64 research outputs found
Coherent back-scattering near the two-dimensional metal-insulator transition
We have studied corrections to conductivity due to the coherent
backscattering in low-disordered two-dimensional electron systems in silicon
for a range of electron densities including the vicinity of the metal-insulator
transition, where the dramatic increase of the spin susceptibility has been
observed earlier. We show that the corrections, which exist deeper in the
metallic phase, weaken upon approaching to the transition and practically
vanish at the critical density, thus suggesting that the localization is
suppressed near and at the transition even in zero field.Comment: to appear in PR
Flow diagram of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions
The discovery of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in two-dimensional (2D)
electron systems challenged the veracity of one of the most influential
conjectures in the physics of disordered electrons, which states that `in two
dimensions, there is no true metallic behaviour'; no matter how weak the
disorder, electrons would be trapped and unable to conduct a current. However,
that theory did not account for interactions between the electrons. Here we
investigate the interplay between the electron-electron interactions and
disorder near the MIT using simultaneous measurements of electrical resistivity
and magnetoconductance. We show that both the resistance and interaction
amplitude exhibit a fan-like spread as the MIT is crossed. From these data we
construct a resistance-interaction flow diagram of the MIT that clearly reveals
a quantum critical point, as predicted by the two-parameter scaling theory
(Punnoose and Finkel'stein, Science 310, 289 (2005)). The metallic side of this
diagram is accurately described by the renormalization group theory without any
fitting parameters. In particular, the metallic temperature dependence of the
resistance sets in when the interaction amplitude reaches gamma_2 = 0.45 - a
value in remarkable agreement with the one predicted by the theory.Comment: as publishe
Spin-independent origin of the strongly enhanced effective mass in a dilute 2D electron system
We have accurately measured the effective mass in a dilute two-dimensional
electron system in silicon by analyzing temperature dependence of the
Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the low-temperature limit. A sharp increase
of the effective mass with decreasing electron density has been observed. Using
tilted magnetic fields, we have found that the enhanced effective mass is
independent of the degree of spin polarization, which points to a
spin-independent origin of the mass enhancement and is in contradiction with
existing theories
Functional plasticity in the respiratory drive to thoracic motoneurons in the segment above a chronic lateral spinal cord lesion
A previous neurophysiological investigation demonstrated an increase in functional projections of expiratory bulbospinal neurons (EBSNs) in the segment above a chronic lateral thoracic spinal cord lesion which severed their axons. We have now investigated how this plasticity might be manifested in thoracic motoneurons, by measuring their respiratory drive and the connections to them from individual EBSNs. In anesthetized cats, simultaneous recordings were made intracellularly from motoneurons in the segment above a left-side chronic (16 week) lesion of the spinal cord in the rostral part of T8, T9 or T10 and extracellularly from EBSNs in the right caudal medulla, antidromically excited from just above the lesion, but not from below. Spike-triggered averaging was used to measure the connections between pairs of EBSNs and motoneurons. Connections were found to have a very similar distribution to normal and were, if anything (non-significantly), weaker than normal, being present for 42/158 pairs, vs. 55/154 pairs in controls. The expiratory drive in expiratory motoneurons appeared stronger than in controls, but again not significantly so. Thus we conclude that new connections made by the EBSNs following these lesions were made to neurons other than alpha-motoneurons. However, a previously unidentified form of functional plasticity was seen, in that there was a significant increase in the excitation of motoneurons during post-inspiration, being manifest either in increased incidence of expiratory-decrementing respiratory drive potentials, or in an increased amplitude of the post-inspiratory depolarizing phase in inspiratory motoneurons. We suggest that this component arose from spinal cord interneurons
Pauli spin susceptibility of a strongly correlated two-dimensional electron liquid
Thermodynamic measurements reveal that the Pauli spin susceptibility of
strongly correlated two-dimensional electrons in silicon grows critically at
low electron densities - behavior that is characteristic of the existence of a
phase transition.Comment: As publishe
On resonant scatterers as a factor limiting carrier mobility in graphene
We show that graphene deposited on a substrate has a non-negligible density
of atomic scale defects. This is evidenced by a previously unnoticed D peak in
the Raman spectra with intensity of about 1% with respect to the G peak. We
evaluated the effect of such impurities on electron transport by mimicking them
with hydrogen adsorbates and measuring the induced changes in both mobility and
Raman intensity. If the intervalley scatterers responsible for the D peak are
monovalent, their concentration is sufficient to account for the limited
mobilities achievable in graphene on a substrate.Comment: version 2: several comments are taken into account and refs adde
Thermodynamic magnetization of a strongly correlated two-dimensional electron system
We measure thermodynamic magnetization of a low-disordered, strongly
correlated two-dimensional electron system in silicon. Pauli spin
susceptibility is observed to grow critically at low electron densities -
behavior that is characteristic of the existence of a phase transition. A new,
parameter-free method is used to directly determine the spectrum
characteristics (Lande g-factor and the cyclotron mass) when the Fermi level
lies outside the spectral gaps and the inter-level interactions between
quasiparticles are avoided. It turns out that, unlike in the Stoner scenario,
the critical growth of the spin susceptibility originates from the dramatic
enhancement of the effective mass, while the enhancement of the g-factor is
weak and practically independent of the electron density.Comment: As publishe
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