23,093 research outputs found
Friction force microscopy : a simple technique for identifying graphene on rough substrates and mapping the orientation of graphene grains on copper
At a single atom thick, it is challenging to distinguish graphene from its substrate using conventional techniques. In this paper we show that friction force microscopy (FFM) is a simple and quick technique for identifying graphene on a range of samples, from growth substrates to rough insulators. We show that FFM is particularly effective for characterizing graphene grown on copper where it can correlate the graphene growth to the three-dimensional surface topography. Atomic lattice stick–slip friction is readily resolved and enables the crystallographic orientation of the graphene to be mapped nondestructively, reproducibly and at high resolution. We expect FFM to be similarly effective for studying graphene growth on other metal/locally crystalline substrates, including SiC, and for studying growth of other two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide and hexagonal boron nitride
Production of superpositions of coherent states in traveling optical fields with inefficient photon detection
We develop an all-optical scheme to generate superpositions of
macroscopically distinguishable coherent states in traveling optical fields. It
non-deterministically distills coherent state superpositions (CSSs) with large
amplitudes out of CSSs with small amplitudes using inefficient photon
detection. The small CSSs required to produce CSSs with larger amplitudes are
extremely well approximated by squeezed single photons. We discuss some
remarkable features of this scheme: it effectively purifies mixed initial
states emitted from inefficient single photon sources and boosts negativity of
Wigner functions of quantum states.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Growing Perfect Decagonal Quasicrystals by Local Rules
A local growth algorithm for a decagonal quasicrystal is presented. We show
that a perfect Penrose tiling (PPT) layer can be grown on a decapod tiling
layer by a three dimensional (3D) local rule growth. Once a PPT layer begins to
form on the upper layer, successive 2D PPT layers can be added on top resulting
in a perfect decagonal quasicrystalline structure in bulk with a point defect
only on the bottom surface layer. Our growth rule shows that an ideal
quasicrystal structure can be constructed by a local growth algorithm in 3D,
contrary to the necessity of non-local information for a 2D PPT growth.Comment: 4pages, 2figure
Systematic analysis of group identification in stock markets
We propose improved methods to identify stock groups using the correlation
matrix of stock price changes. By filtering out the marketwide effect and the
random noise, we construct the correlation matrix of stock groups in which
nontrivial high correlations between stocks are found. Using the filtered
correlation matrix, we successfully identify the multiple stock groups without
any extra knowledge of the stocks by the optimization of the matrix
representation and the percolation approach to the correlation-based network of
stocks. These methods drastically reduce the ambiguities while finding stock
groups using the eigenvectors of the correlation matrix.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Lattice dynamics and correlated atomic motion from the atomic pair distribution function
The mean-square relative displacements (MSRD) of atomic pair motions in
crystals are studied as a function of pair distance and temperature using the
atomic pair distribution function (PDF). The effects of the lattice vibrations
on the PDF peak widths are modelled using both a multi-parameter Born
von-Karman (BvK) force model and a single-parameter Debye model. These results
are compared to experimentally determined PDFs. We find that the near-neighbor
atomic motions are strongly correlated, and that the extent of this correlation
depends both on the interatomic interactions and crystal structure. These
results suggest that proper account of the lattice vibrational effects on the
PDF peak width is important in extracting information on static disorder in a
disordered system such as an alloy. Good agreement is obtained between the BvK
model calculations of PDF peak widths and the experimentally determined peak
widths. The Debye model successfully explains the average, though not detailed,
natures of the MSRD of atomic pair motion with just one parameter. Also the
temperature dependence of the Debye model largely agrees with the BvK model
predictions. Therefore, the Debye model provides a simple description of the
effects of lattice vibrations on the PDF peak widths.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
Testing quantum nonlocality by generalized quasiprobability functions
We derive a Bell inequality based on a generalized quasiprobability function
which is parameterized by one non-positive real value. Two types of known Bell
inequalities formulated in terms of the Wigner and Q functions are included as
limiting cases. We investigate violations of our Bell inequalities for single
photon entangled states and two-mode squeezed vacuum states when varying the
detector efficiency. We show that the Bell inequality for the Q function allows
the lowest detection efficiency for violations of local realism.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Purification and detection of entangled coherent states
In [J. C. Howell and J. A. Yeazell, Phys. Rev. A 62, 012102 (2000)], a
proposal is made to generate entangled macroscopically distinguishable states
of two spatially separated traveling optical modes. We model the decoherence
due to light scattering during the propagation along an optical transmission
line and propose a setup allowing an entanglement purification from a number of
preparations which are partially decohered due to transmission. A purification
is achieved even without any manual intervention. We consider a nondemolition
configuration to measure the purity of the state as contrast of interference
fringes in a double-slit setup. Regarding the entangled coherent states as a
state of a bipartite quantum system, a close relationship between purity and
entanglement of formation can be obtained. In this way, the contrast of
interference fringes provides a direct means to measure entanglement.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, using Revtex
Fracture of a viscous liquid
When a viscous liquid hits a pool of liquid of same nature, the impact region
is hollowed by the shock. Its bottom becomes extremely sharp if increasing the
impact velocity, and we report that the curvature at that place increases
exponentially with the flow velocity, in agreement with a theory by Jeong and
Moffatt. Such a law defines a characteristic velocity for the collapse of the
tip, which explains both the cusp-like shape of this region, and the
instability of the cusp if increasing (slightly) the impact velocity. Then, a
film of the upper phase is entrained inside the pool. We characterize the
critical velocity of entrainment of this phase and compare our results with
recent predictions by Eggers
Rules for Computing Symmetry, Density and Stoichiometry in a Quasi-Unit-Cell Model of Quasicrystals
The quasi-unit cell picture describes the atomic structure of quasicrystals
in terms of a single, repeating cluster which overlaps neighbors according to
specific overlap rules. In this paper, we discuss the precise relationship
between a general atomic decoration in the quasi-unit cell picture atomic
decorations in the Penrose tiling and in related tiling pictures. Using these
relations, we obtain a simple, practical method for determining the density,
stoichiometry and symmetry of a quasicrystal based on the atomic decoration of
the quasi-unit cell taking proper account of the sharing of atoms between
clusters.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
- …