28,928 research outputs found
Dielectric mismatch and shallow donor impurities in GaN/HfO2 quantum wells
In this work we investigate electron-impurity binding energy in GaN/HfO
quantum wells. The calculation considers simultaneously all energy
contributions caused by the dielectric mismatch: (i) image self-energy (i.e.,
interaction between electron and its image charge), (ii) the direct Coulomb
interaction between the electron-impurity and (iii) the interactions among
electron and impurity image charges. The theoretical model account for the
solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation and the results shows how
the magnitude of the electron-impurity binding energy depends on the position
of impurity in the well-barrier system. The role of the large dielectric
constant in the barrier region is exposed with the comparison of the results
for GaN/HfO with those of a more typical GaN/AlN system, for two different
confinement regimes: narrow and wide quantum wells.Comment: 6 Pages, 7 figure
Lande g-tensor in semiconductor nanostructures
Understanding the electronic structure of semiconductor nanostructures is not
complete without a detailed description of their corresponding spin-related
properties. Here we explore the response of the shell structure of InAs
self-assembled quantum dots to magnetic fields oriented in several directions,
allowing the mapping of the g-tensor modulus for the s and p shells. We found
that the g-tensors for the s and p shells show a very different behavior. The
s-state in being more localized allows the probing of the confining potential
details by sweeping the magnetic field orientation from the growth direction
towards the in-plane direction. As for the p-state, we found that the g-tensor
modulus is closer to that of the surrounding GaAs, consistent with a larger
delocalization. These results reveal further details of the confining
potentials of self-assembled quantum dots that have not yet been probed, in
addition to the assessment of the g-tensor, which is of fundamental importance
for the implementation of spin related applications.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Vortices in the presence of a nonmagnetic atom impurity in 2D XY ferromagnets
Using a model of nonmagnetic impurity potential, we have examined the
behavior of planar vortex solutions in the classical two-dimensional XY
ferromagnets in the presence of a spin vacancy localized out of the vortex
core. Our results show that a spinless atom impurity gives rise to an effective
potential that repels the vortex structure.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, RevTex
Equivalence between the Lovelock-Cartan action and a constrained gauge theory
We show that the four-dimensional Lovelock-Cartan action can be derived from
a massless gauge theory for the group with an additional BRST trivial
part. The model is originally composed by a topological sector and a BRST exact
piece and has no explicit dependence on the metric, the vierbein or a mass
parameter. The vierbein is introduced together with a mass parameter through
some BRST trivial constraints. The effect of the constraints is to identify the
vierbein with some of the additional fields, transforming the original action
into the Lovelock-Cartan one. In this scenario, the mass parameter is
identified with Newton's constant while the gauge field is identified with the
spin-connection. The symmetries of the model are also explored. Moreover, the
extension of the model to a quantum version is qualitatively discussed.Comment: 17 pages. No figures. Final version accepted for publication at the
EPJ
Density-density propagator for one-dimensional interacting spinless fermions with non-linear dispersion and calculation of the Coulomb drag resistivity
Using bosonization-fermionization transformation we map the
Tomonaga-Luttinger model of spinless fermions with non-linear dispersion on the
model of fermionic quasiparticles whose interaction is irrelevant in the
renormalization group sense. Such mapping allows us to set up an expansion for
the density-density propagator of the original Tomonaga-Luttinger Hamiltonian
in orders of the (irrelevant) quasiparticle interaction. The lowest order term
in such an expansion is proportional to the propagator for free fermions. The
next term is also evaluated. The propagator found is used for calculation of
the Coulomb drug resistivity in a system of two capacitively coupled
one-dimensional conductors. It is shown that is proportional to for
both free and interacting fermions. The marginal repulsive in-chain interaction
acts to reduce as compared to the non-interacting result. The correction to
due to the quasiparticle interaction is found as well. It scales as
at low temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure; the new version of the e-print corrects an
error, which exists in the original submission; fortunately, all important
conclusions of the study remain vali
Processing of conductive filled polymers using microinjection
Polystyrene granules were coated by sputtering
with an innovative film of stainless steel
obtaining this way a composite. To compare
results it was necessary to prepare two different
composites, mixing polymer granules with steel
fibers mechanically in a drum.
Microinjection molding is a processing
technique that allowed obtaining a
representative sample of each composite.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) allowed
the characterization of the coating thickness
while the dispersion and distribution of metal
particles were analyzed by optical microscopy
in polarized light. Results showed a uniform
thickness of the coating and good dispersion of
the reinforcements in the matrix. Electrical and
mechanical properties of the composites were
characterized by measuring the electrical
resistivity and flexural tests. Considerable
values of conductivity were exhibited in
composites with carbon nanotubes and a slight
increase in the modulus of the polymers due to
reinforcement incorporation was noticed
Glutamate induces autophagy via the two-pore channels in neural cells
NAADP (nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate) has been proposed as a second messenger for glutamate in neuronal and glial cells via the activation of the lysosomal Ca2+ channels TPC1 and TPC2. However, the activities of glutamate that are mediated by NAADP remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the effect of glutamate on autophagy in astrocytes at physiological, non-toxic concentration. We found that glutamate induces autophagy at similar extent as NAADP. By contrast, the NAADP antagonist NED-19 or SiRNA-mediated inhibition of TPC1/2 decreases autophagy induced by glutamate, confirming a role for NAADP in this pathway. The involvement of TPC1/2 in glutamate-induced autophagy was also confirmed in SHSY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Finally, we show that glutamate leads to a NAADP-dependent activation of AMPK, which is required for autophagy induction, while mTOR activity is not affected by this treatment. Taken together, our results indicate that glutamate stimulates autophagy via NAADP/TPC/AMPK axis, providing new insights of how Ca2+ signalling glutamate-mediated can control the cell metabolism in the central nervous system
Consistent Gravitationally-Coupled Spin-2 Field Theory
Inspired by the translational gauge structure of teleparallel gravity, the
theory for a fundamental massless spin-2 field is constructed. Accordingly,
instead of being represented by a symmetric second-rank tensor, the fundamental
spin-2 field is assumed to be represented by a spacetime (world) vector field
assuming values in the Lie algebra of the translation group. The flat-space
theory naturally emerges in the Fierz formalism and is found to be equivalent
to the usual metric-based theory. However, the gravitationally coupled theory,
with gravitation itself described by teleparallel gravity, is shown not to
present the consistency problems of the spin-2 theory constructed on the basis
of general relativity.Comment: 16 pages, no figures. V2: Presentation changes, including addition of
a new sub-section, aiming at clarifying the text; version accepted for
publication in Class. Quantum Grav
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