551 research outputs found
A Model for the Voltage Steps in the Breakdown of the Integer Quantum Hall Effect
In samples used to maintain the US resistance standard the breakdown of the
dissipationless integer quantum Hall effect occurs as a series of dissipative
voltage steps. A mechanism for this type of breakdown is proposed, based on the
generation of magneto-excitons when the quantum Hall fluid flows past an
ionised impurity above a critical velocity. The calculated generation rate
gives a voltage step height in good agreement with measurements on both
electron and hole gases. We also compare this model to a hydrodynamic
description of breakdown.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure
Microscopic analysis of the valence band and impurity band theories of (Ga,Mn)As
We analyze microscopically the valence and impurity band models of
ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As. We find that the tight-binding Anderson approach with
conventional parameterization and the full potential LDA+U calculations give a
very similar picture of states near the Fermi energy which reside in an
exchange-split sp-d hybridized valence band with dominant orbital character of
the host semiconductor; this microscopic spectral character is consistent with
the physical premise of the k.p kinetic-exchange model. On the other hand, the
various models with a band structure comprising an impurity band detached from
the valence band assume mutually incompatible microscopic spectral character.
By adapting the tight-binding Anderson calculations individually to each of the
impurity band pictures in the single Mn impurity limit and then by exploring
the entire doping range we find that a detached impurity band does not persist
in any of these models in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As.Comment: 29 pages, 25 figure
Heating process in the pre-Breakdown regime of the Quantum Hall Efect : a size dependent effect
Our study presents experimental measurements of the contact and longitudinal
voltage drops in Hall bars, as a function of the current amplitude. We are
interested in the heating phenomenon which takes place before the breakdown of
the quantum Hall effect, i.e. the pre-breakdown regime. Two types of samples
has been investigated, at low temperature (4.2 and 1.5K) and high magnetic
field (up to 13 T). The Hall bars have several different widths, and our
observations clearly demonstrate that the size of the sample influences the
heating phenomenon. By measuring the critical currents of both contact and
longitudinal voltages, as a function of the filling factor (around ), we
highlight the presence of a high electric field domain near the source contact,
which is observable only in samples whose width is smaller than 400 microns.Comment: 4 pages, 5 igures, 7th International Symposium of Research in High
Magnetic Fields, to be published in physica
On the character of states near the Fermi level in (Ga,Mn)As: impurity to valence band crossover
We discuss the character of states near the Fermi level in Mn doped GaAs, as
revealed by a survey of dc transport and optical studies over a wide range of
Mn concentrations. A thermally activated valence band contribution to dc
transport, a mid-infrared peak at energy hbar omega approx 200 meV in the ac-
conductivity, and the hot photoluminescence spectra indicate the presence of an
impurity band in low doped (<<1% Mn) insulating GaAs:Mn materials. Consistent
with the implications of this picture, both the impurity band ionization energy
inferred from the dc transport and the position of the mid-infrared peak move
to lower energies and the peak broadens with increasing Mn concentration. In
metallic materials with > 2% doping, no traces of Mn-related activated
contribution can be identified in dc-transport, suggesting that the impurity
band has merged with the valence band. No discrepancies with this perception
are found when analyzing optical measurements in the high-doped GaAs:Mn. A
higher energy (hbar omega approx 250 meV) mid-infrared feature which appears in
the metallic samples is associated with inter-valence band transitions. Its
red-shift with increased doping can be interpreted as a consequence of
increased screening which narrows the localized-state valence-band tails and
weakens higher energy transition amplitudes. Our examination of the dc and ac
transport characteristics of GaAs:Mn is accompanied by comparisons with its
shallow acceptor counterparts, confirming the disordered valence band picture
of high-doped metallic GaAs:Mn material.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Probing the Sensitivity of Electron Wave Interference to Disorder-Induced Scattering in Solid-State Devices
The study of electron motion in semiconductor billiards has elucidated our
understanding of quantum interference and quantum chaos. The central assumption
is that ionized donors generate only minor perturbations to the electron
trajectories, which are determined by scattering from billiard walls. We use
magnetoconductance fluctuations as a probe of the quantum interference and show
that these fluctuations change radically when the scattering landscape is
modified by thermally-induced charge displacement between donor sites. Our
results challenge the accepted understanding of quantum interference effects in
