3,332 research outputs found
A- and B-Exciton Photoluminescence Intensity Ratio as a Measure of Sample Quality for Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers
The photoluminescence (PL) in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides
(TMDs) is dominated by recombination of electrons in the conduction band with
holes in the spin-orbit split valence bands, and there are two distinct
emission features referred to as the A-peak (ground state exciton) and B-peak
(higher spin-orbit split state). The intensity ratio of these two features
varies widely and several contradictory interpretations have been reported. We
analyze the room temperature PL from MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2 monolayers and
show that these variations arise from differences in the non-radiative
recombination associated with defect densities. Hence, the relative intensities
of the A- and B-emission features can be used to qualitatively asses the
non-radiative recombination, and thus the quality of the sample. A low B/A
ratio is indicative of low defect density and high sample quality. Emission
from TMD monolayers is governed by unique optical selection rules which make
them promising materials for valleytronic operations. We observe a notably
higher valley polarization in the B-exciton relative to the A-exciton. The high
polarization is a consequence of the shorter B-exciton lifetime resulting from
rapid relaxation of excitons from the B-exciton to the A-exciton of the valence
band.Comment: Final version is published online at APL Material
Constraining the neutron star equation of state using XMM-Newton
We have identified three possible ways in which future XMM-Newton
observations can provide significant constraints on the equation of state of
neutron stars. First, using a long observation of the neutron star X-ray
transient CenX-4 in quiescence one can use the RGS spectrum to constrain the
interstellar extinction to the source. This removes this parameter from the
X-ray spectral fitting of the pn and MOS spectra and allows us to investigate
whether the variability observed in the quiescent X-ray spectrum of this source
is due to variations in the soft thermal spectral component or variations in
the power law spectral component coupled with variations in N_H. This will test
whether the soft thermal spectral component can indeed be due to the hot
thermal glow of the neutron star. Potentially such an observation could also
reveal redshifted spectral lines from the neutron star surface. Second,
XMM-Newton observations of radius expansion type I X-ray bursts might reveal
redshifted absorption lines from the surface of the neutron star. Third,
XMM-Newton observations of eclipsing quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries provide
the eclipse duration. With this the system inclination can be determined
accurately. The inclination determined from the X-ray eclipse duration in
quiescence, the rotational velocity of the companion star and the
semi-amplitude of the radial velocity curve determined through optical
spectroscopy, yield the neutron star mass.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of the XMM-Newton workshop, June 2007,
accepted for publication in A
Understanding Variations in Circularly Polarized Photoluminescence in Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are promising materials for
valleytronic operations. They exhibit two inequivalent valleys in the Brillouin
zone, and the valley populations can be directly controlled and determined
using circularly polarized optical excitation and emission. The
photoluminescence polarization reflects the ratio of the two valley
populations. A wide range of values for the degree of circularly polarized
emission, Pcirc, has been reported for monolayer WS2, although the reasons for
the disparity are unclear. Here we optically populate one valley, and measure
Pcirc to explore the valley population dynamics at room temperature in a large
number of monolayer WS2 samples synthesized via chemical vapor deposition.
Under resonant excitation, Pcirc ranges from 2% to 32%, and we observe a
pronounced inverse relationship between photoluminescence (PL) intensity and
Pcirc. High quality samples exhibiting strong PL and long exciton relaxation
time exhibit a low degree of valley polarization, and vice versa. This behavior
is also demonstrated in monolayer WSe2 samples and transferred WS2, indicating
that this correlation may be more generally observed and account for the wide
variations reported for Pcirc. Time resolved PL provides insight into the role
of radiative and non-radiative contributions to the observed polarization.
Short non-radiative lifetimes result in a higher measured polarization by
limiting opportunity for depolarizing scattering events
Detection of a 1258 Hz high-amplitude kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillation in the ultra-compact X-ray binary 1A 1246-588
We have observed the ultra-compact low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 1A 1246-588
with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). In this manuscript we report the
discovery of a kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in 1A 1246-588. The
kilohertz QPO was only detected when the source was in a soft high-flux state
reminiscent of the lower banana branch in atoll sources. Only one kilohertz QPO
peak is detected at a relatively high frequency of 1258+-2 Hz and at a single
trial significance of more than 7 sigma. Kilohertz QPOs with a higher frequency
have only been found on two occasions in 4U 0614+09. Furthermore, the frequency
is higher than that found for the lower kilohertz QPO in any source, strongly
suggesting that the QPO is the upper of the kilohertz QPO pair often found in
LMXBs. The full-width at half maximum is 25+-4 Hz, making the coherence the
highest found for an upper kilohertz QPO. From a distance estimate of ~6 kpc
from a radius expansion burst we derive that 1A 1246-588 is at a persistent
flux of ~0.2-0.3 per cent of the Eddington flux, hence 1A 1246-588 is one of
the weakest LMXBs for which a kilohertz QPO has been detected. The
root-mean-square (rms) amplitude in the 5-60 keV band is 27+-3 per cent, this
is the highest for any kilohertz QPO source so far, in line with the general
anti-correlation between source luminosity and rms amplitude of the kilohertz
QPO peak identified before. Using the X-ray spectral information we produce a
colour-colour diagram. The source behaviour in this diagram provides further
evidence for the atoll nature of the source.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Two fast X-ray transients in archival Chandra data
We present the discovery of two new X-ray transients in archival Chandra
data. The first transient, XRT 110103, occurred in January 2011 and shows a
sharp rise of at least three orders of magnitude in count rate in less than 10
s, a flat peak for about 20 s and decays by two orders of magnitude in the next
60 s. We find no optical or infrared counterpart to this event in preexisting
survey data or in an observation taken by the SIRIUS instrument at the Infrared
Survey Facility 2.1 yr after the transient, providing limiting magnitudes of
J>18.1, H>17.6 and Ks>16.3. This event shows similarities to the transient
previously reported in Jonker et al. which was interpreted as the possible
tidal disruption of a white dwarf by an intermediate mass black hole. We
discuss the possibility that these transients originate from the same type of
event. If we assume these events are related a rough estimate of the rates
gives 1.4*10^5 per year over the whole sky with a peak 0.3-7 keV X-ray flux
greater than 2*10^-10 erg cm^-2 s^-1 . The second transient, XRT 120830,
occurred in August 2012 and shows a rise of at least three orders of magnitude
in count rate and a subsequent decay of around one order of magnitude all
within 10 s, followed by a slower quasi-exponential decay over the remaining 30
ks of the observation. We detect a likely infrared counterpart with magnitudes
J=16.70+/-0.06, H=15.92+/-0.04 and Ks=15.37+/-0.06 which shows an average
proper motion of 74+/-19 milliarcsec per year compared to archival 2MASS
observations. The JHKs magnitudes, proper motion and X-ray flux of XRT 120830
are consistent with a bright flare from a nearby late M or early L dwarf.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 6 pages, 5 figure
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