6,526 research outputs found
Formation and stability of a two-dimensional nickel silicide on Ni (111) an Auger, LEED, STM, and high-resolution photoemission Study
Using low energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy
(AES), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and high resolution photo-electron
spectroscopy (HR-PES) techniques we have studied the annealing effect of one
silicon monolayer deposited at room temperature onto a Ni (111) substrate. The
variations of the Si surface concentration, recorded by AES at 300{\deg}C and
400{\deg}C, show at the beginning a rapid Si decreasing followed by a slowing
down up to a plateau equivalent to about 1/3 silicon monolayer. STM images and
LEED patterns, both recorded at room temperature just after annealing, reveal
the formation of an ordered hexagonal superstructure(rot3xrot3)R30{\deg}-type.
From these observations and from a quantitative analysis of HR-PES data,
recorded before and after annealing, we propose that the (rot3 x
rot3)R30{\deg}superstructure corresponds to a two dimensional (2D) Ni2Si
surface silicide.Comment: Journal Physical Review B (2012
Additional time-dependent phase in the flavor-conversion formulas
In the framework of intermediate wave-packets for treating flavor
oscillations, we quantify the modifications which appear when we assume a
strictly peaked momentum distribution and consider the second-order corrections
in a power series expansion of the energy. By following a sequence of analytic
approximations, we point out that an extra time-dependent phase is merely the
residue of second-order corrections. Such phase effects are usually ignored in
the relativistic wave-packet treatment, but they do not vanish
non-relativistically and can introduce some small modifications to the
oscillation pattern even in the ultra-relativistic limit.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Flavor and chiral oscillations with Dirac wave packets
We report about recent results on Dirac wave packets in the treatment of
neutrino flavor oscillation where the initial localization of a spinor state
implies an interference between positive and negative energy components of
mass-eigenstate wave packets. A satisfactory description of fermionic particles
requires the use of the Dirac equation as evolution equation for the
mass-eigenstates. In this context, a new flavor conversion formula can be
obtained when the effects of chiral oscillation are taken into account. Our
study leads to the conclusion that the fermionic nature of the particles, where
chiral oscillations and the interference between positive and negative
frequency components of mass-eigenstate wave packets are implicitly assumed,
modifies the standard oscillation probability. Nevertheless, for
ultra-relativistic particles and sharply peaked momentum distributions, we can
analytically demonstrate that these modifications introduce correction factors
proportional to (m12/p0) square which are practically un-detectable by any
experimental analysisComment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Theoretical correlation between possible evidences of neutrino chiral oscillations and polarization measurements
Reporting about the formalism with the Dirac equation we describe the
dynamics of chiral oscillations for a fermionic particle non-minimally coupling
with an external magnetic field. For massive particles, the chirality and
helicity quantum numbers represent different physical quantities of
representative importance in the study of chiral interactions, in particular,
in the context of neutrino physics. After solving the interacting Hamiltonian
(Dirac) equation for the corresponding {\em fermionic} Dirac-{\em type}
particle (neutrino) and quantifying chiral oscillations in the Dirac wave
packet framework, we avail the possibility of determining realistic neutrino
chirality conversion rates by means of (helicity) polarization measurements. We
notice that it can become feasible for some particular magnetic field
configurations with large values of {\boldmath} orthogonal to the direction
of the propagating particle.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Accurate calculation of polarization-related quantities in semiconductors
We demonstrate that polarization-related quantities in semiconductors can be
predicted accurately from first-principles calculations using the appropriate
approach to the problem, the Berry-phase polarization theory. For III-V
nitrides, our test case, we find polarizations, polarization differences
between nitride pairs, and piezoelectric constants quite close to their
previously established values. Refined data are nevertheless provided for all
the relevant quantities.Comment: RevTeX 4 pages, no figure
Mass varying dark matter in effective GCG scenarios
A unified treatment of mass varying dark matter coupled to cosmon-{\em like}
dark energy is shown to result in {\em effective} generalized Chaplygin gas
(GCG) scenarios. The mass varying mechanism is treated as a cosmon field
inherent effect. Coupling dark matter with dark energy allows for reproducing
the conditions for the present cosmic acceleration and for recovering the
stability resulted from a positive squared speed of sound c_{s}^{\2}, as in
the GCG scenario. The scalar field mediates the nontrivial coupling between the
dark matter sector and the sector responsible for the accelerated expansion of
the universe. The equation of state of perturbations is the same as that of the
background cosmology so that all the effective results from the GCG paradigm
are maintained. Our results suggest the mass varying mechanism, when obtained
from an exactly soluble field theory, as the right responsible for the
stability issue and for the cosmic acceleration of the universe.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Non-linear macroscopic polarization in III-V nitride alloys
We study the dependence of macroscopic polarization on composition and strain
in wurtzite III-V nitride ternary alloys using ab initio density-functional
techniques. The spontaneous polarization is characterized by a large bowing,
strongly dependent on the alloy microscopic structure. The bowing is due to the
different response of the bulk binaries to hydrostatic pressure, and to
internal strain effects (bond alternation). Disorder effects are instead minor.
