517 research outputs found
Coarse-grained microscopic model of glass formers
We introduce a coarse-grained model for atomic glass formers. Its elements
are physically motivated local microscopic dynamical rules parameterized by
observables. Results of the model are established and used to interpret the
measured behaviors of supercooled fluids approaching glass transitions. The
model predicts the presence of a crossover from hierarchical super-Arrhenius
dynamics at short length scales to diffusive Arrhenius dynamics at large length
scales. This prediction distinguishes our model from other theories of glass
formers and can be tested by experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Molecular random tilings as glasses
We have recently shown [Blunt et al., Science 322, 1077 (2008)] that
p-terphenyl-3,5,3',5'-tetracarboxylic acid adsorbed on graphite self-assembles
into a two-dimensional rhombus random tiling. This tiling is close to ideal,
displaying long range correlations punctuated by sparse localised tiling
defects. In this paper we explore the analogy between dynamic arrest in this
type of random tilings and that of structural glasses. We show that the
structural relaxation of these systems is via the propagation--reaction of
tiling defects, giving rise to dynamic heterogeneity. We study the scaling
properties of the dynamics, and discuss connections with kinetically
constrained models of glasses.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Space-time Thermodynamics of the Glass Transition
We consider the probability distribution for fluctuations in dynamical action
and similar quantities related to dynamic heterogeneity. We argue that the
so-called "glass transition" is a manifestation of low action tails in these
distributions where the entropy of trajectory space is sub-extensive in time.
These low action tails are a consequence of dynamic heterogeneity and an
indication of phase coexistence in trajectory space. The glass transition,
where the system falls out of equilibrium, is then an order-disorder phenomenon
in space-time occurring at a temperature T_g which is a weak function of
measurement time. We illustrate our perspective ideas with facilitated lattice
models, and note how these ideas apply more generally.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Quantum state preparation in semiconductor dots by adiabatic rapid passage
Preparation of a specific quantum state is a required step for a variety of
proposed practical uses of quantum dynamics. We report an experimental
demonstration of optical quantum state preparation in a semiconductor quantum
dot with electrical readout, which contrasts with earlier work based on Rabi
flopping in that the method is robust with respect to variation in the optical
coupling. We use adiabatic rapid passage, which is capable of inverting single
dots to a specified upper level. We demonstrate that when the pulse power
exceeds a threshold for inversion, the final state is independent of power.
This provides a new tool for preparing quantum states in semiconductor dots and
has a wide range of potential uses.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Microcavity quantum-dot systems for non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation
We review the practical conditions required to achieve a non-equilibrium BEC
driven by quantum dynamics in a system comprising a microcavity field mode and
a distribution of localised two-level systems driven to a step-like population
inversion profile. A candidate system based on eight 3.8nm layers of
In(0.23)Ga(0.77)As in GaAs shows promising characteristics with regard to the
total dipole strength which can be coupled to the field mode.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Conf. Ser. for QD201
Finite-temperature critical point of a glass transition
We generalize the simplest kinetically constrained model of a glass-forming
liquid by softening kinetic constraints, allowing them to be violated with a
small finite rate. We demonstrate that this model supports a first-order
dynamical (space-time) phase transition, similar to those observed with hard
constraints. In addition, we find that the first-order phase boundary in this
softened model ends in a finite-temperature dynamical critical point, which we
expect to be present in natural systems. We discuss links between this critical
point and quantum phase transitions, showing that dynamical phase transitions
in dimensions map to quantum transitions in the same dimension, and hence
to classical thermodynamic phase transitions in dimensions. We make these
links explicit through exact mappings between master operators, transfer
matrices, and Hamiltonians for quantum spin chains.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Properties of cage rearrangements observed near the colloidal glass transition
We use confocal microscopy to study the motions of particles in concentrated
colloidal systems. Near the glass transition, diffusive motion is inhibited, as
particles spend time trapped in transient ``cages'' formed by neighboring
particles. We measure the cage sizes and lifetimes, which respectively shrink
and grow as the glass transition approaches. Cage rearrangements are more
prevalent in regions with lower local concentrations and higher disorder.
Neighboring rearranging particles typically move in parallel directions,
although a nontrivial fraction move in anti-parallel directions, usually from
pairs of particles with initial separations corresponding to the local maxima
and minima of the pair correlation function , respectively.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; text & figures revised in v
Glassy freezing of orbital dynamics in FeCr2S4 and FeSc2S4
We report on a thorough dielectric investigation of the glass-like freezing
of the orbital reorientation-dynamics, recently found for the crystalline
sulpho-spinels FeCr2S4 and FeSc2S4. As the orbital reorientations are coupled
to a rearrangement of the surrounding ionic lattice via the Jahn-Teller effect,
the freezing of the orbital moments is revealed by a relaxational behaviour of
the complex dielectric permittivity. Additional conductivity (both dc and ac)
and contact contributions showing up in the spectra are taken into account by
an equivalent circuit description. The orbital relaxation dynamics continuously
slows down over six decades in time, before at the lowest temperatures the
glass transition becomes suppressed by quantum tunnelling.Comment: J. Non-Cryst. Solids, in press. 6 pages, 4 figure
Absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy on a single self-assembled charge-tunable quantum dot
We have performed detailed photoluminescence (PL) and absorption spectroscopy
on the same single self-assembled quantum dot in a charge-tunable device. The
transition from neutral to charged exciton in the PL occurs at a more negative
voltage than the corresponding transition in absorption. We have developed a
model of the Coulomb blockade to account for this observation. At large
negative bias, the absorption broadens as a result of electron and hole
tunneling. We observe resonant features in this regime whenever the quantum dot
hole level is resonant with two-dimensional hole states located at the capping
layer-blocking barrier interface in our structure.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
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