# Physical Review Letters

Online ISSN: 1079-7114
Publications
Article
Density functionals for nuclei usually include an effective 3-body interaction that depends on a fractional power of the density. Using insights from the many-body theory of the low-density two-component Fermi gas, we consider a new, nonlocal, form for the energy functional that is consistent with the Fock-space representation of interaction operators. In particular, there is a unique spatially nonlocal generalization of the contact form of the interaction that preserves the ρ(7/3) density dependence required by the many-body theory. We calculate the ground-state energies for particles in a harmonic trap by using the nonlocal induced 3-body interaction and compare them to numerically accurate Green's function Monte Carlo calculations. Using no free parameters, we find that a nonlocality in the space domain provides a better description of the weak-coupling regime than the local-density approximation.

Article
We apply a new approach to the reverse protein folding problem. Our method uses a minimization function in the design process which is different from the energy function used for folding. For a lattice model, we show that this new approach produces sequences that are likely to fold into desired structures. Our method is a significant improvement over previous attempts which used the energy function for designing sequences.

Article
W bosons produced at high transverse momentum in hadron collisions can have polarization along the direction perpendicular to the production plane, which is odd under naïve T reversal where both the three-momenta and angular momenta are reversed. Perturbative QCD predicts nonzero polarization at the one-loop level, which can be measured as parity-odd components in the angular distribution of charged leptons from the decay of W bosons. We perform a detector-level simulation with the generator MadGraph5_aMC@NLO, and demonstrate that the asymmetry can be observed at the 8 TeV LHC with 20 fb^{-1} of data. If confirmed, it will be the first experimental measurement of the sign of the imaginary part of one-loop QCD amplitudes.

Article
The topological evolution of the cleavage surface of a gypsum single crystal during its dissolution in a flowing undersaturated aqueous solution has been observed with an atomic force microscope. The matter transfer from solid to liquid proceeds through the migration of atomic steps. The step velocity has been measured and appears to depend on the force applied by the tip on the surface. Whereas the high force velocity enhancement is likely to stem from corrosive wear, the speed behavior at low force (<10  nN) differs drastically and can be interpreted as a consequence of the pressure solution of the crystal induced by the tip force. The step velocity evolution with the force obeys the known kinetic law of pressure solution. Hence these experiments enable us to evidence a first atomic mechanism at the origin of pressure solution.

Article
Direct measurements of integrated phase-space densities, e.g., f(x, v sub y, t), have been made in an experiment. Using spectroscopically active ions, measurements in a plasma show the ion response, f sub i (x, v t), to linear and nonlinear waves and phase-space particle bunching. Time-resolved measurements show coherent and incoherent phase-space density changes in the presence of waves, indicating that transitions to turbulence and chaos may be studied. The time, space, and velocity-space resolution may allow experimental tests of predictions from the Boltzmann equation.

Article
The small-world network model is a simple model of the structure of social networks, which possesses characteristics of both regular lattices and random graphs. The model consists of a one-dimensional lattice with a low density of shortcuts added between randomly selected pairs of points. These shortcuts greatly reduce the typical path length between any two points on the lattice. We present a mean-field solution for the average path length and for the distribution of path lengths in the model. This solution is exact in the limit of large system size and either a large or small number of shortcuts.

Article
The linear density response of inhomogeneous electronic systems is discussed from a density-functional point of view. We derive a local density approximation for the frequency-dependent exchange-correlation potential which is compared with the adiabatic'' expression used in former work.

Article
We present the first quantitative study of the final-state-interaction effect in the missing-energy spectrum measured in a coincidence /sup 12/C(e,e'p) experiment in the dip region. It is found that the calculated cross section for the two-body type of final-state interaction is very small compared with the data. Furthermore, it decreases with increasing missing energy; this qualitative behavior does not agree with the data. From qualitative investigation, the presence of the many-body mechanism involving more than two nucleons is suggested.

