3,351 research outputs found
Preparation and properties of amorphous MgB/MgO superstructures: A new model disordered superconductor
In this paper we introduce a novel method for fabricating MgB/MgO
multilayers and demonstrate the potential for using them as a new model for
disordered superconductors. In this approach we control the annealing of the
MgB to yield an interesting new class of disordered (amorphous)
superconductors with relatively high transition temperatures. The multilayers
appear to exhibit quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity with controlled
anisotropy. We discuss the properties of the multilayers as the thickness of
the components of the bilayers vary.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Attentional avoidance of high-fat food in unsuccessful dieters
Using the exogenous cueing task, this study examined whether restrained and disinhibited eaters differ in their orientation of attention towards and their difficulty to disengage from high versus low-fat food pictures in a relatively short (500 ms) and a long presentation format (1500 ms). Overall, participants in the 500 ms condition showed a tendency to direct attention away from high-fat food pictures compared to neutral pictures. No differential pattern was evident for the 1500 ms condition. Correlational analysis revealed that reduced engagement with high-fat food was particularly pronounced for disinhibited eaters. Although in the short term this seems an adaptive strategy, it may eventually become counterproductive, as it could hinder habituation and learning to cope with seductive characteristics of high-fat food. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Spin properties of single electron states in coupled quantum dots
Spin properties of single electron states in laterally coupled quantum dots
in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field are studied by exact
numerical diagonalization. Dresselhaus (linear and cubic) and Bychkov-Rashba
spin-orbit couplings are included in a realistic model of confined dots based
on GaAs. Group theoretical classification of quantum states with and without
spin orbit coupling is provided. Spin-orbit effects on the g-factor are rather
weak. It is shown that the frequency of coherent oscillations (tunneling
amplitude) in coupled dots is largely unaffected by spin-orbit effects due to
symmetry requirements. The leading contributions to the frequency involves the
cubic term of the Dresselhaus coupling. Spin-orbit coupling in the presence of
magnetic field leads to a spin-dependent tunneling amplitude, and thus to the
possibility of spin to charge conversion, namely spatial separation of spin by
coherent oscillations in a uniform magnetic field. It is also shown that spin
hot spots exist in coupled GaAs dots already at moderate magnetic fields, and
that spin hot spots at zero magnetic field are due to the cubic Dresselhaus
term only.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure
Determination of the spin-flip time in ferromagnetic SrRuO3 from time-resolved Kerr measurements
We report time-resolved Kerr effect measurements of magnetization dynamics in
ferromagnetic SrRuO3. We observe that the demagnetization time slows
substantially at temperatures within 15K of the Curie temperature, which is ~
150K. We analyze the data with a phenomenological model that relates the
demagnetization time to the spin flip time. In agreement with our observations
the model yields a demagnetization time that is inversely proportional to T-Tc.
We also make a direct comparison of the spin flip rate and the Gilbert damping
coefficient showing that their ratio very close to kBTc, indicating a common
origin for these phenomena
Heterovalent interlayers and interface states: an ab initio study of GaAs/Si/GaAs (110) and (100) heterostructures
We have investigated ab initio the existence of localized states and
resonances in abrupt GaAs/Si/GaAs (110)- and (100)-oriented heterostructures
incorporating 1 or 2 monolayers (MLs) of Si, as well as in the fully developed
Si/GaAs (110) heterojunction. In (100)-oriented structures, we find both
valence- and conduction-band related near-band edge states localized at the
Si/GaAs interface. In the (110) systems, instead, interface states occur deeper
in the valence band; the highest valence-related resonances being about 1 eV
below the GaAs valence-band maximum. Using their characteristic bonding
properties and atomic character, we are able to follow the evolution of the
localized states and resonances from the fully developed Si/GaAs binary
junction to the ternary GaAs/Si/GaAs (110) systems incorporating 2 or 1 ML of
Si. This approach also allows us to show the link between the interface states
of the (110) and (100) systems. Finally, the conditions for the existence of
localized states at the Si/GaAs (110) interface are discussed based on a
Koster-Slater model developed for the interface-state problem.Comment: REVTeX 4, 14 pages, 15 EPS figure
Critical thickness for itinerant ferromagnetism in ultrathin films of SrRuO
Ultrathin films of the itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO were studied using
transport and magnto-optic polar Kerr effect. We find that below 4 monolayers
the films become insulating and their magnetic character changes as they loose
their simple ferromagnetic behavior. We observe a strong reduction in the
magnetic moment which for 3 monolayers and below lies in the plane of the film.
Exchange-bias behavior is observed below the critical thickness, and may point
to induced antiferromagnetism in contact with ferromagnetic regions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Thickness dependence of the efficiency of polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells
We study the thickness dependence of the performance of bulk heterojunction solar cells based on poly[2-methoxy-5-(3('),7(')-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] as electron donor and [6,6]-phenyl C-61 butyric acid methyl ester as electron acceptor. Typically, these devices have an active layer thickness of 100 nm at which only 60% of the incoming light is absorbed. Increasing device thickness results in a lower overall power conversion efficiency, mainly due to a lowering of the fill factor. We demonstrate that the decrease in fill factor and hence device efficiency is due to a combination of charge recombination and space-charge effects
Nuclear Tetrahedral Symmetry: Possibly Present Throughout the Periodic Table
More than half a century after the fundamental, spherical shell structure in
nuclei has been established, theoretical predictions indicate that the
shell-gaps comparable or even stronger than those at spherical shapes may
exist. Group-theoretical analysis supported by realistic mean-field
calculations indicate that the corresponding nuclei are characterized by the
('double-tetrahedral') group of symmetry, exact or approximate. The
corresponding strong shell-gap structure is markedly enhanced by the existence
of the 4-dimensional irreducible representations of the group in question and
consequently it can be seen as a geometrical effect that does not depend on a
particular realization of the mean-field. Possibilities of discovering the
corresponding symmetry in experiment are discussed.Comment: 4 pages in LaTeX and 4 figures in eps forma
Parallel electron-hole bilayer conductivity from electronic interface reconstruction
The perovskite SrTiO-LaAlO structure has advanced to a model system
to investigate the rich electronic phenomena arising at polar interfaces. Using
first principles calculations and transport measurements we demonstrate that an
additional SrTiO capping layer prevents structural and chemical
reconstruction at the LaAlO surface and triggers the electronic
reconstruction at a significantly lower LaAlO film thickness than for the
uncapped systems. Combined theoretical and experimental evidence (from
magnetotransport and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy) suggests two
spatially separated sheets with electron and hole carriers, that are as close
as 1 nm.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres
Effective calculation of LEED intensities using symmetry-adapted functions
The calculation of LEED intensities in a spherical-wave representation can be substantially simplified by symmetry relations. The wave field around each atom is expanded in symmetry-adapted functions where the local point symmetry of the atomic site applies. For overlayer systems with more than one atom per unit cell symmetry-adapted functions can be used when the division of the crystal into monoatomic subplanes is replaced by division into subplanes containing all symmetrically equivalent atomic positions
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