi _j)+W\mathrm{cos}(\phi _i\phi _j)\right],`$ (2)
where $`H_{\mathrm{fluct}}=m^1_i^2/\phi _i^2`$. The second term in Eq. (2) (with $`i,j`$ denoting a pair of nearest neighbor sites) describes for $`0<W<V`$ a superconductor with a dominant $`d`$-wave pairing $`V+W`$ and subdominant $`s`$-wave pairing $`VW`$. Since we concentrate on the $`𝐪(\pi ,\pi )`$ fluctuations from $`d`$ to $`s`$-wave pairing, as a first approximation we do not take into account the coupling of phase fluctuations to electromagnetism.

In order to gain insight into the microscopics of $`H_{\mathrm{fluct}}`$, let us recall that the RVB fluctuations in an elementary plaquette (in a hole-free region) favor a minus sign between the two different valence bond configurations (see Fig. 1). If these configurations are thought of in terms of Bose condensates of valence bonds, this means that energy is gained for a relative phase of the $`x`$ and $`y`$ condensates $`\mathrm{arg}(\sqrt{1})=\pm \pi /2`$. RVB processes are thus seen to frustrate the phase ordering dictated by the second term in Eq. (2).

Since the other singlet state of the elementary plaquette (with a plus sign between the valence bond configurations) lies higher in energy, the effective Hamiltonian in the singlet sector is $`H_{\mathrm{RVB}}\mathrm{\Delta }_i^{}\mathrm{\Delta }_{i+x+y}^{}\mathrm{\Delta }_{i+x}\mathrm{\Delta }_{i+y}+\mathrm{H}.\mathrm{C}.`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }_i^{}`$ creates a singlet on bond $`i`$. Neglecting the amplitude fluctuations of $`\mathrm{\Delta }_i`$, we can write $`H_{\mathrm{RVB}}=J_i\mathrm{cos}(\phi _i\phi _{i+x}+\phi _{i+x+y}\phi _{i+y})`$. In what follows we replace $`H_{\mathrm{fluct}}`$ by $`H_{\mathrm{RVB}}`$ in the quantum model Eq. (2), thereby obtaining a completely classical toy model.

The toy model permits a simple mean field analysis: We consider two types of solution, both of which live on two sublattices A and B, and we explicitly disregard four-sublattice solutions, since they correspond to translation-symmetry breaking states on the original Cu lattice. In the first type of solution $`\phi _A=\phi `$ and $`\phi _B=0`$ and there are two possibilities: either $`\phi =\pi `$ ($`d`$-wave), or $`\phi <\pi `$ (a complex mixture of $`d`$ and $`s`$, to be called $`d+is`$). In the second type of solution we assume a disordered state of such type that on sublattice $`A`$, the phase equals $`0`$ and $`\pi `$ with probabilities $`(1+\alpha )/2`$ and $`(1\alpha )/2`$, respectively, and on sublattice $`B`$ the values $`0`$ and $`\pi `$ are interchanged. In this case the macroscopic symmetry is of the $`d`$-wave type, with renormalized averages $`e^{i\phi _A}=e^{i\phi _B}=\alpha `$ and $`e^{2i\phi _A}=e^{2i\phi _B}=1`$. Minimization of energy (with respect to $`\phi `$ or $`\alpha `$) leads to the phase diagram shown in Fig. 2. The renormalization factor in the disordered $`d`$-wave state (which presumably corresponds to a homogeneous but strongly fluctuating $`d`$-wave phase in the model Eq. (2)) is $`\alpha =(W/J)^{1/2}`$. Thus the cuprates correspond to the region $`WJ/10`$ and $`J<4V`$ in Fig. 2.

## 5 Conclusions

The anomalous effects observed in cuprate grain boundary and intrinsic Josephson junctions can be explained by a single assumption of strong quantum phase fluctuations at $`𝐪=(\pi ,\pi )`$, which leads to $`|e^{i\varphi }|=\alpha 0.3`$ and $`|e^{2i\varphi }|1`$. In addition, our picture implies that the Josephson product for junctions between the cuprates and low-$`T_c`$ superconductors is renormalized by the factor $`\alpha `$, in semiquantitative agreement with experiment . It also may be relevant for the experiment , where a large second harmonic has been found in a $`c`$-axis Josephson junction between YBCO and Nb.

