1,570 research outputs found
Theory of enhancement of thermoelectric properties of materials with nanoinclusions
Based on the concept of band bending at metal/semiconductor interfaces as an
energy filter for electrons, we present a theory for the enhancement of the
thermoelectric properties of semiconductor materials with metallic
nanoinclusions. We show that the Seebeck coefficient can be significantly
increased due to a strongly energy-dependent electronic scattering time. By
including phonon scattering, we find that the enhancement of ZT due to electron
scattering is important for high doping, while at low doping it is primarily
due to a decrease in the phonon thermal conductivity
Nanoscale periodicity in stripe-forming systems at high temperature: Au/W(110)
We observe using low-energy electron microscopy the self-assembly of
monolayer-thick stripes of Au on W(110) near the transition temperature between
stripes and the non-patterned (homogeneous) phase. We demonstrate that the
amplitude of this Au stripe phase decreases with increasing temperature and
vanishes at the order-disorder transition (ODT). The wavelength varies much
more slowly with temperature and coverage than theories of stress-domain
patterns with sharp phase boundaries would predict, and maintains a finite
value of about 100 nm at the ODT. We argue that such nanometer-scale stripes
should often appear near the ODT.Comment: 5 page
Long-Range Ordering of Vibrated Polar Disks
Vibrated polar disks have been used experimentally to investigate collective
motion of driven particles, where fully-ordered asymptotic regimes could not be
reached. Here we present a model reproducing quantitatively the single, binary
and collective properties of this granular system. Using system sizes not
accessible in the laboratory, we show in silico that true long-range order is
possible in the experimental system. Exploring the model's parameter space, we
find a phase diagram qualitatively different from that of dilute or point-like
particle systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Ergodicity and Slowing Down in Glass-Forming Systems with Soft Potentials: No Finite-Temperature Singularities
The aim of this paper is to discuss some basic notions regarding generic
glass forming systems composed of particles interacting via soft potentials.
Excluding explicitly hard-core interaction we discuss the so called `glass
transition' in which super-cooled amorphous state is formed, accompanied with a
spectacular slowing down of relaxation to equilibrium, when the temperature is
changed over a relatively small interval. Using the classical example of a
50-50 binary liquid of N particles with different interaction length-scales we
show that (i) the system remains ergodic at all temperatures. (ii) the number
of topologically distinct configurations can be computed, is temperature
independent, and is exponential in N. (iii) Any two configurations in phase
space can be connected using elementary moves whose number is polynomially
bounded in N, showing that the graph of configurations has the `small world'
property. (iv) The entropy of the system can be estimated at any temperature
(or energy), and there is no Kauzmann crisis at any positive temperature. (v)
The mechanism for the super-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the relaxation
time is explained, connecting it to an entropic squeeze at the glass
transition. (vi) There is no Vogel-Fulcher crisis at any finite temperature T>0Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PR
Stress-driven instability in growing multilayer films
We investigate the stress-driven morphological instability of epitaxially
growing multilayer films, which are coherent and dislocation-free. We construct
a direct elastic analysis, from which we determine the elastic state of the
system recursively in terms of that of the old states of the buried layers. In
turn, we use the result for the elastic state to derive the morphological
evolution equation of surface profile to first order of perturbations, with the
solution explicitly expressed by the growth conditions and material parameters
of all the deposited layers. We apply these results to two kinds of multilayer
structures. One is the alternating tensile/compressive multilayer structure,
for which we determine the effective stability properties, including the effect
of varying surface mobility in different layers, its interplay with the global
misfit of the multilayer film, and the influence of asymmetric structure of
compressive and tensile layers on the system stability. The nature of the
asymmetry properties found in stability diagrams is in agreement with
experimental observations. The other multilayer structure that we study is one
composed of stacked strained/spacer layers. We also calculate the kinetic
critical thickness for the onset of morphological instability and obtain its
reduction and saturation as number of deposited layers increases, which is
consistent with recent experimental results. Compared to the single-layer film
growth, the behavior of kinetic critical thickness shows deviations for upper
strained layers.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures; Phys. Rev. B, in pres
Front Propagation with Rejuvenation in Flipping Processes
We study a directed flipping process that underlies the performance of the
random edge simplex algorithm. In this stochastic process, which takes place on
