12,050 research outputs found
Double-diffusive instabilities of a shear-generated magnetic layer
Previous theoretical work has speculated about the existence of
double-diffusive magnetic buoyancy instabilities of a dynamically evolving
horizontal magnetic layer generated by the interaction of forced vertically
sheared velocity and a background vertical magnetic field. Here we confirm
numerically that if the ratio of the magnetic to thermal diffusivities is
sufficiently low then such instabilities can indeed exist, even for high
Richardson number shear flows. Magnetic buoyancy may therefore occur via this
mechanism for parameters that are likely to be relevant to the solar
tachocline, where regular magnetic buoyancy instabilities are unlikely.Comment: Submitted to ApJ
The Evolution of a Double Diffusive Magnetic Buoyancy Instability
Recently, Silvers, Vasil, Brummell, & Proctor (2009), using numerical
simulations, confirmed the existence of a double diffusive magnetic buoyancy
instability of a layer of horizontal magnetic field produced by the interaction
of a shear velocity field with a weak vertical field. Here, we demonstrate the
longer term nonlinear evolution of such an instability in the simulations. We
find that a quasi two-dimensional interchange instability rides (or "surfs") on
the growing shear-induced background downstream field gradients. The region of
activity expands since three-dimensional perturbations remain unstable in the
wake of this upward-moving activity front, and so the three-dimensional nature
becomes more noticeable with time.Comment: 9 pages; 3 figures; accepted to appear in IAU symposium 27
Heat Capacity Evidence for the Suppression of Skyrmions at Large Zeeman Energy
Measurements on a multilayer two-dimensional electron system (2DES) near
Landau level filling =1 reveal the disappearance of the nuclear spin
contribution to the heat capacity as the ratio between the Zeeman
and Coulomb energies exceeds a critical value 0.04. This
disappearance suggests the vanishing of the Skyrmion-mediated coupling between
the lattice and the nuclear spins as the spin excitations of the 2DES make a
transition from Skyrmions to single spin-flips above . Our
experimental is smaller than the calculated =0.054
for an ideal 2DES; we discuss possible origins of this discrepancy.Comment: Experimental paper, 6 figure
Effect of in-plane magnetic field on the photoluminescence spectrum of modulation-doped quantum wells and heterojunctions
The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum
wells (MDQW) and heterojunctions (HJ) is studied under a magnetic field
() applied parallel to the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) layer.
The effect of strongly depends on the electron-hole separation
(), and we revealed remarkable -induced modifications of the PL
spectra in both types of heterostructures. A model considering the direct
optical transitions between the conduction and valence subband that are shifted
in k-space under , accounts qualitatively for the observed spectral
modifications. In the HJs, the PL intensity of the bulk excitons is strongly
reduced relatively to that of the 2DEG with increasing . This means
that the distance between the photoholes and the 2DEG decreases with increased
, and that free holes are responsible for the hole-2DEG PL.Comment: 6pages, 5figure
Computation in Classical Mechanics
There is a growing consensus that physics majors need to learn computational
skills, but many departments are still devoid of computation in their physics
curriculum. Some departments may lack the resources or commitment to create a
dedicated course or program in computational physics. One way around this
difficulty is to include computation in a standard upper-level physics course.
An intermediate classical mechanics course is particularly well suited for
including computation. We discuss the ways we have used computation in our
classical mechanics courses, focusing on how computational work can improve
students' understanding of physics as well as their computational skills. We
present examples of computational problems that serve these two purposes. In
addition, we provide information about resources for instructors who would like
to include computation in their courses.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to American Journal of Physic
Exchange interaction effects in inter-Landau level Auger scattering in a two-dimensional electron gas
We consider the influence of spin effects on the inter-Landau level
electron-electron scattering rate in a two-dimensional electron gas. Due to the
exchange spin splitting, the Landau levels are not equidistant. This leads to
the suppresion of Auger processes and a nonlinear dependence of the lifetime on
the concentration of the excited electrons even at very low excitation levels.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
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