Aluminum arsenide cleaved-edge overgrown quantum wires

We report conductance measurements in quantum wires made of aluminum arsenide, a heavy-mass, multi-valley one-dimensional (1D) system. Zero-bias conductance steps are observed as the electron density in the wire is lowered, with additional steps observable upon applying a finite dc bias. We attribute these steps to depopulation of successive 1D subbands. The quantum conductance is substantially reduced with respect to the anticipated value for a spin- and valley-degenerate 1D system. This reduction is consistent with disorder-induced, intra-wire backscattering which suppresses the transmission of 1D modes. Calculations are presented to demonstrate the role of strain in the 1D states of this cleaved-edge structure.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letter

The CLEO-III Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detector

The CLEO-III Detector upgrade for charged particle identification is discussed. The RICH design uses solid LiF crystal radiators coupled with multi-wire chamber photon detectors, using TEA as the photosensor, and low-noise Viking readout electronics. Results from our beam test at Fermilab are presented.Comment: Invited talk by R.J. Mountain at ``The 3rd International Workshop on Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detectors," a research workshop of the Israel Science Foundation, Ein-Gedi, Dead-Sea, Israel, Nov. 15-20, 1998, 14 pages, 9 figure

Substellar companions and the formation of hot subdwarf stars

"Copyright 2011 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics."We give a brief review over the observational evidence for close substellar companions to hot subdwarf stars. The formation of these core helium-burning objects requires huge mass loss of their red giant progenitors. It has been suggested that besides stellar companions substellar objects in close orbits may be able to trigger this mass loss. Such objects can be easily detected around hot subdwarf stars by medium or high resolution spectroscopy with an RV accuracy at the km s(-1)-level. Eclipsing systems of Vir type stick out of transit surveys because of their characteristic light curves. The best evidence that substellar objects in close orbits around sdBs exist and that they are able to trigger the required mass loss is provided by the eclipsing system SDSS J0820+0008, which was found in the course of the MUCHFUSS project. Furthermore, several candidate systems have been discovered.Final Accepted Versio

Spin and orbital mechanisms of the magneto-gyrotropic photogalvanic effects in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well structures

We report on the study of the linear and circular magneto-gyrotropic photogalvanic effect (MPGE) in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well structures. Using the fact that in such structures the Land\'e-factor g* depends on the quantum well (QW) width and has different signs for narrow and wide QWs, we succeeded to separate spin and orbital contributions to both MPGEs. Our experiments show that, for most quantum well widths, the PGEs are mainly driven by spin-related mechanisms, which results in a photocurrent proportional to the g* factor. In structures with a vanishingly small g* factor, however, linear and circular MPGE are also detected, proving the existence of orbital mechanisms.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Magnetization of a two-dimensional electron gas with a second filled subband

We have measured the magnetization of a dual-subband two-dimensional electron gas, confined in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction. In contrast to two-dimensional electron gases with a single subband, we observe non-1/B-periodic, triangularly shaped oscillations of the magnetization with an amplitude significantly less than $1 \mu_{\mathrm{B}}^*$ per electron. All three effects are explained by a field dependent self-consistent model, demonstrating the shape of the magnetization is dominated by oscillations in the confining potential. Additionally, at 1 K, we observe small oscillations at magnetic fields where Landau-levels of the two different subbands cross.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spin photocurrents and circular photon drag effect in (110)-grown quantum well structures

We report on the study of spin photocurrents in (110)-grown quantum well structures. Investigated effects comprise the circular photogalvanic effect and so far not observed circular photon drag effect. The experimental data can be described by an analytical expression derived from a phenomenological theory. A microscopic model of the circular photon drag effect is developed demonstrating that the generated current has spin dependent origin.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure