1,450 research outputs found
The Construction and Validation of an Arithmetical Computation Test
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67909/2/10.1177_001316445301300206.pd
Inelastic quantum transport: the self-consistent Born approximation and correlated electron-ion dynamics
A dynamical method for inelastic transport simulations in nanostructures is
compared with a steady-state method based on non-equilibrium Green's functions.
A simplified form of the dynamical method produces, in the steady state in the
weak-coupling limit, effective self-energies analogous to those in the Born
Approximation due to electron-phonon coupling. The two methods are then
compared numerically on a resonant system consisting of a linear trimer weakly
embedded between metal electrodes. This system exhibits enhanced heating at
high biases and long phonon equilibration times. Despite the differences in
their formulation, the static and dynamical methods capture local
current-induced heating and inelastic corrections to the current with good
agreement over a wide range of conditions, except in the limit of very high
vibrational excitations, where differences begin to emerge.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
New Relativistic Particle-In-Cell Simulation Studies of Prompt and Early Afterglows from GRBs
Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing
relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), active galactic
nuclei (AGNs), and microquasars commonly exhibit power-law emission spectra.
Recent PIC simulations of relativistic electron-ion (or electron-positron) jets
injected into a stationary medium show that particle acceleration occurs within
the downstream jet. In collisionless, relativistic shocks, particle (electron,
positron, and ion) acceleration is due to plasma waves and their associated
instabilities (e.g., the Weibel (filamentation) instability) created in the
shock region. The simulations show that the Weibel instability is responsible
for generating and amplifying highly non-uniform, small-scale magnetic fields.
These fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet
head. The resulting "jitter" radiation from deflected electrons has different
properties compared to synchrotron radiation, which assumes a uniform magnetic
field. Jitter radiation may be important for understanding the complex time
evolution and/or spectra in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets in general, and
supernova remnants.Comment: : 4 pages, 1 figure and 1 table, typos are corrected, submitted for
the Proceedings of The 4th Heidelberg International Symposium on High Energy
Gamma-Ray Astronomy, July 7-11, 2008, in Heidelberg, German
Evolution of Global Relativistic Jets: Collimations and Expansion with kKHI and the Weibel Instability
One of the key open questions in the study of relativistic jets is their
interaction with the environment. Here, we study the initial evolution of both
electron-proton and electron-positron relativistic jets, focusing on their
lateral interaction with the ambient plasma. We trace the generation and
evolution of the toroidal magnetic field generated by both kinetic
Kelvin-Helmholtz (kKH) and Mushroom instabilities (MI). This magnetic field
collimates the jet. We show that in electron-proton jet, electrons are
perpendicularly accelerated with jet collimation. The magnetic polarity
switches from the clockwise to anti-clockwise in the middle of jet, as the
instabilities weaken. For the electron-positron jet, we find strong mixture of
electron-positron with the ambient plasma, that results in the creation of a
bow shock. Merger of magnetic field current filaments generate density bumps
which initiate a forward shock. The strong mixing between jet and ambient
particles prevents full development of the jet on the studied scale. Our
results therefore provide a direct evidence for both jet collimation and
particle acceleration in the created bow shock. Differences in the magnetic
field structures generated by electron-proton and electron-positron jets may
contribute to observable differences in the polarized properties of emission by
electrons.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, ApJ, accepte
Magnetic field generation in a jet-sheath plasma via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
We have investigated generation of magnetic fields associated with velocity
shear between an unmagnetized relativistic jet and an unmagnetized sheath
plasma. We have examined the strong magnetic fields generated by kinetic shear
(Kelvin-Helmholtz) instabilities. Compared to the previous studies using
counter-streaming performed by Alves et al. (2012), the structure of KKHI of
our jet-sheath configuration is slightly different even for the global
evolution of the strong transverse magnetic field. In our simulations the major
components of growing modes are the electric field and the magnetic
field . After the component is excited, an induced
electric field becomes significant. However, other field components
remain small. We find that the structure and growth rate of KKHI with mass
ratios and are similar.
