Effect of the Coulomb interaction on the electron relaxation of weakly-confined quantum dot systems

We study acoustic-phonon-induced relaxation of charge excitations in single and tunnel-coupled quantum dots containing few confined interacting electrons. The Full Configuration Interaction approach is used to account for the electron-electron repulsion. Electron-phonon interaction is accounted for through both deformation potential and piezoelectric field mechanisms. We show that electronic correlations generally reduce intradot and interdot transition rates with respect to corresponding single-electron transitions, but this effect is lessened by external magnetic fields. On the other hand, piezoelectric field scattering is found to become the dominant relaxation mechanism as the number of confined electrons increases. Previous proposals to strongly suppress electron-phonon coupling in properly designed single-electron quantum dots are shown to hold also in multi-electron devices. Our results indicate that few-electron orbital degrees of freedom are more stable than single-electron ones.Comment: 20 pages (preprint format), 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Hole Spin Mixing in InAs Quantum Dot Molecules

Holes confined in single InAs quantum dots have recently emerged as a promising system for the storage or manipulation of quantum information. These holes are often assumed to have only heavy-hole character and further assumed to have no mixing between orthogonal heavy hole spin projections (in the absence of a transverse magnetic field). The same assumption has been applied to InAs quantum dot molecules formed by two stacked InAs quantum dots that are coupled by coherent tunneling of the hole between the two dots. We present experimental evidence of the existence of a hole spin mixing term obtained with magneto-photoluminescence spectroscopy on such InAs quantum dot molecules. We use a Luttinger spinor model to explain the physical origin of this hole spin mixing term: misalignment of the dots along the stacking direction breaks the angular symmetry and allows mixing through the light-hole component of the spinor. We discuss how this novel spin mixing mechanism may offer new spin manipulation opportunities that are unique to holes.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Phonon-induced electron relaxation in weakly-confined single and coupled quantum dots

We investigate charge relaxation rates due to acoustic phonons in weakly-confined quantum dot systems, including both deformation potential and piezoelectric field interactions. Single-electron excited states lifetimes are calculated for single and coupled quantum dot structures, both in homonuclear and heteronuclear devices. Piezoelectric field scattering is shown to be the dominant relaxation mechanism in many experimentally relevant situations. On the other hand, we show that appropriate structure design allows to minimize separately deformation potential and piezolectric field interactions, and may bring electron lifetimes in the range of microseconds.Comment: 20 pages (preprint format), 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review

2-D Magnetomechanical Transient Study of a Motor Suffering a Bar Breakage

© 1972-2012 IEEE. The analysis of the vibration response of electrical machines has importance in noise prediction and more recently, diagnosis of electrical faults, especially in the industrial environment, where it is a well-known technique. This work assesses the performance of a strongly coupled two-dimensional (2-D) magnetomechanical approach, as directly available in multiphysics software, for the simulation of an induction machine under heavy operational conditions: a direct-on-line startup. Both healthy and broken bar states are simulated in a time span long enough to allow the detailed study of the varying frequency components. The results yield, in addition to the usual electrical and magnetic quantities, electromagnetic-induced vibration components in the stator. A comparison with current and vibration experimental data is also performed showing a good agreement with variable frequency components and certain limitations concerning their amplitude

Photoluminescence spectroscopy of trions in quantum dots: A theoretical description

We present a full configuration-interaction study of the spontaneous recombination of neutral and singly charged excitons (trions) in semiconductor quantum dots from weak- to strong-coupling regimes. We find that the enhancement of the recombination rate of neutral excitons with increasing dot size is suppressed for negative trions and even reversed for positive trions. Our findings agree with recent comprehensive photoluminescence experiments in self-assembled quantum dots [P. Dalgarno , Phys. Rev. B 77, 245311 (2008)] and confirm the major role played by correlations in the valence band. The effect of the temperature on the photoluminescence spectrum and that of the ratio between the electron and hole wave-function length scales are also described

Analysis of an on-line superconducting cryofan motor for indirect cooling by LH2

This work relates to the study of an electrically powered cryofan for circulating close-loop cooling helium gas for superconducting applications with the following features: - Absence of any seal that can leak the pumped fluid or provide a path for heat transfer and require maintenance and/or is prone to failures. - The use of high temperature superconducting (HTS) stacks on the fan-rotor that, below critical temperature, can be magnetized contributing to the driving torque. The absence of electrically connected equipment as well as the lack of any seal, makes this arrangement especially suitable for reliable cryogenic helium gas circulation. Because HTS stacks cannot provide magnetic flux above Tc, during the initial stages of operation, in the presented study we analyse torque that will be provided by the passive iron components of the machine (reluctance torque, due to the saliency of the rotor) and by auxiliary permanent magnets or alternatively magnetizing coils

Computation of Superconducting Stacks Magnetization in an Electrical Machine

Superconducting technology offers the prospect of sharply increase the power density of rotating electrical machines, especially in the low speed, high torque range, with impact in applications such as wind energy and aircraft propulsion. Among the enabling technologies, stacks consisting of piling up layers of high temperature superconductor may provide a source of magnetic flux density for torque production, without the complexity of superconducting wound rotor poles. For this to happen, careful designs, optimizing electromagnetic, mechanical and thermal aspects at the same time, must be developed. In that sense, this work applies a recently developed combined electromagnetic formulation to compute the magnetization level of high temperature superconductor stacks installed in the airgap of an electrical motor after field cooling magnetization. The results are congruent with the applied field, show a strong interaction between teeth and stacks and provide a way of initializing the state of the machine prior to operation.Horizon 2020 research innovation programme under grant agreement No 7231119 (ASuMED consortium) and EPSRC grant EP/P000738/

Study of thermal stresses developed during a fatigue test on an electrical motor rotor cage

© 2018 Structural defects in the rotor cage of large electrical machines significantly impact their expected operational lifetime. This work presents the results of simulating the thermal stresses developed in a rotor cage during a fatigue test in which a bar breakage was achieved. A combined model featuring electrical, thermal and mechanical stages as well as three different meshes reflecting a progressing narrowing of one of the bars in its junction to the end ring are used for this purpose. The experimentally implemented startup and plug stopping transients are reproduced as well as, for comparison, the stall operation. The resulting stress levels are in agreement with the progression of the damage and concur with the stator measurements. Based on the analysis of the simulated rotor magnitudes, a strategy to diminish the thermal stresses in a damaged cage is proposed

Characteristic molecular properties of one-electron double quantum rings under magnetic fields

The molecular states of conduction electrons in laterally coupled quantum rings are investigated theoretically. The states are shown to have a distinct magnetic field dependence, which gives rise to periodic fluctuations of the tunnel splitting and ring angular momentum in the vicinity of the ground state crossings. The origin of these effects can be traced back to the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of the energy levels, along with the quantum mechanical tunneling between the rings. We propose a setup using double quantum rings which shows that Aharonov-Bohm effects can be observed even if the net magnetic flux trapped by the carriers is zero.Comment: 16 pages (iopart format), 10 figures, accepted in J.Phys.Cond.Mat