## 6 Acknowledgements

I thank M. Grajcar for numerous stimulating discussions about the Josephson effect. I also thank T. V. Ramakrishnan for insightful remarks on the $`d`$-$`s`$ phase fluctuations. This work was supported by the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency under Grant No. VEGA-1/9177/02 and by the Slovak Science and Technology Assistance Agency under Grant No. APVT-51-021602.


text:
# Scattering Theory of Mesoscopic Detectors

## 1 The model

The model we consider is shown in Fig. 1. A double dot (DD) plays the role of a two-level system: The topmost electron in the DD can either occupy the upper or the lower dot. A mesoscopic two-terminal conductor (MC) serves as a detector: its conductance is sensitive to the charge on the upper dot. A set of capacitances $`C_1,C_2,C_i`$ describes the coupling between charges of system $`Q_1`$ and detector $`Q`$ (we often use the capacitance in series $`C^1=C_1^1+C_2^1+C_i^1`$). Single electron movement in such a setup was recently measured .

Three different time scales describe the interaction of system and detector: In the system we distinguish the thermal relaxation to an equilibrium distribution (described by a rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{rel}`$) and the often much faster decoherence of superpositions of states in the upper and lower dot (described by a rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}`$). The decoherence depends as well on temperature $`kT`$ as on the voltage difference $`e|V|`$ between the terminals of the detector. Applying such a voltage difference permits to measure the state of the system which leads to additional decoherence. The measurement process takes some time which is needed to overcome the uncertainty due to shot noise in the detector and is characterized by a third rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_m`$. The decoherence rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}`$ at zero temperature is intimately related to the measurement rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_m`$ and satisfies the inequality $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}\mathrm{\Gamma }_m`$ . An important measure of the quality of the detector is the efficiency $`\eta =\mathrm{\Gamma }_m/\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}`$. Ideally one would like to find detectors with an efficiency $`1`$.

Even in the single channel case an ideal detector $`\eta =1`$ is found only under some special conditions (time-reversal and space-inversion symmetry ). It is shown in Ref.  that an efficient multi-channel detector is subject to a third condition that links sensitivities and shot noises of different channels $`(dT_n/dU)/(R_nT_n)=\text{const.}`$ where $`T_n=1R_n`$ denotes the transmission probability of channel $`n`$. A violation of this condition can reduce the efficiency of multichannel detectors $`\eta `$ drastically in the presence of disorder. In general a large mesoscopic detector is therefore not much faster than a single channel detector.

In this publication we concentrate on another property that lowers the detection speed of multichannel detectors. The charge fluctuation in one channel can be screened by the charge of other channels. This effect will depend strongly on the geometry of the detector. In order to be able to describe a large variety of detectors we therefore represent the MC by a scattering matrix $`s_{\alpha \beta }`$ that connects in- and outgoing states ($`\alpha ,\beta `$ label left and right reservoir). This enables us to treat multi-channel MCs with arbitrary transmission probabilities $`T_n`$. We only consider the case of weak coupling between MC and DD and may thus use a standard master equation (Bloch-Redfield approach ) in lowest order perturbation theory to study the evolution of the reduced density matrix of the DD. On this level of approximation the dynamics of the DD is influenced only via the charge fluctuation spectrum $`S_{QQ}`$ of the MC. At low frequencies this spectrum is fully characterized by a generalized Wigner-Smith time delay matrix  ($`\beta \gamma `$ label the reservoirs)

$$N_{\beta \gamma }=\frac{1}{2\pi i}\underset{\alpha }{}s_{\beta \alpha }^{}\frac{ds_{\gamma \alpha }}{dU}.$$
(1)
The derivative $`d/dU`$ is taken with respect to the electrostatic potential in the MC. The following constants that appear also in the context of ac-transport  describe the geometry of the detector ($`e`$ denotes the electron charge)

