Magnetization structure of a Bloch point singularity

Switching of magnetic vortex cores involves a topological transition characterized by the presence of a magnetization singularity, a point where the magnetization vanishes (Bloch point). We analytically derive the shape of the Bloch point that is an extremum of the free energy with exchange, dipole and the Landau terms for the determination of the local value of the magnetization modulus.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Temperature Dependence of Electron to Lattice Energy-Transfer in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Bundles

The electron-phonon coupling strength in single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles has been studied directly in the time-domain by femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We have measured the dependence of H(T_e,T_l), the rate of energy-transfer between the electronic system and the lattice as a function of electron and lattice temperatures T_e and T_l. The experiments are consistent with a T^5 dependence of H on the electron- and lattice-temperatures, respectively. The results can be related to the e-ph mass enhancement parameter lambda. The experimentally obtained value for lambda/theta_D^2, where theta_D is the Debye temperature, suggests that e-ph scattering times at the Fermi level of SWNT bundles can be exceptionally long, exceeding 1.5 ps at room temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologiy, special issue on nanotube

Electronic structure and dynamics of optically excited single-wall carbon nanotubes

We have studied the electronic structure and charge-carrier dynamics of individual single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and nanotube ropes using optical and electron-spectroscopic techniques. The electronic structure of semiconducting SWNTs in the band-gap region is analyzed using near-infrared absorption spectroscopy. A semi-empirical expression for $E_{11}^{\rm S}$ transition energies, based on tight-binding calculations is found to give striking agreement with experimental data. Time-resolved PL from dispersed SWNT-micelles shows a decay with a time constant of about 15 ps. Using time-resolved photoemission we also find that the electron-phonon ({\it e-ph}) coupling in metallic tubes is characterized by a very small {\it e-ph} mass-enhancement of 0.0004. Ultrafast electron-electron scattering of photo-excited carriers in nanotube ropes is finally found to lead to internal thermalization of the electronic system within about 200 fs.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Applied Physics

Anisotropy of quasiparticle lifetimes and the role of disorder in graphite from ultrafast time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Femtosecond time-resolved photoemission of photoexcited electrons in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) provides strong evidence for anisotropies of quasiparticle (QP) lifetimes. Indicative of such anisotropies is a pronounced anomaly in the energy dependence of QP lifetimes between 1.1 and 1.5 eV—the vicinity of a saddle point in the graphite band structure. This is supported by recent ab initio calculations and a comparison with experiments on defect-enriched HOPG which reveal that disorder, e.g., defects or phonons, increases electron energy relaxation rates

Conductance of Distorted Carbon Nanotubes

We have calculated the effects of structural distortions of armchair carbon nanotubes on their electrical transport properties. We found that the bending of the nanotubes decreases their transmission function in certain energy ranges and leads to an increased electrical resistance. Electronic structure calculations show that these energy ranges contain localized states with significant $\sigma$-$\pi$ hybridization resulting from the increased curvature produced by bending. Our calculations of the contact resistance show that the large contact resistances observed for SWNTs are likely due to the weak coupling of the NT to the metal in side bonded NT-metal configurations.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX including 4 figures, submitted to PR

Scattering polarization of hydrogen lines from electric-induced atomic alignment

We consider a gas of hydrogen atoms illuminated by a broadband, unpolarized radiation with zero anisotropy. In the absence of external fields, the atomic J-levels are thus isotropically populated. While this condition persists in the presence of a magnetic field, we show instead that electric fields can induce the alignment of those levels. We also show that this electric alignment cannot occur in a two-term model of hydrogen (e.g., if only the Ly-alpha transition is excited), or if the level populations are distributed according to Boltzmann's law.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by J.Phys.B: At.Mol.Opt.Phy

General-Relativistic Thomas-Fermi model

A system of self-gravitating massive fermions is studied in the framework of the general-relativistic Thomas-Fermi model. We study the properties of the free energy functional and its relation to Einstein's field equations. A self-gravitating fermion gas we then describe by a set of Thomas-Fermi type self-consistency equations.Comment: 7 pages, LaTex, to appear in Gen. Rel. Gra

How primary care can contribute to good mental health in adults.

The need for support for good mental health is enormous. General support for good mental health is needed for 100% of the population, and at all stages of life, from early childhood to end of life. Focused support is needed for the 17.6% of adults who have a mental disorder at any time, including those who also have a mental health problem amongst the 30% who report having a long-term condition of some kind. All sectors of society and all parts of the NHS need to play their part. Primary care cannot do this on its own. This paper describes how primary care practitioners can help stimulate such a grand alliance for health, by operating at four different levels - as individual practitioners, as organisations, as geographic clusters of organisations and as policy-makers

Experimental study of compressional hydromagnetic waves

An experiment is described in which a compressional hydromagnetic wave is observed in a hydrogen plasma-filled waveguide. The theory of a cool, partially ionized, resistive plasma in a magnetic field is described briefly and expressions are derived for the dispersion relation and transfer function which include both the propagation and attenuation constants as a function of frequency. Measurements of the cutoff frequency are presented, which verify its linear dependence on the magnetic field, and they show good agreement with theory on the variation with the ion mass density. The impulse response of the plasma is studied, transformed into the frequency domain, and quantitative comparisons are made with the theoretical transfer function to determine the degree of ionization, the resistivity, and the ion-neutral collision frequency.Results indicate that the degree of ionization varies over a range from 75% to 45% when the initial density varies from 1.3 × 10^(21) to 1.4 × 10^(22) atoms/m^3. The measured resistivity appears to increase with the magnetic field, with the mean value corresponding to a temperature of the order of 5 × 10^(3) °K. The average value of the product of the charge exchange cross section and the neutral thermal speed is found to be approximately (5.5 ± 1.3) × 10^(–15) m^3/sec