Hydrodynamics of the Dark Superfluid: II. Photon-Phonon Analogy Marco Fedi

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Hydrodynamics of the Dark Superfluid: II. Photon-Phonon Analogy Marco Fedi Hydrodynamics of the dark superfluid: II. photon-phonon analogy Marco Fedi To cite this version: Marco Fedi. Hydrodynamics of the dark superfluid: II. photon-phonon analogy. 2017. hal- 01532718v2 HAL Id: hal-01532718 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01532718v2 Preprint submitted on 28 Jun 2017 (v2), last revised 19 Jul 2017 (v3) HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution| 4.0 International License manuscript No. (will be inserted by the editor) Hydrodynamics of the dark superfluid: II. photon-phonon analogy. Marco Fedi Received: date / Accepted: date Abstract In “Hydrodynamic of the dark superfluid: I. gen- have already discussed the possibility that quantum vacu- esis of fundamental particles” we have presented dark en- um be a hydrodynamic manifestation of the dark superflu- ergy as an ubiquitous superfluid which fills the universe. id (DS), [1] which may correspond to mainly dark energy Here we analyze light propagation through this “dark su- with superfluid properties, as a cosmic Bose-Einstein con- perfluid” (which also dark matter would be a hydrodynamic densate [2–8,14]. Dark energy would confer on space the manifestation of) by considering a photon-phonon analogy, features of a superfluid quantum space. Taking into accoun- where photon is a quasi-particle which acoustically propa- t light propagation through the DS, a photon could be ei- gates through this dark superfluid as a transverse wave. The ther a real particle behaving as a wave or a quasi-particle discussion is structured in four parts: (a) shared features and possessing wave-particle duality as a phonon. We opt for behavior photon-phonon according to current knowledge; the second case and we discuss photon propagation through (b) phonons in fluids and their role in expressing energy, the DS via a transverse phonon-like dynamics (arguing that along with the transient solid-like (quasi-lattice) structure light is the sound of the DS) and we support this hypoth- arising in fluids and superfluids during relaxation time; (c) esis in four steps. We reflect (Sect. 1) on an interestingly Gremaud’s analogy of Maxwell’s equations in a lattice ap- wide set of currently known analogies, also valid for flu- plied to the quasi-lattice environment of a superfluid; (d) ids and superfluids, between phonons and photons and in Lorentz factor as the rheogram of dark energy and a pos- Sect. 2, referring to Bolmatov [15], we discuss transversal sible basis for a quantum interpretation of special relativity. wave propagation and heat transmission in fluids on acous- tic basis (phonons), in analogy with thermal photons. From Keywords Nature of light · Light propagation · Dark Gremaud (Sect. 3) [26] we resort to a complete analogy be- energy · Dark superfluid · Maxwell’s equations · Special tween Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism and non- relativity divergent deformations of an isotropic lattice in Euler’s co- PACS 42.25.Bs · 95.36.+x · 12.20.-m · 03.30.+p ordinates, translated in our case into the quasi-lattice struc- ture of fluids which manifests within their relaxation time, a structural property which has been discussed also for super- fluid 4He [39]. Finally (Sect. 4), arguing a possible dilatant Introduction behavior of some superfluids under shear stress in a rela- tivistic regime, we present Lorentz factor as the rheogram We know that light propagates through a quantum vacuum of dark energy, opening a perspective onto the explanation but also through dark energy, since according to recent mea- of special relativity on a quantum basis and reinforcing the surings it constitutes 69.1% of the universe mass-energy, concept of transverse propagation of phonons in the DS. As which along with dark matter reaches 95%. The remain- a consequence, we understand that the main component of ing 5% baryon matter is in any case >99% vacuum. We the DS, dark energy, would be undetectable only as long as it remains unperturbed, being light its most evident manifes- M.Fedi Ministero dell’Istruzione, Dell’Universita` e della Ricerca (MIUR), tation, along with its famous repulsive action which avoids Rome, Italy the gravitational collapse of the universe, probably due to its E-mail: [email protected] 2 Marco Fedi 3 internal pressure as a superfluid. Its energy density (J=m ) is on the contrary accepted, and we equate e0m0 = bdrd, corresponds in fact to pressure. where rd is the density of the DS and bd its isentropic com- pressibility (expressed in Pa−1), we may state that the speed of light is given as [5,10] 1 Current photon-phonon analogies. 