151 research outputs found
Quantum coherence engineering in the integer quantum Hall regime
We present an experiment where the quantum coherence in the edge states of
the integer quantum Hall regime is tuned with a decoupling gate. The coherence
length is determined by measuring the visibility of quantum interferences in a
Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a function of temperature, in the quantum Hall
regime at filling factor two. The temperature dependence of the coherence
length can be varied by a factor of two. The strengthening of the phase
coherence at finite temperature is shown to arise from a reduction of the
coupling between co-propagating edge states. This opens the way for a strong
improvement of the phase coherence of Quantum Hall systems. The decoupling gate
also allows us to investigate how inter-edge state coupling influence the
quantum interferences' dependence on the injection bias. We find that the
finite bias visibility can be decomposed into two contributions: a Gaussian
envelop which is surprisingly insensitive to the coupling, and a beating
component which, on the contrary, is strongly affected by the coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Lumped element kinetic inductance detectors maturity for space-borne instruments in the range between 80 and 180 GHz
This work intends to give the state-of-the-art of our knowledge of the
performance of LEKIDs at millimetre wavelengths (from 80 to 180~GHz). We
evaluate their optical sensitivity under typical background conditions and
their interaction with ionising particles. Two LEKID arrays, originally
designed for ground-based applications and composed of a few hundred pixels
each, operate at a central frequency of 100, and 150~GHz (
about 0.3). Their sensitivities have been characterised in the laboratory using
a dedicated closed-circle 100~mK dilution cryostat and a sky simulator,
allowing for the reproduction of realistic, space-like observation conditions.
The impact of cosmic rays has been evaluated by exposing the LEKID arrays to
alpha particles (Am) and X sources (Cd) with a readout sampling
frequency similar to the ones used for Planck HFI (about 200~Hz), and also with
a high resolution sampling level (up to 2~MHz) in order to better characterise
and interpret the observed glitches. In parallel, we have developed an
analytical model to rescale the results to what would be observed by such a
LEKID array at the second Lagrangian point.Comment: 7 pages, 2 tables, 13 figure
Scheduling Task-parallel Applications in Dynamically Asymmetric Environments
Shared resource interference is observed by applications as dynamic
performance asymmetry. Prior art has developed approaches to reduce the impact
of performance asymmetry mainly at the operating system and architectural
levels. In this work, we study how application-level scheduling techniques can
leverage moldability (i.e. flexibility to work as either single-threaded or
multithreaded task) and explicit knowledge on task criticality to handle
scenarios in which system performance is not only unknown but also changing
over time. Our proposed task scheduler dynamically learns the performance
characteristics of the underlying platform and uses this knowledge to devise
better schedules aware of dynamic performance asymmetry, hence reducing the
impact of interference. Our evaluation shows that both criticality-aware
scheduling and parallelism tuning are effective schemes to address interference
in both shared and distributed memory applicationsComment: Published in ICPP Workshops '2
Force-gradient-induced mechanical dissipation of quartz tuning fork force sensors used in atomic force microscopy
We have studied the dynamics of quartz tuning fork resonators used in atomic
force microscopy taking into account mechanical energy dissipation through the
attachment of the tuning fork base. We find that the tuning fork resonator
quality factor changes even for the case of a purely elastic sensor-sample
interaction. This is due to the effective mechanical imbalance of the tuning
fork prongs induced by the sensor-sample force gradient which in turn has an
impact on the dissipation through the attachment of the resonator base. This
effect may yield a measured dissipation signal that can be different to the one
exclusively related to the dissipation between the sensor and the sample. We
also find that there is a second order term in addition to the linear
relationship between the sensor-sample force gradient and the resonance
frequency shift of the tuning fork that is significant even for force gradients
usually present in atomic force microscopy which are in the range of tens of
N/m.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures and supplemental informatio
Microfabrication technology for large LEKID arrays : from NIKA2 to future applications
The Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKID)demonstrated full
maturity in the NIKA (New IRAM KID Arrays)instrument. These results allow
directly comparing LEKID performance with other competing technologies (TES,
doped silicon) in the mm and sub-mm range. A continuing effort is ongoing to
improve the microfabrication technologies and concepts in order to satisfy the
requirements of new instruments. More precisely, future satellites dedicated to
CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) studies will require the same focal plane
technology to cover, at least, the frequency range of 60 to 600 GHz. Aluminium
LEKID developed for NIKA have so far demonstrated, under real telescope
conditions, performance approaching photon-noise limitation in the band 120-300
GHz. By implementing superconducting bi-layers we recently demonstrated LEKID
arrays working in the range 80-120 GHz and with sensitivities approaching the
goals for CMB missions. NIKA itself (350 pixels) is followed by a more
ambitious project requiring several thousands (3000-5000) pixels. NIKA2 has
been installed in October 2015 at the IRAM 30-m telescope. We will describe in
detail the technological improvements that allowed a relatively harmless
10-fold up-scaling in pixels count without degrading the initial sensitivity.
