9,136 research outputs found
An experimental and analytical investigation of proprotor whirl flutter
The results of an experimental parametric investigation of whirl flutter are presented for a model consisting of a windmilling propeller-rotor, or proprotor, having blades with offset flapping hinges mounted on a rigid pylon with flexibility in pitch and yaw. The investigation was motivated by the need to establish a large data base from which to assess the predictability of whirl flutter for a proprotor since some question has been raised as to whether flutter in the forward whirl mode could be predicted with confidence. To provide the necessary data base, the parametric study included variation in the pylon pitch and yaw stiffnesses, flapping hinge offset, and blade kinematic pitch-flap coupling over a large range of advance ratios. Cases of forward whirl flutter and of backward whirl flutter are documented. Measured whirl flutter characteristics were shown to be in good agreement with predictions from two different linear stability analyses which employed simple, two dimensional, quasi-steady aerodynamics for the blade loading. On the basis of these results, it appears that proprotor whirl flutter, both forward and backward, can be predicted
Nonuniqueness and derivative discontinuities in density-functional theories for current-carrying and superconducting systems
Current-carrying and superconducting systems can be treated within
density-functional theory if suitable additional density variables (the current
density and the superconducting order parameter, respectively) are included in
the density-functional formalism. Here we show that the corresponding conjugate
potentials (vector and pair potentials, respectively) are {\it not} uniquely
determined by the densities. The Hohenberg-Kohn theorem of these generalized
density-functional theories is thus weaker than the original one. We give
explicit examples and explore some consequences.Comment: revised version (typos corrected, some discussion added) to appear in
Phys. Rev.
Total energy global optimizations using non orthogonal localized orbitals
An energy functional for orbital based calculations is proposed, which
depends on a number of non orthogonal, localized orbitals larger than the
number of occupied states in the system, and on a parameter, the electronic
chemical potential, determining the number of electrons. We show that the
minimization of the functional with respect to overlapping localized orbitals
can be performed so as to attain directly the ground state energy, without
being trapped at local minima. The present approach overcomes the multiple
minima problem present within the original formulation of orbital based
methods; it therefore makes it possible to perform calculations for an
arbitrary system, without including any information about the system bonding
properties in the construction of the input wavefunctions. Furthermore, while
retaining the same computational cost as the original approach, our formulation
allows one to improve the variational estimate of the ground state energy, and
the energy conservation during a molecular dynamics run. Several numerical
examples for surfaces, bulk systems and clusters are presented and discussed.Comment: 24 pages, RevTex file, 5 figures available upon reques
Theory of valley-orbit coupling in a Si/SiGe quantum dot
Electron states are studied for quantum dots in a strained Si quantum well,
taking into account both valley and orbital physics. Realistic geometries are
considered, including circular and elliptical dot shapes, parallel and
perpendicular magnetic fields, and (most importantly for valley coupling) the
small local tilt of the quantum well interface away from the crystallographic
axes. In absence of a tilt, valley splitting occurs only between pairs of
states with the same orbital quantum numbers. However, tilting is ubiquitous in
conventional silicon heterostructures, leading to valley-orbit coupling. In
this context, "valley splitting" is no longer a well defined concept, and the
quantity of merit for qubit applications becomes the ground state gap. For
typical dots used as qubits, a rich energy spectrum emerges, as a function of
magnetic field, tilt angle, and orbital quantum number. Numerical and
analytical solutions are obtained for the ground state gap and for the mixing
fraction between the ground and excited states. This mixing can lead to valley
scattering, decoherence, and leakage for Si spin qubits.Comment: 18 pages, including 4 figure
Numerical Analysis of Three-dimensional Acoustic Cloaks and Carpets
We start by a review of the chronology of mathematical results on the
Dirichlet-to-Neumann map which paved the way towards the physics of
transformational acoustics. We then rederive the expression for the
(anisotropic) density and bulk modulus appearing in the pressure wave equation
written in the transformed coordinates. A spherical acoustic cloak consisting
of an alternation of homogeneous isotropic concentric layers is further
proposed based on the effective medium theory. This cloak is characterised by a
low reflection and good efficiency over a large bandwidth for both near and far
fields, which approximates the ideal cloak with a inhomogeneous and anisotropic
distribution of material parameters. The latter suffers from singular material
parameters on its inner surface. This singularity depends upon the sharpness of
corners, if the cloak has an irregular boundary, e.g. a polyhedron cloak
becomes more and more singular when the number of vertices increases if it is
star shaped. We thus analyse the acoustic response of a non-singular spherical
cloak designed by blowing up a small ball instead of a point, as proposed in
[Kohn, Shen, Vogelius, Weinstein, Inverse Problems 24, 015016, 2008]. The
multilayered approximation of this cloak requires less extreme densities
(especially for the lowest bound). Finally, we investigate another type of
non-singular cloaks, known as invisibility carpets [Li and Pendry, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 101, 203901, 2008], which mimic the reflection by a flat ground.Comment: Latex, 21 pages, 7 Figures, last version submitted to Wave Motion.
