3,297 research outputs found
On the Role of Metastable States in Low Pressure Oxygen Discharges
We use the one-dimensional object-oriented particle-in-cell Monte Carlo
collision code {\tt oopd1} to explore the spatio-temporal evolution of the
electron heating mechanism in a capacitively coupled oxygen discharge in the
pressure range 10 -- 200 mTorr. The electron heating is most significant in the
sheath vicinity during the sheath expansion phase. We explore how including and
excluding detachment by the singlet metastable states O(a) and O(b) influences the heating mechanism, the
effective electron temperature and electronegativity, in the oxygen discharge.
We demonstrate that the detachment processes have a significant influence on
the discharge properties, in particular for the higher pressures. At 10 mTorr
the time averaged electron heating shows mainly ohmic heating in the plasma
bulk (the electronegative core) and at higher pressures there is no ohmic
heating in the plasma bulk, that is electron heating in the sheath regions
dominates.Comment: submitted to AIP Conference Proceeding
Far-Infrared Excitations below the Kohn Mode: Internal Motion in a Quantum Dot
We have investigated the far-infrared response of quantum dots in modulation
doped GaAs heterostructures. We observe novel modes at frequencies below the
center-of-mass Kohn mode. Comparison with Hartree-RPA calculations show that
these modes arise from the flattened potential in our field-effect confined
quantum dots. They reflect pronounced relative motion of the charge density
with respect to the center-of-mass.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX with integrated 6 PostScript figure
Spin effects in a confined 2DEG: Enhancement of the g-factor, spin-inversion states and their far-infrared absorption
We investigate several spin-related phenomena in a confined two-dimensional
electron gas (2DEG) using the Hartree-Fock approximation for the mutual Coulomb
interaction of the electrons. The exchange term of the interaction causes a
large splitting of the spin levels whenever the chemical potential lies within
a Landau band (LB). This splitting can be reinterpreted as an enhancement of an
effective g-factor, g*. The increase of g* when a LB is half filled can be
accompanied by a spontaneous formation of a static spin-inversion state (SIS)
whose details depend on the system sision state (SIS) whose details depend on
the system size. The coupling of the states of higher LB's into the lowest band
by the Coulomb interaction of the 2DEG is essential for the SIS to occur. The
far-infrared absorption of the system, relatively insensitive to the spin
splitting, develops clear signs of the SIS.Comment: 7 figure
Afterglow Light Curves and Broken Power Laws: A Statistical Study
In gamma-ray burst research it is quite common to fit the afterglow light
curves with a broken power law to interpret the data. We apply this method to a
computer simulated population of afterglows and find systematic differences
between the known model parameters of the population and the ones derived from
the power law fits. In general, the slope of the electron energy distribution
is overestimated from the pre-break light curve slope while being
underestimated from the post-break slope. We also find that the jet opening
angle derived from the fits is overestimated in narrow jets and underestimated
in wider ones. Results from fitting afterglow light curves with broken power
laws must therefore be interpreted with caution since the uncertainties in the
derived parameters might be larger than estimated from the fit. This may have
implications for Hubble diagrams constructed using gamma-ray burst data.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Hartree-Fock dynamics in highly excited quantum dots
Time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory is used to describe density oscillations
of symmetry-unrestricted two-dimensional nanostructures. In the small amplitude
limit the results reproduce those obtained within a perturbative approach such
as the linearized time-dependent Hartree-Fock one. The nonlinear regime is
explored by studying large amplitude oscillations in a non-parabolic potential,
which are shown to introduce a strong coupling with internal degrees of
freedom. This excitation of internal modes, mainly of monopole and quadrupole
character, results in sizeable modifications of the dipole absorption.Comment: 4 pages, 4 embedded figure
Magnetization in short-period mesoscopic electron systems
We calculate the magnetization of the two-dimensional electron gas in a
short-period lateral superlattice, with the Coulomb interaction included in
Hartree and Hartree-Fock approximations. We compare the results for a finite,
mesoscopic system modulated by a periodic potential, with the results for the
infinite periodic system. In addition to the expected strong exchange effects,
the size of the system, the type and the strength of the lateral modulation
leave their fingerprints on the magnetization.Comment: RevTeX4, 10 pages with 14 included postscript figures To be published
in PRB. Replaced to repair figure
Forecasting magma-chamber rupture at Santorini volcano, Greece
How much magma needs to be added to a shallow magma chamber to cause rupture, dyke injection and a potential eruption? Models that yield reliable answers to this question are needed in order to facilitate eruption forecasting. Development of a long-lived shallow magma chamber requires periodic influx of magmas from a parental body at depth. This redistribution process does not necessarily cause an eruption but produces a net volume change that can be measured geodetically by inversion techniques. Using continuum-mechanics and fracture-mechanics principles, we calculate the amount of magma contained at shallow depth beneath Santorini volcano, Greece. We demonstrate through structural analysis of dykes exposed within the Santorini caldera, previously published data on the volume of recent eruptions and geodetic measurements of the 2011–2012 unrest period, that the measured 0.02% increase in volume of Santorini’s shallow magma chamber was associated with magmatic excess pressure increase of around 1.1 MPa. This excess pressure was high enough to bring the chamber roof close to rupture and dyke injection. For volcanoes with known typical extrusion and intrusion (dyke) volumes, the new methodology presented here makes it possible to forecast the conditions for magma-chamber failure and dyke injection at any geodetically well-monitored volcano
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