1 c = p : (1) Let us start with listing all current analogies between pho- bdrd tons and phonons (which can also manifest in superfluids Indeed, starting from the equation which defines the speed [17,27]). Both are bosons [18], since identical excitations of sound in a fluid, a = pK=r, where K is the bulk modulus, can be created by repeatedly applying the creation opera- and putting b = 1 as isentropic compressibility (in the spe- tor, b†; both possess wave-particle duality [19,20], indeed S K cific case of the DS we say b ), we obtain (1). This acoustic in a lattice, or quasi-lattice we expect that waves appear d analogy of the speed of light is also confirmed possible in that behave like particles; they obey the doppler effect, z = [26], as discussed in Sect. 3. ( f − f )= f ; are symmetric under exchange, ja;bi = emit obs obs Amendola and Tsujikawa [14], by introducing the speed jb;ai; possess a momentum, where that of a phonon1 is of sound through a cosmological ultra-light scalar field f, p ≡ hk¯ = h=l; with k = 2p=l (hence the parallelism: ra- ph possibly coinciding with dark energy, state that it is the key diation pressure , sound pressure); are involved in photo- parameter to understand the (background) dynamics of such electric effect and Compton scattering thanks to their mo- a field. Starting from the ratio pressure/density, they define mentum; they can spin [21,22]. As far as spin is concerned, the speed of sound through this cosmic fluid as it would be realistic in our opinion that the higher degree of freedom of a phonon in the quasi-lattice of a fluid medium, s s dP H2(f 0j0 − f 02Y) −V j may allow it to possess spin 1. For this reason we consid- f ;f cs;f = = 2 0 0 02 : (2) er the photon as a special spin-1 phonon. Rotating phonons drf H (f j − f Y) +V;f j have been described also as regards the physics of nanotubes where we see that, when the potential of the field becomes [23]). Moreover, we actually know that photon spin can have flat, V ! 0, we may have the speed of sound through the three different values (-1, 0, 1), so, at most, magnitude 1. ;f field coinciding with that of light (natural units are used by Photon and phonon can form squeezed coherent states [24] the authors, where the speed of light is c = 1). and can interact via parametric down conversion [25]. For both, h¯w=2 is vacuum’s (we say dark energy’s) contribu- tion, since the harmonic oscillator eigenvalues for the mode 2 Thermal photons and phonons-driven energy w (k is the wave number) are E = (n + 1=2)h¯w with k n k propagation in fluids and superfluids. n = 1;2;3;::: and (to confirm the presence of a “false vacu- um”) also for n = 0 the energy is not zero. This means that We discuss now the possibility that photons-driven energy what we think to be the vacuum actually contains energy radiation be phonons-driven energy propagation when it oc- and according to E = mc2, a certain density (r in the cos- 0 curs in the DS. We have remarked that phonons, which are mological constant l = kr ), where c2 = (b r )−1 would 0 d d typically associated to a solid state, also manifest in fluids be precisely linked to dark energy’s intrinsic parameters, as and superfluids [15–17]. Particularly relevant for our case is from Eq. (1). There is a medium throughout the universe the paper of Bolmatov, Brazhkin and Trachenko [15], about owning density r 6= 0 which light propagates through and a phonon theory of heat diffusion in classical and quantum which can be described as a dark superfluid. fluids where longitudinal and transversal phonons are de- scribed considering Frenkel [16], who first noticed that the density of liquids is much different from that of gases but 1.1 The formula for the speed of light. only slightly different from the density of solids and who also defined the existence of transversal waves in liquid- It is worth recalling the fact that Maxwell derived the di- s, as previously observed in solids, for frequencies larger electric constant (e ) and the magnetic permeability (m ) of 0 p 0 than 1=t, where t is the relaxation time of the fluid, i.e. the “vacuum”, from which the formula c = 1= e m follows, 0 0 time during which the structure of the liquid remains unal- in terms of density and transverse elasticity of the ether (see tered, similar to a solid lattice.
