27,322 research outputs found
Kinetic modelling of epitaxial film growth with up- and downward step barriers
The formation of three-dimensional structures during the epitaxial growth of
films is associated to the reflection of diffusing particles in descending
terraces due to the presence of the so-called Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barrier.
We generalize this concept in a solid-on-solid growth model, in which a barrier
dependent on the particle coordination (number of lateral bonds) exists
whenever the particle performs an interlayer diffusion. The rules do not
distinguish explicitly if the particle is executing a descending or an
ascending interlayer diffusion. We show that the usual model, with a step
barrier in descending steps, produces spurious, columnar, and highly unstable
morphologies if the growth temperature is varied in a usual range of mound
formation experiments. Our model generates well-behaved mounded morphologies
for the same ES barriers that produce anomalous morphologies in the standard
model. Moreover, mounds are also obtained when the step barrier has an equal
value for all particles independently if they are free or bonded. Kinetic
roughening is observed at long times, when the surface roughness w and the
characteristic length scale as and where
and , independently of the growth
temperature.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Modelling of epitaxial film growth with a Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier dependent on the step height
The formation of mounded surfaces in epitaxial growth is attributed to the
presence of barriers against interlayer diffusion in the terrace edges, known
as Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barriers. We investigate a model for epitaxial growth
using a ES barrier explicitly dependent on the step height. Our model has an
intrinsic topological step barrier even in the absence of an explicit ES
barrier. We show that mounded morphologies can be obtained even for a small
barrier while a self-affine growth, consistent with the Villain-Lai-Das Sarma
equation, is observed in absence of an explicit step barrier. The mounded
surfaces are described by a super-roughness dynamical scaling characterized by
locally smooth (faceted) surfaces and a global roughness exponent .
The thin film limit is featured by surfaces with self-assembled
three-dimensional structures having an aspect ratio (height/width) that may
increase or decrease with temperature depending on the strength of step
barrier.Comment: To appear in J. Phys. Cond. Matter; 3 movies as supplementary
materia
On Describing Multivariate Skewness: A Directional Approach
Most multivariate measures of skewness in the literature measure the overall skewness of a distribution. While these measures are perfectly adequate for testing the hypothesis of distributional symmetry, their relevance for describing skewed distributions is less obvious. In this article, we consider the problem of characterising the skewness of multivariate distributions. We define directional skewness as the skewness along a direction and analyse parametric classes of skewed distributions using measures based on directional skewness. The analysis brings further insight into the classes, allowing for a more informed selection of particular classes for particular applications. In the context of Bayesian linear regression under skewed error we use the concept of directional skewness twice. First in the elicitation of a prior on the parameters of the error distribution, and then in the analysis of the skewness of the posterior distribution of the regression residuals.Bayesian methods, Multivariate distribution, Multivariate regression, Prior elicitation, Skewness.
Vector field models of modified gravity and the dark sector
We present a comprehensive investigation of cosmological constraints on the
class of vector field formulations of modified gravity called Generalized
Einstein-Aether models. Using linear perturbation theory we generate cosmic
microwave background and large-scale structure spectra for general parameters
of the theory, and then constrain them in various ways. We investigate two
parameter regimes: a dark-matter candidate where the vector field sources
structure formation, and a dark-energy candidate where it causes late-time
acceleration. We find that the dark matter candidate does not fit the data, and
identify five physical problems that can restrict this and other theories of
dark matter. The dark energy candidate does fit the data, and we constrain its
fundamental parameters; most notably we find that the theory's kinetic index
parameter can differ significantly from its CDM
value.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
Graphene-based spin-pumping transistor
We demonstrate with a fully quantum-mechanical approach that graphene can
function as gate-controllable transistors for pumped spin currents, i.e., a
stream of angular momentum induced by the precession of adjacent
magnetizations, which exists in the absence of net charge currents.
Furthermore, we propose as a proof of concept how these spin currents can be
modulated by an electrostatic gate. Because our proposal involves nano-sized
systems that function with very high speeds and in the absence of any applied
bias, it is potentially useful for the development of transistors capable of
combining large processing speeds, enhanced integration and extremely low power
consumption
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