Dynamic instabilities and memory effects in vortex matter

The magnetic flux line lattice in type II superconductors serves as a useful system in which to study condensed matter flow, as its dynamic properties are tunable. Recent studies have shown a number of puzzling phenomena associated with vortex motion, including: low-frequency noise and slow voltage oscillations; a history-dependent dynamic response, and memory of the direction, amplitude duration and frequency of the previously applied current; high vortex mobility for alternating current, but no apparent vortex motion for direct currents; and strong suppression of an a.c. response by small d.c. bias. Taken together, these phenomena are incompatible with current understanding of vortex dynamics. Here we report a generic mechanism that accounts for these observations. Our model, which is derived from investigations of the current distribution across single crystals of NbSe2, is based on a competition between the injection of a disordered vortex phase at the sample edges, and the dynamic annealing of this metastable disorder by the transport current. For an alternating current, only narrow regions near the edges are in the disordered phase, while for d.c. bias, most of the sample is in the disordered phase--preventing vortex motion because of more efficient pinning. The resulting spatial dependence of the disordered vortex system serves as an active memory of the previous history.     

广义相变原理及其临界理论

广义相变是指物质系统由一定套向一定态的跃迁过程,包括平衡态相变,非平衡相变,以及介于这两者之间的相变。本文介绍了作者近年来在非平衡相变与平衡相变临界标度关系方面的一些研究结果,对平衡相变的临界标度理论进行了推广,提出了一个更为普适的议相变临界标度理论,     

Magnetic and non-magnetic phases of a quantum spin liquid

A quantum spin-liquid phase is an intriguing possibility for a system of strongly interacting magnetic units in which the usual magnetically ordered ground state is avoided owing to strong quantum fluctuations. It was first predicted theoretically for a triangular-lattice model with antiferromagnetically coupled S = 1/2 spins. Recently, materials have become available showing persuasive experimental evidence for such a state. Although many studies show that the ideal triangular lattice of S = 1/2 Heisenberg spins actually orders magnetically into a three-sublattice, non-collinear 120° arrangement, quantum fluctuations significantly reduce the size of the ordered moment. This residual ordering can be completely suppressed when higher-order ring-exchange magnetic interactions are significant, as found in nearly metallic Mott insulators. The layered molecular system κ-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu(2)(CN)(3) is a Mott insulator with an almost isotropic, triangular magnetic lattice of spin-1/2 BEDT-TTF dimers that provides a prime example of a spin liquid formed in this way. Despite a high-temperature exchange coupling, J, of 250 K (ref. 6), no obvious signature of conventional magnetic ordering is seen down to 20 mK (refs 7, 8). Here we show, using muon spin rotation, that applying a small magnetic field to this system produces a quantum phase transition between the spin-liquid phase and an antiferromagnetic phase with a strongly suppressed moment. This can be described as Bose-Einstein condensation of spin excitations with an extremely small spin gap. At higher fields, a second transition is found that suggests a threshold for deconfinement of the spin excitations. Our studies reveal the low-temperature magnetic phase diagram and enable us to measure characteristic critical properties. We compare our results closely with current theoretical models, and this gives some further insight into the nature of the spin-liquid phase.     

非平衡相变的临界标度律

标度思想同样适用于非平衡相变系统,在非平衡相变临界点邻域内,存在着与之相适应的标度律。本文在一般非平衡相变系统规格化模型的基础上,注意到非平衡相变与平衡相变临界行为的相似性,定义了一组临界指数来刻划非平衡相变的临界行为,并导出了非平衡临界的标度关系,在一定程度上揭示了非平衡相变的临界特征。讨论了两种临界现象的差别与联系,将平衡临界的标度律做为非平衡临界的标度律的一种特例含于同一理论体系中。     

振动颗粒系统的非平衡态相变

振动颗粒的分布随着外界驱动的变化会由对称态转为非对称态,即产生对称破缺现象.采用Urn模型,结合Eggers提出的urn的温度与粒子数呈T∝N-2的关系来分析该现象.通过研究细致平衡方程和粒子的概率分布函数获得各条临界线,由此确定相图,并说明了各相的特点.研究了序参量｜ε｜和磁化系数κ在临界线a附近的变化,发现与铁磁-顺磁相变类似;且这两个量的临界行为都满足标度律特点,由此确定临界线a为连续相变线.序参量｜ε｜在变化过程中会出现磁滞现象,由此确定临界线c为一级相变线.讨论发现这些相变现象的产生源自温度函数与urn模型本身的动力学行为.     

