Coherent phenomena in mesoscopic systems

A mesoscopic system of cylindrical geometry made of a metal or a semiconductor is shown to exhibit features of a quantum coherent state. It is shown that magnetostatic interaction can play an important role in mesoscopic systems leading to an ordered ground state. The temperature $T^{*}$ below the system exhibits long-range order is determined. The self-consistent mean field approximation of the magnetostatic interaction is performed giving the effective Hamiltonian from which the self-sustaining currents can be obtained. The relation of quantum coherent state in mesoscopic cylinders to other coherent systems like superconductors is discussed.Comment: REVTeX, 4 figures, in print in Supercond. Sci. Techno

Convergence of opinion diffusion is PSPACE-complete

We analyse opinion diffusion in social networks, where a finite set of individuals is connected in a directed graph and each simultaneously changes their opinion to that of the majority of their influencers. We study the algorithmic properties of the fixed-point behaviour of such networks, showing that the problem of establishing whether individuals converge to stable opinions is PSPACE-complet

Fast-Neutron Activation of Long-Lived Isotopes in Enriched Ge

We measured the production of \nuc{57}{Co}, \nuc{54}{Mn}, \nuc{68}{Ge}, \nuc{65}{Zn}, and \nuc{60}{Co} in a sample of Ge enriched in isotope 76 due to high-energy neutron interactions. These isotopes, especially \nuc{68}{Ge}, are critical in understanding background in Ge detectors used for double-beta decay experiments. They are produced by cosmogenic-neutron interactions in the detectors while they reside on the Earth's surface. These production rates were measured at neutron energies of a few hundred MeV. We compared the measured production to that predicted by cross-section calculations based on CEM03.02. The cross section calculations over-predict our measurements by approximately a factor of three depending on isotope. We then use the measured cosmic-ray neutron flux, our measurements, and the CEM03.02 cross sections to predict the cosmogenic production rate of these isotopes. The uncertainty in extrapolating the cross section model to higher energies dominates the total uncertainty in the cosmogenic production rate.Comment: Revised after feedback and further work on extrapolating cross sections to higher energies in order to estimate cosmic production rates. Also a numerical error was found and fixed in the estimate of the Co-57 production rat

Possibility of long-range order in clean mesoscopic cylinders

A microscopic Hamiltonian of the magnetostatic interaction is discussed. This long-range interaction can play an important role in mesoscopic systems leading to an ordered ground state. The self-consistent mean field approximation of the magnetostatic interaction is performed to give an effective Hamiltonian from which the spontaneous, self-sustaining currents can be obtained. To go beyond the mean field approximation the mean square fluctuation of the total momentum is calculated and its influence on self-sustaining currents in mesoscopic cylinders with quasi-1D and quasi-2D conduction is considered. Then, by the use of the microscopic Hamiltonian of the magnetostatic interaction for a set of stacked rings, the problem of long-range order is discussed. The temperature $T^{*}$ below which the system is in an ordered state is determined.Comment: 14 pages, REVTeX, 5 figures, in print in Phys. Rev.

Spin measurements for 147Sm+n resonances: Further evidence for non-statistical effects

We have determined the spins J of resonances in the 147Sm(n,gamma) reaction by measuring multiplicities of gamma-ray cascades following neutron capture. Using this technique, we were able to determine J values for all but 14 of the 140 known resonances below En = 1 keV, including 41 firm J assignments for resonances whose spins previously were either unknown or tentative. These new spin assignments, together with previously determined resonance parameters, allowed us to extract separate level spacings and neutron strength functions for J = 3 and 4 resonances. Furthermore, several statistical test of the data indicate that very few resonances of either spin have been missed below En = 700eV. Because a non-statistical effect recently was reported near En = 350 eV from an analysis of 147Sm(n,alpha) data, we divided the data into two regions; 0 < En < 350 eV and 350 < En < 700 eV. Using neutron widths from a previous measurement and published techniques for correcting for missed resonances and for testing whether data are consistent with a Porter-Thomas distribution, we found that the reduced-neutron-width distribution for resonances below 350 eV is consistent with the expected Porter-Thomas distribution. On the other hand, we found that reduced-neutron-width data in the 350 < En < 700 eV region are inconsistent with a Porter-Thomas distribution, but in good agreement with a chi-squared distribution having two or more degrees of freedom. We discuss possible explanations for these observed non-statistical effects and their possible relation to similar effects previously observed in other nuclides.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.

Femtosecond dynamics of electronic states in the Mott insulator 1T-TaS2 by time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

Photoexcitation of the Mott insulator 1T-TaS2 by an intense laser pulse leads to an ultrafast transition toward a gapless phase. Beside the collapse of the electronic gap, the sudden excitation of the charge density wave mode results into periodic oscillations of the electronic states. We employ time resolved photoelectron spectroscopy to monitor the rich dynamics of electrons and phonons during the relaxation toward equilibrium. The qualitative difference between the oscillatory dynamics of the charge density wave and the monotonic recovery of the electronic gap proves that 1T-TaS2 is indeed a Mott insulator. Moreover the quasi-instantaneous build up of mid gap states is in contrast with the retarded response expected from a Peierls insulating phase. Interestingly, the photoinduced electronic states in the midgap spectral region display a weak resonance that is reminiscent of a quasiparticle peak

Total Cross Sections for Neutron Scattering

Measurements of neutron total cross-sections are both extensive and extremely accurate. Although they place a strong constraint on theoretically constructed models, there are relatively few comparisons of predictions with experiment. The total cross-sections for neutron scattering from $^{16}$O and $^{40}$Ca are calculated as a function of energy from $50-700$~MeV laboratory energy with a microscopic first order optical potential derived within the framework of the Watson expansion. Although these results are already in qualitative agreement with the data, the inclusion of medium corrections to the propagator is essential to correctly predict the energy dependence given by the experiment.Comment: 10 pages (Revtex 3.0), 6 fig