9,324 research outputs found
Strong Tunneling and Coulomb Blockade in a Single-Electron Transistor
We have developed a detailed experimental study of a single-electron
transistor in a strong tunneling regime. Although weakened by strong charge
fluctuations, Coulomb effects were found to persist in all samples including
one with the effective conductance 8 times higher than the quantum value (6.45
k). A good agreement between our experimental data and
theoretical results for the strong tunneling limit is found. A reliable
operation of transistors with conductances 3-4 times larger than the quantum
value is demonstrated.Comment: revtex, 4 page
Electron transport and current fluctuations in short coherent conductors
Employing a real time effective action formalism we analyze electron
transport and current fluctuations in comparatively short coherent conductors
in the presence of electron-electron interactions. We demonstrate that, while
Coulomb interaction tends to suppress electron transport, it may {\it strongly
enhance} shot noise in scatterers with highly transparent conducting channels.
This effect of excess noise is governed by the Coulomb gap observed in the
current-voltage characteristics of such scatterers. We also analyze the
frequency dispersion of higher current cumulants and emphasize a direct
relation between electron-electron interaction effects and current fluctuations
in disordered mesoscopic conductors.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Dephasing Times in a Non-degenerate Two-Dimensional Electron Gas
Studies of weak localization by scattering from vapor atoms for electrons on
a liquid helium surface are reported. There are three contributions to the
dephasing time. Dephasing by the motion of vapor atoms perpendicular to the
surface is studied by varying the holding field to change the characteristic
width of the electron layer at the surface. A change in vapor density alters
the quasi-elastic scattering length and the dephasing due to the motion of
atoms both perpendicular and parallel to the surface. Dephasing due to the
electron-electron interaction is dependent on the electron density.Comment: 4 pages, Revte
Low temperature properties of a quantum particle coupled to dissipative environments
We study the dynamics of a quantum particle coupled to dissipative (ohmic)
environments, such as an electron liquid. For some choices of couplings, the
properties of the particle can be described in terms of an effective mass. A
particular case is the three dimensional dirty electron liquid. In other
environments, like the one described by the Caldeira-Leggett model, the
effective mass diverges at low temperatures, and quantum effects are strongly
suppressed. For interactions within this class, arbitrarily weak potentials
lead to localized solutions. Particles bound to external potentials, or moving
in closed orbits, can show a first order transition, between strongly and
weakly localized regimes.Comment: 10 page
Semiclassical kinetic theory of electron spin relaxation in semiconductors
We develop a semiclassical kinetic theory for electron spin relaxation in
semiconductors. Our approach accounts for elastic as well as inelastic
scattering and treats Elliott-Yafet and motional-narrowing processes, such as
D'yakonov-Perel' and variable g-factor processes, on an equal footing. Focusing
on small spin polarizations and small momentum transfer scattering, we derive,
starting from the full quantum kinetic equations, a Fokker-Planck equation for
the electron spin polarization. We then construct, using a rigorous multiple
time scale approach, a Bloch equation for the macroscopic (-averaged)
spin polarization on the long time scale, where the spin polarization decays.
Spin-conserving energy relaxation and diffusion, which occur on a fast time
scale, after the initial spin polarization has been injected, are incorporated
and shown to give rise to a weight function which defines the energy averages
required for the calculation of the spin relaxation tensor in the Bloch
equation. Our approach provides an intuitive way to conceptualize the dynamics
of the spin polarization in terms of a ``test'' spin polarization which
scatters off ``field'' particles (electrons, impurities, phonons). To
illustrate our approach, we calculate for a quantum well the spin lifetime at
temperatures and densities where electron-electron and electron-impurity
scattering dominate. The spin lifetimes are non-monotonic functions of
temperature and density. Our results show that at electron densities and
temperatures, where the cross-over from the non-degenerate to the degenerate
regime occurs, spin lifetimes are particularly long.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, final versio
Decoherence of a particle in a ring
We consider a particle coupled to a dissipative environment and derive a
perturbative formula for the dephasing rate based on the purity of the reduced
probability matrix. We apply this formula to the problem of a particle on a
ring, that interacts with a dirty metal environment. At low but finite
temperatures we find a dephasing rate , and identify dephasing
lengths for large and for small rings. These findings shed light on recent
Monte Carlo data regarding the effective mass of the particle. At zero
temperature we find that spatial fluctuations suppress the possibility of
having a power law decay of coherence.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, proofed version to be published in EP
Snow metamorphism: a fractal approach
Snow is a porous disordered medium consisting of air and three water phases:
ice, vapour and liquid. The ice phase consists of an assemblage of grains, ice
matrix, initially arranged over a random load bearing skeleton. The
quantitative relationship between density and morphological characteristics of
different snow microstructures is still an open issue. In this work, a
three-dimensional fractal description of density corresponding to different
snow microstructure is put forward. First, snow density is simulated in terms
of a generalized Menger sponge model. Then, a fully three-dimensional compact
stochastic fractal model is adopted. The latter approach yields a quantitative
map of the randomness of the snow texture, which is described as a
three-dimensional fractional Brownian field with the Hurst exponent H varying
as continuous parameter. The Hurst exponent is found to be strongly dependent
on snow morphology and density. The approach might be applied to all those
cases where the morphological evolution of snow cover or ice sheets should be
conveniently described at a quantitative level
Search for new pharmacological targets for increasing the efficiency of correction of cardiovascular diseases
It is noted that currently, there are no drugs for specific pharmacological correction of endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases, and the search for new targets for pharmacological correction of endothelial dysfunction is one of the main tasks of pharmacolog
Possible explanations for different surface quality in laser cutting with 1 micron and 10 microns beams
In laserăcuttingăofăthickăsteelăsheets,ăqualityădifferenceăisăobservedăbetweenăcutăsurfacesăobtainedăwith 1 micron and 10 micron laser beams. This paper investigates physical mechanisms for this interesting and important problem of the wavelength dependence. First, striation generation process is described, based on a 3D structure of melt flow on a kerf front, which was revealed for the first time by our recent experimental observations. Two fundamental processes are suggested to explain the difference in the cut surface quality: destabilization of the melt flow in the central part of the kerf front and downward displacement of discrete melt accumulations along the side parts of the front. Then each of the processes is analyzed using a simplified analytical model. The results show that in both processes, different angular dependence of the absorptivity of the laser beam can result in the quality difference. Finally we propose use of radial polarization to improve the quality with the 1 micron wavelength
Decoherence of Schrodinger cat states in a Luttinger liquid
Schrodinger cat states built from quantum superpositions of left or right
Luttinger fermions located at different positions in a spinless Luttinger
liquid are considered. Their decoherence rates are computed within the
bosonization approach using as environments the quantum electromagnetic field
or two or three dimensionnal acoustic phonon baths. Emphasis is put on the
differences between the electromagnetic and acoustic environments.Comment: 22 pages revtex4, 7 figures in a separate PS fil
- âŠ