nanostructures.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Physical Review
Synthesis of a series of novel 3,9-disubstituted phenanthrenes as analogues of known <i>N</i>-methyl-D-aspartate receptor allosteric modulators
9-Substituted phenanthrene-3-carboxylic acids have been reported to have allosteric modulatory activity at the NMDA receptor. This receptor is activated by the excitatory neurotransmitter L-glutamate and has been implicated in a range of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and chronic pain and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Herein, the convenient synthesis of a wide range of novel 3,9-disubstituted phenanthrene derivatives starting from a few common intermediates is described. These new phenanthrene derivatives will help to clarify the structural requirements for allosteric modulation of the NMDA receptor
Terahertz underdamped vibrational motion governs protein-ligand binding in solution
Low-frequency collective vibrational modes in proteins have been proposed as being responsible for efficiently directing biochemical reactions and biological energy transport. However, evidence of the existence of delocalized vibrational modes is scarce and proof of their involvement in biological function absent. Here we apply extremely sensitive femtosecond optical Kerr-effect spectroscopy to study the depolarized Raman spectra of lysozyme and its complex with the inhibitor triacetylchitotriose in solution. Underdamped delocalized vibrational modes in the terahertz frequency domain are identified and shown to blue-shift and strengthen upon inhibitor binding. This demonstrates that the ligand-binding coordinate in proteins is underdamped and not simply solvent-controlled as previously assumed. The presence of such underdamped delocalized modes in proteins may have significant implications for the understanding of the efficiency of ligand binding and protein–molecule interactions, and has wider implications for biochemical reactivity and biological function
Water Dynamics at Protein Interfaces: Ultrafast Optical Kerr Effect Study
The behavior of water molecules surrounding a protein can have an important bearing on its structure and function. Consequently, a great deal of attention has been focused on changes in the relaxation dynamics of water when it is located at the protein surface. Here we use the ultrafast optical Kerr effect to study the H-bond structure and dynamics of aqueous solutions of proteins. Measurements are made for three proteins as a function of concentration. We find that the water dynamics in the first solvation layer of the proteins are slowed by up to a factor of 8 in comparison to those in bulk water. The most marked slowdown was observed for the most hydrophilic protein studied, bovine serum albumin, whereas the most hydrophobic protein, trypsin, had a slightly smaller effect. The terahertz Raman spectra of these protein solutions resemble those of pure water up to 5 wt % of protein, above which a new feature appears at 80 cm–1, which is assigned to a bending of the protein amide chain
Integer Quantum Hall Effect with Realistic Boundary Condition : Exact Quantization and Breakdown
A theory of integer quantum Hall effect(QHE) in realistic systems based on
von Neumann lattice is presented. We show that the momentum representation is
quite useful and that the quantum Hall regime(QHR), which is defined by the
propagator in the momentum representation, is realized. In QHR, the Hall
conductance is given by a topological invariant of the momentum space and is
quantized exactly. The edge states do not modify the value and topological
property of in QHR. We next compute distribution of current based
on effective action and find a finite amount of current in the bulk and the
edge, generally. Due to the Hall electric field in the bulk, breakdown of the
QHE occurs. The critical electric field of the breakdown is proportional to
and the proportional constant has no dependence on Landau levels in
our theory, in agreement with the recent experiments.Comment: 48 pages, figures not included, some additions and revision
Individual differences in puberty onset in girls: Bayesian estimation of heritabilities and genetic correlations
We report heritabilities for individual differences in female pubertal development at the age of 12. Tanner data on breast and pubic hair development in girls and data on menarche were obtained from a total of 184 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Genetic correlations were estimated to determine to what extent the same genes are involved in different aspects of physical development in puberty. A Bayesian estimation approach was taken, using Markovchain Monte Carlo simulation to estimate model parameters. All three phenotypes were to a significant extent heritable and showed high genetic correlations, suggesting that a common set of genes is involved in the timing of puberty in general. However, gonadarche (menarche and breast development) and adrenarche (pubic hair) are affected by different environmental factors, which does not support the three phenotypes to be regarded as indicators of a unitary physiological factor. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc
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