1,729 research outputs found
Frequency dependent polarizability of small metallic grains
We study the dynamic electronic polarizability of a single nano-scale
spherical metallic grain using quantum mechanical approach. We introduce the
model for interacting electrons bound in the grain allowing us numerically to
calculate the frequency dependence of the polarizability of grains of different
sizes. We show that within this model the main resonance peak corresponding to
the surface plasmon mode is blue-shifted and some minor secondary resonances
above and below the main peak exist. We study the behavior of blue shift as a
function of grain size and compare our findings with the classical
polarizability and with other results in the literature.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Single-electron latch with granular film charge leakage suppressor
A single-electron latch is a device that can be used as a building block for
Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) circuits. It consists of three nanoscale
metal "dots" connected in series by tunnel junctions; charging of the dots is
controlled by three electrostatic gates. One very important feature of a
single-electron latch is its ability to store ("latch") information represented
by the location of a single electron within the three dots. To obtain latching,
the undesired leakage of charge during the retention time must be suppressed.
Previously, to achieve this goal, multiple tunnel junctions were used to
connect the three dots. However, this method of charge leakage suppression
requires an additional compensation of the background charges affecting each
parasitic dot in the array of junctions. We report a single-electron latch
where a granular metal film is used to fabricate the middle dot in the latch
which concurrently acts as a charge leakage suppressor. This latch has no
parasitic dots, therefore the background charge compensation procedure is
greatly simplified. We discuss the origins of charge leakage suppression and
possible applications of granular metal dots for various single-electron
circuits.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure
Magnetoresistance of Granular Superconducting Metals in a Strong Magnetic Field
The magnetoresistance of a granular superconductor in a strong magnetic field
is considered. It is assumed that this field destroys the superconducting gap
in each grain, such that all interesting effects considered in the paper are
due to superconducting fluctuations. The conductance of the system is assumed
to be large, which allows us to neglect all localization effects as well as the
Coulomb interaction. It is shown that at low temperatures the superconducting
fluctuations reduce the one-particle density of states but do not contribute to
transport. As a result, the resistivity of the normal state exceeds the
classical resistivity approaching the latter only in the limit of extremely
strong magnetic fields, and this leads to a negative magnetoresistance. We
present detailed calculations of physical quatities relevant for describing the
effect and make a comparison with existing experiments.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figure
White dwarfs stripped by massive black holes: sources of coincident gravitational and electromagnetic radiation
White dwarfs inspiraling into black holes of mass \MBH\simgt 10^5M_\odot
are detectable sources of gravitational waves in the LISA band. In many of
these events, the white dwarf begins to lose mass during the main observational
phase of the inspiral. The mass loss starts gently and can last for thousands
of orbits. The white dwarf matter overflows the Roche lobe through the
point at each pericenter passage and the mass loss repeats periodically. The
process occurs very close to the black hole and the released gas can accrete,
creating a bright source of radiation with luminosity close to the Eddington
limit, ~erg~s. This class of inspirals offers a promising
scenario for dual detections of gravitational waves and electromagnetic
radiation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes. Accepted in MNRAS Letters on
August 6 201
Negative Magnetoresistance of Granular Metals in a Strong Magnetic Field
The magnetoresistance of a granular superconductor in a strong magnetic field
destroying the gap in each grain is considered. It is assumed that the
tunneling between grains is sufficiently large such that all conventional
effects of localization can be neglected. A non-trivial sensitivity to the
magnetic field comes from superconducting fluctuations leading to the formation
of virtual Cooper pairs and reducing the density of states. At low temperature,
the pairs do not contribute to the macroscopic transport but their existence
can drastically reduce the conductivity. Growing the magnetic field one
destroys the fluctuations, which improves the metallic properties and leads to
the negative magnetoresistance.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTe
Quantum interference and Coulomb interaction in arrays of tunnel junctions
We study the electronic properties of an array of small metallic grains
connected by tunnel junctions. Such an array serves as a model for a granular
metal. Previous theoretical studies of junction arrays were based on models of
quantum dissipation which did not take into account the diffusive motion of
electrons within the grains. We demonstrate that these models break down at
sufficiently low temperatures: for a correct description of the screening
properties of a granular metal at low energies the diffusive nature of the
electronic motion within the grains is crucial. We present both a diagrammatic
and a functional integral approach to analyse the properties of junction
arrays. In particular, a new effective action is obtained which enables us to
describe the array at arbitrary temperature. In the low temperature limit, our
theory yields the correct, dynamically screened Coulomb interaction of a normal
metal, whereas at high temperatures the standard description in terms of
quantum dissipation is recovered.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
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