$$\begin{array}{ccc}D=e^2\text{Tr}N,& & C_\mu ^1=C^1+D^1,\\ & & \\ R_q=\frac{1}{2}\frac{\left(\text{Tr}N^2\right)}{\left(\text{Tr}N\right)^2},& R_v=\frac{\left(\text{Tr}N_{12}N_{21}\right)}{\left(\text{Tr}N\right)^2},& R_m=\frac{1}{4\pi ^2}\frac{\left({\scriptscriptstyle {\scriptscriptstyle \frac{dT_n}{dU}}}\right)^2}{\left(\text{Tr}N\right)^2\left({\scriptscriptstyle R_nT_n}\right)}.\end{array}$$
(2)
$`D`$ corresponds to the density of states at Fermi energy in the scattering region, $`C_\mu `$ is an effective electrochemical capacitance that characterizes the strength of interaction, $`R_q`$ expresses the equilibrium contribution  to the charge fluctuation spectrum $`S_{QQ}`$, and $`R_v`$ the non-equilibrium contribution . The fifth constant $`R_m`$ is of different origin  and cannot be expressed by matrix (1) only. It describes the ratio of detector sensitivity and shot noise in the presence of screening.

The two-level system is conventionally represented by the Hamiltonian $`\widehat{H}_{DD}=\frac{ϵ}{2}\widehat{\sigma }_z+\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }}{2}\widehat{\sigma }_x`$ where $`\widehat{\sigma }_i`$ denote Pauli matrices. The energy difference between upper and lower dot is $`ϵ`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ accounts for tunneling between the dots. The full level splitting is thus $`\mathrm{\Omega }=\sqrt{ϵ^2+\mathrm{\Delta }^2}`$.

## 2 Relaxation and decoherence rates

The relaxation, decoherence and measurement rates are given by the following expressions  (here and in the following we set $`\mathrm{}1`$):

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{rel}=2\pi \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^2}{\mathrm{\Omega }^2}\left(\frac{C_\mu }{C_i}\right)^2R_q\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{2}\mathrm{coth}\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }}{2kT},$$
(3)
$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}=2\pi \frac{ϵ^2}{\mathrm{\Omega }^2}\left(\frac{C_\mu }{C_i}\right)^2\left(R_qkT+R_ve|V|\right)+\mathrm{\Gamma }_{rel}/2,$$
(4)
$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_m=2\pi \left(\frac{C_\mu }{C_i}\right)^2R_me|V|.$$
(5)
They have formally the same appearance as the rates given in . The geometric structure of the detector is contained in the five parameters given in (2). In the following we analyze the behavior of these parameters to discuss the screening properties of the detector.

The parameter $`R_q`$ does not exceed the range $`1/2>R_q>1/2N`$ where $`N`$ is the dimension of the scattering matrix. This demonstrates that the relaxation and decoherence rates $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{rel},\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}`$ do not simply scale with the number of channels through the system. The multichannel result for the relaxation and decoherence rates cannot be obtained as a sum of rates due to each channel. The constants $`R_q`$ and $`R_v`$ are renormalized by a denominator $`(\text{Tr}N)^2`$ depending on all channels. This denominator originates from screening. For a large number $`N`$ of open channels $`R_q`$ behaves as $`1/N`$ whereas the electrochemical capacitance $`C_\mu C`$ tends to a constant. The constant $`R_v`$ decreases also like $`1/N`$. We find therefore the somewhat surprising result that relaxation and decoherence decrease in the large channel limit. This result is a consequence of screening in the MC which reduces the charge fluctuations with increasing channel number $`N`$.