Recommended publications
  • A Short Review of Phonon Physics Frijia Mortuza
    International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020 847 ISSN 2229-5518 A Short Review of Phonon Physics Frijia Mortuza Abstract— In this article the phonon physics has been summarized shortly based on different articles. As the field of phonon physics is already far ad- vanced so some salient features are shortly reviewed such as generation of phonon, uses and importance of phonon physics. Index Terms— Collective Excitation, Phonon Physics, Pseudopotential Theory, MD simulation, First principle method. —————————— —————————— 1. INTRODUCTION There is a collective excitation in periodic elastic arrangements of atoms or molecules. Melting transition crystal turns into liq- uid and it loses long range transitional order and liquid appears to be disordered from crystalline state. Collective dynamics dispersion in transition materials is mostly studied with a view to existing collective modes of motions, which include longitu- dinal and transverse modes of vibrational motions of the constituent atoms. The dispersion exhibits the existence of collective motions of atoms. This has led us to undertake the study of dynamics properties of different transitional metals. However, this collective excitation is known as phonon. In this article phonon physics is shortly reviewed. 2. GENERATION AND PROPERTIES OF PHONON Generally, over some mean positions the atoms in the crystal tries to vibrate. Even in a perfect crystal maximum amount of pho- nons are unstable. As they are unstable after some time of period they come to on the object surface and enters into a sensor. It can produce a signal and finally it leaves the target object. In other word, each atom is coupled with the neighboring atoms and makes vibration and as a result phonon can be found [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Quantum Phonon Optics: Coherent and Squeezed Atomic Displacements
    PHYSICAL REVIEW B VOLUME 53, NUMBER 5 1 FEBRUARY 1996-I Quantum phonon optics: Coherent and squeezed atomic displacements Xuedong Hu and Franco Nori Department of Physics, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1120 ~Received 17 August 1995; revised manuscript received 27 September 1995! We investigate coherent and squeezed quantum states of phonons. The latter allow the possibility of modu- lating the quantum fluctuations of atomic displacements below the zero-point quantum noise level of coherent states. The expectation values and quantum fluctuations of both the atomic displacement and the lattice amplitude operators are calculated in these states—in some cases analytically. We also study the possibility of squeezing quantum noise in the atomic displacement using a polariton-based approach. I. INTRODUCTION words, a coherent state is as ‘‘quiet’’ as the vacuum state. Squeezed states5 are interesting because they can have Classical phonon optics1 has succeeded in producing smaller quantum noise than the vacuum state in one of the many acoustic analogs of classical optics, such as phonon conjugate variables, thus having a promising future in differ- mirrors, phonon lenses, phonon filters, and even ‘‘phonon ent applications ranging from gravitational wave detection to microscopes’’ that can generate acoustic pictures with a reso- optical communications. In addition, squeezed states form an lution comparable to that of visible light microscopy. Most exciting group of states and can provide unique insight into phonon optics experiments use heat pulses or superconduct- quantum mechanical fluctuations. Indeed, squeezed states are ing transducers to generate incoherent phonons, which now being explored in a variety of non-quantum-optics sys- 6 propagate ballistically in the crystal.
