1,178 research outputs found
Micropatterned Electrostatic Traps for Indirect Excitons in Coupled GaAs Quantum Wells
We demonstrate an electrostatic trap for indirect excitons in a field-effect
structure based on coupled GaAs quantum wells. Within the plane of a double
quantum well indirect excitons are trapped at the perimeter of a SiO2 area
sandwiched between the surface of the GaAs heterostructure and a
semitransparent metallic top gate. The trapping mechanism is well explained by
a combination of the quantum confined Stark effect and local field enhancement.
We find the one-dimensional trapping potentials in the quantum well plane to be
nearly harmonic with high spring constants exceeding 10 keV/cm^2.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Two New Bounds on the Random-Edge Simplex Algorithm
We prove that the Random-Edge simplex algorithm requires an expected number
of at most 13n/sqrt(d) pivot steps on any simple d-polytope with n vertices.
This is the first nontrivial upper bound for general polytopes. We also
describe a refined analysis that potentially yields much better bounds for
specific classes of polytopes. As one application, we show that for
combinatorial d-cubes, the trivial upper bound of 2^d on the performance of
Random-Edge can asymptotically be improved by any desired polynomial factor in
d.Comment: 10 page
Drift mobility of long-living excitons in coupled GaAs quantum wells
We observe high-mobility transport of indirect excitons in coupled GaAs
quantum wells. A voltage-tunable in-plane potential gradient is defined for
excitons by exploiting the quantum confined Stark effect in combination with a
lithographically designed resistive top gate. Excitonic photoluminescence
resolved in space, energy, and time provides insight into the in-plane drift
dynamics. Across several hundreds of microns an excitonic mobility of >10^5
cm2/eVs is observed for temperatures below 10 K. With increasing temperature
the excitonic mobility decreases due to exciton-phonon scattering.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
Ten steps toward a better personality science - How quality may be rewarded more in research evaluation
This target article is part of a theme bundle including open peer commentaries (https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.9227) and a rejoinder by the authors (https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.7961). We point out ten steps that we think will go a long way in improving personality science. The first five steps focus on fostering consensus regarding (1) research goals, (2) terminology, (3) measurement practices, (4) data handling, and (5) the current state of theory and evidence. The other five steps focus on improving the credibility of empirical research, through (6) formal modelling, (7) mandatory pre-registration for confirmatory claims, (8) replication as a routine practice, (9) planning for informative studies (e.g., in terms of statistical power), and (10) making data, analysis scripts, and materials openly available. The current, quantity-based incentive structure in academia clearly stands in the way of implementing many of these practices, resulting in a research literature with sometimes questionable utility and/or integrity. As a solution, we propose a more quality-based reward scheme that explicitly weights published research by its Good Science merits. Scientists need to be increasingly rewarded for doing good work, not just lots of work
Self-intersection local times of random walks: Exponential moments in subcritical dimensions
Fix , not necessarily integer, with . We study the -fold
self-intersection local time of a simple random walk on the lattice up
to time . This is the -norm of the vector of the walker's local times,
. We derive precise logarithmic asymptotics of the expectation of
for scales that are bounded from
above, possibly tending to zero. The speed is identified in terms of mixed
powers of and , and the precise rate is characterized in terms of
a variational formula, which is in close connection to the {\it
Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequality}. As a corollary, we obtain a large-deviation
principle for for deviation functions satisfying
t r_t\gg\E[\|\ell_t\|_p]. Informally, it turns out that the random walk
homogeneously squeezes in a -dependent box with diameter of order to produce the required amount of self-intersections. Our main tool is
an upper bound for the joint density of the local times of the walk.Comment: 15 pages. To appear in Probability Theory and Related Fields. The
final publication is available at springerlink.co
Micrometer-sized Water Ice Particles for Planetary Science Experiments: Influence of Surface Structure on Collisional Properties
Models and observations suggest that ice-particle aggregation at and beyond the snowline dominates the earliest stages of planet formation, which therefore is subject to many laboratory studies. However, the pressure–temperature gradients in protoplanetary disks mean that the ices are constantly processed, undergoing phase changes between different solid phases and the gas phase. Open questions remain as to whether the properties of the icy particles themselves dictate collision outcomes and therefore how effectively collision experiments reproduce conditions in protoplanetary environments. Previous experiments often yielded apparently contradictory results on collision outcomes, only agreeing in a temperature dependence setting in above ≈210 K. By exploiting the unique capabilities of the NIMROD neutron scattering instrument, we