## 3 Coulomb interaction and screening

We briefly explain the derivation of our results. The Coulomb Hamiltonian of our model contains three terms

$$\widehat{H}_C=\frac{(\widehat{Q}_1\overline{Q}_0)^2}{2C_i}+\frac{\widehat{Q}_1\widehat{Q}}{C_i}+\frac{\widehat{Q}^2}{2C}.$$
(6)
Its first term contributes to the level splitting of the DD ($`\overline{Q}_0`$ is a background charge depending on the applied voltage $`(V_L+V_R)/2`$). The charging energy $`e^2/2C_i`$ must be large compared to $`kT,e|V|`$ to allow us to consider only two levels of the DD. The second term $`\widehat{Q}_1\widehat{Q}/C_i`$ couples system and detector. To derive a master equation for the reduced density matrix we assume weak coupling and treat this term perturbatively. We apply a Markov approximation which is strictly speaking only valid at long time scales (compared to the correlation time of the detector). This permits us to consider only the low-frequency matrix elements of the charge operator that are given by the Wigner-Smith matrix (1). The third term affects the fluctuation spectrum $`S_{QQ}=_{\mathrm{}}^+\mathrm{}𝑑t\text{Re}\widehat{Q}(t)\widehat{Q}(0)e^{i\omega t}`$ of the charge operator $`\widehat{Q}`$. In contrast to earlier work (with the exception of Ref. ) we do not completely disregard this term, but include it on the level of RPA. This allows us to treat screening in a Gaussian approximation valid for geometries in which Coulomb blockade effects are weak.

To get insight into the fluctuation spectrum, we study the time evolution of the charge $`\widehat{Q}`$ on the MC within RPA. This charge is composed of two components: the bare charge $`\widehat{Q}_b`$ that arises from the noninteracting problem and the screening charge which is a response to the self-consistent potential $`\widehat{U}`$ on the MC. We therefore have in frequency representation

$$\widehat{Q}=\widehat{Q}_bD(\omega )\widehat{U},\widehat{Q}=C\widehat{U}\frac{C}{C_i}\widehat{Q}_1.$$
(7)
In the first equation, $`D=\widehat{Q}/U`$ is the linear response function. The second equation expresses the self-consistency condition for the potential $`\widehat{U}`$. These two equations can be combined by eliminating the potential $`\widehat{U}`$. The total charge on the MC is found to be

$$\widehat{Q}=\left(1+D(\omega )/C\right)^1\left(\widehat{Q}_b\frac{C}{C_i}\widehat{Q}_1\right).$$
(8)
This result shows nicely the two possible effects of the random phase approximation. On the one hand, the prefactor $`\left(1+D(\omega )/C\right)^1`$ reduces the fluctuations of the bare charge $`\widehat{Q}_b`$ which is compensated partially by a screening charge. On the other hand, we get a back action of the charge $`\widehat{Q}_1`$ of the upper dot on the charge $`\widehat{Q}`$ in the MC. However, this back action is small by a factor $`C/C_i`$ and can be omitted in second order perturbation theory.

## 4 Examples

The examples of this section are not meant to model the geometry of a realistic measuring apparatus. But they demonstrate nicely the influence of the geometry on the speed and efficiency of the measuring process.

As a first generic example we discuss a short quantum point contact which is defined by two sharp barriers of distance $`\mathrm{}`$. Its potential is given by $`V(x,y,z)=Z(z)+Y(x,y)`$ with

$$Z(z)=(1/m)[v\delta (z+\mathrm{}/2)+w\delta (z\mathrm{}/2)].$$
(9)
Note that this potential violates inversion symmetry for $`vw`$. For convenience we introduce the following parameters: the wave vector $`k_F=\sqrt{2mE_F}`$ where $`m`$ is the effective mass of the electron and $`E_F`$ the Fermi energy. We consider the limit of a MC much shorter than the Fermi wave length $`\mathrm{}\lambda _F`$. Using the general formula (1) we calculate the density of state matrix (we set $`\mathrm{}1`$)

$$\begin{array}{c}N=\\ \\ \frac{m\mathrm{}}{2\pi k_F}\frac{1}{k_F^2+(v+w)^2}\left(\begin{array}{cc}k_F^2+2w^2& 2vw+ik_F(vw)\\ 2vwik_F(vw)& k_F^2+2v^2\end{array}\right).\end{array}$$
(10)
It is now straightforward to obtain the measurement efficiency of the MC at zero temperature

$$\eta =\frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }_m}{\mathrm{\Gamma }_{dec}}=\frac{R_m}{R_v}=\frac{v^2w^2}{v^2w^2+k_F^2(vw)^2/4}<1.$$
(11)
For an asymmetric MC with $`vw`$ the efficiency is suboptimal.