a one-dimensional lattice whose sites may be either occupied or vacant,
occupied sites become vacant at a constant rate and simultaneously cause all
sites to the right to change their state. This random process exhibits rich
phenomenology. First, there is a front, defined by the position of the
left-most occupied site, that propagates at a nontrivial velocity. Second, the
front involves a depletion zone with an excess of vacant sites. The total
excess D_k increases logarithmically, D_k ~ ln k, with the distance k from the
front. Third, the front exhibits rejuvenation -- young fronts are vigorous but
old fronts are sluggish. We investigate these phenomena using a quasi-static
approximation, direct solutions of small systems, and numerical simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 4 table
Rotating Casimir systems: magnetic-field-enhanced perpetual motion, possible realization in doped nanotubes, and laws of thermodynamics
Recently, we have demonstrated that for a certain class of Casimir-type
systems ("devices") the energy of zero-point vacuum fluctuations reaches its
global minimum when the device rotates about a certain axis rather than remains
static. This rotational vacuum effect may lead to the emergence of permanently
rotating objects provided the negative rotational energy of zero-point
fluctuations cancels the positive rotational energy of the device itself. In
this paper, we show that for massless electrically charged particles the
rotational vacuum effect should be drastically (astronomically) enhanced in the
presence of a magnetic field. As an illustration, we show that in a background
of experimentally available magnetic fields the zero-point energy of massless
excitations in rotating torus-shaped doped carbon nanotubes may indeed
overwhelm the classical energy of rotation for certain angular frequencies so
that the permanently rotating state is energetically favored. The suggested
"zero-point driven" devices -- which have no internally moving parts --
correspond to a perpetuum mobile of a new, fourth kind: They do not produce any
work despite the fact that their equilibrium (ground) state corresponds to a
permanent rotation even in the presence of an external environment. We show
that our proposal is consistent with the laws of thermodynamics.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures; v2: extended discussions; analogy with
split-ring metamaterials stressed; comments are always welcom
Electrostatic potential profiles of molecular conductors
The electrostatic potential across a short ballistic molecular conductor
depends sensitively on the geometry of its environment, and can affect its
conduction significantly by influencing its energy levels and wave functions.
We illustrate some of the issues involved by evaluating the potential profiles
for a conducting gold wire and an aromatic phenyl dithiol molecule in various
geometries. The potential profile is obtained by solving Poisson's equation
with boundary conditions set by the contact electrochemical potentials and
coupling the result self-consistently with a nonequilibrium Green's function
(NEGF) formulation of transport. The overall shape of the potential profile
(ramp vs. flat) depends on the feasibility of transverse screening of electric
fields. Accordingly, the screening is better for a thick wire, a multiwalled
nanotube or a close-packed self-assembled monolayer (SAM), in comparison to a
thin wire, a single-walled nanotube or an isolated molecular conductor. The
electrostatic potential further governs the alignment or misalignment of
intramolecular levels, which can strongly influence the molecular I-V
characteristic. An external gate voltage can modify the overall potential
profile, changing the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic from a resonant
conducting to a saturating one. The degree of saturation and gate modulation
depends on the metal-induced-gap states (MIGS) and on the electrostatic gate
control parameter set by the ratio of the gate oxide thickness to the channel
length.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. B 69, No.3, 0353XX (2004
Sheared Solid Materials
We present a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model of nonlinear elasticity in
solid materials. We assume that the elastic energy density is a periodic
function of the shear and tetragonal strains owing to the underlying lattice
structure. With this new ingredient, solving the equations yields formation of
dislocation dipoles or slips. In plastic flow high-density dislocations emerge
at large strains to accumulate and grow into shear bands where the strains are
localized. In addition to the elastic displacement, we also introduce the local
free volume {\it m}. For very small the defect structures are metastable
and long-lived where the dislocations are pinned by the Peierls potential
barrier. However, if the shear modulus decreases with increasing {\it m},
accumulation of {\it m} around dislocation cores eventually breaks the Peierls
potential leading to slow relaxations in the stress and the free energy
(aging). As another application of our scheme, we also study dislocation
formation in two-phase alloys (coherency loss) under shear strains, where
dislocations glide preferentially in the softer regions and are trapped at the
interfaces.Comment: 16pages, 11figure
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