12,510 research outputs found
A first-principles DFT+GW study of spin-filter and spin-gapless semiconducting Heusler compounds
Among Heusler compounds, the ones being magnetic semiconductors (also known
as spin-filter materials) are widely studied as they offer novel
functionalities in spintronic/magnetoelectronic devices. The spin-gapless
semiconductors are a special case. They possess a zero or almost-zero energy
gap in one of the two spin channels. We employ the approximation, which
allows an elaborate treatment of the electronic correlations, to simulate the
electronic band structure of these materials. Our results suggest that in most
cases the use of self energy instead of the usual density functionals is
important to accurately determine the electronic properties of magnetic
semiconductors.Comment: Final version as publishe
On the Ricci tensor in type II B string theory
Let be a metric connection with totally skew-symmetric torsion \T
on a Riemannian manifold. Given a spinor field and a dilaton function
, the basic equations in type II B string theory are \bdm \nabla \Psi =
0, \quad \delta(\T) = a \cdot \big(d \Phi \haken \T \big), \quad \T \cdot \Psi
= b \cdot d \Phi \cdot \Psi + \mu \cdot \Psi . \edm We derive some relations
between the length ||\T||^2 of the torsion form, the scalar curvature of
, the dilaton function and the parameters . The main
results deal with the divergence of the Ricci tensor \Ric^{\nabla} of the
connection. In particular, if the supersymmetry is non-trivial and if
the conditions \bdm (d \Phi \haken \T) \haken \T = 0, \quad \delta^{\nabla}(d
\T) \cdot \Psi = 0 \edm hold, then the energy-momentum tensor is
divergence-free. We show that the latter condition is satisfied in many
examples constructed out of special geometries. A special case is . Then
the divergence of the energy-momentum tensor vanishes if and only if one
condition \delta^{\nabla}(d \T) \cdot \Psi = 0 holds. Strong models (d \T =
0) have this property, but there are examples with \delta^{\nabla}(d \T) \neq
0 and \delta^{\nabla}(d \T) \cdot \Psi = 0.Comment: 9 pages, Latex2
A Method for Calculating the Structure of (Singular) Spacetimes in the Large
A formalism and its numerical implementation is presented which allows to
calculate quantities determining the spacetime structure in the large directly.
This is achieved by conformal techniques by which future null infinity
(\Scri{}^+) and future timelike infinity () are mapped to grid points on
the numerical grid. The determination of the causal structure of singularities,
the localization of event horizons, the extraction of radiation, and the
avoidance of unphysical reflections at the outer boundary of the grid, are
demonstrated with calculations of spherically symmetric models with a scalar
field as matter and radiation model.Comment: 29 pages, AGG2
Tomographic readout of an opto-mechanical interferometer
The quantum state of light changes its nature when being reflected off a
mechanical oscillator due to the latter's susceptibility to radiation pressure.
As a result, a coherent state can transform into a squeezed state and can get
entangled with the motion of the oscillator. The complete tomographic
reconstruction of the state of light requires the ability to readout arbitrary
quadratures. Here we demonstrate such a readout by applying a balanced homodyne
detector to an interferometric position measurement of a thermally excited
high-Q silicon nitride membrane in a Michelson-Sagnac interferometer. A readout
noise of \unit{1.9 \cdot 10^{-16}}{\metre/\sqrt{\hertz}} around the
membrane's fundamental oscillation mode at \unit{133}{\kilo\hertz} has been
achieved, going below the peak value of the standard quantum limit by a factor
of 8.2 (9 dB). The readout noise was entirely dominated by shot noise in a
rather broad frequency range around the mechanical resonance.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Quasiparticle band structure of the almost-gapless transition-metal-based Heusler semiconductors
Transition-metal-based Heusler semiconductors are promising materials for a
variety of applications ranging from spintronics to thermoelectricity.
Employing the approximation within the framework of the FLAPW method, we
study the quasi-particle band structure of a number of such compounds being
almost gapless semiconductors. We find that in contrast to the
\textit{sp}-electron based semiconductors such as Si and GaAs, in these systems
the many-body corrections have a minimal effect on the electronic band
structure and the energy band gap increases by less than 0.2~eV, which makes
the starting point density functional theory (DFT) a good approximation for the
description of electronic and optical properties of these materials.
Furthermore, the band gap can be tuned either by the variation of the lattice
parameter or by the substitution of the \emph{sp}-chemical element
Killing spinors in supergravity with 4-fluxes
We study the spinorial Killing equation of supergravity involving a torsion
3-form \T as well as a flux 4-form \F. In dimension seven, we construct
explicit families of compact solutions out of 3-Sasakian geometries, nearly
parallel \G_2-geometries and on the homogeneous Aloff-Wallach space. The
constraint \F \cdot \Psi = 0 defines a non empty subfamily of solutions. We
investigate the constraint \T \cdot \Psi = 0, too, and show that it singles
out a very special choice of numerical parameters in the Killing equation,
which can also be justified geometrically
General Relativistic Scalar Field Models in the Large
For a class of scalar fields including the massless Klein-Gordon field the
general relativistic hyperboloidal initial value problems are equivalent in a
certain sense. By using this equivalence and conformal techniques it is proven
that the hyperboloidal initial value problem for those scalar fields has an
unique solution which is weakly asymptotically flat. For data sufficiently
close to data for flat spacetime there exist a smooth future null infinity and
a regular future timelike infinity.Comment: 22 pages, latex, AGG 1
Wannier Function Approach to Realistic Coulomb Interactions in Layered Materials and Heterostructures
We introduce an approach to derive realistic Coulomb interaction terms in
free standing layered materials and vertical heterostructures from ab-initio
modelling of the corresponding bulk materials. To this end, we establish a
combination of calculations within the framework of the constrained random
phase approximation, Wannier function representation of Coulomb matrix elements
within some low energy Hilbert space and continuum medium electrostatics, which
we call Wannier function continuum electrostatics (WFCE). For monolayer and
bilayer graphene we reproduce full ab-initio calculations of the Coulomb matrix
elements within an accuracy of eV or better. We show that realistic
Coulomb interactions in bilayer graphene can be manipulated on the eV scale by
different dielectric and metallic environments. A comparison to electronic
phase diagrams derived in [M. M. Scherer et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 235408
(2012)] suggests that the electronic ground state of bilayer graphene is a
layered antiferromagnet and remains surprisingly unaffected by these strong
changes in the Coulomb interaction.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Shape mode analysis exposes movement patterns in biology: flagella and flatworms as case studies
We illustrate shape mode analysis as a simple, yet powerful technique to
concisely describe complex biological shapes and their dynamics. We
characterize undulatory bending waves of beating flagella and reconstruct a
limit cycle of flagellar oscillations, paying particular attention to the
periodicity of angular data. As a second example, we analyze non-convex
boundary outlines of gliding flatworms, which allows us to expose stereotypic
body postures that can be related to two different locomotion mechanisms.
Further, shape mode analysis based on principal component analysis allows to
discriminate different flatworm species, despite large motion-associated shape
variability. Thus, complex shape dynamics is characterized by a small number of
shape scores that change in time. We present this method using descriptive
examples, explaining abstract mathematics in a graphic way.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in PLoS On
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