Quantum oscillations observed in graphene at microwave frequencies

We have measured the microwave conductance of mechanically exfoliated graphene at frequencies up to 8.5 GHz. The conductance at 4.2 K exhibits quantum oscillations, and is independent of the frequency

Superconductivity-Related Insulating Behavior

We present the results of an experimental study of superconducting, disordered, thin-films of amorphous Indium Oxide. These films can be driven from the superconducting phase to a reentrant insulating state by the application of a perpendicular magnetic field ($B$). We find that the high-$B$ insulator exhibits activated transport with a characteristic temperature, $T_I$. $T_I$ has a maximum value ($T_{I}^p$) that is close to the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$) at $B$ = 0, suggesting a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases. $T_{I}^p$ and $T_c$ display opposite dependences on the disorder strength.Comment: Tex file and 5 figures; Revised version; To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2004

Mesoscopic Spin-Hall Effect in 2D electron systems with smooth boundaries

Spin-Hall effect in ballistic 2D electron gas with Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling and smooth edge confinement is studied. We predict that the interplay of semiclassical electron motion and quantum dynamics of spins leads to several distinct features in spin density along the edge that originate from accumulation of turning points from many classical trajectories. Strong peak is found near a point of the vanishing of electron Fermi velocity in the lower spin-split subband. It is followed by a strip of negative spin density that extends until the crossing of the local Fermi energy with the degeneracy point where the two spin subbands intersect. Beyond this crossing there is a wide region of a smooth positive spin density. The total amount of spin accumulated in each of these features exceeds greatly the net spin across the entire edge. The features become more pronounced for shallower boundary potentials, controlled by gating in typical experimental setups.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, published versio

Spin-dependent electron-impurity scattering in two-dimensional electron systems

We present a theoretical study of elastic spin-dependent electron scattering caused by a charged impurity in the vicinity of a two-dimensional electron gas. We find that the symmetry properties of the spin-dependent differential scattering cross section are different for an impurity located in the plane of the electron gas and for one at a finite distance from the plane. We show that in the latter case asymmetric (`skew') scattering can arise if the polarization of the incident electron has a finite projection on the plane spanned by the normal vector of the two-dimensional electron gas and the initial propagation direction. In specially preparated samples this scattering mechanism may give rise to a Hall-like effect in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field.Comment: 4.1 pages, 2 figure

Out-of-plane spin polarization from in-plane electric and magnetic fields

We show that the joint effect of spin-orbit and magnetic fields leads to a spin polarization perpendicular to the plane of a two-dimensional electron system with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and in-plane parallel dc magnetic and electric fields, for angle-dependent impurity scattering or nonparabolic energy spectrum, while only in-plane polarization persists for simplified models. We derive Bloch equations, describing the main features of recent experiments, including the magnetic field dependence of static and dynamic responses.Comment: 5 pages and 1 figure in main text, 5 pages in appendi

Dynamical scaling of the quantum Hall plateau transition

Using different experimental techniques we examine the dynamical scaling of the quantum Hall plateau transition in a frequency range f = 0.1-55 GHz. We present a scheme that allows for a simultaneous scaling analysis of these experiments and all other data in literature. We observe a universal scaling function with an exponent kappa = 0.5 +/- 0.1, yielding a dynamical exponent z = 0.9 +/- 0.2.Comment: v2: Length shortened to fulfil Journal criteri

Drop Splashing on a Dry Smooth Surface

The corona splash due to the impact of a liquid drop on a smooth dry substrate is investigated with high speed photography. A striking phenomenon is observed: splashing can be completely suppressed by decreasing the pressure of the surrounding gas. The threshold pressure where a splash first occurs is measured as a function of the impact velocity and found to scale with the molecular weight of the gas and the viscosity of the liquid. Both experimental scaling relations support a model in which compressible effects in the gas are responsible for splashing in liquid solid impacts.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Antimatter spectra from a time-dependent modeling of supernova remnants

We calculate the energy spectra of cosmic rays (CR) and their secondaries produced in a supernova remnant (SNR), taking into account the time-dependence of the SNR shock. We model the trajectories of charged particles as a random walk with a prescribed diffusioncoefficient, accelerating the particles at each shock crossing. Secondary production by CRs colliding with gas is included as a Monte Carlo process. We find that SNRs produce less antimatter than suggested previously: The positron/electron ratio and the antiproton/proton ratio are a few percent and few $\times 10^{-5}$, respectively. Both ratios do not rise with energy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures; v2: results for time-dependent magnetic field adde