Article
We study how universality classes of O(N)-symmetric models depend continuously on the dimension d and the number of field components N. We observe, from a renormalization group perspective, how the implications of the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg theorem set in as we gradually deform theory space towards d=2. For a fractal dimension in the range 2<d<3, we find, for any N≥1, a finite family of multicritical effective potentials of increasing order. Apart from the N=1 case, these disappear in d=2 consistently with the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg theorem. Finally, we study O(N=0)-universality classes and find an infinite family of these in two dimensions.

Article
It is well known that an unambiguous discrimination of the four optically encoded Bell states is possible with a probability of 50% at best, when using static, passive linear optics and arbitrarily many vacuum-mode ancillae. By adding unentangled single-photon ancillae, we are able to surpass this limit and reach a success probability of at least 75%. We discuss the error robustness of the proposed scheme and a generalization to reach a success probability arbitrarily close to 100%.

Article
Water under pressure is investigated by first principles molecular dynamics, with a focus on the changes in hydrogen bonding and the oxygen network in the nondissociative regime. At a pressure of 10 GPa and a temperature of 600 K, which is close to the freezing point, no appreciable molecular dissociation is observed in the simulations. However, the structure of water is substantially altered from that at ambient conditions. The liquid exhibits a much larger coordination of oxygen atoms, an essential weakening of hydrogen bonding, and sizable changes in the density of electronic states close to the Fermi level. Our results provide new structural data for direct comparison with future experiments.

Article
A Comment on the Letter by W. G. Sturrus et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 2320 (1988).

Article
Ten fine-structure intervals separating n = 10, L = 4, 5, 6, and 7 Rydberg states bound to the (..nu.. = 0,R = 1) state of H/sub 2//sup +/ have been measured to a precision of +- 0.6 MHz with microwave-optical double-resonance techniques with a fast H/sub 2/ beam. These measurements are sufficient to completely determine the relative positions of these states. Agreement with a priori calculations of the level positions, with the extended polarization model, is found if the electric quadrupole moment of the (0,1) state of H/sub 2//sup +/ is taken to be 1.6432(2) ea/sub 0//sup 2/, which is 0.04(1)% larger than the best calculated values.

Article
We measure the frequency of the 2(3)S1-->2(3)P(0,1,2) transitions of helium in a metastable beam using an optical frequency comb synthesizer. The relative uncertainty of these measurements ranging from 5x10(-11) to 7x10(-12) is, to our knowledge, the most precise result for any optical helium transition. Considering existing accurate values of the 2(3)P fine structure, we measure a centroid value of the 2(3)S-2(3)P frequency of 276 736 495 624.6(2.4) kHz, improving the previous interferometric measurement by 30 times. New accurate values of the 2(3)S-2(3)P and 2(3)P Lamb-shift energies are obtained.

Article
The transition temperature T{C} approximately 26 K of the recently discovered superconductor LaFeAsO1-xFx is extremely sensitive to the lanthanide ion, reaching 55 K for the Sm containing oxypnictides. Therefore, it is important to determine how the moment on the lanthanide affects the overall magnetism in these systems. Here we report a neutron diffraction study of the Nd oxypnictides. Long-ranged antiferromagnetic order is apparent in NdFeAsO below 1.96 K. Rietveld refinement shows that both Fe and Nd magnetic ordering are required to describe the observed data with the staggered moment 1.55(4)micro{B}/Nd and 0.9(1)micro{B}/Fe at 0.3 K. The other structural properties such as the tetragonal-orthorhombic distortion are found to be very similar to those in LaFeAsO. Neither the magnetic ordering nor the structural distortion occur in the superconducting sample NdFeAsO0.80F0.20 at any temperatures down to 1.5 K.

Article
Staircaselike hysteresis loops of the magnetization of a LiY0.998Ho0.002F4 single crystal are observed at subkelvin temperatures and low field sweep rates. This behavior results from quantum dynamics at avoided level crossings of the energy spectrum of single Ho3+ ions in the presence of hyperfine interactions. Enhanced quantum relaxation in constant transverse fields allows the study of the relative magnitude of tunnel splittings. At faster sweep rates, nonequilibrated spin-phonon and spin-spin transitions, mediated by weak dipolar interactions, lead to magnetization oscillations and additional steps.

