294 research outputs found
Alkali Atoms Attached to He Nanodroplets
We have experimentally studied the electronic excitation of Na
atoms attached to He droplets by means of laser-induced fluorescence as
well as beam depletion spectroscopy. From the similarities of the spectra
(width/shift of absorption lines) with these of Na on He droplets, we
conclude that sodium atoms reside in a ``dimple'' on the droplet surface and
that superfluid-related effects are negligible. The experimental results are
supported by Density Functional calculations at zero temperature, which confirm
the surface location of Na, K and Rb atoms on He droplets. In the case of
Na, the calculated shift of the excitation spectra for the two isotopes is in
good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, sent to JLT
Freezing of He-4 and its liquid-solid interface from Density Functional Theory
We show that, at high densities, fully variational solutions of solid-like
type can be obtained from a density functional formalism originally designed
for liquid 4He. Motivated by this finding, we propose an extension of the
method that accurately describes the solid phase and the freezing transition of
liquid 4He at zero temperature. The density profile of the interface between
liquid and the (0001) surface of the 4He crystal is also investigated, and its
surface energy evaluated. The interfacial tension is found to be in
semiquantitative agreement with experiments and with other microscopic
calculations. This opens the possibility to use unbiased DF methods to study
highly non-homogeneous systems, like 4He interacting with strongly attractive
impurities/substrates, or the nucleation of the solid phase in the metastable
liquid.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Surface location of sodium atoms attached to He-3 nanodroplets
We have experimentally studied the electronic excitation of
Na atoms attached to He droplets by means of laser-induced fluorescence as
well as beam depletion spectroscopy. From the similarities of the spectra
(width/shift of absorption lines) with these of Na on He droplets, we
conclude that sodium atoms reside in a ``dimple'' on the droplet surface. The
experimental results are supported by Density Functional calculations at zero
temperature, which confirm the surface location of sodium on He droplets,
and provide a microscopic description of the ``dimple'' structure.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Simple method for the simulation of multiple elastic scattering of electrons
A screened Rutherford cross section is modified by means of a correction factor to obtain the proper transport cross section computed by partial¿wave analysis. The correction factor is tabulated for electron energies in the range 0¿100 keV and for elements in the range from Z=4 to 82. The modified screened Rutherford cross section is shown to be useful as an approximation for the simulation of plural and multiple scattering. Its performance and limitations are exemplified for electrons scattered in Al and Au
Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Growth Conditions Modify Biomolecole Production in the Microalga Galdieria sulphuraria (Cyanidiophyceae, Rhodophyta)
Algae have multiple similarities with fungi, with both belonging to the Thallophyte, a polyphyletic group of non-mobile organisms grouped together on the basis of similar characteristics, but not sharing a common ancestor. The main difference between algae and fungi is noted in their metabolism. In fact, although algae have chlorophyll-bearing thalloids and are autotrophic organisms, fungi lack chlorophyll and are heterotrophic, not able to synthesize their own nutrients. However, our studies have shown that the extremophilic microalga Galderia sulphuraria (GS) can also grow very well in heterotrophic conditions like fungi. This study was carried out using several approaches such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and infrared spectrophotometry (ATR-FTIR). Results showed that the GS, strain ACUF 064, cultured in autotrophic (AGS) and heterotrophic (HGS) conditions, produced different biomolecules. In particular, when grown in HGS, the algae (i) was 30% larger, with an increase in carbon mass that was 20% greater than AGS; (ii) produced higher quantities of stearic acid, oleic acid, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and ergosterol; (iii) produced lower quantities of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) such as methyl palmytate, and methyl linoleate, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), and poyliunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). ATR-FTIR and principal component analysis (PCA) statistical analysis confirmed that the macromolecular content of HGS was significantly different from AGS. The ability to produce different macromolecules by changing the trophic conditions may represent an interesting strategy to induce microalgae to produce different biomolecules that can find applications in several fields such as food, feed, nutraceutical, or energy production
Generating vortex rings in Bose-Einstein condensates in the line-source approximation
We present a numerical method for generating vortex rings in Bose-Einstein
condensates confined in axially symmetric traps. The vortex ring is generated
using the line-source approximation for the vorticity, i.e., the rotational of
the superfluid velocity field is different from zero only on a circumference of
given radius located on a plane perpendicular to the symmetry axis and coaxial
with it. The particle density is obtained by solving a modified
Gross-Pitaevskii equation that incorporates the effect of the velocity field.
We discuss the appearance of density profiles, the vortex core structure and
the vortex nucleation energy, i.e., the energy difference between vortical and
ground-state configurations. This is used to present a qualitative description
of the vortex dynamics.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
From nonwetting to prewetting: the asymptotic behavior of 4He drops on alkali substrates
We investigate the spreading of 4He droplets on alkali surfaces at zero
temperature, within the frame of Finite Range Density Functional theory. The
equilibrium configurations of several 4He_N clusters and their asymptotic trend
with increasing particle number N, which can be traced to the wetting behavior
of the quantum fluid, are examined for nanoscopic droplets. We discuss the size
effects, inferring that the asymptotic properties of large droplets correspond
to those of the prewetting film
Bound states of 3He at the edge of a 4He drop on a cesium surface
We show that small amounts of 3He atoms, added to a 4He drop deposited on a
flat cesium surface at zero temperature, populate bound states localized at the
contact line. These edge states show up for drops large enough to develop well
defined surface and bulk regions together with a contact line, and they are
structurally different from the well-known Andreev states that appear at the
free surface and at the liquid-solid interface of films. We illustrate the
one-body density of 3He in a drop with 1000 4He atoms, and show that for
sufficiently large number of impurities, the density profiles spread beyond the
edge, coating both the curved drop surface and its flat base and eventually
isolating it from the substrate.Comment: 10 pages and 7 figures. Submitted to PR
Vertically coupled double quantum rings at zero magnetic field
Within local-spin-density functional theory, we have investigated the
`dissociation' of few-electron circular vertical semiconductor double quantum
ring artificial molecules at zero magnetic field as a function of inter-ring
distance. In a first step, the molecules are constituted by two identical
quantum rings. When the rings are quantum mechanically strongly coupled, the
electronic states are substantially delocalized, and the addition energy
spectra of the artificial molecule resemble those of a single quantum ring in
the few-electron limit. When the rings are quantum mechanically weakly coupled,
the electronic states in the molecule are substantially localized in one ring
or the other, although the rings can be electrostatically coupled. The effect
of a slight mismatch introduced in the molecules from nominally identical
quantum wells, or from changes in the inner radius of the constituent rings,
induces localization by offsetting the energy levels in the quantum rings. This
plays a crucial role in the appearance of the addition spectra as a function of
coupling strength particularly in the weak coupling limit.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physical Review
- …