In our simulations saturation in the nonlinear stage is not as clear as in
counter-streaming cases. The growth rate for a mildly-relativistic jet case
() is larger than for a relativistic jet case
().Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, presented at Dynamical processes in space plasmas
II, Isradinamic 2012, in press, ANGEO. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1303.256
Black Silicon with high density and high aspect ratio nanowhiskers
Physical properties of black Silicon (b-Si) formed on Si wafers by reactive
ion etching in chlorine plasma are reported in an attempt to clarify the
formation mechanism and the origin of the observed optical and electrical
phenomena which are promising for a variety of applications. The b-Si
consisting of high density and high aspect ratio sub-micron length whiskers or
pillars with tip diameters of well under 3 nm exhibits strong photoluminescence
(PL) both in visible and infrared, which are interpreted in conjunction with
defects, confinement effects and near band-edge emission. Structural analysis
indicate that the whiskers are all crystalline and encapsulated by a thin Si
oxide layer. Infrared vibrational spectrum of Si-O-Si bondings in terms of
transverse-optic (TO) and longitudinal-optic (LO) phonons indicates that
disorder induced LO-TO optical mode coupling can be an effective tool in
assessing structural quality of the b-Si. The same phonons are likely coupled
to electrons in visible region PL transitions. Field emission properties of
these nanoscopic features are demonstrated indicating the influence of the tip
shape on the emission. Overall properties are discussed in terms of surface
morphology of the nano whiskers
Radiation from accelerated particles in relativistic jets with shocks, shear-flow, and reconnection
We have investigated particle acceleration and shock structure associated
with an unmagnetized relativistic jet propagating into an unmagnetized plasma.
Strong magnetic fields generated in the trailing jet shock lead to transverse
deflection and acceleration of the electrons. We have self-consistently
calculated the radiation from the electrons accelerated in the turbulent
magnetic fields. We find that the synthetic spectra depend on the bulk Lorentz
factor of the jet, the jet temperature, and the strength of the magnetic fields
generated in the shock. We have also begun study of electron acceleration in
the strong magnetic fields generated by kinetic shear (Kelvin-Helmholtz)
instabilities. Our calculated spectra should lead to a better understanding of
the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure from gamma-ray bursts,
relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 2012 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C12102
Weibel instability and associated strong fields in a fully 3D simulation of a relativistic shock
Plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream
instabilities) excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle
(electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a new 3-D relativistic
particle-in-cell code, we have investigated the particle acceleration and shock
structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electron-positron jet
propagating into an unmagnetized electron-positron plasma. The simulation has
been performed using a long simulation system in order to study the nonlinear
stages of the Weibel instability, the particle acceleration mechanism, and the
shock structure. Cold jet electrons are thermalized and slowed while the
ambient electrons are swept up to create a partially developed hydrodynamic
(HD) like shock structure. In the leading shock, electron density increases by
a factor of 3.5 in the simulation frame. Strong electromagnetic fields are
generated in the trailing shock and provide an emission site. We discuss the
possible implication of our simulation results within the AGN and GRB context.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Letters, in pres
Inelastic transport theory from first-principles: methodology and applications for nanoscale devices
We describe a first-principles method for calculating electronic structure,
vibrational modes and frequencies, electron-phonon couplings, and inelastic
electron transport properties of an atomic-scale device bridging two metallic
contacts under nonequilibrium conditions. The method extends the
density-functional codes SIESTA and TranSIESTA that use atomic basis sets. The
inelastic conductance characteristics are calculated using the nonequilibrium
Green's function formalism, and the electron-phonon interaction is addressed
with perturbation theory up to the level of the self-consistent Born
approximation. While these calculations often are computationally demanding, we
show how they can be approximated by a simple and efficient lowest order
expansion. Our method also addresses effects of energy dissipation and local
heating of the junction via detailed calculations of the power flow. We
demonstrate the developed procedures by considering inelastic transport through
atomic gold wires of various lengths, thereby extending the results presented
in [Frederiksen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 256601 (2004)]. To illustrate that
the method applies more generally to molecular devices, we also calculate the
inelastic current through different hydrocarbon molecules between gold
electrodes. Both for the wires and the molecules our theory is in quantitative
agreement with experiments, and characterizes the system-specific mode
selectivity and local heating.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figure
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