For a long quantum point contact with $`\lambda _F\mathrm{}`$ charge screening gets effective. The constants $`R_q`$ and $`R_v`$ that determine the relaxation and decoherence rates then decrease with increasing number of open channels $`N`$. We illustrate this effect using the following toy potential

$$Z(z)=\frac{V_0}{\mathrm{cosh}^2\alpha z}.$$
(12)
Its scattering matrix can be found in . To get the full density of state matrix (1) we replace the potential derivative $`d/dU`$ in (1) by a parametric derivative $`d/dV_0`$. The elements of (1) can be expressed by digamma-functions. As a confining potential we choose $`Y=m\omega _y^2y^2/2`$. As in a two-dimensional electron gas only the lowest mode in z-direction is occupied. Fig. 2 compares the cases of ineffective charge screening $`DC`$ and effective screening $`DC`$. It shows the decoherence (measurement) rate at zero temperature $`kT`$ and finite bias $`e|V|`$ depending on the number of open channels through the constriction. We change this number by varying the confinement frequency $`\omega _y`$. The decoherence rate reaches maximal values if one transmission channel $`n`$ is half-open $`T_n=1/2`$. This corresponds to a maximum in the sensitivity $`dT_n/dV_0`$. In the case of ineffective screening the decoherence rate does not depend on the number of open channels, whereas screening reduces decoherence in the case of many open channels.

## 5 Conclusions

In this work we have investigated the weak measurement of a two state system (a double quantum dot) capacitively coupled to a mesoscopic conductor. We have presented expressions for the relaxation rate, the decoherence rate and the measurement rate in terms of capacitance coefficients and in terms of potential derivatives of the scattering matrix. The discussion illustrates that scattering theory is useful not only for the discussion of dc-transport processes in mesoscopic physics but in fact has a much wider range of applicability. We have emphasized screening in the detector: as illustrated in Fig. 2 the decoherence rate and similarly the relaxation and measurement rate) are rappidly reduced with increasing channel number. Our discussion is based only on a single fluctuating potential in the detector but in principle a refined calculation which takes into account a more realistic potential distribution is possible .

This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Note added in proof: Recently an instructive, information theoretical discussion of the problem treated in this work was provided by Clerk, Girvin, and Stone .


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

In many sociological models, the behavior of each person is influenced by the neighbors, or influences the neighbors. However, the neighbors in the workplace are different from the neighbors at home. Thus the workplace neighborhood and the home neighborhood can be simulated by using two lattices of $`N`$ sites each, the home lattice and the workplace lattice. In the workplace lattice, the people are numbered consecutively from $`i=1`$ to $`i=N`$ with helical boundary conditions. The same people also show up on the home lattice, but an different order which is a random permutation of the order on the workplace lattice. Thus each person has exactly one place on the home lattice, and each site on the home lattice is occupied by exactly one person, just as is the case for the workplace lattice. But the same person occupies two entirely different sites on the two lattices.

Such a network of two lattices is called a Solomon network (SN)  because each person is shared equally by the two lattices, just as in the biblical story of King Solomon.

Within each lattice we have the usual type of interaction (Ising model, n-vector model, Sznajd model, …); added to it is the interaction of each person with its own image on the other lattice. Thus in a chain of people $`i`$ with nearest neighbor connection, the variables at site $`i`$ interacts with the variable at sites $`i1`$ and sites $`i+1`$ as well as with the neighbors of the site $`P(i)`$ of the other lattice, where $`P`$ is the permutation of the numbers $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},N.`$

A simplified version of this two-lattice model uses only one lattice, and defines the neighborhood of each site as being the nearest neighbors plus one randomly selected site anywhere in the lattice. For a chain the neighbors of $`i`$ are thus $`i1,i+1,i+R`$ where $`R`$ is a random distance; these neighbors can be compared with those of the honeycomb lattice: $`i\pm 1,i\pm L`$. Therefore it cannot be excluded that ordering is found also in one dimension. This simplified model is closer to small-world networks .