Article
We have studied the Ho3+ spin dynamics for LiY0.998Ho0.002F4 via the positive muon (mu+) transverse field depolarization rate lambdaTF as a function of temperature and magnetic field. We find sharp minima in lambdaTF(H) at fields for which the Ho3+ ion system has field-induced (avoided) level crossings. The reduction scales with calculated level repulsions, suggesting that mu+ depolarization by slow fluctuations of nonresonant Ho3+ spin states is partly suppressed when resonant tunneling opens new fluctuation channels at frequencies much greater than the muon precession frequency.

Article
Spin superlattices with alternating nonmagnetic and magnetic layers, in which a tunable spin-dependent potential exists, have been fabricated. We show that the ZnSe/Zn0.99Fe0.01Se system, in which field-induced spin splittings in both valence and conduction bands can become much larger than the residual zero-field potentials, exhibits spin superlattice behavior. Low-temperature magnetoreflectance experiments have been used to investigate the nature of these structures, verifying through field-dependent spin splitting and transition strengths that they are in fact true spin superlattices.

Article
We use inelastic neutron scattering to show that superconductivity in electron-underdoped NaFe_{0.985}Co_{0.015}As induces a dispersive sharp resonance near E_{r1}=3.25 meV and a broad dispersionless mode at E_{r2}=6 meV. However, similar measurements on overdoped superconducting NaFe_{0.935}Co_{0.045}As find only a single sharp resonance at E_{r}=7 meV. We connect these results with the observations of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy that the superconducting gaps in the electron Fermi pockets are anisotropic in the underdoped material but become isotropic in the overdoped case. Our analysis indicates that both the double neutron spin resonances and gap anisotropy originate from the orbital dependence of the superconducting pairing in the iron pnictides. Our discovery also shows the importance of the inelastic neutron scattering in detecting the multiorbital superconducting gap structures of iron pnictides.

Article
It is shown experimentally and theoretically that photorefractive wave coupling can be used for dramatic (< or approximately 0.025 cm/s) deceleration of light pulses whose width is larger than (or comparable with) the nonlinear response time. This classical nonlinear scheme exhibits similarities with the technique based on the quantum effect of electromagnetically induced transparency. The main distinctive feature of our scheme is amplification of the delayed output pulse. Advantages of the novel technique and its prospects for manipulation with light photons are discussed.

Article
We report the first experimental evidence of a magnetic phase arising due to the thermal blocking of antiferromagnetic clusters in the weakened charge and orbital ordered system Pr0.5Ca0.5Mn0.975Al0.025O3. The third order susceptibility (chi(3)) is used to differentiate this transition from a spin- or cluster-glass-like freezing mechanism. These clusters are found to be mesoscopic and robust to electronic phase separation which only enriches the antiphase domain walls with holes at the cost of the bulk, without changing the size of these clusters.

Article
We report the first Knight-shift studies of the heavy-fermion superconducting state. In 5 kOe the Knight shift of muons in superconducting U1-xThxBe13 remains near the normal-state value for x=0.033, but shows an unexpected strong decrease for x=0. If the pairing is of odd parity, this decrease suggests that the anisotropic order parameter is pinned to the lattice. The qualitatively different behavior for x=0.033 reflects either spin-orbit scattering by Th doping or a change of pairing symmetry.

Article
This Letter presents the fine structure of energy levels for the edge states of a Haldane chain. In order to investigate the edge states, we have performed high field and multifrequency electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements of finite length S=1 antiferromagnetic chains in Y2BaNi0.96Mg0.04O5. Owing to the high spectral resolution by high fields and high frequencies, observed ESR signals can be separated into the contributions of the finite chains with various chain lengths. Our results clearly show that the edge spins actually interact with each other through the quantum spin chain and the interaction depends on the chain length N. This N dependence has been obtained experimentally for the first time, and shows that the correlation length xi in the real system is somewhat larger than that calculated by a simple Heisenberg model.

