14,201 research outputs found
Local order and magnetic field effects on the electronic properties of disordered binary alloys in the Quantum Site Percolation limit
Electronic properties of disordered binary alloys are studied via the
calculation of the average Density of States (DOS) in two and three dimensions.
We propose a new approximate scheme that allows for the inclusion of local
order effects in finite geometries and extrapolates the behavior of infinite
systems following `finite-size scaling' ideas. We particularly investigate the
limit of the Quantum Site Percolation regime described by a tight-binding
Hamiltonian. This limit was chosen to probe the role of short range order (SRO)
properties under extreme conditions. The method is numerically highly efficient
and asymptotically exact in important limits, predicting the correct DOS
structure as a function of the SRO parameters. Magnetic field effects can also
be included in our model to study the interplay of local order and the shifted
quantum interference driven by the field. The average DOS is highly sensitive
to changes in the SRO properties, and striking effects are observed when a
magnetic field is applied near the segregated regime. The new effects observed
are twofold: there is a reduction of the band width and the formation of a gap
in the middle of the band, both as a consequence of destructive interference of
electronic paths and the loss of coherence for particular values of the
magnetic field. The above phenomena are periodic in the magnetic flux. For
other limits that imply strong localization, the magnetic field produces minor
changes in the structure of the average DOS.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 31 references, RevTex preprint, submitted to
Phys. Rev.
Andreev tunneling through a double quantum-dot system coupled to a ferromagnet and a superconductor: effects of mean field electronic correlations
We study the transport properties of a hybrid nanostructure composed of a
ferromagnet, two quantum dots, and a superconductor connected in series. By
using the non-equilibrium Green's function approach, we have calculated the
electric current, the differential conductance and the transmittance for
energies within the superconductor gap. In this regime, the mechanism of charge
transmission is the Andreev reflection, which allows for a control of the
current through the ferromagnet polarization. We have also included interdot
and intradot interactions, and have analyzed their influence through a mean
field approximation. In the presence of interactions, Coulomb blockade tend to
localized the electrons at the double-dot system, leading to an asymmetric
pattern for the density of states at the dots, and thus reducing the
transmission probability through the device. In particular, for non-zero
polarization, the intradot interaction splits the spin degeneracy, reducing the
maximum value of the current due to different spin-up and spin-down densities
of states. Negative differential conductance (NDC) appears for some regions of
the voltage bias, as a result of the interplay of the Andreev scattering with
electronic correlations. By applying a gate voltage at the dots, one can tune
the effect, changing the voltage region where this novel phenomenon appears.
This mechanism to control the current may be of importance in technological
applications.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure
Snake orbits and related magnetic edge states
We study the electron motion near magnetic field steps at which the strength
and/or sign of the magnetic field changes. The energy spectrum for such systems
is found and the electron states (bound and scattered) are compared with their
corresponding classical paths. Several classical properties as the velocity
parallel to the edge, the oscillation frequency perpendicular to the edge and
the extent of the states are compared with their quantum mechanical
counterpart. A class of magnetic edge states is found which do not have a
classical counterpart.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
Domain-wall profile in the presence of anisotropic exchange interactions: Effective on-site anisotropy
Starting from a D-dimensional XXZ ferromagnetic Heisenberg model in an
hypercubic lattice, it is demonstrated that the anisotropy in the exchange
coupling constant leads to a D-dependent effective on-site anisotropy
interaction often ignored for D>1. As a result the effective width of the wall
depends on the dimensionality of the system. It is shown that the effective
one-dimensional Hamiltonian is not the one-dimensional XXZ version as assumed
in previous theoretical work. We derive a new expression for the wall profile
that generalizes the standard Landau-Lifshitz form. Our results are found to be
in very good agreement with earlier numerical work using the Monte Carlo
method. Preceding theories concerning the domain wall contribution to
magnetoresistance have considered the role of D only through the modification
of the density of states in the electronic band structure. This Brief Report
reveals that the wall profile itself contains an additional D dependence for
the case of anisotropic exchange interactions.Comment: 4 pages; new title and abstract; 1 figure comparing our results with
earlier numerical work; a more general model containing the usual on-site
anisotropy; new remarks and references on the following two topics: (a)
experimental evidence for the existence of spin exchange anisotropy, and (b)
preceding theories concerning the domain wall contribution to
magnetoresistance; to appear in Phys. Rev.
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. VII. An optical transmission spectrum of WASP-48b
We obtained long-slit optical spectroscopy of one transit of WASP-48b with
the Optical System for Imaging and low-Intermediate-Resolution Integrated
Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) spectrograph at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias
(GTC). We integrated the spectrum of WASP-48 and one reference star in several
channels with different wavelength ranges, creating numerous color light curves
of the transit. We fit analytic transit curves to the data taking into account
the systematic effects present in the time series in an effort to measure the
change of the planet-to-star radius ratio () across wavelength. After
removing the transit model and systematic trends to the curves we reached
precisions between 261 ppm and 455-755 ppm for the white and spectroscopic
light curves, respectively. We obtained uncertainty values between
and for all the curves analyzed in
this work. The measured transit depth for the curves made by integrating the
wavelength range between 530 nm and 905 nm is in agreement with previous
studies. We report a relatively flat transmission spectrum for WASP-48b with no
statistical significant detection of atmospheric species, although the
theoretical models that fit the data more closely include of TiO and VO.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
OB Stars in the Solar Neighborhood I: Analysis of their Spatial Distribution
We present a newly-developed, three-dimensional spatial classification
method, designed to analyze the spatial distribution of early type stars within
the 1 kpc sphere around the Sun. We propose a distribution model formed by two
intersecting disks -the Gould Belt (GB) and the Local Galactic Disk (LGD)-
defined by their fundamental geometric parameters. Then, using a sample of
about 550 stars of spectral types earlier than B6 and luminosity classes
between III and V, with precise photometric distances of less than 1 kpc, we
estimate for some spectral groups the parameters of our model, as well as
single membership probabilities of GB and LGD stars, thus drawing a picture of
the spatial distribution of young stars in the vicinity of the Sun.Comment: 28 pages including 9 Postscript figures, one of them in color.
Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, 30 January 200
Microscopic and Macroscopic Signatures of Antiferromagnetic Domain Walls
Magnetotransport measurements on small single crystals of Cr, the elemental
antiferromagnet, reveal the hysteretic thermodynamics of the domain structure.
The temperature dependence of the transport coefficients is directly correlated
with the real-space evolution of the domain configuration as recorded by x-ray
microprobe imaging, revealing the effect of antiferromagnetic domain walls on
electron transport. A single antiferromagnetic domain wall interface resistance
is deduced to be of order at a
temperature of 100 K.Comment: 3 color figure
Analysis of indentation size effect in copper and its alloys
For describing the indentation size effect (ISE), numerous models, which relate the load or hardness to the indent dimensions, have been proposed. Unfortunately, it is still difficult to associate the different parameters involved in such relationships with physical or mechanical properties of the material. This is an unsolved problem since the ISE can be associated with various causes such as workhardening, roughness, piling-up, sinking-in, indenter tip geometry, surface energy, varying composition and crystal anisotropy. For interpreting the change in hardness with indent size, an original approach is proposed on the basis of composite hardness modelling together with the use of a simple model, which allows the determination of the hardness–depth profile. Applied to copper and copper alloys, it is shown that it is possible to determine the maximum hardness value reached at the outer surface of the material and the distance over which both the ISE and the workhardening take place
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