70,259 research outputs found
Adatoms and Anderson localization in graphene
We address the nature of the disordered state that results from the
adsorption of adatoms in graphene. For adatoms that sit at the center of the
honeycomb plaquette, as in the case of most transition metals, we show that the
ones that form a zero-energy resonant state lead to Anderson localization in
the vicinity of the Dirac point. Among those, we show that there is a symmetry
class of adatoms where Anderson localization is suppressed, leading to an
exotic metallic state with large and rare charge droplets, that localizes only
at the Dirac point. We identify the experimental conditions for the observation
of the Anderson transition for adatoms in graphene.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 appendixes, Final versio
The potential of the variable DA white dwarf G117-B15A as a tool for Fundamental Physics
White dwarfs are well studied objects. The relative simplicity of their
physics allows to obtain very detailed models which can be ultimately compared
with their observed properties. Among white dwarfs there is a specific class of
stars, known as ZZ-Ceti objects, which have a hydrogen-rich envelope and show
periodic variations in their light curves. G117-B15A belongs to this particular
set of stars. The luminosity variations have been successfully explained as due
to g-mode pulsations. G117-B15A has been recently claimed to be the most stable
optical clock ever found, being the rate of change of its 215.2 s period very
small: \dot{P}= (2.3 +- 1.4)x10^{-15} s s^-1, with a stability comparable to
that of the most stable millisecond pulsars. The rate of change of the period
is closely related to its cooling timescale, which can be accurately computed.
In this paper we study the pulsational properties of G117-B15A and we use the
observed rate of change of the period to impose constraints on the axion
emissivity and, thus, to obtain a preliminary upper bound to the mass of the
axion. This upper bound turns out to be 4cos^{2}{\beta} meV at the 95%
confidence level. Although there are still several observational and
theoretical uncertainties, we conclude that G117-B15A is a very promising
stellar object to set up constraints on particle physics.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in New Astronom
Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene with Interface-Induced Spin-Orbit Coupling
We consider an effective model for graphene with interface-induced spin-orbit
coupling and calculate the quantum Hall effect in the low-energy limit. We
perform a systematic analysis of the contribution of the different terms of the
effective Hamiltonian to the quantum Hall effect (QHE). By analysing the
spin-splitting of the quantum Hall states as a function of magnetic field and
gate-voltage, we obtain different scaling laws that can be used to characterise
the spin-orbit coupling in experiments. Furthermore, we employ a real-space
quantum transport approach to calculate the quantum Hall conductivity and
investigate the robustness of the QHE to disorder introduced by hydrogen
impurities. For that purpose, we combine first-principles calculations and a
genetic algorithm strategy to obtain a graphene-only Hamiltonian that models
the impurity
HD 85567: A Herbig B[e] star or an interacting B[e] binary
Context. HD 85567 is an enigmatic object exhibiting the B[e] phenomenon, i.e.
an infrared excess and forbidden emission lines in the optical. The object's
evolutionary status is uncertain and there are conflicting claims that it is
either a young stellar object or an evolved, interacting binary.
Aims. To elucidate the reason for the B[e] behaviour of HD 85567, we have
observed it with the VLTI and AMBER.
Methods. Our observations were conducted in the K-band with moderate spectral
resolution (R~1500, i.e. 200 km/s). The spectrum of HD 85567 exhibits Br gamma
and CO overtone bandhead emission. The interferometric data obtained consist of
spectrally dispersed visibilities, closure phases and differential phases
across these spectral features and the K-band continuum.
Results. The closure phase observations do not reveal evidence of asymmetry.
The apparent size of HD 85567 in the K-band was determined by fitting the
visibilities with a ring model. The best fitting radius, 0.8 +/- 0.3 AU, is
relatively small making HD 85567 undersized in comparison to the
size-luminosity relationship based on YSOs of low and intermediate luminosity.
This has previously been found to be the case for luminous YSOs, and it has
been proposed that this is due to the presence of an optically thick gaseous
disc. We demonstrate that the differential phase observations over the CO
bandhead emission are indeed consistent with the presence of a compact (~1 AU)
gaseous disc interior to the dust sublimation radius.
Conclusions. The observations reveal no sign of binarity. However, the data
do indicate the presence of a gaseous disc interior to the dust sublimation
radius. We conclude that the data are consistent with the hypothesis that HD
85567 is a YSO with an optically thick gaseous disc within a larger dust disc
that is being photo-evaporated from the outer edge.Comment: Accepted for publication in A &
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