Article
We report measurements and analysis of the specific heat and magnetocaloric effect-induced temperature changes at the phase boundary into the single magnetic field-induced phase (phase II) of U(Ru0.96Rh0.04)2Si2, which yield irreversible properties similar to those at the valence transition of Yb(1-x)Y(x)InCu4. To explain these similarities, we propose a bootstrap mechanism by which lattice parameter changes caused by an electric quadrupolar order parameter within phase II become coupled to the 5f-electron hybridization, giving rise to a valence change at the transition.

Article
We report measurements of the superfluid fraction rho(s)/rho of films of (3)He-(4)He mixtures confined between silicon wafers at 0.0483 microm separation. The data obtained using adiabatic fountain resonance (AFR) can be used to test for the first time expectations of correlation-length scaling in the case of planar mixtures. For the mixtures, the data for rho(s)/rho collapse well on a universal function. The dissipation associated with AFR can also be scaled, and indicates two-dimensional crossover. These results are in contrast to pure (4)He, where over a wider range of confinements, the data for rho(s)/rho are found not to scale.

Article
In this paper, we present an upper limit of $\Omega_{\rm GW}<1.2\times 10^{8}$ on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background integrated over a year in the frequency range 0.05 Hz - 1 Hz, which improves current upper limits from high-precision laboratory experiments by about 9 orders of magnitude. The limit is obtained using the response of Earth itself to GWs via a free-surface effect described more than 40 years ago by F.J. Dyson. The response was measured by a global network of broadband seismometers selected to maximize the sensitivity.

Article
We investigate the temperature dependence of the spin-spin dynamical autocorrelation function of the Ising spin glass Fe0.05TiS2 through field dependent muon-spin lattice relaxation measurements. We successfully analyze the results using the Ogielski function, namely, t(-x)exp((-[t/tau](y)) as employed in numerical simulations. The experimental estimates of x, y, and tau are compared with those from simulations. Our major finding is that in this system the correlation function changes its nature from Ogielski to a form indistinguishable from pure stretched exponential upon cooling close to T(g), indicating a dynamical crossover.

Article
New data are presented on the p(e,e'p)pi(0) reaction at threshold at a four-momentum transfer of Q(2) = 0.05 GeV(2)/c(2). The data were taken with the three-spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. The complete center of mass solid angle was covered up to a center of mass energy of 4 MeV above threshold. Combined with measurements at three different values of the virtual photon polarization epsilon, the structure functions sigma(T), sigma(L), sigma(TT), and sigma(TL) are determined. The results are compared with calculations in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory and with a phenomenological model. The measured cross section is significantly smaller than both predictions.

Article
We have studied non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior in Pr(x)La(1-x)Pb3 with Gamma3 quadrupolar moments in the crystalline-electric-field ground state. The specific heat C/T shows NFL behavior in the very dilute region for x <or= 0.05, which is scaled by a characteristic temperature T* in each Pr concentration. The application of a magnetic field leads to a sharp increase of C/T , demonstrating the shift of the entropy existing in the lower temperature region at H=0 T . Moreover, Fermi-liquid behavior emerges at higher fields, in contrast with NFL behavior at lower fields. The observed features indicate that NFL behavior is caused by the quadrupolar Kondo effect.

Article
Magnetic excitations in Ba(Fe0.94Co0.06)2As2 are studied by polarized inelastic neutron scattering (INS) above and below the superconducting transition. In the superconducting state we find clear evidence for two resonance-like excitations. At a higher energy of about 8 meV there is an isotropic resonance mode with weak dispersion along the c-direction. In addition we find a lower excitation at 4 meV that appears only in the c-polarized channel and whose intensity strongly varies with the L-component of the scattering vector. These resonance excitations behave remarkably similar to the gap modes in the antiferromagnetic phase of the parent compound BaFe2As2.

Article
X-ray data were collected on films of Al0.72Mn0.22Si0.06 sputtered on NaCl at 45, 150, and 230 °C. The 45 °C films show a typical metallic-glass structure factor, S(Q), while at 230 °C the structure is quasicrystalline plus Al. A combined particle-size and phason strain broadening was applied to the normalized and reduced S(Q) for the 230 °C film to bring it essentially into coincidence with the amorphous (45 °C) S(Q) leading us to conclude that the glass, or amorphous, phase represents a defect limit of the quasicrystal.