Quantum critical behaviour in a high-T(c) superconductor

Quantum criticality is associated with a system composed of a nearly infinite number of interacting quantum degrees of freedom at zero temperature, and it implies that the system looks on average the same regardless of the time- and length scale on which it is observed. Electrons on the atomic scale do not exhibit such symmetry, which can only be generated as a collective phenomenon through the interactions between a large number of electrons. In materials with strong electron correlations a quantum phase transition at zero temperature can occur, and a quantum critical state has been predicted, which manifests itself through universal power-law behaviours of the response functions. Candidates have been found both in heavy-fermion systems and in the high-transition temperature (high-T(c)) copper oxide superconductors, but the reality and the physical nature of such a phase transition are still debated. Here we report a universal behaviour that is characteristic of the quantum critical region. We demonstrate that the experimentally measured phase angle agrees precisely with the exponent of the optical conductivity. This points towards a quantum phase transition of an unconventional kind in the high-T(c) superconductors.     

Quantum phase transition in a resonant level coupled to interacting leads

A Luttinger liquid is an interacting one-dimensional electronic system, quite distinct from the 'conventional' Fermi liquids formed by interacting electrons in two and three dimensions. Some of the most striking properties of Luttinger liquids are revealed in the process of electron tunnelling. For example, as a function of the applied bias voltage or temperature, the tunnelling current exhibits a non-trivial power-law suppression. (There is no such suppression in a conventional Fermi liquid.) Here, using a carbon nanotube connected to resistive leads, we create a system that emulates tunnelling in a Luttinger liquid, by controlling the interaction of the tunnelling electron with its environment. We further replace a single tunnelling barrier with a double-barrier, resonant-level structure and investigate resonant tunnelling between Luttinger liquids. At low temperatures, we observe perfect transparency of the resonant level embedded in the interacting environment, and the width of the resonance tends to zero. We argue that this behaviour results from many-body physics of interacting electrons, and signals the presence of a quantum phase transition. Given that many parameters, including the interaction strength, can be precisely controlled in our samples, this is an attractive model system for studying quantum critical phenomena in general, with wide-reaching implications for understanding quantum phase transitions in more complex systems, such as cold atoms and strongly correlated bulk materials.     

机器学习在座逾渗相变问题中的应用

机器学习理论区别于传统方法,因其在对于复杂的数据集识别、分类的准确性和高效性而被广泛应用于各个领域.识别相变是机器学习和统计物理领域相结合的最有代表性的工作.到目前为止,机器学习完成的相变识别几乎都是基于具有动力学演化过程的自旋模型,如Ising模型等,而其在另一类不具有动力学演化过程而完全由系统结构特征决定的相变模型,如逾渗模型等,仍未有细致研究.本文结合现有的机器学习技术,卷积神经网络和一般向量机,对二维方格子上的座逾渗问题进行了研究,发现能以高正确率对不同相的构型进行识别,证明了机器学习在这类问题上研究的可行性.通过已完成训练的学习机对不同参数下构型预测的正确率计算,发现正确率在相变点附近会出现急剧衰减,与系统参数呈幂律衰减.这与传统相变理论一致.通过定量计算,还发现2种学习机的正确率衰减规律都满足同一个幂律指数.这不仅进一步从全新的角度揭示了相变的普适性,而且为找寻相变点提供了新的方法.     

具有高临界相转变温度的热敏性高分子材料

介绍了一类具有高临界相转变温度(UCST)的热敏性高分子材料,并对其相转变机理、热敏性影响因素及表征方法做了讨论。UCST类高分子材料的热敏性受到相对分子质量、疏水基团、溶液中的质子受体/给体、电解质等多种因素的影响。当UCST类高分子材料与具有最低临界相转变温度(LCST)的高分子材料共聚后,可得兼具UCST和LCST特点的新型功能材料,拓展了热敏高分子材料的应用领域。     

U(2)振动子模型中的量子相变与临界点对称性

本文研究了U(2)振动子模型在大N极限以及有限N情况下的量子相变行为,并讨论了临界点对称性概念在一维系统中的适用性.通过对U(2)振动子模型的势能结构,低激发谱等动力学性质的分析,我们发现系统在临界点处是最容易激发的,其低激发动力学特征可以由E(1)临界点对称性近似地描述,但随着激发能增加,近似逐渐破坏.进一步我们又数值分析了临界点处能谱的玻色子数依赖规律,结果表明二级相变临界点处的能谱随玻色子数变化的指数规律是不依赖维数的.     

