95 research outputs found
Model for quantitative tip-enhanced spectroscopy and the extraction of nanoscale-resolved optical constants
Near-field infrared spectroscopy by elastic scattering of light from a probe
tip resolves optical contrasts in materials at dramatically sub-wavelength
scales across a broad energy range, with the demonstrated capacity for chemical
identification at the nanoscale. However, current models of probe-sample
near-field interactions still cannot provide a sufficiently quantitatively
interpretation of measured near-field contrasts, especially in the case of
materials supporting strong surface phonons. We present a model of near-field
spectroscopy derived from basic principles and verified by finite-element
simulations, demonstrating superb predictive agreement both with tunable
quantum cascade laser near-field spectroscopy of SiO thin films and with
newly presented nanoscale Fourier transform infrared (nanoFTIR) spectroscopy of
crystalline SiC. We discuss the role of probe geometry, field retardation, and
surface mode dispersion in shaping the measured near-field response. This
treatment enables a route to quantitatively determine nano-resolved optical
constants, as we demonstrate by inverting newly presented nanoFTIR spectra of
an SiO thin film into the frequency dependent dielectric function of its
mid-infrared optical phonon. Our formalism further enables tip-enhanced
spectroscopy as a potent diagnostic tool for quantitative nano-scale
spectroscopy.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure
Detection of High Energy Ionizing Radiation using Deeply Depleted Graphene-Oxide-Semiconductor Junctions
Graphene's linear bandstructure and two-dimensional density of states provide
an implicit advantage for sensing charge. Here, these advantages are leveraged
in a deeply depleted graphene-oxide-semiconductor (D2GOS) junction detector
architecture to sense carriers created by ionizing radiation. Specifically, the
room temperature response of the silicon-based D2GOS junction is analyzed
during irradiation with 20 MeV Si4+ ions. Detection was demonstrated for doses
ranging from 12-1200 ions with device functionality maintained with no
substantive degradation. To understand the device response, D2GOS pixels were
characterized post-irradiation via a combination of electrical
characterization, Raman spectroscopy, and photocurrent mapping. This combined
characterization methodology underscores the lack of discernible damage caused
by irradiation to the graphene while highlighting the nature of interactions
between the incident ions and the silicon absorber.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Hadronization of a Quark-Gluon Plasma in the Chromodielectric Model
We have carried out simulations of the hadronization of a hot, ideal but
effectively massive quark-gluon gas into color neutral clusters in the
framework of the semi-classical SU(3) chromodielectric model. We have studied
the possible quark-gluon compositions of clusters as well as the final mass
distribution and spectra, aiming to obtain an insight into relations between
hadronic spectral properties and the confinement mechanism in this model.Comment: 34 pages, 37 figure
Phase transition in bulk single crystals and thin films of VO2 by nanoscale infrared spectroscopy and imaging
We have systematically studied a variety of vanadium dioxide (VO2) crystalline forms, including bulk single crystals and oriented thin films, using infrared (IR) near-field spectroscopic imaging techniques. By measuring the IR spectroscopic responses of electrons and phonons in VO2 with sub-grain-size spatial resolution (âŒ20nm), we show that epitaxial strain in VO2 thin films not only triggers spontaneous local phase separations, but also leads to intermediate electronic and lattice states that are intrinsically different from those found in bulk. Generalized rules of strain- and symmetry-dependent mesoscopic phase inhomogeneity are also discussed. These results set the stage for a comprehensive understanding of complex energy landscapes that may not be readily determined by macroscopic approaches
Graphene on hexagonal boron nitride as a tunable hyperbolic metamaterial
Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a natural hyperbolic material1, in which the dielectric constants are the same in the basal plane (Δ[superscript t]ââĄâΔ[superscript x]â=âΔ[superscript y]) but have opposite signs (Δ[superscript t] Δ[superscript zâ]<â0) in the normal plane (Δ[superscript z]). Owing to this property, finite-thickness slabs of h-BN act as multimode waveguides for the propagation of hyperbolic phonon polaritonsâcollective modes that originate from the coupling between photons and electric dipoles in phonons. However, control of these hyperbolic phonon polaritons modes has remained challenging, mostly because their electrodynamic properties are dictated by the crystal lattice of h-BN. Here we show, by direct nano-infrared imaging, that these hyperbolic polaritons can be effectively modulated in a van der Waals heterostructure composed of monolayer graphene on h-BN. Tunability originates from the hybridization of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene with hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN so that the eigenmodes of the graphene/h-BN heterostructure are hyperbolic plasmonâphonon polaritons. The hyperbolic plasmonâphonon polaritons in graphene/h-BN suffer little from ohmic losses, making their propagation length 1.5â2.0 times greater than that of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. The hyperbolic plasmonâphonon polaritons possess the combined virtues of surface plasmon polaritons in graphene and hyperbolic phonon polaritons in h-BN. Therefore, graphene/h-BN can be classified as an electromagnetic metamaterial as the resulting properties of these devices are not present in its constituent elements alone
REAL-TIME DESCRIPTION OF PARTON-HADRON CONVERSION AND CONFINEMENT DYNAMICS
We propose a new and universal approach to the hadronization problem that
incorporates both partonic and hadronic degrees of freedom in their respective
domains of relevance, and that describes the conversion between them within a
kinetic field theory formulation in real time and full 7-dimensional phase
space. We construct a scale-dependent effective theory that reduces to
perturbative QCD with its scale and chiral symmetry properties at short
space-time distances, but at large distances (r > 1 fm) yields symmetry
breaking gluon and quark condensates plus hadronic excitations. The approach is
applied to the evolution of fragmenting qq~ and gg jet pairs as the system
evolves from the initial 2-jet configuration, via parton showering and cluster
formation, to the final yield of hadrons. The phenomenological implications for
e+e- -> hadrons are investigated, such as the time scale of the transition, and
its energy dependence, cluster size and mass distributions. We compare our
results for particle production and Bose-Einstein correlations with
experimental data, and find an interesting possibility of extracting the basic
parameters of the space-time evolution of the system from Bose enhancement
measurements.Comment: 51 pages, latex, 14 figures as uu-encoded postscript file
Quantum liquids resulting from quark systems with four-quark interaction
Quark ensembles influenced by strong stochastic vacuum gluon fields are investigated within the four-fermion interaction approximation. The comparative analysis of several quantum liquid models is performed and this analysis leads to the conclusion that the presence of a gasâliquid phase transition is their characteristic feature. The problem of the instability of small quark number droplets is discussed and it is argued that it is rooted in the chiral soliton formation. The existence of a mixed phase of the vacuum and baryon matter is proposed as a possible explanation of the latter stability
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