Magnetoroton scattering by phonons in the fractional quantum Hall regime

Motivated by recent phonon spectroscopy experiments in the fractional quantum Hall regime we consider processes in which thermally excited magnetoroton excitations are scattered by low energy phonons. We show that such scattering processes can never give rise to dissociation of magnetorotons into unbound charged quasiparticles as had been proposed previously. In addition we show that scattering of magnetorotons to longer wavelengths by phonon absorption is possible because of the shape of the magnetoroton dispersion curve and it is shown that there is a characteristic cross-over temperature above which the rate of energy transfer to the electron gas changes from an exponential (activated) to a power law dependence on the effective phonon temperature.Comment: LaTex document, 3 eps figures. submitted to Phys Rev

Detectability of dissipative motion in quantum vacuum via superradiance

We propose an experiment for generating and detecting vacuum-induced dissipative motion. A high frequency mechanical resonator driven in resonance is expected to dissipate energy in quantum vacuum via photon emission. The photons are stored in a high quality electromagnetic cavity and detected through their interaction with ultracold alkali-metal atoms prepared in an inverted population of hyperfine states. Superradiant amplification of the generated photons results in a detectable radio-frequency signal temporally distinguishable from the expected background.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Exact results for interacting electrons in high Landau levels

We study a two-dimensional electron system in a magnetic field with a fermion hardcore interaction and without disorder. Projecting the Hamiltonian onto the n-th Landau level, we show that the Hartree-Fock theory is exact in the limit n \rightarrow \infty, for the high temperature, uniform density phase of an infinite system; for a finite-size system, it is exact at all temperatures. In addition, we show that a charge-density wave arises below a transition temperature T_t. Using Landau theory, we construct a phase diagram which contains both unidirectional and triangular charge-density wave phases. We discuss the unidirectional charge-density wave at zero temperature and argue that quantum fluctuations are unimportant in the large-n limit. Finally, we discuss the accuracy of the Hartree-Fock approximation for potentials with a nonzero range such as the Coulomb interaction.Comment: RevTex, 12 pages with figures included in same file; to appear in Physical Review

Localized states in strong magnetic field: resonant scattering and the Dicke effect

We study the energy spectrum of a system of localized states coupled to a 2D electron gas in strong magnetic field. If the energy levels of localized states are close to the electron energy in the plane, the system exhibits a kind of collective behavior analogous to the Dicke effect in optics. The latter manifests itself in ``trapping'' of electronic states by localized states. At the same time, the electronic density of states develops a gap near the resonance. The gap and the trapping of states appear to be complementary and reflect an intimate relation between the resonant scattering and the Dicke effect. We reveal this relation by presenting the exact solution of the problem for the lowest Landau level. In particular, we show that in the absence of disorder the system undergoes a phase transition at some critical concentration of localized states.Comment: 28 pages + 9 fig

Ab Initio Calculations of the Walls Shear Strength of Carbon Nanotubes

The dependence of the energy of interwall interaction in double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT) on the relative position of walls has been calculated using the density functional method. This dependence is used to evaluate forces that are necessary for the relative telescopic motion of walls and to calculate the shear strength of DWNT for the relative sliding of walls along the nanotube axis and for their relative rotation about this axis. The possibility of experimental verification of the obtained results is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Collective states in highly symmetric atomic configurations, and single-photon traps

Abbreviated Abstract: We study correlated states in a circular and linear-chain configuration of identical two-level atoms containing the energy of a single quasi-resonant photon in the form of a collective excitation, where the collective behaviour is mediated by exchange of transverse photons between the atoms. For a circular configuration of atoms the effective Hamiltonian on the radiationless subspace of the system can be diagonalized analytically. In this case, the radiationless energy eigenstates carry a $\mathbb{Z}_N$ quantum number $p=0,1, ..., N$ which is analogous to the angular momentum quantum number $l= 0, 1, ...$, carried by particles propagating in a central potential, such as a hydrogen-like system. Just as the hydrogen s-states are the only electronic wave functions which can occupy the central region of the Coulomb potential, the quasi-particle corresponding to a collective excitation of the circular atomic sample can occupy the central atom only for vanishing $\mathbb{Z}_N$ quantum number $p$. For large numbers of atoms in a maximally subradiant state, a critical interatomic distance of $\lambda/2$ emerges both in the linear-chain and the circular configuration of atoms. The spontaneous decay rate of the linear configuration exhibits a jump-like "critical" behaviour for next-neighbour distances close to a half-wavelength. Furthermore, both the linear-chain and the circular configuration exhibit exponential photon trapping once the next-neighbour distance becomes less than a half-wavelength, with the suppression of spontaneous decay being particularly pronounced in the circular system. In this way, circular configurations containing sufficiently many atoms may be natural candidates for {\it single-photon traps}.Comment: Invited contribution to "Xth International Conference on Quantum Optics ICQO 2004" in Minsk, Belarus. To be published in Optics and Spectroscop

Microsecond Lifetimes and Low Interface Recombination Velocities in Moderately Doped n-GaAs Thin Films

We have observed lifetimes greater than 1 ps in moderately doped, thin film, n-GaAs/A1a,Gae,As double heterostructure membranes formed by etching away the substrate. We attribute these ultralong lifetimes to enhanced photon recycling caused by the removal of the substrate. Nonradiative recombination in the bulk and at the interfaces is very low; the upper limit of the interface recombination velocity is 25 cm/S.-Such long lifetimes in GaAs doped at N,= 1.3 X 10” cme3 suggest that thin-film solar cells offer a potential option for achieving very high efficiencies

Coherent states for the hydrogen atom

We construct a system of coherent states for the hydrogen atom that is expressed in terms of elementary functions. Unlike to the previous attempts in this direction, this system possesses the properties equivalent to the most of those for the harmonic oscillator, with modifications due to the character of the problem.Comment: 6 pages, LATEX, using ioplppt.sty and iopfts.sty. v.2: some misprints are corrected. To appear in J.Phys.

Reduced neural selectivity for mental states in deaf children with delayed exposure to sign language

Early linguistic experience directly facilitates social development in childhood. Here, the authors reveal that children with delayed access to language show delayed development of selective responses in cortical regions involved in thinking about others’ thoughts