    [Show full text]
  • Polaron Formation in Cuprates
    Polaron formation in cuprates Olle Gunnarsson 1. Polaronic behavior in undoped cuprates. a. Is the electron-phonon interaction strong enough? b. Can we describe the photoemission line shape? 2. Does the Coulomb interaction enhance or suppress the electron-phonon interaction? Large difference between electrons and phonons. Cooperation: Oliver Rosch,¨ Giorgio Sangiovanni, Erik Koch, Claudio Castellani and Massimo Capone. Max-Planck Institut, Stuttgart, Germany 1 Important effects of electron-phonon coupling • Photoemission: Kink in nodal direction. • Photoemission: Polaron formation in undoped cuprates. • Strong softening, broadening of half-breathing and apical phonons. • Scanning tunneling microscopy. Isotope effect. MPI-FKF Stuttgart 2 Models Half- Coulomb interaction important. breathing. Here use Hubbard or t-J models. Breathing and apical phonons: Coupling to level energies >> Apical. coupling to hopping integrals. ⇒ g(k, q) ≈ g(q). Rosch¨ and Gunnarsson, PRL 92, 146403 (2004). MPI-FKF Stuttgart 3 Photoemission. Polarons H = ε0c†c + gc†c(b + b†) + ωphb†b. Weak coupling Strong coupling 2 ω 2 ω 2 1.8 (g/ ph) =0.5 (g/ ph) =4.0 1.6 1.4 1.2 ph ω ) 1 ω A( 0.8 0.6 Z 0.4 0.2 0 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 ω ω ω ω / ph / ph Strong coupling: Exponentially small quasi-particle weight (here criterion for polarons). Broad, approximately Gaussian side band of phonon satellites. MPI-FKF Stuttgart 4 Polaronic behavior Undoped CaCuO2Cl2. K.M. Shen et al., PRL 93, 267002 (2004). Spectrum very broad (insulator: no electron-hole pair exc.) Shape Gaussian, not like a quasi-particle.
    [Show full text]
  • Development of Phonon-Mediated Cryogenic
    DEVELOPMENT OF PHONON-MEDIATED CRYOGENIC PARTICLE DETECTORS WITH ELECTRON AND NUCLEAR RECOIL DISCRIMINATION a dissertation submitted to the department of physics and the committee on graduate studies of stanford university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy Sae Woo Nam December, 1998 c Copyright 1999 by Sae Woo Nam All Rights Reserved ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Blas Cabrera (Principal Advisor) I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Douglas Osheroff I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Roger Romani Approved for the University Committee on Graduate Studies: iii Abstract Observations have shown that galaxies, including our own, are surrounded by halos of "dark matter". One possibility is that this may be an undiscovered form of matter, weakly interacting massive particls (WIMPs). This thesis describes the development of silicon based cryogenic particle detectors designed to directly detect interactions with these WIMPs. These detectors are part of a new class of detectors which are able to reject background events by simultane- ously measuring energy deposited into phonons versus electron hole pairs. By using the phonon sensors with the ionization sensors to compare the partitioning of energy between phonons and ionizations we can discriminate betweeen electron recoil events (background radiation) and nuclear recoil events (dark matter events).
    [Show full text]
  • Nanophononics: Phonon Engineering in Nanostructures and Nanodevices
    Copyright © 2005 American Scientific Publishers Journal of All rights reserved Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Printed in the United States of America Vol.5, 1015–1022, 2005 REVIEW Nanophononics: Phonon Engineering in Nanostructures and Nanodevices Alexander A. Balandin Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California, USA Phonons, i.e., quanta of lattice vibrations, manifest themselves practically in all electrical, thermal and optical phenomena in semiconductors and other material systems. Reduction of the size of electronic devices below the acoustic phononDelivered mean by free Ingenta path creates to: a new situation for phonon propagation and interaction. From one side,Alexander it complicates Balandin heat removal from the downscaled devices. From the other side, it opens up anIP exciting: 138.23.166.189 opportunity for engineering phonon spectrum in nanostructured materials and achievingThu, enhanced 21 Sep 2006 operation 19:50:10 of nanodevices. This paper reviews the development of the phonon engineering concept and discusses its device applications. The review focuses on methods of tuning the phonon spectrum in acoustically mismatched nano- and heterostructures in order to change the phonon thermal conductivity and electron mobility. New approaches for the electron–phonon scattering rates suppression, formation of the phonon stop- bands and phonon focusing are also discussed. The last section addresses the phonon engineering issues in biological and hybrid bio-inorganic nanostructures. Keywords: Phonon Engineering, Nanophononics, Phonon Depletion, Thermal Conduction, Acoustically Mismatched Nanostructures, Hybrid Nanostructures. CONTENTS semiconductors.The long-wavelength phonons gives rise to sound waves in solids, which explains the name phonon. 1. Phonons in Bulk Semiconductors and Nanostructures ........1015 Similar to electrons, one can characterize the properties 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Focusing of Surface Phonon Polaritons ͒ A
    APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 92, 203104 ͑2008͒ Focusing of surface phonon polaritons ͒ A. J. Huber,1,2 B. Deutsch,3 L. Novotny,3 and R. Hillenbrand1,2,a 1Nano-Photonics Group, Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany 2Nanooptics Laboratory, CIC NanoGUNE Consolider, P. Mikeletegi 56, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain 3The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14611, USA ͑Received 17 March 2008; accepted 24 April 2008; published online 20 May 2008͒ Surface phonon polaritons ͑SPs͒ on crystal substrates have applications in microscopy, biosensing, and photonics. Here, we demonstrate focusing of SPs on a silicon carbide ͑SiC͒ crystal. A simple metal-film element is fabricated on the SiC sample in order to focus the surface waves. Pseudoheterodyne scanning near-field infrared microscopy is used to obtain amplitude and phase maps of the local fields verifying the enhanced amplitude in the focus. Simulations of this system are presented, based on a modified Huygens’ principle, which show good agreement with the experimental results. © 2008 American Institute of Physics. ͓DOI: 10.1063/1.2930681͔ Surface phonon polaritons ͑SPs͒ are electromagnetic sur- ␻ 2 1/2 k = ͫk2 − ͩ ͪ ͬ . ͑1͒ face modes formed by the strong coupling of light and opti- p,z p,x c cal phonons in polar crystals, and are generally excited using infrared ͑IR͒ or terahertz ͑THz͒ radiation.1 Generation and For the 4H-SiC crystal used in our experiments, the SP control of surface phonon polaritons are essential for realiz- propagation in x direction is described by the complex- valued wave vector ͑dispersion relation͒ ing novel applications in microscopy,2,3 data storage,4 ther- 2,5 6 mal emission, or in the field of metamaterials.
    [Show full text]
  • Negative Gravity Phonon
    Negative Gravity Phonon A trio of physicists with Columbia University is making waves with a new theory about phonons—they suggest they might have negative mass, and because of that, have negative gravity. [15] The basic quanta of light (photon) and sound (phonon) are bosonic particles that largely obey similar rules and are in general very good analogs of one another. [14] A research team led by physicists at LMU Munich reports a significant advance in laser- driven particle acceleration. [13] And now, physicists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and their collaborators have demonstrated that computers are ready to tackle the universe's greatest mysteries. [12] The Nuclear Physics with Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics Collaboration (NPLQCD), under the umbrella of the U.S. Quantum Chromodynamics Collaboration, performed the first model-independent calculation of the rate for proton-proton fusion directly from the dynamics of quarks and gluons using numerical techniques. [11] Nuclear physicists are now poised to embark on a new journey of discovery into the fundamental building blocks of the nucleus of the atom. [10] The drop of plasma was created in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is made up of two types of subatomic particles: quarks and gluons. Quarks are the building blocks of particles like protons and neutrons, while gluons are in charge of the strong interaction force between quarks. The new quark-gluon plasma is the hottest liquid that has ever been created in a laboratory at 4 trillion C (7 trillion F). Fitting for a plasma like the one at the birth of the universe.
    [Show full text]
  • Phonon-Exciton Interactions in Wse2 Under a Quantizing Magnetic Field
    ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16934-x OPEN Phonon-exciton Interactions in WSe2 under a quantizing magnetic field Zhipeng Li1,10, Tianmeng Wang 1,10, Shengnan Miao1,10, Yunmei Li2,10, Zhenguang Lu3,4, Chenhao Jin 5, Zhen Lian1, Yuze Meng1, Mark Blei6, Takashi Taniguchi7, Kenji Watanabe 7, Sefaattin Tongay6, Wang Yao 8, ✉ Dmitry Smirnov 3, Chuanwei Zhang2 & Su-Fei Shi 1,9 Strong many-body interaction in two-dimensional transitional metal dichalcogenides provides 1234567890():,; a unique platform to study the interplay between different quasiparticles, such as prominent phonon replica emission and modified valley-selection rules. A large out-of-plane magnetic field is expected to modify the exciton-phonon interactions by quantizing excitons into dis- crete Landau levels, which is largely unexplored. Here, we observe the Landau levels origi- nating from phonon-exciton complexes and directly probe exciton-phonon interaction under a quantizing magnetic field. Phonon-exciton interaction lifts the inter-Landau-level transition selection rules for dark trions, manifested by a distinctively different Landau fan pattern compared to bright trions. This allows us to experimentally extract the effective mass of both holes and electrons. The onset of Landau quantization coincides with a significant increase of the valley-Zeeman shift, suggesting strong many-body effects on the phonon-exciton inter- action. Our work demonstrates monolayer WSe2 as an intriguing playground to study phonon-exciton interactions and their interplay with charge, spin, and valley. 1 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA. 2 Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Tunable Phonon Polaritons in Atomically Thin Van Der Waals Crystals of Boron Nitride
    Tunable Phonon Polaritons in Atomically Thin van der Waals Crystals of Boron Nitride The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Dai, S., Z. Fei, Q. Ma, A. S. Rodin, M. Wagner, A. S. McLeod, M. K. Liu, et al. “Tunable Phonon Polaritons in Atomically Thin van Der Waals Crystals of Boron Nitride.” Science 343, no. 6175 (March 7, 2014): 1125–1129. As Published http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1246833 Publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Version Author's final manuscript Citable link http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90317 Terms of Use Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike Detailed Terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Tunable phonon polaritons in atomically thin van der Waals crystals of boron nitride Authors: S. Dai1, Z. Fei1, Q. Ma2, A. S. Rodin3, M. Wagner1, A. S. McLeod1, M. K. Liu1, W. Gannett4,5, W. Regan4,5, K. Watanabe6, T. Taniguchi6, M. Thiemens7, G. Dominguez8, A. H. Castro Neto3,9, A. Zettl4,5, F. Keilmann10, P. Jarillo-Herrero2, M. M. Fogler1, D. N. Basov1* Affiliations: 1Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA 2Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA 3Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA 5Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Theory and Phenomenology of Polarons
    Basic theory and phenomenology of polarons Steven J.F. Byrnes Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 December 2, 2008 Polarons are defined and discussed at an introductory, conceptual level. The important subcategories of polarons–large polarons, small polarons, and bipolarons–are considered in turn, along with the basic formulas and qualitative behaviors. Properties that affect electrical transport are emphasized. I. Introduction In a typical covalently-bonded crystal (such as typical Group IV or III-V semiconductors), electrons and holes can be characterized to an excellent approximation by assuming that they move through a crystal whose atoms are frozen into place. The electrons and holes can scatter off phonons, of course, but when no phonons are present (say, at very low temperature), all ionic displacement is ignored in describing electron and hole transport and properties. This approach is inadequate in ionic or highly polar crystals (such as many II-VI semiconductors, alkali halides, oxides, and others), where the Coulomb interaction between a conduction electron and the lattice ions results in a strong electron-phonon coupling. In this case, even with no real phonons present, the electron is always surrounded by a cloud of virtual phonons. The cloud of virtual phonons corresponds physically to the electron pulling nearby positive ions towards it and pushing nearby negative ions away. The electron and its virtual phonons, taken together, can be treated as a new composite particle, called a polaron . (In particular, the above describes an electron polaron ; the hole polaron is defined analogously. For brevity, this paper will generally discuss only electron polarons, and it will be understood that hole polarons are analogous.) 1 The concept of a polaron was set forth by Landau in 1933 [1,2].