Deviations from parabolicity (simple bowing) are of order 10 % in the most
extreme case of AlInN alloy, much less at all other compositions. Piezoelectric
polarization is also strongly non-linear. At variance with the spontaneous
component, this behavior is independent of microscopic alloy structure or
disorder effects, and due entirely to the non-linear strain dependence of the
bulk piezoelectric response. It is thus possible to predict the piezoelectric
polarization for any alloy composition using the piezoelectricity of the parent
binaries.Comment: RevTex 7 pages, 7 postscript figures embedde
Second-order corrections to neutrino two-flavor oscillation parameters in the wave packet approach
We report about an analytic study involving the {\em intermediate} wave
packet formalism for quantifying the physically relevant information which
appear in the neutrino two-flavor conversion formula and help us to obtain more
precise limits and ranges for neutrino flavor oscillation. By following the
sequence of analytic approximations where we assume a strictly peaked momentum
distribution and consider the second-order corrections in a power series
expansion of the energy, we point out a {\em residual} time-dependent phase
which, coupled with the {\em spreading/slippage} effects, can subtly modify the
neutrino oscillation parameters and limits. Such second-order effects are
usually ignored in the relativistic wave packet treatment, but they present an
evident dependence on the propagation regime so that some small modifications
to the oscillation pattern, even in the ultra-relativistic limit, can be
quantified. These modifications are implemented in the confront with the
neutrino oscillation parameter range (mass-squared difference \Delta m^{\2}
and the mixing-angle ) where we assume the same wave packet parameters
previously noticed in the literature in a kind of {\em toy model} for some
reactor experiments. Generically speaking, our analysis parallels the recent
experimental purposes which concern with higher precision parameter
measurements. To summarize, we show that the effectiveness of a more accurate
determination of \Delta m^{\2} and depends on the wave packet width
and on the averaged propagating energy flux which still
correspond to open variables for some classes of experiments. \Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
The construction of Dirac wave packets for a fermionic particle non-minimally coupling with an external magnetic field
We shall proceed with the construction of normalizable Dirac wave packets for
{\em fermionic} particles (neutrinos) with dynamics governed by a ``modified''
Dirac equation with a non-minimal coupling with an external magnetic field. We
are not only interested on the analytic solutions of the ``modified'' Dirac
wave equation but also on the construction of Dirac wave packets which can be
used for describing the dynamics of some observable physical quantities which
are relevant in the context of the quantum oscillation phenomena. To conclude,
we discuss qualitatively the applicability of this formal construction in the
treatment of chiral (and flavor) oscillations in the theoretical context of
neutrino physics.Comment: 10 page
There is a short gamma-ray burst prompt phase at the beginning of each long one
We compare the prompt intrinsic spectral properties of a sample of short
Gamma--ray Burst (GRB) with the first 0.3 seconds (rest frame) of long GRBs
observed by Fermi/GBM. We find that short GRBs and the first part of long GRBs
lie on the same E_p--E_iso correlation, that is parallel to the relation for
the time averaged spectra of long GRBs. Moreover, they are indistinguishable in
the E_p--L_iso plane. This suggests that the emission mechanism is the same for
short and for the beginning of long events, and both short and long GRBs are
very similar phenomena, occurring on different timescales. If the central
engine of a long GRB would stop after ~0.3 * (1+z) seconds the resulting event
would be spectrally indistinguishable from a short GRB.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepte
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