Land use change detection with LANDSAT-2 data for monitoring and predicting regional water quality degradation

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Effect of Edge Roughness on Electronic Transport in Graphene Nanoribbon Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors

Results of quantum mechanical simulations of the influence of edge disorder on transport in graphene nanoribbon metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are reported. The addition of edge disorder significantly reduces ON-state currents and increases OFF-state currents, and introduces wide variability across devices. These effects decrease as ribbon widths increase and as edges become smoother. However the bandgap decreases with increasing width, thereby increasing the band-to-band tunneling mediated subthreshold leakage current even with perfect nanoribbons. These results suggest that without atomically precise edge control during fabrication, MOSFET performance gains through use of graphene will be difficult to achieve.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Spin-dependent Seebeck coefficients of Ni_{80}Fe_{20} and Co in nanopillar spin valves

We have experimentally determined the spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient of permalloy (Ni_{80}Fe_{20}) and cobalt (Co) using nanopillar spin valve devices. The devices were specifically designed to completely separate heat related effects from charge related effects. A pure heat current through the nanopillar spin valve, a stack of two ferromagnetic layers (F) separated by a non-magnetic layer (N), leads to a thermovoltage proportional to the spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient S_{S}=S_{\uparrow}-S_{\downarrow} of the ferromagnet, where S_{\uparrow} and S_{\downarrow} are the Seebeck coefficient for spin-up and spin-down electrons. By using a three-dimensional finite-element model (3D-FEM) based on spin-dependent thermoelectric theory, whose input material parameters were measured in separate devices, we were able to accurately determine a spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient of -1.8 microvolt/Kelvin and -4.5 microvolt/Kelvin for cobalt and permalloy, respectively corresponding to a Seebeck coefficient polarization P_{S}=S_{S}/S_{F} of 0.08 and 0.25, where S_{F} is the Seebeck coefficient of the ferromagnet. The results are in agreement with earlier theoretical work in Co/Cu multilayers and spin-dependent Seebeck and spin-dependent Peltier measurements in Ni_{80}Fe_{20}/Cu spin valve structures

Microscopic Functional Integral Theory of Quantum Fluctuations in Double-Layer Quantum Hall Ferromagnets

We present a microscopic theory of zero-temperature order parameter and pseudospin stiffness reduction due to quantum fluctuations in the ground state of double-layer quantum Hall ferromagnets. Collective excitations in this systems are properly described only when interactions in both direct and exchange particle-hole channels are included. We employ a functional integral approach which is able to account for both, and comment on its relation to diagrammatic perturbation theory. We also discuss its relation to Gaussian fluctuation approximations based on Hubbard-Stratonovich-transformation representations of interactions in ferromagnets and superconductors. We derive remarkably simple analytical expressions for the correlation energy, renormalized order parameter and renormalized pseudospin stiffness.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Riverine biota as environmental indicators of artisanal small-scale and large-scale gold mining impacts on riverine ecosystems in Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana

A study on two adjacent small ephemeral river systems in the upper Tano River Basin in Brong Ahafo, Ghana; one impacted by ASGM and the other by a modern large gold mining (LSM), showed that impacts of mining on river sediment and water quality and quantity were reflected in the macroinvertebrate and microbial communities. This study investigated the impacts of ASGM on the ecology of the Surow River and that of a large-scale mining (LSM, the Ahafo mine) on the Subri River between February 2013 and April 2014 Macroinvertebrate communities responded to the shift in river water and sediment qualities, whilst microbial communities tended to respond to water quality only. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury were evident in fishes in the river system impacted by ASGM, although mercury was barely detected in river water and sediment. The study confirmed that impact assessment of ASGM or the modern LSM on rivers should not be limited to the physical and chemical properties of water and sediment, but also include its riverine biota

Phase-change chalcogenide glass metamaterial

Combining metamaterials with functional media brings a new dimension to their performance. Here we demonstrate substantial resonance frequency tuning in a photonic metamaterial hybridized with an electrically/optically switchable chalcogenide glass. The transition between amorphous and crystalline forms brings about a 10% shift in the near-infrared resonance wavelength of an asymmetric split-ring array, providing transmission modulation functionality with a contrast ratio of 4:1 in a device of sub-wavelength thickness.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Metamaterial 'Gecko Toe': Optically-Controlled Adhesion to Any Surface

On the mesoscopic scale, electromagnetic forces are of fundamental importance to an enormously diverse range of systems, from optical tweezers to the adhesion of gecko toes. Here we show that a strong light-driven force may be generated when a plasmonic metamaterial is illuminated in close proximity to a dielectric or metal surface. This near-field force can exceed radiation pressure and Casimir forces to provide an optically controlled adhesion mechanism mimicking the gecko toe: at illumination intensities of just a few tens of nW/um^2 it is sufficient to overcome the Earth's gravitational pull.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Electron operator at the edge of the 1/3 fractional quantum Hall liquid

This study builds upon the work of Palacios and MacDonald (Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 76}, 118 (1996)), wherein they identify the bosonic excitations of Wen's approach for the edge of the 1/3 fractional quantum Hall state with certain operators introduced by Stone. Using a quantum Monte Carlo method, we extend to larger systems containing up to 40 electrons and obtain more accurate thermodynamic limits for various matrix elements for a short range interaction. The results are in agreement with those of Palacios and MacDonald for small systems, but offer further insight into the detailed approach to the thermodynamic limit. For the short range interaction, the results are consistent with the chiral Luttinger liquid predictions.We also study excitations using the Coulomb ground state for up to nine electrons to ascertain the effect of interactions on the results; in this case our tests of the chiral Luttinger liquid approach are inconclusive.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure