416 research outputs found
Nanomechanical resonators operating as charge detectors in the nonlinear regime
We present measurements on nanomechanical resonators machined from
Silicon-on-Insulator substrates. The resonators are designed as freely
suspended Au/Si beams of lengths on the order of 1 - 4 um and a thickness of
200 nm. The beams are driven into nonlinear response by an applied modulation
at radio frequencies and a magnetic field in plane. The strong hysteresis of
the magnetomotive response allows sensitive charge detection by varying the
electrostatic potential of a gate electrode.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Emergent states in dense systems of active rods: from swarming to turbulence
Dense suspensions of self-propelled rod-like particles exhibit a fascinating
variety of non-equilibrium phenomena. By means of computer simulations of a
minimal model for rigid self-propelled colloidal rods with variable shape we
explore the generic diagram of emerging states over a large range of rod
densities and aspect ratios. The dynamics is studied using a simple numerical
scheme for the overdamped noiseless frictional dynamics of a many-body system
in which steric forces are dominant over hydrodynamic ones. The different
emergent states are identified by various characteristic correlation functions
and suitable order parameter fields. At low density and aspect ratio, a
disordered phase with no coherent motion precedes a highly-cooperative swarming
state at large aspect ratio. Conversely, at high densities weakly anisometric
particles show a distinct jamming transition whereas slender particles form
dynamic laning patterns. In between there is a large window corresponding to
strongly vortical, turbulent flow. The different dynamical states should be
verifiable in systems of swimming bacteria and artificial rod-like
micro-swimmers.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Different types of integrability and their relation to decoherence in central spin models
We investigate the relation between integrability and decoherence in central
spin models with more than one central spin. We show that there is a transition
between integrability ensured by the Bethe ansatz and integrability ensured by
complete sets of commuting operators. This has a significant impact on the
decoherence properties of the system, suggesting that it is not necessarily
integrability or nonintegrability which is related to decoherence, but rather
its type or a change from integrability to nonintegrability.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Influence of nano-mechanical properties on single electron tunneling: A vibrating Single-Electron Transistor
We describe single electron tunneling through molecular structures under the
influence of nano-mechanical excitations. We develop a full quantum mechanical
model, which includes charging effects and dissipation, and apply it to the
vibrating C single electron transistor experiment by Park {\em et al.}
{[Nature {\bf 407}, 57 (2000)].} We find good agreement and argue vibrations to
be essential to molecular electronic systems. We propose a mechanism to realize
negative differential conductance using local bosonic excitations.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
A nanomechanical resonator shuttling single electrons at radio frequencies
We observe transport of electrons through a metallic island on the tip of a
nanomechanical pendulum. The resulting tunneling current shows distinct
features corresponding to the discrete mechanical eigenfrequencies of the
pendulum. We report on measurements covering the temperature range from 300 K
down to 4.2 K. We explain the I-V curve, which differs from previous
theoretical predictions, with model calculations based on a Master equation
approach.Comment: 5 pages, 4 jpeg-figure
Electromechanics of charge shuttling in dissipative nanostructures
We investigate the current-voltage (IV) characteristics of a model
single-electron transistor where mechanical motion, subject to strong
dissipation, of a small metallic grain is possible. The system is studied both
by using Monte Carlo simulations and by using an analytical approach. We show
that electromechanical coupling results in a highly nonlinear IV-curve. For
voltages above the Coulomb blockade threshold, two distinct regimes of charge
transfer occur: At low voltages the system behave as a static asymmetric double
junction and tunneling is the dominating charge transfer mechanism. At higher
voltages an abrupt transition to a new shuttle regime appears, where the grain
performs an oscillatory motion back and forth between the leads. In this regime
the current is mainly mediated by charges that are carried on the grain as it
moves from one lead to the other.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, final version to be published in PR
Existence of positive solutions of a superlinear boundary value problem with indefinite weight
We deal with the existence of positive solutions for a two-point boundary
value problem associated with the nonlinear second order equation
. The weight is allowed to change its sign. We assume
that the function is
continuous, and satisfies suitable growth conditions, so as the case
, with , is covered. In particular we suppose that is
large near infinity, but we do not require that is non-negative in a
neighborhood of zero. Using a topological approach based on the Leray-Schauder
degree we obtain a result of existence of at least a positive solution that
improves previous existence theorems.Comment: 12 pages, 4 PNG figure
Binary trees, coproducts, and integrable systems
We provide a unified framework for the treatment of special integrable
systems which we propose to call "generalized mean field systems". Thereby
previous results on integrable classical and quantum systems are generalized.
Following Ballesteros and Ragnisco, the framework consists of a unital algebra
with brackets, a Casimir element, and a coproduct which can be lifted to higher
tensor products. The coupling scheme of the iterated tensor product is encoded
in a binary tree. The theory is exemplified by the case of a spin octahedron.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, v2: minor correction in theorem 1, two new
appendices adde
Sturm-Liouville operators on time scales
We establish the connection between Sturm-Liouville equations on time scales
and Sturm--Liouville equations with measure-valued coefficients. Based on this
connection we generalize several results for Sturm-Liouville equations on time
scales which have been obtained by various authors in the past.Comment: 12 page
Quantum Effects in the Mechanical Properties of Suspended Nanomechanical Systems
We explore the quantum aspects of an elastic bar supported at both ends and
subject to compression. If strain rather than stress is held fixed, the system
remains stable beyond the buckling instability, supporting two potential
minima. The classical equilibrium transverse displacement is analogous to a
Ginsburg-Landau order parameter, with strain playing the role of temperature.
We calculate the quantum fluctuations about the classical value as a function
of strain. Excitation energies and quantum fluctuation amplitudes are compared
for silicon beams and carbon nanotubes.Comment: RevTeX4. 5 pages, 3 eps figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter
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