Stacking boundaries and transport in bilayer graphene

Pristine bilayer graphene behaves in some instances as an insulator with a transport gap of a few meV. This behaviour has been interpreted as the result of an intrinsic electronic instability induced by many-body correlations. Intriguingly, however, some samples of similar mobility exhibit good metallic properties, with a minimal conductivity of the order of $2e^2/h$. Here we propose an explanation for this dichotomy, which is unrelated to electron interactions and based instead on the reversible formation of boundaries between stacking domains (`solitons'). We argue, using a numerical analysis, that the hallmark features of the previously inferred many-body insulating state can be explained by scattering on boundaries between domains with different stacking order (AB and BA). We furthermore present experimental evidence, reinforcing our interpretation, of reversible switching between a metallic and an insulating regime in suspended bilayers when subjected to thermal cycling or high current annealing.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures. Published version (Nano Letters

Low-mass young stellar population and star formation history of the cluster IC 1805 in the W4 H{\sc ii} region

W4 is a giant H{\sc ii} region ionized by the OB stars of the cluster IC~1805. The H{\sc ii} region/cluster complex has been a subject of numerous investigations as it is an excellent laboratory for studying the feedback effect of massive stars on the surrounding region. However, the low-mass stellar content of the cluster IC~1805 remains poorly studied till now. With the aim to unravel the low-mass stellar population of the cluster, we present the results of a multiwavelength study based on deep optical data obtained with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, infrared data from 2MASS, $Spitzer$ Space Telescope and X-ray data from $Chandra$ Space Telescope. The present optical dataset is complete enough to detect stars down to 0.2~M$_\odot$, which is the deepest optical observations so far for the cluster. We identified 384 candidate young stellar objects (YSOs; 101 Class I/II and 283 Class III) within the cluster using various colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams. We inferred the mean age of the identified YSOs to be $\sim$ 2.5 Myr and mass in the range 0.3 - 2.5 M$_\odot$. The mass function of our YSO sample has a power law index of -1.23 $\pm$ 0.23, close to the Salpeter value (-1.35), and consistent with those of other star-forming complexes. We explored the disk evolution of the cluster members and found that the diskless sources are relatively older compared to the disk bearing YSO candidates. We examined the effect of high-mass stars on the circumstellar disks and found that within uncertainties, the influence of massive stars on the disk fraction seems to be insignificant. We also studied the spatial correlation of the YSOs with the distribution of gas and dust of the complex to conclude that IC 1805 would have formed in a large filamentary cloud.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 34 pages, 10 figure

Young Stellar Population of the Bright-Rimmed Clouds BRC 5, BRC 7 and BRC 39

Bright-rimmed clouds (BRCs), illuminated and shaped by nearby OB stars, are potential sites of recent/ongoing star formation. Here we present an optical and infrared photometric study of three BRCs: BRC 5, BRC 7 and BRC 39 to obtain a census of the young stellar population, thereby inferring the star formation scenario, in these regions. In each BRC, the Class I sources are found to be located mostly near the bright rim or inside the cloud, whereas the Class II sources are preferentially outside, with younger sources closer to the rim. This provides strong support to sequential star formation triggered by radiation driven implosion due to the UV radiation. Moreover, each BRC contains a small group of young stars being revealed at its head, as the next-generation stars. In particular, the young stars at the heads of BRC 5 and BRC 7 are found to be intermediate/high mass stars, which, under proper conditions, may themselves trigger further star birth, thereby propagating star formation out to long distances.Comment: 30 pages, 7 Figures, 6 Tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Heavy-ion Fusion Cross Sections of 32S on 90,96Zr Targets Using Coulomb and Proximity Potential

The fusion excitation functions for the fusion of 32S on 90,96Zr have been calculated larger value, while using one-dimensional barrier penetration model, taking scattering potential as the sum of Coulomb and proximity potential and the calculated values are compared with experimental data with considerations to shape degrees of freedom. At and above the barrier the computed cross sections match well with the experimental data, whereas below the barrier, calculations with nuclear surface tension coefficient improved by Reisdorf in the proximity potential with considerations to shape degrees of freedom give an approximate fit. Reduced reaction cross sections for the systems 32S on 90,96Zr have also been described

Probable Projectile-Target Combinations for the Synthesis of Super Heavy Nucleus 286112

The fusion cross sections for the reactions of all the projectile-target combinations found in the cold valleys of 286112 have been studied using scattering potential as the sum of Coulomb and proximity potential, so as to predict the most probable projectile-target combinations in heavy ion fusion reactions for the synthesis of super heavy nucleus 286112. While considering the nature of potential pockets and half lives of the colliding nuclei, the systems 82Ge + 204Hg, 80Ge + 206Hg and 78Zn + 208Pb found in the deep cold valley region and the systems 48Ca+238U, 38S+248Cm and 44Ar+242Pu in the cold valleys are predicted to be the better optimal projectile-target combinations for the synthesis of super heavy nucleus 286112