The dynamics of bistable liquid crystal wells

A planar bistable liquid crystal device, reported in Tsakonas et al. [27], is modelled within the Landau-de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. This planar device consists of an array of square micron-sized wells. We obtain six different classes of equilibrium profiles and these profiles are classified as diagonal or rotated solutions. In the strong anchoring case, we propose a Dirichlet boundary condition that mimics the experimentally imposed tangent boundary conditions. In the weak anchoring case, we present a suitable surface energy and study the multiplicity of solutions as a function of the anchoring strength. We find that diagonal solutions exist for all values of the anchoring strength W ≥ 0 while rotated solutions only exist for W ≥ Wc > 0, where Wc is a critical anchoring strength that has been computed numerically. We propose a dynamic model for the switching mechanisms based on only dielectric effects. For sufficiently strong external electric fields, we numerically demonstrate diagonal to rotated and rotated to diagonal switching by allowing for variable anchoring strength across the domain boundary

Tunable "Doniach Phase Diagram" for strongly-correlated nanoclusters

Exact diagonalization calculations reveal that the energy spacing $\Delta$ in the conduction band tunes the interplay between the {\it local} Kondo and {\it non local} RKKY interactions, giving rise to a "Doniach phase diagram" for a nanocluster with regions of prevailing Kondo or RKKY correlations. The parity of the total number of electrons alters the competition between the Kondo and RKKY correlations. This interplay may be relevant to experimental realizations of small rings or quantum dots with tunable magnetic properties. Below a critical value V$_c$ of the hybridization the susceptibility exhibits a low-T exponential activation behavior determined by the interplay of the spin gap and $\Delta$.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Simple model of bouncing ball dynamics: displacement of the table assumed as quadratic function of time

Nonlinear dynamics of a bouncing ball moving in gravitational field and colliding with a moving limiter is considered. Displacement of the limiter is a quadratic function of time. Several dynamical modes, such as fixed points, 2 - cycles and chaotic bands are studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that chaotic bands appear due to homoclinic structures created from unstable 2 - cycles in a corner-type bifurcation.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Theoretical modeling of spatial and temperature dependent exciton energy in coupled quantum wells

Motivated by a recent experiment of spatial and temperature dependent average exciton energy distribution in coupled quantum wells [S. Yang \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{75}, 033311 (2007)], we investigate the nature of the interactions in indirect excitons. Based on the uncertainty principle, along with a temperature and energy dependent distribution which includes both population and recombination effects, we show that the interplay between an attractive two-body interaction and a repulsive three-body interaction can lead to a natural and good account for the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the average exciton energy. Moreover, exciton energy maxima are shown to locate at the brightest regions, in agreement with the recent experiments. Our results provide an alternative way for understanding the underlying physics of the exciton dynamics in coupled quantum wells.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

The millimeter-wave properties of superconducting microstrip lines

We have developed a novel technique for making high quality measurements of the millimeter-wave properties of superconducting thin-film microstrip transmission lines. Our experimental technique currently covers the 75-100 GHz band. The method is based on standing wave resonances in an open ended transmission line. We obtain information on the phase velocity and loss of the microstrip. Our data for Nb/SiO/Nb lines, taken at 4.2 K and 1.6 K, can be explained by a single set of physical parameters. Our preliminary conclusion is that the loss is dominated by the SiO dielectric, with a temperature-independent loss tangent of 5.3 ± 0.5 x 10^(-3) for our samples

Disordered Kondo Nanoclusters: Effect of Energy Spacing

Exact diagonalization results for Kondo nanoclusters alloyed with mixed valence impurities show that tuning the {\it energy spacing}, $\Delta$, drives the system from the Kondo to the RKKY regime. The interplay of $\Delta$ and disorder gives rise to a $\Delta$ versus concentration T=0 phase diagram very rich in structure, where regions with prevailing Kondo or RKKY correlations alternate with domains of ferromagnetic order. The local Kondo temperatures, $T_K$, and RKKY interactions depend strongly on the local environment and are overall {\it enhanced} by disorder, in contrast to the hypothesis of ``Kondo disorder'' single-impurity models.Comment: 4pages 4 figuresDisordered Kondo Nanoclusters: Effect of Energy Spacin

Spin evolution of spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates

An analytical formula is obtained to describe the evolution of the average populations of spin components of spin-1 atomic gases. The formula is derived from the exact time-dependent solution of the Hamiltonian $H_{S}=c mathbf{S}^{2}$ without using approximation. Therefore it goes beyond the mean field theory and provides a general, accurate, and complete description for the whole process of non-dissipative evolution starting from various initial states. The numerical results directly given by the formula coincide qualitatively well with existing experimental data, and also with other theoretical results from solving dynamic differential equations. For some special cases of initial state, instead of undergoing strong oscillation as found previously, the evolution is found to go on very steadily in a very long duration.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

Generalized seniority for the shell model with realistic interactions

The generalized seniority scheme has long been proposed as a means of dramatically reducing the dimensionality of nuclear shell model calculations, when strong pairing correlations are present. However, systematic benchmark calculations, comparing results obtained in a model space truncated according to generalized seniority with those obtained in the full shell model space, are required to assess the viability of this scheme. Here, a detailed comparison is carried out, for semimagic nuclei taken in a full major shell and with realistic interactions. The even-mass and odd-mass Ca isotopes are treated in the generalized seniority scheme, for generalized seniority v<=3. Results for level energies, orbital occupations, and electromagnetic observables are compared with those obtained in the full shell model space.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures; published in Phys. Rev.