Magnetic moment of an electron gas on the surface of constant negative curvature

The magnetic moment of an electron gas on the surface of constant negative curvature is investigated. It is shown that the surface curvature leads to the appearance of the region of the monotonic dependence $M(B)$ at low magnetic fields. At high magnetic fields, the dependence of the magnetic moment on a magnetic field is the oscillating one. The effect of the surface curvature is to increase the region of the monotonic dependence of the magnetic moment and to break the periodicity of oscillations of the magnetic moment as a function of an inverse magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Observation of extremely slow hole spin relaxation in self-assembled quantum dots

We report the measurement of extremely slow hole spin relaxation dynamics in small ensembles of self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots. Individual spin orientated holes are optically created in the lowest orbital state of each dot and read out after a defined storage time using spin memory devices. The resulting luminescence signal exhibits a pronounced polarization memory effect that vanishes for long storage times. The hole spin relaxation dynamics are measured as a function of external magnetic field and lattice temperature. We show that hole spin relaxation can occur over remarkably long timescales in strongly confined quantum dots (up to ~270 us), as predicted by recent theory. Our findings are supported by calculations that reproduce both the observed magnetic field and temperature dependencies. The results suggest that hole spin relaxation in strongly confined quantum dots is due to spin orbit mediated phonon scattering between Zeeman levels, in marked contrast to higher dimensional nanostructures where it is limited by valence band mixing.Comment: Published by Physical Review

Gallstone ileus in a middle-aged male with an atypical history: a case report

Currently, gallstone ileus is an unusual complication of cholelithiasis (0.3–3.0 %) and a rare cause of mechanical bowel obstruction (0.1–4.0 %). The rarity of the condition makes it impossible to plan the large prospective randomized clinical trials, so the analysis of case reports is significant for decision making in the management of gallstone ileus. We report a case of gallstone ileus in a middle-aged male who had a history of surgery for duodenal ulcer perforation in past. A combination of peptic ulcer disease and cholelithiasis is based on a reduced gastrointestinal hormones secretion. Clinical specialists need to consider information about the greater frequency and asymptomatic clinical course of gallstone disease against a background of duodenal ulcer. Duodenal ulcer scar and bulbar deformity may promote to the cholecystoduodenal fistula formation. In the presence of an acute bowel obstruction symptoms and the absence of gallbladder instrumental examination results, it is possible to recommend the prior gastroduodenoscopy for the pre-operative pneumobilia detection. The optimal surgical approaches for acute gallstone ileus are still controversial

Spin decoherence of a heavy hole coupled to nuclear spins in a quantum dot

We theoretically study the interaction of a heavy hole with nuclear spins in a quasi-two-dimensional III-V semiconductor quantum dot and the resulting dephasing of heavy-hole spin states. It has frequently been stated in the literature that heavy holes have a negligible interaction with nuclear spins. We show that this is not the case. In contrast, the interaction can be rather strong and will be the dominant source of decoherence in some cases. We also show that for unstrained quantum dots the form of the interaction is Ising-like, resulting in unique and interesting decoherence properties, which might provide a crucial advantage to using dot-confined hole spins for quantum information processing, as compared to electron spins

Electrical control over single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots

Single electron spins in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are a versatile platform for quantum information processing, however controlling decoherence remains a considerable challenge. Recently, hole spins have emerged as a promising alternative. Holes in III-V semiconductors have unique properties, such as strong spin-orbit interaction and weak coupling to nuclear spins, and therefore have potential for enhanced spin control and longer coherence times. Weaker hyperfine interaction has already been reported in self-assembled quantum dots using quantum optics techniques. However, challenging fabrication has so far kept the promise of hole-spin-based electronic devices out of reach in conventional III-V heterostructures. Here, we report gate-tuneable hole quantum dots formed in InSb nanowires. Using these devices we demonstrate Pauli spin blockade and electrical control of single hole spins. The devices are fully tuneable between hole and electron QDs, enabling direct comparison between the hyperfine interaction strengths, g-factors and spin blockade anisotropies in the two regimes

Semiconductor Spintronics

Spintronics refers commonly to phenomena in which the spin of electrons in a solid state environment plays the determining role. In a more narrow sense spintronics is an emerging research field of electronics: spintronics devices are based on a spin control of electronics, or on an electrical and optical control of spin or magnetism. This review presents selected themes of semiconductor spintronics, introducing important concepts in spin transport, spin injection, Silsbee-Johnson spin-charge coupling, and spindependent tunneling, as well as spin relaxation and spin dynamics. The most fundamental spin-dependent nteraction in nonmagnetic semiconductors is spin-orbit coupling. Depending on the crystal symmetries of the material, as well as on the structural properties of semiconductor based heterostructures, the spin-orbit coupling takes on different functional forms, giving a nice playground of effective spin-orbit Hamiltonians. The effective Hamiltonians for the most relevant classes of materials and heterostructures are derived here from realistic electronic band structure descriptions. Most semiconductor device systems are still theoretical concepts, waiting for experimental demonstrations. A review of selected proposed, and a few demonstrated devices is presented, with detailed description of two important classes: magnetic resonant tunnel structures and bipolar magnetic diodes and transistors. In most cases the presentation is of tutorial style, introducing the essential theoretical formalism at an accessible level, with case-study-like illustrations of actual experimental results, as well as with brief reviews of relevant recent achievements in the field.Comment: tutorial review; 342 pages, 132 figure