In particular we will briefly describe a solution to simplify the difficult
fabrication step linked to the slot-line propagation mode in coplanar
waveguide
Non-Equilibrium Edge Channel Spectroscopy in the Integer Quantum Hall Regime
Heat transport has large potentialities to unveil new physics in mesoscopic
systems. A striking illustration is the integer quantum Hall regime, where the
robustness of Hall currents limits information accessible from charge
transport. Consequently, the gapless edge excitations are incompletely
understood. The effective edge states theory describes them as prototypal
one-dimensional chiral fermions - a simple picture that explains a large body
of observations and calls for quantum information experiments with quantum
point contacts in the role of beam splitters. However, it is in ostensible
disagreement with the prevailing theoretical framework that predicts, in most
situations, additional gapless edge modes. Here, we present a setup which gives
access to the energy distribution, and consequently to the energy current, in
an edge channel brought out-of-equilibrium. This provides a stringent test of
whether the additional states capture part of the injected energy. Our results
show it is not the case and thereby demonstrate regarding energy transport, the
quantum optics analogy of quantum point contacts and beam splitters. Beyond the
quantum Hall regime, this novel spectroscopy technique opens a new window for
heat transport and out-of-equilibrium experiments.Comment: 13 pages including supplementary information, Nature Physics in prin
Two-channel Kondo effect and renormalization flow with macroscopic quantum charge states
Many-body correlations and macroscopic quantum behaviors are fascinating
condensed matter problems. A powerful test-bed for the many-body concepts and
methods is the Kondo model which entails the coupling of a quantum impurity to
a continuum of states. It is central in highly correlated systems and can be
explored with tunable nanostructures. Although Kondo physics is usually
associated with the hybridization of itinerant electrons with microscopic
magnetic moments, theory predicts that it can arise whenever degenerate quantum
states are coupled to a continuum. Here we demonstrate the previously elusive
`charge' Kondo effect in a hybrid metal-semiconductor implementation of a
single-electron transistor, with a quantum pseudospin-1/2 constituted by two
degenerate macroscopic charge states of a metallic island. In contrast to other
Kondo nanostructures, each conduction channel connecting the island to an
electrode constitutes a distinct and fully tunable Kondo channel, thereby
providing an unprecedented access to the two-channel Kondo effect and a clear
path to multi-channel Kondo physics. Using a weakly coupled probe, we reveal
the renormalization flow, as temperature is reduced, of two Kondo channels
competing to screen the charge pseudospin. This provides a direct view of how
the predicted quantum phase transition develops across the symmetric quantum
critical point. Detuning the pseudospin away from degeneracy, we demonstrate,
on a fully characterized device, quantitative agreement with the predictions
for the finite-temperature crossover from quantum criticality.Comment: Letter (5 pages, 4 figures) and Methods (10 pages, 6 figures
Revisiting 2D Numerical Models for the 19th century outbursts of Carinae
We present here new results of two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of
the eruptive events of the 1840s (the great) and the 1890s (the minor)
eruptions suffered by the massive star Car. The two bipolar nebulae
commonly known as the Homunculus and the little Homunculus were formed from the
interaction of these eruptive events with the underlying stellar wind. As in
previous work (Gonzalez et al. 2004a, 2004b), we assume here an interacting,
nonspherical multiple-phase wind scenario to explain the shape and the
kinematics of both Homunculi, but adopt a more realistic parametrization of the
phases of the wind. During the 1890s eruptive event, the outflow speed {\it
decreased} for a short period of time. This fact suggests that the little
Homunculus is formed when the eruption ends, from the impact of the
post-outburst Car wind (that follows the 1890s event) with the eruptive
flow (rather than by the collision of the eruptive flow with the pre-outburst
wind, as claimed in previous models; Gonzalez et al. 2004a, 2004b). Our
simulations reproduce quite well the shape and the observed expansion speed of
the large Homunculus. The little Homunculus (which is embedded within the large
Homunculus) becomes Rayleigh-Taylor unstable and develop filamentary structures
that resembles the spatial features observed in the polar caps. In addition, we
find that the interior cavity between the two Homunculi is partially filled by
material that is expelled during the decades following the great eruption. This
result may be connected with the observed double-shell structure in the polar
lobes of the Car nebula. Finally, as in previous work, we find the
formation of tenuous, equatorial, high-speed features that seem to be related
to the observed equatorial skirt of Car.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
A search for low-mass WIMPs with EDELWEISS-II heat-and-ionization detectors
We report on a search for low-energy (E < 20 keV) WIMP-induced nuclear
recoils using data collected in 2009 - 2010 by EDELWEISS from four germanium
detectors equipped with thermal sensors and an electrode design (ID) which
allows to efficiently reject several sources of background. The data indicate
no evidence for an exponential distribution of low-energy nuclear recoils that
could be attributed to WIMP elastic scattering after an exposure of 113 kg.d.
For WIMPs of mass 10 GeV, the observation of one event in the WIMP search
region results in a 90% CL limit of 1.0x10^-5 pb on the spin-independent
WIMP-nucleon scattering cross-section, which constrains the parameter space
associated with the findings reported by the CoGeNT, DAMA and CRESST
experiments.Comment: PRD rapid communication accepte
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