Universal Thermodynamics and Kinetics at Low Temperature in Complex Systems
We propose to investigate the universal non-equilibrium kinetics in amorphous solids and doped semiconductors at low temperature. The slow relaxation and remarkable memory of the initial state are seen in these disordered materials as a response to the fast change of the external conditions. This change can be due to an application of external electric field, sudden raise or lowering the temperature, irradiation of sample by electromagnetic waves or application of magnetic field. The non-equilibrium material response is seen experimentally as the fast raise in the sample dielectric constant (amorphous solids) or conductivity (doped semiconductors) with its subsequent logarithmically relaxation to the equilibrium value. Another manifestation of slow dynamics is the large 1/f noise seen in those materials.
Such non-equilibrium behavior has been observed in the Kelvin temperature range and below. Initial measurements were associated with various low temperature applications including semiconductor and amorphous thermistors. Semiconductor thermistors based on neutron transmutation doped Germanium and ion implanted Silicon serve in sensitive bolometers for infrared astronomy. Absorption of X-ray quanta raises the sample temperature and this temperature change is seen in the modification of hopping conductivity. 1/f noise in these materials affects negatively the device performance which was the first motivation for their study. Slow relaxation is observed in all investigated amorphous solids, and indium oxide based and granular semiconductors. More recent investigation of Josephson junctions using Aluminum oxide as insulating layer has revealed the similar 1/f noise, which breaks down coherent oscillations of superconducting current and thus affects the junction performance as a qubit in quantum computers.
The mechanism of non-equilibrium dynamics in amorphous solids and doped semiconductors is not clear yet. It is associated either with tunneling two level systems (TLS), which were earlier suggested by Anderson, Halperin, Warma and independently Philips. According to their suggestion there exist atoms or groups of atoms capable to undergo tunneling motion between two close minima separated by the potential barrier (see Fig. 1). Slow dynamics is then associated with the exponential sensitivity of the tunneling rate to the barrier height, so the modest increase of barrier can raise equilibration time by many orders of magnitude. In doped semiconductors with localized electrons the slow dynamics can be associated with electronic tunneling to long distances because of the exponential dependence of tunneling rate of the distance.
One should note that slow excitations (e.g. TLS separated by the high potential barrier) do not contribute directly to dielectric constant or conductivity. Instead we expect that their contribution is caused by their interaction with “fast” electrons or tunneling systems. For instance the non-equilibrium relaxation in amorphous solids has been interpreted in earlier PI’s work as a consequence of the long range interaction between fast and slow TLS leading to the formation of dipole gap in the density of fast TLS contributing to the dielectric constant. Similarly, one can interpret 1/f noise in a conductivity of doped semiconductors as the consequence of the Coulomb interaction of slow fluctuators formed by many-electron clusters making collective transitions as was suggested in our recent work.
Thus we expect that the emergent non-equilibrium behavior of conductivity in doped semiconductors and dielectric constant in amorphous solids are associated with the cooperative effect of the long-range electron or TLS interaction. The aim of this proposal is the theoretical investigation of this behavior. Our work should advance the fundamental theory of non-equilibrium relaxation and noise in disordered matter and provide the theoretical background for experimental investigations for experimentalists working in this area. More specific goals of the proposed research approximately corresponding to three years of the project duration are
(1) To develop theoretical model for non-equilibrium kinetics in amorphous solids at ultra-low temperature T<10mK, discovered in recent work by Osheroff and coworkers. Non-equilibrium is much stronger there then at higher temperature because of the significance of nuclear quadrupole interaction;
(2) To investigate the physical mechanisms of 1/f noise, slow relaxation and memory in various semiconductors. This study should select the right model amongst the existing ones for 1/f noise and memory behaviors;
(3) Attempt will be made to determine the nature of elementary excitations in glasses and doped semiconductors with localized electrons and their universal slow dynamics.
- Funding: Louisiana Board of Regents (2005-2008)
- Tulane Research and Enhancement Fund (2007-)
Recent Awards
Distinguished Lecturer (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, PITP & PIMS). Taught Class “Physics of Disordered Systems”.
Collaborators
- Christian C. Enss (Heidelberg, Germany)
- Josef Friedrich (Munich, Germany)
- Peter Fulde (Dresden, Germany)
- Yuri M. Galperin (Oslo, Norway)
- Siegfried Hunklinger (Heidelberg, Germany)
- Yuri M. Kagan (Moscow, Russia)
- Leonid A. Maksimov (Moscow, Russia, AB's Ph.D. advisor)
- Douglas D. Osheroff (Stanford)
- Boris I. Shklovskii (Minneapolis)
- Philip C. E. Stamp (Vancouver, Canada)
- Igor V. Tupitsyn (Vancouver, Canada)
- Valerii Vinokur (Argonne National Laboratory)
Related Publications
Recent
I. S. Tupitsyn, P. C. E. Stamp, A. L. Burin, Stability of Bose-Einstein Condensates of Hot Magnons in Yttrium Iron Garnet Films, Physical Review Letters 100, 257202 (2008) .
A. L. Burin, V. I. Kozub, Y. M. Galperin, and V. Vinokur, Slow relaxation of conductance of amorphous hopping insulators, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 20, 244135 (2008).