## 2 Model

Here, we consider interaction between individuals in the same manner like interacting spins in the Ising model. The intensity of interaction among neighbors at both lattices is described by the coupling constant $`J`$. When $`J`$ is positive, neighbors at sites $`i`$ and $`j`$ tend to have the same opinion or share the same interests ($`S_i=S_j`$). The external magnetic filed $`H`$ is then global trend or world-wide fashion and forces spins to have the same sign as $`H`$. Then the temperature $`T`$ plays the role of “social temperature” and describes a degree of randomness in the behavior of the members of the community.

Before the system evolution according to Metropolis algorithm is started, additional neighbors of the $`i`$-th spin are chosen. For a give spin, the neighbors are fixed during simulation. During the simulation for each site at the lattice (individual, member of society) the energy change $`\mathrm{\Delta }E=E_{new}E_{old}`$ associated with a possible spin flip (mind change) from $`S_i`$ into $`S_i`$ is evaluated, where the energy is given by the Ising form:

$$E=J\underset{<i,j>}{}S_iS_j$$
(1)
The sum in Eq. (1) goes over all neighbors pairs. For a given temperature $`T`$ (expressed in $`J/k_B`$ units) a spin is flipped if and only if the thermal probability $`\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{\Delta }E/k_BT)`$ is greater than a random number taken uniformly from the interval $`[0,1]`$.

We consider 1D and 2D Ising model with one (1N) or two (2N) additional randomly selected neighbors. The simulation is performed on $`N=10^6`$ sites with helical boundary conditions and initially, at $`t=0`$, all spins are pointing up ($`S_i=+1`$ for $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},N`$). Later we calculate the magnetization $`m=_{i=1}^NS_i/N`$. The time is measured in Monte Carlo steps (MCS) and one MCS is completed when all $`N`$ spins at the lattice where investigated (in type-writer order) if they should flip or not. The value of the “social magnetization” $`m`$ is averaged over the last $`10^4`$ MCS.

## 3 Results

It is well known from Ising himself that for the 1D case the Curie temperature $`T_C=0`$. Introducing one additional neighbor somewhere at the lattice in 1D case shifts the “social Curie point” towards $`T_C1.9(1)`$ (in units of $`J/k_B`$) as presented in Fig. 1. This rough estimation of $`T_C`$ gives a little bit higher values than reported in .

For a given temperature $`T`$ the magnetization $`m(t)`$ and its cumulative time average $`m(\tau )=_{t=1}^\tau _{i=1}^NS_i/(N\tau )`$ are stable except of small fluctuations (as presented in Fig. 2).

The original SN model of two interacting Ising chains gives higher $`T_C`$ than the 1D2N case with two additional and random neighbors (see Fig. 1). The difference between these two models is that in the latter case a spin may interact with itself (selfish/introvert individual) even twice (super-selfish/super-introvert individual) and each spin may interact with another one more than once (up to $`N`$ times in the worst case).

For the 1D1N case — which corresponds to the Pȩkalski model with $`p=1`$  as well as to Hong-Kim-Choi model  — we have found the critical exponent $`\beta `$ (describing the critical behavior of the magnetization in the vicinity of the transition) equal to $`1/2`$ (see Fig. 3) which is similar to the results of extensive Monte Carlo simulation presented in Ref. . We have observed that the average absolute value of the magnetization $`|m|`$ for $`TT_C`$ decreases with the system size $`10L10^4`$, in contrast to Ref. .

Acknowledgments. The author is grateful to Dietrich Stauffer for all suggestions and fruitful discussion during his ten-days-long stay in Kraków. The simulations were carried out in ACK-CYFRONET-AGH. The machine time on SGI 2800 is financed by the State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN) with grant No. KBN/SGI2800/AGH/???/2002.