Phase Diffusion in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Josephson Transistors

We investigate electronic transport in Josephson junctions formed by single-walled carbon nanotubes coupled to superconducting electrodes. We observe enhanced zero-bias conductance (up to 10e^2/h) and pronounced sub-harmonic gap structures in differential conductance, which arise from the multiple Andreev reflections at superconductor/nanotube interfaces. The voltage-current characteristics of these junctions display abrupt switching from the supercurrent branch to resistive branch, with a gate-tunable switching current ranging from 50 pA to 2.3 nA. The finite resistance observed on the supercurrent branch and the magnitude of the switching current are in good agreement with calculation based on the model of classical phase diffusion

Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopic Studies of the Effects of Dielectrics and Metallic Substrates on the Local Electronic Characteristics of Graphene

Atomically resolved imaging and spectroscopic characteristics of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper foils are investigated and compared with those of mechanical exfoliated graphene on SiO_2. For exfoliated graphene, the local spectral deviations from ideal behavior may be attributed to strain induced by the SiO_2 substrate. For CVD grown graphene, the lattice structure appears strongly distorted by the underlying copper, with regions in direct contact with copper showing nearly square lattices whereas suspended regions from thermal relaxation exhibiting nearly honeycomb or hexagonal lattice structures. The electronic density of states (DOS) correlates closely with the atomic arrangements of carbon, showing excess zero-bias tunneling conductance and nearly energy-independent DOS for strongly distorted graphene, in contrast to the linearly dispersive DOS for suspended graphene. These results suggest that graphene can interact strongly with both metallic and dielectric materials in close proximity, leading to non-negligible modifications to the electronic properties

Internal Gravity Waves Modulate the Apparent Misalignment of Exoplanets around Hot Stars

We propose that the observed misalignment between extra-solar planets and their hot host stars can be explained by angular momentum transport within the host star. Observations have shown that this misalignment is preferentially around hot stars, which have convective cores and extended radiative envelopes. This situation is amenable to substantial angular momentum transport by internal gravity waves (IGW) generated at the convective-radiative interface. Here we present numerical simulations of this process and show that IGW can modulate the surface rotation of the star. With these two- dimensional simulations we show that IGW could explain the retrograde orbits observed in systems such as HAT-P-6 and HAT-P-7, however, extension to high obliquity objects will await future three- dimensional simulations. We note that these results also imply that individual massive stars should show temporal variations in their v sini measurements.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

Mapping the Dirac point in gated bilayer graphene

We have performed low temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on exfoliated bilayer graphene on SiO2. By varying the back gate voltage we observed a linear shift of the Dirac point and an opening of a band gap due to the perpendicular electric field. In addition to observing a shift in the Dirac point, we also measured its spatial dependence using spatially resolved scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The spatial variation of the Dirac point was not correlated with topographic features and therefore we attribute its shift to random charged impurities.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Spatially resolved spectroscopy of monolayer graphene on SiO2

We have carried out scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on exfoliated monolayer graphene on SiO$_2$ to probe the correlation between its electronic and structural properties. Maps of the local density of states are characterized by electron and hole puddles that arise due to long range intravalley scattering from intrinsic ripples in graphene and random charged impurities. At low energy, we observe short range intervalley scattering which we attribute to lattice defects. Our results demonstrate that the electronic properties of graphene are influenced by intrinsic ripples, defects and the underlying SiO$_2$ substrate.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, extended versio

On the IMF in a Triggered Star Formation Context

The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental issue in the theory of star formation. It is generally fit with a composite power law. Some clues on the progenitors can be found in dense starless cores that have a core mass function (CMF) with a similar shape. In the low-mass end, these mass functions increase with mass, albeit the sample may be somewhat incomplete; in the high-mass end, the mass functions decrease with mass. There is an offset in the turn-over mass between the two mass distributions. The stellar mass for the IMF peak is lower than the corresponding core mass for the CMF peak in the Pipe Nebula by about a factor of three. Smaller offsets are found between the IMF and the CMFs in other nebulae. We suggest that the offset is likely induced during a starburst episode of global star formation which is triggered by the formation of a few O/B stars in the multi-phase media, which naturally emerged through the onset of thermal instability in the cloud-core formation process. We consider the scenario that the ignition of a few massive stars photoionizes the warm medium between the cores, increases the external pressure, reduces their Bonnor?Ebert mass, and triggers the collapse of some previously stable cores. We quantitatively reproduce the IMF in the low-mass end with the assumption of additional rotational fragmentation.Comment: 3 figure