Liquid-induced damping of mechanical feedback effects in single electron tunneling through a suspended carbon nanotube

In single electron tunneling through clean, suspended carbon nanotube devices at low temperature, distinct switching phenomena have regularly been observed. These can be explained via strong interaction of single electron tunneling and vibrational motion of the nanotube. We present measurements on a highly stable nanotube device, subsequently recorded in the vacuum chamber of a dilution refrigerator and immersed in the 3He/4He mixture of a second dilution refrigerator. The switching phenomena are absent when the sample is kept in the viscous liquid, additionally supporting the interpretation of dc-driven vibration. Transport measurements in liquid helium can thus be used for finite bias spectroscopy where otherwise the mechanical effects would dominate the current.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Negative frequency tuning of a carbon nanotube nano-electromechanical resonator

A suspended, doubly clamped single wall carbon nanotube is characterized as driven nano-electromechanical resonator at cryogenic temperatures. Electronically, the carbon nanotube displays small bandgap behaviour with Coulomb blockade oscillations in electron conduction and transparent contacts in hole conduction. We observe the driven mechanical resonance in dc-transport, including multiple higher harmonic responses. The data shows a distinct negative frequency tuning at finite applied gate voltage, enabling us to electrostatically decrease the resonance frequency to 75% of its maximum value. This is consistently explained via electrostatic softening of the mechanical mode.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; submitted for the IWEPNM 2013 conference proceeding

The generalized Heun equation in QFT in curved space-times

In this article we give a brief outline of the applications of the generalized Heun equation (GHE) in the context of Quantum Field Theory in curved space-times. In particular, we relate the separated radial part of a massive Dirac equation in the Kerr-Newman metric and the static perturbations for the non-extremal Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m solution to a GHE.Comment: 7 pages, some small improvements in section

Phase Behaviour of Amphiphilic Monolayers: Theory and Simulation

Coarse grained models of monolayers of amphiphiles (Langmuir monolayers) have been studied theoretically and by computer simulations. We discuss some of the insights obtained with this approach, and present new simulation results which show that idealised models can successfully reproduce essential aspects of the generic phase behaviour of Langmuir monolayers.Comment: To appear in J. Phys.: Cond. Matte

Towards a microscopic theory of toroidal moments in bulk periodic crystals

We present a theoretical analysis of magnetic toroidal moments in periodic systems, in the limit in which the toroidal moments are caused by a time and space reversal symmetry breaking arrangement of localized magnetic dipole moments. We summarize the basic definitions for finite systems and address the question of how to generalize these definitions to the bulk periodic case. We define the toroidization as the toroidal moment per unit cell volume, and we show that periodic boundary conditions lead to a multivaluedness of the toroidization, which suggests that only differences in toroidization are meaningful observable quantities. Our analysis bears strong analogy to the modern theory of electric polarization in bulk periodic systems, but we also point out some important differences between the two cases. We then discuss the instructive example of a one-dimensional chain of magnetic moments, and we show how to properly calculate changes of the toroidization for this system. Finally, we evaluate and discuss the toroidization (in the local dipole limit) of four important example materials: BaNiF_4, LiCoPO_4, GaFeO_3, and BiFeO_3.Comment: replaced with final (published) version, which includes some changes in the text to improve the clarity of presentatio

Disorder Induced Stripes in d-Wave Superconductors

Stripe phases are observed experimentally in several copper-based high-Tc superconductors near 1/8 hole doping. However, the specific characteristics may vary depending on the degree of dopant disorder and the presence or absence of a low- temperature tetragonal phase. On the basis of a Hartree-Fock decoupling scheme for the t-J model we discuss the diverse behavior of stripe phases. In particular the effect of inhomogeneities is investigated in two distinctly different parameter regimes which are characterized by the strength of the interaction. We observe that small concen- trations of impurities or vortices pin the unidirectional density waves, and dopant disorder is capable to stabilize a stripe phase in parameter regimes where homogeneous phases are typically favored in clean systems. The momentum-space results exhibit universal features for all coexisting density-wave solutions, nearly unchanged even in strongly disordered systems. These coexisting solutions feature generically a full energy gap and a particle-hole asymmetry in the density of states.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

Electron and Phonon Confinement and New Surface Phonon Modes in CdSe-CdS Core-Shell Nanocrystals

Optical and vibrational properties of bare and CdS shelled CdSe nanocrystalline particles are investigated. To confirm the formation of such nanocrystals in our samples we estimate their average particle sizes and size distributions using TEM measurements. From the line profile analysis of the images the core-shell structure in the particles has been confirmed. The blue shift in optical absorption spectra, analyzed using theoretical estimates based on the effective bond order model, establishes the electron confinement in the nanoparticles. Unique characteristics of the nanocrystals (which are absent in the corresponding bulk material), such as confinement of optical phonons and the appearance of surface phonons, are then discussed. Making use of the dielectric response function model we are able to match the experimental and theoretical values of the frequencies of the surface phonons. We believe that our studies using optical probes provide further evidence on the existence of core-shell structures in CdSe-CdS type materials.Comment: 19 pages 8 figure

Dynamic changes in host-virus interactions associated with colony founding and social environment in fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta)

Funding Information US Department of Agriculture AFRI Award. Grant Number: 2009‐35302‐05301 Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship. Grant Number: FP7‐PEOPLE‐2013‐IIF‐625487Peer reviewedPublisher PD

An ensemble approach to assess hydrological models’ contribution to uncertainties in the analysis of climate change impact on water resources

Over the recent years, several research efforts investigated the impact of climate change on water resources for different regions of the world. The projection of future river flows is affected by different sources of uncertainty in the hydro-climatic modelling chain. One of the aims of the QBic3 5 project (Que´bec-Bavarian International Collaboration on Climate Change) is to assess the contribution to uncertainty of hydrological models by using an ensemble of hydrological models presenting a diversity of structural complexity (i.e. lumped, semi distributed and distributed models). The study investigates two humid, mid-latitude catchments with natural flow conditions; one located in 10 Southern Que´bec (Canada) and one in Southern Bavaria (Germany). Daily flow is simulated with four different hydrological models, forced by outputs from regional climate models driven by a given number of GCMs’ members over a reference (1971–2000) and a future (2041–2070) periods. The results show that the choice of the hydrological model does strongly affect the climate change response of selected hydrological indicators, especially those related to low flows. Indicators related to high flows seem less sensitive on the choice of the hydrological model. Therefore, the computationally less demanding models (usually simple, lumped and conceptual) give a significant level of trust for high and overall mean flows