6,201 research outputs found
The two gap transitions in GeSn: effect of non-substitutional complex defects
The existence of non-substitutional -Sn defects in GeSn
was confirmed by emission channeling experiments [Decoster et al., Phys. Rev. B
81, 155204 (2010)], which established that although most Sn enters
substitutionally (-Sn) in the Ge lattice, a second significant fraction
corresponds to the Sn-vacancy defect complex in the split-vacancy configuration
( -Sn ), in agreement with our previous theoretical study [Ventura et
al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 155202 (2009)]. Here, we present our electronic structure
calculation for GeSn, including substitutional -Sn as
well as non-substitutional -Sn defects. To include the presence of
non-substitutional complex defects in the electronic structure calculation for
this multi-orbital alloy problem, we extended the approach for the purely
substitutional alloy by Jenkins and Dow [Jenkins and Dow, Phys. Rev. B 36, 7994
(1987)]. We employed an effective substitutional two-site cluster equivalent to
the real non-substitutional -Sn defect, which was determined by a
Green's functions calculation. We then calculated the electronic structure of
the effective alloy purely in terms of substitutional defects, embedding the
effective substitutional clusters in the lattice. Our results describe the two
transitions of the fundamental gap of GeSn as a function of the
total Sn-concentration: namely from an indirect to a direct gap, first, and the
metallization transition at higher . They also highlight the role of
-Sn in the reduction of the concentration range which corresponds to the
direct-gap phase of this alloy, of interest for optoelectronics applications.Comment: 11 pages, 9 Figure
Non-linear effects on Turing patterns: time oscillations and chaos.
We show that a model reaction-diffusion system with two species in a monostable regime and over a large region of parameter space, produces Turing patterns coexisting with a limit cycle which cannot be discerned from the linear analysis. As a consequence, Turing patterns oscillate in time, a phenomenon which is expected to occur only in a three morphogen system. When varying a single parameter, a series of bifurcations lead to period doubling, quasi-periodic and chaotic oscillations without modifying the underlying Turing pattern. A Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse route to chaos is identified. We also examined the Turing conditions for obtaining a diffusion driven instability and discovered that the patterns obtained are not necessarily stationary for certain values of the diffusion coefficients. All this results demonstrates the limitations of the linear analysis for reaction-diffusion systems
How to generate pentagonal symmetry using Turing systems
We explore numerically the formation of Turing patterns in a confined circular domain with small aspect ratio. Our results show that stable fivefold patterns are formed over a well defined range of disk sizes, offering a possible mechanism for inducing the fivefold symmetry observed in early development of regular echinoids. Using this pattern as a seed, more complex biological structures can be mimicked, such as the pigmentation pattern of sea urchins and the plate arrangements of the calyxes of primitive camerate crinoids
Non-substitutional single-atom defects in the Ge_(1-x)Sn_x alloy
Ge_(1-x)Sn_x alloys have proved difficult to form at large x, contrary to
what happens with other group IV semiconductor combinations. However, at low x
they are typical examples of well-behaved substitutional compounds, which is
desirable for harnessing the electronic properties of narrow band
semiconductors. In this paper, we propose the appearance of another kind of
single-site defect (), consisting of a single Sn atom in the center
of a Ge divacancy, that may account for these facts. Accordingly, we examine
the electronic and structural properties of these alloys by performing
extensive numerical ab-initio calculations around local defects. The results
show that the environment of the defect relaxes towards a cubic
octahedral configuration, facilitating the nucleation of metallic white tin and
its segregation, as found in amorphous samples. Using the information stemming
from these local defect calculations, we built a simple statistical model to
investigate at which concentration these defects can be formed in
thermal equilibrium. These results agree remarkably well with experimental
findings, concerning the critical concentration above which the homogeneous
alloys cannot be formed at room temperature. Our model also predicts the
observed fact that at lower temperature the critical concentration increases.