Scaling of entanglement close to a quantum phase transition

Classical phase transitions occur when a physical system reaches a state below a critical temperature characterized by macroscopic order. Quantum phase transitions occur at absolute zero; they are induced by the change of an external parameter or coupling constant, and are driven by quantum fluctuations. Examples include transitions in quantum Hall systems, localization in Si-MOSFETs (metal oxide silicon field-effect transistors; ref. 4) and the superconductor-insulator transition in two-dimensional systems. Both classical and quantum critical points are governed by a diverging correlation length, although quantum systems possess additional correlations that do not have a classical counterpart. This phenomenon, known as entanglement, is the resource that enables quantum computation and communication. The role of entanglement at a phase transition is not captured by statistical mechanics-a complete classification of the critical many-body state requires the introduction of concepts from quantum information theory. Here we connect the theory of critical phenomena with quantum information by exploring the entangling resources of a system close to its quantum critical point. We demonstrate, for a class of one-dimensional magnetic systems, that entanglement shows scaling behaviour in the vicinity of the transition point.     

行人的集团行为对通道交通的影响

【目的】研究在行人通道中,行人结队行走对交通拥堵的影响,避免突发事件的发生。【方法】基于偏向随机行走格子气模型,提出行人通道中行人结队行走的偏向随机行走格子气模型。结队人群在通道中的行走规则与单个人行走时一样,行进的方向是一致的,行进过程中不能后退。每个集团的人群由n1×n2个人组成,占据n1×n2个格点。考虑向左、向右、向上和向下行走的4种人群。【结果】在行人交通流中出现从自由相到堵塞相的相变现象,且相变的临界密度与行人集团的尺度有很大的关系。【结论】相变的临界密度取决于行人集团的尺度,行人集团的尺度和迁移系数影响阻塞相变。     

Locally critical quantum phase transitions in strongly correlated metals.

When a metal undergoes a continuous quantum phase transition, non-Fermi-liquid behaviour arises near the critical point. All the low-energy degrees of freedom induced by quantum criticality are usually assumed to be spatially extended, corresponding to long-wavelength fluctuations of the order parameter. But this picture has been contradicted by the results of recent experiments on a prototype system: heavy fermion metals at a zero-temperature magnetic transition. In particular, neutron scattering from CeCu6-x Aux has revealed anomalous dynamics at atomic length scales, leading to much debate as to the fate of the local moments in the quantum-critical regime. Here we report our theoretical finding of a locally critical quantum phase transition in a model of heavy fermions. The dynamics at the critical point are in agreement with experiment. We propose local criticality to be a phenomenon of general relevance to strongly correlated metals.     

Superinsulator and quantum synchronization

Synchronized oscillators are ubiquitous in nature, and synchronization plays a key part in various classical and quantum phenomena. Several experiments have shown that in thin superconducting films, disorder enforces the droplet-like electronic texture--superconducting islands immersed into a normal matrix--and that tuning disorder drives the system from superconducting to insulating behaviour. In the vicinity of the transition, a distinct state forms: a Cooper-pair insulator, with thermally activated conductivity. It results from synchronization of the phase of the superconducting order parameter at the islands across the whole system. Here we show that at a certain finite temperature, a Cooper--air insulator undergoes a transition to a superinsulating state with infinite resistance. We present experimental evidence of this transition in titanium nitride films and show that the superinsulating state is dual to the superconducting state: it is destroyed by a sufficiently strong critical magnetic field, and breaks down at some critical voltage that is analogous to the critical current in superconductors.     

磁场下U(2)×U(2)线性σ模型的手征相变

采用U(2)×U(2)线性σ模型对匀强磁场下的手征相变进行了研究.采用单圈有效势方法,讨论在不同温度、不同重子化学势、不同磁场下的有效势,从而对相变的类型进行了考察.结果表明,磁场的引入一般会提高手征相变的相变温度;介子自由度、真空起伏可能改变相变的性质.     

