Permittivity enhancement of aluminum oxide thin films with the addition of silver nanoparticles

doi:10.1063/1.2425010Multilayer reactive electron-beam evaporation of thin aluminum oxide layers with embedded silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) has been used to create a dielectric thin film with an enhanced permittivity. The results show a frequency dependent increase of the dielectric constant κ. Overall stack κ of the control sample was found to be 7.7-7.4 in the 1 kHz-1 MHz range. This is in comparison with κ = 16.7-13.0 over the same frequency range in the sample with Ag-nps. Capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage measurements indicate the presence of charge capture resulting from the Ag-nps. The authors attribute this dielectric constant enhancement to dipole and space charge polarization mechanisms.The authors thank M. Othman for ellipsometry measurements. They are also grateful for the funding provided by the National Science Foundation Grant No. ECS0223

Transport properties of one-dimensional Kronig-Penney models with correlated disorder

Transport properties of one-dimensional Kronig-Penney models with binary correlated disorder are analyzed using an approach based on classical Hamiltonian maps. In this method, extended states correspond to bound trajectories in the phase space of a parametrically excited linear oscillator, while the on site-potential of the original model is transformed to an external force. We show that in this representation the two probe conductance takes a simple geometrical form in terms of evolution areas in phase-space. We also analyze the case of a general N-mer model.Comment: 16 pages in Latex, 12 Postscript figures include

Formulation, Interpretation and Application of non-Commutative Quantum Mechanics

In analogy with conventional quantum mechanics, non-commutative quantum mechanics is formulated as a quantum system on the Hilbert space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators acting on non-commutative configuration space. It is argued that the standard quantum mechanical interpretation based on Positive Operator Valued Measures, provides a sufficient framework for the consistent interpretation of this quantum system. The implications of this formalism for rotational and time reversal symmetry are discussed. The formalism is applied to the free particle and harmonic oscillator in two dimensions and the physical signatures of non commutativity are identified.Comment: 11 page

One-loop effects in a self-dual planar noncommutative theory

We study the UV properties, and derive the explicit form of the one-loop effective action, for a noncommutative complex scalar field theory in 2+1 dimensions with a Grosse-Wulkenhaar term, at the self-dual point. We also consider quantum effects around non-trivial minima of the classical action which appear when the potential allows for the spontaneous breaking of the U(1) symmetry. For those solutions, we show that the one-loop correction to the vacuum energy is a function of a special combination of the amplitude of the classical solution and the coupling constant.Comment: Version to appear in JHE

Hawking radiation, W-infinity algebra and trace anomalies

We apply the "trace anomaly method" to the calculation of moments of the Hawking radiation of a Schwarzschild black hole. We show that they can be explained as the fluxes of chiral currents forming a W-infinity algebra. Then we construct the covariant version of these currents and verify that up to order 6 they are not affected by any trace anomaly. Using cohomological methods we show that actually, for the fourth order current, no trace anomalies can exist. The results reported here are strictly valid in two dimensions.Comment: 22 pages, typos correcte

Outcome of pterygium surgery: analysis over 14 years

Aim: To report the outcome of pterygium surgery performed at a tertiary eye care centre in South India. Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of 920 patients (989 eyes) with primary and recurrent pterygia operated between January 1988 and December 2001. The demographic variables, surgical technique (bare sclera, primary closure, amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT), conjunctival autograft (CAG), conjunctival-limbal autograft (CLAG), or surgical adjuvants), recurrences and postoperative complications were analysed. Results: A total of 496 (53.9%) were male and 69 (7.5%) had bilateral pterygia. Bare sclera technique was performed in 267 (27.0%) eyes, primary conjunctival closure in 32 (3.2%), AMG in 123 (12.4%), CAG in 429 (43.4%), and CLAG in 70 (7.1%). Adjuvant mitomycin C was used in 44 (4.4%) cases. The mean duration of follow-up was 8.917.0 and 5.98.8 months for unilateral primary and recurrent pterygia, respectively. The overall recurrence rate was 178 (18.0%). Following primary and recurrent unilateral pterygium excision respectively, recurrences were noted in 46 (19.4%) and 1 (33.3%) eyes after bare sclera technique, five (16.7%) and 0 after primary closure, 28 (26.7%) and 0 with AMG, 42 (12.2%) and five (31.3%) with CAG, and nine (17.3%) and two (40%) with CLAG. Recurrences were significantly more in males with primary (23.3 vs10.7%, P<0.0001) and recurrent (26.7 vs0%, P=0.034) pterygia, and in those below 40 years (25.2 vs14.8%, P=0.003). Conclusion: CAG appears to be an effective modality for primary and recurrent pterygia. Males and patients below 40 years face greater risk of recurrence. Bare sclera technique has an unacceptably high recurrence. Prospective studies comparing CAG, CLAG, and AMG for primary and recurrent pterygia are needed

Noncommutativity In The Mechanics Of A Free Massless Relativistic Particle

We show the existence of a noncommutative spacetime structure in the context of a complete discussion on the underlying spacetime symmetries for the physical system of a free massless relativistic particle. The above spacetime symmetry transformations are discussed for the first-order Lagrangian of the system where the transformations on the coordinates, velocities and momenta play very important roles. We discuss the dynamics of this system in a systematic manner by exploiting the symplectic structures associated with the four dimensional (non-)commutative cotangent (i.e. momentum phase) space corresponding to a two dimensional (non-)commutative configuration (i.e. target) space. A simple connection of the above noncommutativity (NC) is established with the NC associated with the subject of quantum groups where $SL_{q,q^{-1}} (2)$ transformations play a decisive role.Comment: LaTeX file, 19 page

Delocalization in Continuous Disordered Systems

Continuous One-dimensional models supporting extended states are studied. These delocalized statesoccur at well defined values of the energy and are consequences of simple statistical correlation rules. We explicitly study alloys of delta-barrier potentials as well as alloys and liquids of quantum well as.The divergence of the localization length is studied and a critical exponent 2/3 is found for the delta-barrier case, whereas for the quantum wells we find an exponent of 2 or 2/3 depending on the well's parameters. These results support the idea that correlations between random scattering sequences break Anderson localization. We further calculate the conductance of disordered superlattices. At the peak transmission the relative fluctuations of the transmission coefficient are vanishing.Comment: 8 page