A. L. Burin, B. I. Shklovskii, V. I. Kozub, Y. M. Galperin, and V. Vinokur, Many electron theory of 1/f noise in hopping conductivity, Invited Article, Phys. Stat. Sol. 5, 800-808 (2008).
Y. V. Sereda, A. L. Burin, I. Y. Polishchuk, Resonant susceptibility of glasses in magnetic field, Phys. Rev. B 75, 024207, 2007.
A. L. Burin, S. Hunklinger, C. Enss, and A. Fleischmann, Magnetic Field Dependence of the Low-Temperature Dielectric Constant in Glasses, AIP Conference Proceedings 850, pp. 1127-1128, 2006.
Y. Berlin, A. L. Burin, J. Friedrich and J. Köhler, Spectroscopy of proteins at low temperature. Part I: Experiments with molecular ensembles, Physics of Life Reviews 3, pp. 262-292 (2007).
Y. Berlin, A. L. Burin, J. Friedrich and J. Köhler, Spectroscopy of proteins at low temperature. Part 2: Experiments with single protein complexes, Physics of Life Reviews 4, pp. 64-89 (2007).
Y. V. Sereda, A. L. Burin, I. Y. Polishchuk, and P. Fulde, Effect of the Nuclear Quadrupole Interaction on the Susceptibility in Amorphous Solids at Very Low Temperatures, AIP Conference Proceedings 850, pp. 1131-1132, 2006.
I. Ya Polishchuk, P. Fulde, A. L. Burin, Y. Sereda, D. Balamurugan, Effect of Nuclear Quadrupole Interaction on the Relaxation in Amorphous Solids, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, v. 140, pp. 355-376, 2005.
A. L. Burin, B. I. Shklovskii, V. I. Kozub, Y. M. Galperin, and V. Vinokur, Many electron theory of 1/f noise in hopping conductivity, Phys. Rev. B 74, 075205, 2006.
A. L. Burin, I. Y. Polishchuk, P. Fulde, Y. Sereda, Low-temperature breakdown of coherent tunneling in amorphous solids induced by the nuclear quadrupole interaction, Physical Review B, v. 73, Art. No. 014205, 2006.
A. L. Burin, I. Y. Polishchuk, P. Fulde, Y. Sereda, Effect of nuclear quadrupole interactions on the dynamics of two-level systems in glasses, Physical Review Letters, v. 96, Art. No. 025505, 2006.
A. L. Burin, I. Y. Polishchuk, Long-Range Interaction and Relaxation in Glasses at Low Temperatures, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, v. 137, pp. 189-217, 2004.
A. L. Burin, Y. Kagan, L. A. Maksimov, I. Y. Polishchuk, Relaxation in Amorphous Solids in a Strong External Alternating Field, Physical Review B, v. 69, No. 220201, 2004.
Earlier Significant Related Publications
A. L. Burin, Yu. Kagan, I. Ya. Polishchuk, Energy Transport Induced by an External Alternating Field in Strongly Disordered Media, Physical Review Letters, v. 86, pp. 5616-5619, 2001.
A. Nittke, P. Esquinazi, A. L. Burin, Thermodynamic Properties of Vycor at Low Temperatures: Evidence for an Enhanced Contribution of Tunneling Systems, Physical Review B, v. 58, pp. 5374 – 5377, 1998.
A. L. Burin, D. Natelson, D. D. Osheroff, Y. Kagan, Interactions between Tunneling Defects in Amorphous Solids, In "Tunneling Systems in Amorphous and Crystalline Solids" eds. P. Esquinazi, Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 223-316 , 1998.
A. Bulatov, B. Vugmeister, A. L. Burin, H. Rabitz, Nonadiabatic Cooling and Optimal Control in Off-resonance Dipole Optical Potentials, Physical Review A, v. 58, pp. 1346 – 1351, 1998.
A. L. Burin, Y. Kagan, L. A. Maksimov, I. Y. Polishchuk, Dephasing Rate in Dielectric Glasses at Ultralow Temperatures, Physical Review Letters, v. 80, pp. 2945 – 2948, 1998.
E. Gaganidze, R. Konig, P. Esquinazi, K. Zimmer, A. L. Burin, Low Temperature Sound Velocity of Thin SiO2 films, Physical Review Letters, v. 79, pp. 5038 -5041, 1997.
A. L. Burin, Y. Kagan, On the Nature of the Universal Properties of Amorphous Solids, Czechoslovakian Journal of Physics, v. 46, Suppl. 4, pp. 2273 – 2274, 1996.
A. L. Burin, Y. Kagan, Nature of Universal Properties of Amorphous Solids, Journal Experimental and Theoretical Physics, v. 109, pp. 299-324, 1996.
A. L. Burin, Dipole Gap Effects in Low Energy Excitations Spectrum of Amorphous Solids – Theory for Dielectric Relaxation, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, v. 100, pp. 309-337, 1995.
A. L. Burin, Y. Kagan, Low Energy Collective Excitations in Glasses. New Relaxation Mechanism at Ultralow Temperatures, Journal Experimental and Theoretical Physics, v. 106, pp. 633-647, 1994.