OCIS Codes: (000.3860) Mathematical methods in physics; (260.2110)
Electromagnetic theory; (160.3918) Metamaterials; (160.1190) Anisotropic
optical materials; (350.7420) Waves; (230.1040) Acousto-optical devices;
(160.1050) Acousto-optical materials; (290.5839) Scattering,invisibility;
(230.3205) Invisibility cloak
Time Dependent Floquet Theory and Absence of an Adiabatic Limit
Quantum systems subject to time periodic fields of finite amplitude, lambda,
have conventionally been handled either by low order perturbation theory, for
lambda not too large, or by exact diagonalization within a finite basis of N
states. An adiabatic limit, as lambda is switched on arbitrarily slowly, has
been assumed. But the validity of these procedures seems questionable in view
of the fact that, as N goes to infinity, the quasienergy spectrum becomes
dense, and numerical calculations show an increasing number of weakly avoided
crossings (related in perturbation theory to high order resonances). This paper
deals with the highly non-trivial behavior of the solutions in this limit. The
Floquet states, and the associated quasienergies, become highly irregular
functions of the amplitude, lambda. The mathematical radii of convergence of
perturbation theory in lambda approach zero. There is no adiabatic limit of the
wave functions when lambda is turned on arbitrarily slowly. However, the
quasienergy becomes independent of time in this limit. We introduce a
modification of the adiabatic theorem. We explain why, in spite of the
pervasive pathologies of the Floquet states in the limit N goes to infinity,
the conventional approaches are appropriate in almost all physically
interesting situations.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, plus 2 Postscript figure
Ab initio Study of Misfit Dislocations at the SiC/Si(001) Interface
The high lattice mismatched SiC/Si(001) interface was investigated by means
of combined classical and ab initio molecular dynamics. Among the several
configurations analyzed, a dislocation network pinned at the interface was
found to be the most efficient mechanism for strain relief. A detailed
description of the dislocation core is given, and the related electronic
properties are discussed for the most stable geometry: we found interface
states localized in the gap that may be a source of failure of electronic
devices
Physical mechanisms of interface-mediated intervalley coupling in Si
The conduction band degeneracy in Si is detrimental to quantum computing
based on spin qubits, for which a nondegenerate ground orbital state is
desirable. This degeneracy is lifted at an interface with an insulator as the
spatially abrupt change in the conduction band minimum leads to intervalley
scattering. We present a theoretical study of the interface-induced valley
splitting in Si that provides simple criteria for optimal fabrication
parameters to maximize this splitting. Our work emphasizes the relevance of
different interface-related properties to the valley splitting.Comment: 4 pages, revised versio
Electron Localization in the Insulating State
The insulating state of matter is characterized by the excitation spectrum,
but also by qualitative features of the electronic ground state. The insulating
ground wavefunction in fact: (i) sustains macroscopic polarization, and (ii) is
localized. We give a sharp definition of the latter concept, and we show how
the two basic features stem from essentially the same formalism. Our approach
to localization is exemplified by means of a two--band Hubbard model in one
dimension. In the noninteracting limit the wavefunction localization is
measured by the spread of the Wannier orbitals.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figures, submitted to PR
Ab initio studies of electronic structure of defects in PbTe
Understanding the detailed electronic structure of deep defect states in
narrow band-gap semiconductors has been a challenging problem. Recently,
self-consistent ab initio calculations within density functional theory (DFT)
using supercell models have been successful in tackling this problem. In this
paper, we carry out such calculations in PbTe, a well-known narrow band-gap
semiconductor, for a large class of defects: cationic and anionic
substitutional impurities of different valence, and cationic and anionic
vacancies. For the cationic defects, we study a series of compounds
RPb2n-1Te2n, where R is vacancy or monovalent, divalent, or trivalent atom; for
the anionic defects, we study compounds MPb2nTe2n-1, where M is vacancy, S, Se
or I. We find that the density of states (DOS) near the top of the valence band
and the bottom of the conduction band get significantly modified for most of
these defects. This suggests that the transport properties of PbTe in the
presence of impurities can not be interpreted by simple carrier doping
concepts, confirming such ideas developed from qualitative and
semi-quantitative arguments
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