Superconductor-insulator transition in La2 - xSrxCuO4 at the pair quantum resistance

High-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides arises when a parent insulator compound is doped beyond some critical concentration; what exactly happens at this superconductor-insulator transition is a key open question. The cleanest approach is to tune the carrier density using the electric field effect; for example, it was learned in this way that weak electron localization transforms superconducting SrTiO(3) into a Fermi-glass insulator. But in the copper oxides this has been a long-standing technical challenge, because perfect ultrathin films and huge local fields (>10(9)?V?m(-1)) are needed. Recently, such fields have been obtained using electrolytes or ionic liquids in the electric double-layer transistor configuration. Here we report synthesis of epitaxial films of La(2-?x)Sr(x)CuO(4) that are one unit cell thick, and fabrication of double-layer transistors. Very large fields and induced changes in surface carrier density enable shifts in the critical temperature by up to 30?K. Hundreds of resistance versus temperature and carrier density curves were recorded and shown to collapse onto a single function, as predicted for a two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition. The observed critical resistance is precisely the quantum resistance for pairs, R(Q) = h/(2e) = 6.45?kΩ, suggestive of a phase transition driven by quantum phase fluctuations, and Cooper pair (de)localization.     

Absence of thermodynamic phase transition in a model glass former

The glass transition can be viewed simply as the point at which the viscosity of a structurally disordered liquid reaches a universal threshold value. But this is an operational definition that circumvents fundamental issues, such as whether the glass transition is a purely dynamical phenomenon. If so, ergodicity gets broken (the system becomes confined to some part of its phase space), but the thermodynamic properties of the liquid remain unchanged across the transition, provided they are determined as thermodynamic equilibrium averages over the whole phase space. The opposite view claims that an underlying thermodynamic phase transition is responsible for the pronounced slow-down in the dynamics at the liquid-glass boundary. Such a phase transition would trigger the dynamic standstill, and then be masked by it. Here we perform Monte Carlo simulations of a two-dimensional system of polydisperse hard disks far within its glassy phase. The approach allows for non-local moves in a way that preserves micro-reversibility. We find no evidence for a thermodynamic phase transition up to very high densities; the glass is thus indistinguishable from the liquid on purely thermodynamic grounds.     

Phonon interpretation of the 'boson peak' in supercooled liquids

Glasses are amorphous solids, in the sense that they display elastic behaviour. In crystalline solids, elasticity is associated with phonons, which are quantized vibrational excitations. Phonon-like excitations also exist in glasses at very high (terahertz; 10(12) Hz) frequencies; surprisingly, these persist in the supercooled liquids. A universal feature of such amorphous systems is the boson peak: the vibrational density of states has an excess compared to the Debye squared-frequency law. Here we investigate the origin of this feature by studying the spectra of inherent structures (local minima of the potential energy) in a realistic glass model. We claim that the peak is the signature of a phase transition in the space of the stationary points of the energy, from a minima-dominated phase (with phonons) at low energy to a saddle-point-dominated phase (without phonons). The boson peak moves to lower frequencies on approaching the phonon-saddle transition, and its height diverges at the critical point. Our numerical results agree with the predictions of euclidean random matrix theory on the existence of a sharp phase transition between an amorphous elastic phase and a phonon-free one.     

The giant electromechanical response in ferroelectric relaxors as a critical phenomenon

The direct conversion of electrical energy to mechanical work by a material is relevant to a number of applications. This is illustrated by ferroelectric 'relaxors' such as Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) (PMN-PT; refs 5, 6): these materials exhibit a giant electromechanical (piezoelectric) response that is finding use in ultrasonic and medical applications, as well as in telecommunications. The origins of this effect are, however, still unclear. Here we show that the giant electromechanical response in PMN-PT (and potentially other ferroelectric relaxors) is the manifestation of critical points that define a line in the phase diagram of this system. Specifically, in the electric-field-temperature-composition phase diagram of PMN-PT (the composition being varied by changing the PT concentration), a first-order paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition terminates in a line of critical points where the piezoelectric coefficient is maximum. Above this line, supercritical evolution is observed. On approaching the critical point, both the energy cost and the electric field necessary to induce ferroelectric polarization rotations decrease significantly, thus explaining the giant electromechanical response of these relaxors.     

含能流的三比特伊辛自旋链中的基态纠缠

研究了含能流的三比特伊辛自旋链中的基态纠缠。在体系中引入能流后,磁场的变化将会导致系统进入能流相。基态纠缠在相变临界点处发生突变,两粒子之间的纠缠由于能量的流动而得到增强。