Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems at nuT = 1: Coulomb Drag and the Transition from Weak to Strong Interlayer Coupling

Measurements revealing anomalously large frictional drag at the transition between the weakly and strongly coupled regimes of a bilayer two-dimensional electron system at total Landau level filling factor nuT = 1 are reported. This result suggests the existence of fluctuations, either static or dynamic, near the phase boundary separating the quantized Hall state at small layer separations from the compressible state at larger separations. Interestingly, the anomalies in drag seem to persist to larger layer separations than does interlayer phase coherence as detected in tunneling

Double layer two-dimensional electron systems: Probing the transition from weak to strong coupling with Coulomb drag

Frictional drag measurements revealing anomalously large dissipation at the transition between the weakly- and strongly-coupled regimes of a bilayer two-dimensional electron system at total Landau level filling factor $\nu_T =1$ are reported. This result suggests the existence of fluctuations, either static or dynamic, near the phase boundary separating the quantized Hall state at small layer separations from the compressible state at larger separations. Interestingly, the anomalies in drag seem to persist to larger layer separations than does interlayer phase coherence as detected in tunneling.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

A compact high-flux cold atom beam source

We report on an efficient and compact high-flux Cs atom beam source based on a retro-reflected two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT). We realize an effective pushing field component by tilting the 2D MOT collimators towards a separate three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT) in ultra-high vacuum. This technique significantly improved 3D MOT loading rates to greater than $8 \times 10^9$ atoms/s using only 20 mW of total laser power for the source. When operating below saturation, we achieve a maximum efficiency of $6.2 \times 10^{11}$ atoms/s/W

Vanishing Hall Resistance at High Magnetic Field in a Double Layer Two-Dimensional Electron System

At total Landau level filling factor $\nu_{tot}=1$ a double layer two-dimensional electron system with small interlayer separation supports a collective state possessing spontaneous interlayer phase coherence. This state exhibits the quantized Hall effect when equal electrical currents flow in parallel through the two layers. In contrast, if the currents in the two layers are equal, but oppositely directed, both the longitudinal and Hall resistances of each layer vanish in the low temperature limit. This finding supports the prediction that the ground state at $\nu_{tot}=1$ is an excitonic superfluid.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Onset of Interlayer Phase Coherence in a Bilayer Two-Dimensional Electron System: Effect of Layer Density Imbalance

Tunneling and Coulomb drag are sensitive probes of spontaneous interlayer phase coherence in bilayer two-dimensional electron systems at total Landau level filling factor $\nu_T = 1$. We find that the phase boundary between the interlayer phase coherent state and the weakly-coupled compressible phase moves to larger layer separations as the electron density distribution in the bilayer is imbalanced. The critical layer separation increases quadratically with layer density difference.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Swift Observations of Hard X-ray Emitting White Dwarfs in Symbiotic Stars

The X-ray emission from most accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in symbiotic binary stars is quite soft. Several symbiotic WDs, however, produce strong X-ray emission at energies greater than ~20 keV. The Swift BAT instrument has detected hard X-ray emission from 4 such accreting WDs in symbiotic stars: RT Cru, T CrB, CD -57 3057, and CH Cyg. In one case (RT Cru), Swift detected X-rays out to greater than 50 keV at a > 5 sigma confidence level. Combining data from the XRT and BAT detectors, we find that the 0.3-150 keV spectra of RT Cru, T CrB, and CD -57 3057 are well described by emission from a single-temperature, optically thin thermal plasma, plus an unresolved 6.4-6.9 keV Fe line complex. The X-ray spectrum of CH Cyg contains an additional bright soft component. For all 4 systems, the spectra suffer high levels of absorption from material that both fully and partially covers the source of hard X-rays. The XRT data did not show any of the rapid, periodic variations that one would expect if the X-ray emission were due to accretion onto a rotating, highly magnetized WD. The X-rays were thus more likely from the accretion-disk boundary layer around a massive, non-magnetic WD in each binary. The X-ray emission from RT Cru varied on timescales of a few days. This variability is consistent with being due to changes in the absorber that partially covers the source, suggesting localized absorption from a clumpy medium moving into the line of sight. The X-ray emission from CD -57 3057 and T CrB also varied during the 9 months of Swift observations, in a manner that was also consistent with variable absorption.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 9 pages, 6 figure

Spacecraft charging and ion wake formation in the near-Sun environment

A three-dimensional (3-D), self-consistent code is employed to solve for the static potential structure surrounding a spacecraft in a high photoelectron environment. The numerical solutions show that, under certain conditions, a spacecraft can take on a negative potential in spite of strong photoelectron currents. The negative potential is due to an electrostatic barrier near the surface of the spacecraft that can reflect a large fraction of the photoelectron flux back to the spacecraft. This electrostatic barrier forms if (1) the photoelectron density at the surface of the spacecraft greatly exceeds the ambient plasma density, (2) the spacecraft size is significantly larger than local Debye length of the photoelectrons, and (3) the thermal electron energy is much larger than the characteristic energy of the escaping photoelectrons. All of these conditions are present near the Sun. The numerical solutions also show that the spacecraft's negative potential can be amplified by an ion wake. The negative potential of the ion wake prevents secondary electrons from escaping the part of spacecraft in contact with the wake. These findings may be important for future spacecraft missions that go nearer to the Sun, such as Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma

Stability of the Excitonic Phase in Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems at Total Filling One -- Effects of Finite Well Width and Pseudopotentials --

The ground state of a bilayer quantum Hall system at $\nu_{\rm T}=1$ with model pseudopotential is investigated by the DMRG method. Firstly, pseudopotential parameters appropriate for the system with finite layer thickness are derived, and it is found that the finite thickness makes the excitonic phase more stable. Secondly, a model, where only a few pseudopotentials with small relative angular momentum have finite values, is studied, and it is clarified how the excitonic phase is destroyed as intra-layer pseudopotential becomes larger. The importance of the intra-layer repulsive interaction at distance twice of the magnetic length for the destruction of the excitonic phase is found.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Magnetic Surfaces in Stationary Axisymmetric General Relativity

In this paper a new method is derived for constructing electromagnetic surface sources for stationary axisymmetric electrovac spacetimes endowed with non-smooth or even discontinuous Ernst potentials. This can be viewed as a generalization of some classical potential theory results, since lack of continuity of the potential is related to dipole density and lack of smoothness, to monopole density. In particular this approach is useful for constructing the dipole source for the magnetic field. This formalism involves solving a linear elliptic differential equation with boundary conditions at infinity. As an example, two different models of surface densities for the Kerr-Newman electrovac spacetime are derived.Comment: 15 page