We also performed single site effective-field calculations of the electronic
structure, which further support our hypothesis.Comment: 12 pages, 1 table, 16 figure
Influence of Zn excess on compositional, structural and vibrational properties of Cu2ZnSn0.5Ge0.5Se4 thin films and their effect on solar cell efficiency
This Accepted Manuscript will be available for reuse under a CC BY-NC-ND licence after 24 months of embargo periodThe effect of Zn content on compositional, structural and vibrational properties of Cu2ZnSn1-xGexSe4 (CZTGSe, x ~ 0.5) thin films is studied. Kesterite layer is deposited by co-evaporation onto 5 × 5 cm2 Mo/SLG substrate followed by a thermal treatment at maximum temperature of 480 °C, obtaining areas with different composition and morphology which are due to the sample position in the co-evaporation system and to the non-uniform temperature distribution across the substrate. Kesterite layers with higher Zn amounts are characterized by lower Cu and Ge contents; however, a uniform Ge distribution through the absorber layer is detected in all cases. The excess Zn concentration leads to the formation of ZnSe secondary phase on the surface and in the bulk of the absorber as determined by Raman spectroscopy. When higher Ge content and no ZnSe are present in the absorber layer, a compact structure is formed with larger grain size of kesterite. This effect could explain the higher Voc of the solar cell. The Zn content does not affect the bandgap energy significantly (Eg near 1.3 eV), although the observed effect of Zn excess in CZTGSe results in a decreased device performance from 6.4 to 4.2%. This investigation reveals the importance of the control of the off-stoichiometric CZTGSe composition during the deposition process to enhance solar cells propertiesThis work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Project WINCOST (ENE2016-80788-C5-2-R) and European Project INFINITE CELL (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017-777968). ARP also acknowledges financial support from Community of Madrid within Youth Employment Program (PEJD-2017-PRE/IND-4062). MG acknowledges the financial support from ACCIÓ-Generalitat de Catalunya within the TECNIOspring Plus fellowship (TECSPR18-1-0048
Symbolic Toolkit for Chaos Explorations
New computational technique based on the symbolic description utilizing
kneading invariants is used for explorations of parametric chaos in a two
exemplary systems with the Lorenz attractor: a normal model from mathematics,
and a laser model from nonlinear optics. The technique allows for uncovering
the stunning complexity and universality of the patterns discovered in the
bi-parametric scans of the given models and detects their organizing centers --
codimension-two T-points and separating saddles.Comment: International Conference on Theory and Application in Nonlinear
Dynamics (ICAND 2012
Pulsar Prospects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
In the last few years, the Fermi-LAT telescope has discovered over a 100
pulsars at energies above 100 MeV, increasing the number of known gamma-ray
pulsars by an order of magnitude. In parallel, imaging Cherenkov telescopes,
such as MAGIC and VERITAS, have detected for the first time VHE pulsed
gamma-rays from the Crab pulsar. Such detections have revealed that the Crab
VHE spectrum follows a power-law up to at least 400 GeV, challenging most
theoretical models, and opening wide possibilities of detecting more pulsars
from the ground with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). In this
contribution, we study the capabilities of CTA for detecting Fermi pulsars. For
this, we extrapolate their spectra with "Crab-like" power-law tails in the VHE
range, as suggested by the latest MAGIC and VERITAS results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. In Proceedings of the 2012 Heidelberg Symposium
on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy. All CTA contributions at arXiv:1211.184
Systematic search for gamma-ray periodicity in active galactic nuclei detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
We use nine years of gamma-ray data provided by the Fermi Large Area
Telescope (LAT) to systematically study the light curves of more than two
thousand active galactic nuclei (AGN) included in recent Fermi-LAT catalogs.
Ten different techniques are used, which are organized in an automatic
periodicity-search pipeline, in order to search for evidence of periodic
emission in gamma rays. Understanding the processes behind this puzzling
phenomenon will provide a better view about the astrophysical nature of these
extragalactic sources. However, the observation of temporal patterns in
gamma-ray light curves of AGN is still challenging. Despite the fact that there
have been efforts on characterizing the temporal emission of some individual
sources, a systematic search for periodicities by means of a full likelihood
analysis applied to large samples of sources was missing. Our analysis finds 11
AGN, of which 9 are identified for the first time, showing periodicity at more
than 4sigma in at least four algorithms. These findings will help in solving
questions related to the astrophysical origin of this periodic behavior.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables. Accepted by Ap
Using the Sound Card as a Timer
Experiments in mechanics can often be timed by the sounds they produce. In
such cases, digital audio recordings provide a simple way of measuring time
intervals with an accuracy comparable to that of photogate timers. We
illustrate this with an experiment in the physics of sports: to measure the
speed of a hard-kicked soccer ball.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, Late
Opinion and community formation in coevolving networks
In human societies opinion formation is mediated by social interactions,
consequently taking place on a network of relationships and at the same time
influencing the structure of the network and its evolution. To investigate this
coevolution of opinions and social interaction structure we develop a dynamic
agent-based network model, by taking into account short range interactions like
discussions between individuals, long range interactions like a sense for
overall mood modulated by the attitudes of individuals, and external field
corresponding to outside influence. Moreover, individual biases can be
naturally taken into account. In addition the model includes the opinion
dependent link-rewiring scheme to describe network topology coevolution with a
slower time scale than that of the opinion formation. With this model
comprehensive numerical simulations and mean field calculations have been
carried out and they show the importance of the separation between fast and
slow time scales resulting in the network to organize as well-connected small
communities of agents with the same opinion.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. New inset for Fig. 1 and references added.
Submitted to Physical Review
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