1,740 research outputs found
Shell structure and electron-electron interaction in self-assembled InAs quantum dots
Using far-infrared spectroscopy, we investigate the excitations of
self-organized InAs quantum dots as a function of the electron number per dot,
1<n<6, which is monitored in situ by capacitance spectroscopy. Whereas the
well-known two-mode spectrum is observed when the lowest s - states are filled,
we find a rich excitation spectrum for n=3, which reflects the importance of
electron-electron interaction in the present, strongly non-parabolic confining
potential. From capacitance spectroscopy we find that the electronic shell
structure in our dots gives rise to a distinct pattern in the charging energies
which strongly deviates from the monotonic behavior of the Coulomb blockade
found in mesoscopic or metallic structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 PostScript figure
Estimating physical activity and sedentary behaviour in a free-living environment: A comparative study between Fitbit Charge 2 and Actigraph GT3X
Background:
Activity trackers such as the Fitbit Charge 2 enable users and researchers to monitor physical activity in daily life, which could be beneficial for changing behaviour. However, the accuracy of the Fitbit Charge 2 in a free-living environment is largely unknown.
Objective:
To investigate the agreement between Fitbit Charge 2 and ActiGraph GT3X for the estimation of steps, energy expenditure, time in sedentary behaviour, and light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity under free-living conditions, and further examine to what extent placing the ActiGraph on the wrist as opposed to the hip would affect the findings.
Methods:
41 adults (n = 10 males, n = 31 females) were asked to wear a Fitbit Charge 2 device and two ActiGraph GT3X devices (one on the hip and one on the wrist) for seven consecutive days and fill out a log of wear times. Agreement was assessed through Bland-Altman plots combined with multilevel analysis.
Results:
The Fitbit measured 1,492 steps/day more than the hip-worn ActiGraph (limits of agreement [LoA] = -2,250; 5,234), while for sedentary time, it measured 25 min/day less (LoA = -137; 87). Both Bland-Altman plots showed fixed bias. For time in light physical activity, the Fitbit measured 59 min/day more (LoA = -52;169). For time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, the Fitbit measured 31 min/day less (LoA = -132; 71) and for activity energy expenditure it measured 408 kcal/day more than the hip-worn ActiGraph (LoA = -385; 1,200). For the two latter outputs, the plots indicated proportional bias. Similar or more pronounced discrepancies, mostly in opposite direction, appeared when comparing to the wrist-worn ActiGraph.
Conclusion:
Moderate to substantial differences between devices were found for most outputs, which could be due to differences in algorithms. Caution should be taken if replacing one device with another and when comparing results
Coulombically Interacting Electrons in a One-dimensional Quantum Dot
The spectral properties of up to four interacting electrons confined within a
quasi one--dimensional system of finite length are determined by numerical
diagonalization including the spin degree of freedom. The ground state energy
is investigated as a function of the electron number and of the system length.
The limitations of a description in terms of a capacitance are demonstrated.
The energetically lowest lying excitations are physically explained as
vibrational and tunneling modes. The limits of a dilute, Wigner-type
arrangement of the electrons, and a dense, more homogeneous charge distribution
are discussed.Comment: 10 pages (excl. Figures), Figures added in POSTSCRIPT, LaTe
Spin dynamics near a putative antiferromagnetic quantum critical point in Cu substituted BaFeAs and its relation to high-temperature superconductivity
We present the results of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering
measurements on non-superconducting
Ba(FeCu)As, a composition close to a
quantum critical point between AFM ordered and paramagnetic phases. By
comparing these results with the spin fluctuations in the low Cu composition as
well as the parent compound BaFeAs and superconducting
Ba(FeNi)As compounds, we demonstrate that paramagnon-like
spin fluctuations are evident in the antiferromagnetically ordered state of
Ba(FeCu)As, which is distinct from the AFM-like
spin fluctuations in the superconducting compounds. Our observations suggest
that Cu substitution decouples the interaction between quasiparticles and the
spin fluctuations. We also show that the spin-spin correlation length,
, increases rapidly as the temperature is lowered and find
scaling behavior, the hallmark of quantum criticality, at an
antiferromagnetic quantum critical point.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Magnetoplasmon excitations in an array of periodically modulated quantum wires
Motivated by the recent experiment of Hochgraefe et al., we have investigated
the magnetoplasmon excitations in a periodic array of quantum wires with a
periodic modulation along the wire direction. The equilibrium and dynamic
properties of the system are treated self-consistently within the
Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-von Weizsaecker approximation. A calculation of the
dynamical response of the system to a far-infrared radiation field reveals a
resonant anticrossing between the Kohn mode and a finite-wavevector
longitudinal excitation which is induced by the density modulation along the
wires. Our theoretical calculations are found to be in excellent agreement with
experiment.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Green coloring of GaN single crystals introduced by Cr impurity
In this study unintentionally doped GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy that exhibits a sharply delimited region of green color was investigated. Optical analysis was performed by absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. An absorption band between 1.5 and 2.0 eV was found to be responsible for the green color and was related to a sharp emission at 1.193 eV by luminescence and excitation spectroscopy. The appearance of both optical signatures in the region of green color was related to an increase of Cr contamination detected by secondary ion mass spectrometry. We propose that the origin of green color as well as the emission line at 1.193 eV is attributed to internal transitions of Cr⁴⁺
Helmholtz theorem and the v-gauge in the problem of superluminal and instantaneous signals in classical electrodynamics
In this work we substantiate the applying of the Helmholtz vector
decomposition theorem (H-theorem) to vector fields in classical
electrodynamics. Using the H-theorem, within the framework of the two-parameter
Lorentz-like gauge (so called v-gauge), we show that two kinds of magnetic
vector potentials exist: one of them (solenoidal) can act exclusively with the
velocity of light c and the other one (irrotational) with an arbitrary finite
velocity (including a velocity more than c . We show also that the
irrotational component of the electric field has a physical meaning and can
propagate exclusively instantaneously.Comment: This variant has been accepted for publication in Found. Phys.
Letter
On a universal photonic tunnelling time
We consider photonic tunnelling through evanescent regions and obtain general
analytic expressions for the transit (phase) time (in the opaque barrier
limit) in order to study the recently proposed ``universality'' property
according to which is given by the reciprocal of the photon frequency.
We consider different physical phenomena (corresponding to performed
experiments) and show that such a property is only an approximation. In
particular we find that the ``correction'' factor is a constant term for total
internal reflection and quarter-wave photonic bandgap, while it is
frequency-dependent in the case of undersized waveguide and distributed Bragg
reflector. The comparison of our predictions with the experimental results
shows quite a good agreement with observations and reveals the range of
applicability of the approximated ``universality'' property.Comment: RevTeX, 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; subsection added with a new
experiment analyzed, some other minor change
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