When is an alternative possibility robust?

According to some, free will requires alternative possibilities. But not any old alternative possibility will do. Sometimes, being able to bring about an alternative does not bestow any control on an agent. In order to bestow control, and so be directly relevant qua alternative to grounding the agent's moral responsibility, alternatives need to be robust. Here, I investigate the nature of robust alternatives. I argue that Derk Pereboom's latest robustness criterion is too strong, and I suggest a different criterion based on the idea that what agents need to be able to do is keep open the possibility of securing their blamelessness, rather than needing to directly ensure their own blamelessness at the time of decision

Disorder-Induced Multiple Transition involving Z2 Topological Insulator

Effects of disorder on two-dimensional Z2 topological insulator are studied numerically by the transfer matrix method. Based on the scaling analysis, the phase diagram is derived for a model of HgTe quantum well as a function of disorder strength and magnitude of the energy gap. In the presence of sz non-conserving spin-orbit coupling, a finite metallic region is found that partitions the two topologically distinct insulating phases. As disorder increases, a narrow-gap topologically trivial insulator undergoes a series of transitions; first to metal, second to topological insulator, third to metal, and finally back to trivial insulator. We show that this multiple transition is a consequence of two disorder effects; renormalization of the band gap, and Anderson localization. The metallic region found in the scaling analysis corresponds roughly to the region of finite density of states at the Fermi level evaluated in the self-consistent Born approximation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

High-Field Electrical Transport in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Using low-resistance electrical contacts, we have measured the intrinsic high-field transport properties of metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes. Individual nanotubes appear to be able to carry currents with a density exceeding 10^9 A/cm^2. As the bias voltage is increased, the conductance drops dramatically due to scattering of electrons. We show that the current-voltage characteristics can be explained by considering optical or zone-boundary phonon emission as the dominant scattering mechanism at high field.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure

The effect of inter-edge Coulomb interactions on the transport between quantum Hall edge states

In a recent experiment, Milliken {\em et al.} demonstrated possible evidence for a Luttinger liquid through measurements of the tunneling conductance between edge states in the $\nu=1/3$ quantum Hall plateau. However, at low temperatures, a discrepancy exists between the theoretical predictions based on Luttinger liquid theory and experiment. We consider the possibility that this is due to long-range Coulomb interactions which become dominant at low temperatures. Using renormalization group methods, we calculate the cross-over behaviour from Luttinger liquid to the Coulomb interaction dominated regime. The cross-over behaviour thus obtained seems to resolve one of the discrepancies, yielding good agreement with experiment.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 2 postscript figures, tex file and figures have been uuencode

Low energy supersymmetry with a neutralino LSP and the CDF ee\gamma\gamma + missing E_T event

We present a refined and expanded analysis of the CDF ee\gamma\gamma + \Et event as superpartner production, assuming the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. A general low-energy Lagrangian is constrained by a minimum cross section times branching ratio into two electrons and two photons, kinematics consistent with the event, and LEP1-LEP130 data. We examine how the supersymmetric parameters depend on the kinematics, branching ratios and experimental predictions with a selectron interpretation of the event, and discuss to what extent these are modified by other interpretations. Predictions for imminent CERN LEP upgrades and the present and future Fermilab Tevatron are presented. Finally, we briefly discuss the possible connection to other phenomena including a light stop, the neutralino relic density, the shift in $R_b$ and the associated shift in $\alpha_s$, and implications for the form of the theory.Comment: 57 pages, LaTeX, uses epsf.sty, 19 figures. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, with minor changes and a few clarification

Resonant Tunneling Between Quantum Hall Edge States

Resonant tunneling between fractional quantum Hall edge states is studied in the Luttinger liquid picture. For the Laughlin parent states, the resonance line shape is a universal function whose width scales to zero at zero temperature. Extensive quantum Monte Carlo simulations are presented for $\nu = 1/3$ which confirm this picture and provide a parameter-free prediction for the line shape.Comment: 14 pages , revtex , IUCM93-00

Dynamical electron transport through a nanoelectromechanical wire in a magnetic field

We investigate dynamical transport properties of interacting electrons moving in a vibrating nanoelectromechanical wire in a magnetic field. We have built an exactly solvable model in which electric current and mechanical oscillation are treated fully quantum mechanically on an equal footing. Quantum mechanically fluctuating Aharonov-Bohm phases obtained by the electrons cause nontrivial contribution to mechanical vibration and electrical conduction of the wire. We demonstrate our theory by calculating the admittance of the wire which are influenced by the multiple interplay between the mechanical and the electrical energy scales, magnetic field strength, and the electron-electron interaction