Supersymmetric contributions to B --> K pi in the view of recent experimental result

Supersymmetric contributions to the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of B--> K pi decays are analyzed in the view of recent experimental measurements. We show that supersymmetry can still provide a natural solution to the apparent discrepancy between theses results and the standard model expectations. We emphasize that chargino contributions may enhance the electroweak penguin effects that can resolve to the B--> K pi puzzle. We also point out that a non-universal $A$-terms is an essential requirement for this solution.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Universal transport near a quantum critical Mott transition in two dimensions

We discuss the universal transport signatures near a zero-temperature continuous Mott transition between a Fermi liquid (FL) and a quantum spin liquid in two spatial dimensions. The correlation-driven transition occurs at fixed filling and involves fractionalization of the electron: upon entering the spin liquid, a Fermi surface of neutral spinons coupled to an internal gauge field emerges. We present a controlled calculation of the value of the zero temperature universal resistivity jump predicted to occur at the transition. More generally, the behavior of the universal scaling function that collapses the temperature and pressure dependent resistivity is derived, and is shown to bear a strong imprint of the emergent gauge fluctuations. We further predict a universal jump of the thermal conductivity across the Mott transition, which derives from the breaking of conformal invariance by the damped gauge field, and leads to a violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the quantum critical region. A connection to organic salts is made, where such a transition might occur. Finally, we present some transport results for the pure rotor O(N) CFT.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figure

Nonequilibrium quantum criticality in bilayer itinerant ferromagnets

We present a theory of nonequilibrium quantum criticality in a coupled bilayer system of itinerant electron magnets. The model studied consists of the first layer subjected to an inplane current and open to an external substrate. The second layer is closed and subject to no direct external drive, but couples to the first layer via short-ranged spin exchange interaction. No particle exchange is assumed between the layers. Starting from a microscopic fermionic model, we derive an effective action in terms of two coupled bosonic fields which are related to the magnetization fluctuations of the two layers. When there is no interlayer coupling, the two bosonic modes possess different dynamical critical exponents z with z=2 (z=3) for the first (second) layer. This results in multi-scale quantum criticality in the coupled system. It is shown that the linear coupling between the two fields leads to a low energy fixed point characterized by the larger dynamical critical exponent z=3. The perturbative renormalization group is used to compute the correlation length in the quantum disordered and quantum critical regimes. We also derive the stochastic dynamics obeyed by the critical fluctuations in the quantum critical regime. Comparing the nonequilibrium situation to the thermal equilibrium scenario, where the whole system is at a temperature T, we find that the nonequilibrium drive does not always play the role of temperature.Comment: 20+ pages, 3 figures; Revised version as accepted by PRB, added figure of mean field phase diagra

Hybridization-driven gap in U3Bi4Ni3: a 209Bi NMR/NQR study

We report 209Bi NMR and NQR measurements on a single crystal of the Kondo insulator U3Bi4Ni3. The 209Bi nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate ($T_1^{-1}$) shows activated behavior and is well-fit by a spin gap of 220 K. The 209Bi Knight shift (K) exhibits a strong temperature dependence arising from 5f electrons, in which K is negative at high temperatures and increases as the temperature is lowered. Below 50 K, K shows a broad maximum and decreases slightly upon further cooling. Our data provide insight into the evolution of the hyperfine fields in a fully gapped Kondo insulator based on 5f electron hybridization.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Mott transition between a spin-liquid insulator and a metal in three dimensions

We study a bandwidth controlled Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) between a Fermi liquid metal and a quantum spin-liquid insulator at half-filling in three dimensions (3D). Using a slave rotor approach, and incorporating gauge field fluctuations, we find a continuous MIT and discuss the finite temperature crossovers around this critical point. We show that the specific heat C=T ln ln (1/T) at the MIT and argue that the electrical transport on the metallic side near the transition should exhibit a `conductivity minimum' as a function of temperature. A possible candidate to test these predictions is the 3D spin liquid insulator Na4Ir3O8 which exhibits a pressure-tuned transition into a metallic phase. We also present the electron spectral function of Na4Ir3O8 at the transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Polarity control of carrier injection at ferroelectric/metal interfaces for electrically switchable diode and photovoltaic effects

We investigated a switchable ferroelectric diode effect and its physical mechanism in Pt/BiFeO3/SrRuO3 thin-film capacitors. Our results of electrical measurements support that, near the Pt/BiFeO3 interface of as-grown samples, a defective layer (possibly, an oxygen-vacancy-rich layer) becomes formed and disturbs carrier injection. We therefore used an electrical training process to obtain ferroelectric control of the diode polarity where, by changing the polarization direction using an external bias, we could switch the transport characteristics between forward and reverse diodes. Our system is characterized with a rectangular polarization hysteresis loop, with which we confirmed that the diode polarity switching occurred at the ferroelectric coercive voltage. Moreover, we observed a simultaneous switching of the diode polarity and the associated photovoltaic response dependent on the ferroelectric domain configurations. Our detailed study suggests that the polarization charge can affect the Schottky barrier at the ferroelectric/metal interfaces, resulting in a modulation of the interfacial carrier injection. The amount of polarization-modulated carrier injection can affect the transition voltage value at which a space-charge-limited bulk current-voltage (J-V) behavior is changed from Ohmic (i.e., J ~ V) to nonlinear (i.e., J ~ V^n with n \geq 2). This combination of bulk conduction and polarization-modulated carrier injection explains the detailed physical mechanism underlying the switchable diode effect in ferroelectric capacitors.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Variability study of Si nanowire FETs with different junction gradients

Random dopant fluctuation effects of gate-all-around Si nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) are investigated in terms of different diameters and junction gradients. The nanowire FETs with smaller diameters or shorter junction gradients increase relative variations of the drain currents and the mismatch of the drain currents between source-drain and drain-source bias change in the saturation regime. Smaller diameters decreased current drivability critically compared to standard deviations of the drain currents, thus inducing greater relative variations of the drain currents. Shorter junction gradients form high potential barriers in the source-side lightly-doped extension regions at on-state, which determines the magnitude of the drain currents and fluctuates the drain currents greatly under thermionic-emission mechanism. On the other hand, longer junction gradients affect lateral field to fluctuate the drain currents greatly. These physical phenomena coincide with correlations of the variations between drain currents and electrical parameters such as threshold voltages and parasitic resistances. The nanowire FETs with relatively-larger diameters and longer junction gradients without degrading short channel characteristics are suggested to minimize the relative variations and the mismatch of the drain currents. (C) 2016 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).1163Ysciescopu

Police research, officer surveys, and response rates

In recent years, policing scholars have increasingly used survey methods to gain insight into officers’ attitudes and behaviours. Yet, surprisingly, methodological research analysing surveys of police officers is rare. We analysed the extent and correlates of response rates in police surveys, providing insights about the survey design features and study characteristics associated with higher rates of officer participation. We examined the response rates to 497 police surveys reported in 390 articles published in 15 journals from 2008 to 2017. Findings included the following: (1) the average response rate was 64%, but there was a great deal of variation, (2) in-person surveys achieved substantially higher response rates, (3) inviting a greater number of officers to participate in surveys was associated with lower response rates, and (4) response rates have declined over time (though primarily among surveys not administered in-person). Given the weight of the evidence suggesting response rates are typically a poor predictor of nonresponse bias, we argue that a low response rate on its own is an insufficient reason to dismiss a study’s merit. Furthermore, we recommend minimally acceptable reporting standards and discuss avenues for future research