Article
We present ^{75}As nuclear magnetic resonance data from measurements of a series of Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_{2}As_{2} crystals with 0.00≤x≤0.075 that reveals the coexistence of frozen antiferromagnetic domains and superconductivity for 0.060≤x≤0.071. Although bulk probes reveal no long range antiferromagnetic order beyond x=0.06, we find that the local spin dynamics reveal no qualitative change across this transition. The characteristic domain sizes vary by more than an order of magnitude, reaching a maximum variation at x=0.06. This inhomogeneous glassy dynamics may be an intrinsic response to the competition between superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in this system.

Article
The single atom kinetic energy kappa of high purity solid hcp 4He has been measured by neutron Compton scattering, at temperatures between 0.07 and 0.4 K and a pressure of 40 bar. Within statistical error of approximately 2% no change in kappa was observed. The values of kappa at approximately 0.07 K were the same in a single crystal and a polycrystalline sample and were also unaffected (within statistical error) by the addition of 10 ppm of 3He. The lattice constant was also found to be independent of temperature to within 1 part in 2000. These results suggest that the supersolid transition in 4He has a different microscopic origin to the superfluid transition in the liquid.

Article
We report an optical spectroscopy study on the newly discovered superconductor Cu0.07TiSe2. Consistent with the development from a semimetal or semiconductor with a very small indirect energy gap upon doping TiSe2, it is found that the compound has a low carrier density. Most remarkably, the study reveals a substantial shift of the screened plasma edge in reflectance towards high energy with decreasing temperature. This phenomenon, rarely seen in metals, indicates either a sizable increase of the conducting carrier concentration or/and a decrease of the effective mass of carriers with reducing temperature. We attribute the shift primarily to the latter effect.

Article
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on optimally doped Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(0.92)Y(0.08)Cu(2)O(8+delta) uncovers a coupling of the electronic bands to a 40 meV mode in an extended k-space region away from the nodal direction, leading to a new interpretation of the strong renormalization of the electronic structure seen in Bi2212. Phenomenological agreements with neutron and Raman experiments suggest that this mode is the B(1g) oxygen bond-buckling phonon. A theoretical calculation based on this assignment reproduces the electronic renormalization seen in the data.

Article
Ferroelectric switching and nanoscale domain dynamics were investigated using atomic force microscopy on monocrystalline Pb(Zr(0.2)Ti(0.8))O(3) thin films. Measurements of domain size versus writing time reveal a two-step domain growth mechanism, in which initial nucleation is followed by radial domain wall motion perpendicular to the polarization direction. The electric field dependence of the domain wall velocity demonstrates that domain wall motion in ferroelectric thin films is a creep process, with the critical exponent mu close to 1. The dimensionality of the films suggests that disorder is at the origin of the observed creep behavior.

Article
Ultrafast broadband transient reflectivity experiments are performed to study the interplay between the nonequilibrium dynamics of the pseudogap and the superconducting phases in Bi_{2}Sr_{2}Ca_{0.92}Y_{0.08}Cu_{2}O_{8+δ}. Once superconductivity is established, the relaxation of the pseudogap proceeds ∼2 times faster than in the normal state, and the corresponding transient reflectivity variation changes sign after ∼0.5 ps. The results can be described by a set of coupled differential equations for the pseudogap and for the superconducting order parameter. The sign and strength of the coupling term suggest a remarkably weak competition between the two phases, allowing their coexistence.

Article
A family of resistivity curves, with different carrier concentrations, is obtained in a single sample of the dilute magnetic persistent photoconductor Cd0.91Mn0.09Te:In. These curves exhibit a crossover from an exp(T0/T)1/2 form for variable-range hopping with interactions to an exp(EH/T) form, upon reducing temperature. All data scale onto a single curve. The energy EH is associated with a hard gap in the density of states which is magnetic in origin. The localization length is found to have the same critical behavior as the dielectric constant, on approaching the insulator-metal transition.