characterized the bulk and surface structure of icy particles used in collision experiments, and studied how these structures alter as a function of temperature at a constant pressure of around 30 mbar. Our icy grains, formed under liquid nitrogen, undergo changes in the crystalline ice-phase, sublimation, sintering and surface pre-melting as they are heated from 103 to 247 K. An increase in the thickness of the diffuse surface layer from ≈10 to ≈30 Å (≈2.5 to 12 bilayers) proves increased molecular mobility at temperatures above ≈210 K. Because none of the other changes tie-in with the temperature trends in collisional outcomes, we conclude that the surface pre-melting phenomenon plays a key role in collision experiments at these temperatures. Consequently, the pressure–temperature environment, may have a larger influence on collision outcomes than previously thought
Tensile strained membranes for cavity optomechanics
We investigate the optomechanical properties of tensile-strained ternary
InGaP nanomembranes grown on GaAs. This material system combines the benefits
of highly strained membranes based on stoichiometric silicon nitride, with the
unique properties of thin-film semiconductor single crystals, as previously
demonstrated with suspended GaAs. Here we employ lattice mismatch in epitaxial
growth to impart an intrinsic tensile strain to a monocrystalline thin film
(approximately 30 nm thick). These structures exhibit mechanical quality
factors of 2*10^6 or beyond at room temperature and 17 K for eigenfrequencies
up to 1 MHz, yielding Q*f products of 2*10^12 Hz for a tensile stress of ~170
MPa. Incorporating such membranes in a high finesse Fabry-Perot cavity, we
extract an upper limit to the total optical loss (including both absorption and
scatter) of 40 ppm at 1064 nm and room temperature. Further reductions of the
In content of this alloy will enable tensile stress levels of 1 GPa, with the
potential for a significant increase in the Q*f product, assuming no
deterioration in the mechanical loss at this composition and strain level. This
materials system is a promising candidate for the integration of strained
semiconductor membrane structures with low-loss semiconductor mirrors and for
realizing stacks of membranes for enhanced optomechanical coupling.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
How was it for you? Experiences of participatory design in the UK health service
Improving co-design methods implies that we need to understand those methods, paying attention to not only the effect of method choices on design outcomes, but also how methods affect the people involved in co-design. In this article, we explore participants' experiences from a year-long participatory health service design project to develop ‘Better Outpatient Services for Older People’. The project followed a defined method called experience-based design (EBD), which represented the state of the art in participatory service design within the UK National Health Service. A sample of participants in the project took part in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their involvement in and their feelings about the project. Our findings suggest that the EBD method that we employed was successful in establishing positive working relationships among the different groups of stakeholders (staff, patients, carers, advocates and design researchers), although conflicts remained throughout the project. Participants' experiences highlighted issues of wider relevance in such participatory design: cost versus benefit, sense of project momentum, locus of control, and assumptions about how change takes place in a complex environment. We propose tactics for dealing with these issues that inform the future development of techniques in user-centred healthcare design
Application of artificial vascular polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel grafts in sheep - our experience to date.
Researchers developed this project according with the tasks originally planned, so far focusing their
research activities in the biocompatibility and functionality of vascular implants. The biocompatibility was
studied by following the ISO standard 10993-6 for evaluation of medical devices through the evaluation
and grading of inflammation caused by implants placed subcutaneously. The implants were placed in sheep
and collected randomly at different time points of the experimental period and subsequently processed
histologically and classified according to Annex E to the standard mentioned above.
The functionality of vascular implants has been evaluated to date by replacement of segments of the
carotid by ePTFE implants with 5 cm long and 4 mm in diameter, coated or not with cultured stem cells.
The deployment of these prostheses has been performed in carotid arteries of sheep and their functional
performance measured by vascular ultrasound in Doppler and B mode by measuring parameters such as:
peak systolic / diastolic blood flow velocity, vascular diameters at implantation and at the periphery of
these. These measurements are performed at various time points of the experiment were folloed by
euthanasia of sheep and immediately sample collection for the implementation of techniques like
immunohistochemistry, morphometry and scanning electronic microscopy. Complications were observed
throughout the experimental period include the formation of thrombi after at the transition implantcarotid
region and vascular dilatation as the most frequent, respectively, in periods of short-and long-term
experiment
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