    [Show full text]
  • Infrared Absorption and Raman Scattering on Coupled Plasmon-Phonon Modes in Superlattices
    University of Utah Institutional Repository Author Manuscript Infrared absorption and Raman scattering on coupled plasmon-phonon modes in superlattices L. A. Falkovskyl, E. G. Mishchenko1,2 1 Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics) 119337 Moscow) Russia 2 Department of Physics) University of Utah) Salt Lake City) UT 84112 Abstract We consider theoretically a superlattice formed by thin conducting layers separated spatially between insulating layers. The dispersion of two coupled phonon-plasmon modes of the system 1 University of Utah Institutional Repository Author Manuscript I. INTRODUCTION Coupling of collective electron oscillations (plasmons) to optical phonons in polar semi­ c conductors was predicted more than four decades ago [1], experimentally observed using c Raman spectroscopy in n-doped GaAs [2] and extensively investigated since then (see, e.g. , [3]). Contrary, the interaction of optical phonons with plasmons in the semiconductor super­ lattices is much less studied. A two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) created at the interface of two semiconductors has properties which differ drastically from the properties of its three­ dimensional counterpart. In particular, the plasmon spectrum of the 2DEG is gapless [4] owing to the long-range nature of the Coulomb interaction of carriers, w 2 (k) = v~K,ok/2 , where Vp is the Fermi velocity and K,o is the inverse static screening length in the 2DEG. Coupling of two-dimensional plasmons to optical phonons has been considered in Refs. [5 , 6] for a single 2DEG layer. The resulting coupling is usually non-resonant since characteristic phonon energies r-v 30 - 50 meV are several times larger than typical plasmon energies.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:1908.00918V3 [Cond-Mat.Stat-Mech] 21 Oct 2019 17 Netically Ordered ; Collective Density Excitations in Supercon- Group on the Ensuing Dispersion Relation Ωk
    Higgs and Goldstone Modes in Crystalline Solids Marco Vallone1, a) Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino, corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy. In crystalline solids, the acoustic phonon can be described either as a Goldstone or as a non-Abelian gauge boson. However, the non-Abelianity of the related gauge group apparently makes the acoustic phonon a frequency-gapped mode, in contradiction with the other description. In a different perspective overcoming this contradiction, both acous- tic and optical phonon – the latter never appearing following the other two approaches – emerge respectively as the gapless Goldstone (phase) and the gapped Higgs (amplitude) fluctuation mode of an order parameter arising from the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry, without invoking the gauge principle. In addition, the Higgs mechanism describes all the phonon-phonon interactions, including a possible perturbation of the acoustic phonon’s frequency dispersion relation induced by the eventual optical phonon, a peculiar behavior able to produce mini-gaps inside the phonon Brillouin zone. I. INTRODUCTION and correspond to Goldstone modes emerging from the break- ing of a continuous spatial symmetry, the translational invari- 21,22 The spontaneous breakdown of a continuous symmetry im- ance, broken by the presence of the crystal lattice . It is plies the emergence of a massless bosonic particle for each said that all these collective excitations originate from one of broken generator of the involved symmetry group. This is the the so-called emergence principles, in this case the Goldstone Nambu-Goldstone theorem1,2 in a nutshell, forming the ba- theorem, since they emerge from the very beginning.
    [Show full text]