Article
We report the first direct measurement of transport properties of surface states in the topological insulator Bi_{0.91}Sb_{0.09} (111) from the weak-field Hall effect and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. We find that the holelike surface band displays an unexpectedly high mobility 23 000-85 000 cm^{2}/V s, which is the highest mobility so far reported in bismuth-based topological insulators. This result provides the first quantitative assessment of the effect of alloy disorder on the mobility of surface states in topological insulators. We show that the 9% alloy disorder decreases the mobility of surface states by a factor of less than 2.3.

Article
We present a complete systematics (excitation functions and system-size dependences) of global stopping and side flow for heavy ion reactions in the energy range between 0.09A and 1.93A GeV. For the heaviest system, Au+Au, we observe a plateau of maximal stopping extending from about 0.2A to 0.8A GeV with a fast drop on both sides. The degree of stopping, which is shown to remain significantly below the expectations of a full stopping scenario, is found to be highly correlated to the amount of side flow.

Article
We report nuclear magnetic resonance studies on the low-doped n-type copper-oxide Pr(0.91)LaCe(0.09)CuO(4-y) (T(c)=24 K) in the superconducting state and in the normal state uncovered by the application of a strong magnetic field. We find that when the superconductivity is removed the underlying ground state is the Fermi liquid state. This result is at variance with that inferred from previous thermal conductivity measurement and appears to contrast with that in p-type copper oxides with a similar doping level where high-T(c) superconductivity sets in within the pseudogap phase. The data in the superconducting state are consistent with the line-node gap model.

Article
The role of antiferromagnetic spin correlations in high-temperature superconductors remains a matter of debate. We present inelastic neutron-scattering evidence that gapless spin fluctuations coexist with superconductivity in La_{1.905}Ba_{0.095}CuO_{4}. Furthermore, we observe that both the low-energy magnetic spectral weight and the spin incommensurability are enhanced with the onset of superconducting correlations. We propose that the coexistence occurs through intertwining of spatial modulations of the pair wave function and the antiferromagnetic correlations. This proposal is also directly relevant to sufficiently underdoped La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} and YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6+x}.

Article
Electrons with energies in the range of 100 to 600 eV have been observed to be emitted following 0.1-3.2-MeV collisions of Kr ions with Xe targets. Coincidence measurements between these electrons and the scattering ions determine the impact-parameter dependence for this electron emission. Although these data lie outside the conventional region of applicability of the one-electron molecular-orbital model, they are remarkably consistent with such molecular-orbital calculations. These Kr-Xe data are similar in nature to those for Kr-Kr collisions which previous authors have interpreted differently.

Article
Primordial decays of string theory moduli at z∼10^{12} naturally generate a dark radiation cosmic axion background with 0.1-1 keV energies. This cosmic axion background can be detected through axion-photon conversion in astrophysical magnetic fields to give quasithermal excesses in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray bands. Substantial and observable luminosities may be generated even for axion-photon couplings ≪10^{-11} GeV^{-1}. We propose that axion-photon conversion may explain the observed excess emission of soft x rays from galaxy clusters, and may also contribute to the diffuse unresolved cosmic x-ray background. We list a number of correlated predictions of the scenario.

Article
High-pressure studies of BaCo0.9Ni0.1S1.9, a layered transition-metal-sulfide alloy that exhibits a unique antiferromagnetic insulator to paramagnetic metal transition with decreasing temperature, are reported. Resistance measurements as a function of temperature (2-300 K) and pressure (0-0.8 GPa) are used to determine the phase diagram relating the metallic phase and several insulating phases.

Article
We report upper critical field Bc2(T) data for disordered (arsenic-deficient) LaO0.9F0.1FeAs1-delta in a wide temperature and magnetic field range up to 47 T. Because of the large linear slope of Bc2 approximately -5.4 to -6.6 T/K near Tc approximately 28.5 K, the T dependence of the in-plane Bc2(T) shows a flattening near 23 K above 30 T which points to Pauli-limited behavior with Bc2(0) approximately 63-68 T. Our results are discussed in terms of disorder effects within [corrected] unconventional superconducting pairings.

Article
A Comment on the Letter by L. Baudis et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 41 (1999).

Top-cited authors
• Stanford University
• Cornell University
• University of Oxford
• Columbia University