Stabilization of solitons of the multidimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation: Matter-wave breathers

We demonstrate that stabilization of solitons of the multidimensional Schrodinger equation with a cubic nonlinearity may be achieved by a suitable periodic control of the nonlinear term. The effect of this control is to stabilize the unstable solitary waves which belong to the frontier between expanding and collapsing solutions and to provide an oscillating solitonic structure, some sort of breather-type solution. We obtain precise conditions on the control parameters to achieve the stabilization and compare our results with accurate numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Because of the application of these ideas to matter waves these solutions are some sort of matter breathers

VLT and GTC observations of SDSS J0123+00: a type 2 quasar triggered in a galaxy encounter?

We present long-slit spectroscopy, continuum and [OIII]5007 imaging data obtained with the Very Large Telescope and the Gran Telescopio Canarias of the type 2 quasar SDSS J0123+00 at z=0.399. The quasar lies in a complex, gas-rich environment. It appears to be physically connected by a tidal bridge to another galaxy at a projected distance of ~100 kpc, which suggests this is an interacting system. Ionized gas is detected to a distance of at least ~133 kpc from the nucleus. The nebula has a total extension of ~180 kpc. This is one of the largest ionized nebulae ever detected associated with an active galaxy. Based on the environmental properties, we propose that the origin of the nebula is tidal debris from a galactic encounter, which could as well be the triggering mechanism of the nuclear activity. SDSS J0123+00 demonstrates that giant, luminous ionized nebulae can exist associated with type 2 quasars of low radio luminosities, contrary to expectations based on type 1 quasar studies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Differential Astrometry over 15 degrees

We observed the pair of radio sources 1150+812 and 1803+784 in November 1993 with a VLBI array, simultaneously recording at 8.4 and 2.3 GHz. We determined the angular separation between the two sources with submilliarcsecond accuracy by using differential techniques. This result demonstrates the feasibility of high precision differential astrometry for radio sources separated in the sky by almost 15 degrees, and opens the avenue to its application to larger samples of radio sources.Comment: 6 pages, latex2e, 2 figures, To appear in the proceedings of the EVN/JIVE Symposium No. 4, New Astronomy Reviews (eds. Garret, M. Campbell, R., and Gurvits, L.

Hierarchy of Floquet gaps and edge states for driven honeycomb lattices

Electromagnetic driving in a honeycomb lattice can induce gaps and topological edge states with a structure of increasing complexity as the frequency of the driving lowers. While the high frequency case is the most simple to analyze we focus on the multiple photon processes allowed in the low frequency regime to unveil the hierarchy of Floquet edge-states. In the case of low intensities an analytical approach allows us to derive effective Hamiltonians and address the topological character of each gap in a constructive manner. At high intensities we obtain the net number of edge states, given by the winding number, with a numerical calculation of the Chern numbers of each Floquet band. Using these methods, we find a hierarchy that resembles that of a Russian nesting doll. This hierarchy classifies the gaps and the associated edge states in different orders according to the electron-photon coupling strength. For large driving intensities, we rely on the numerical calculation of the winding number, illustrated in a map of topological phase transitions. The hierarchy unveiled with the low energy effective Hamiltonians, alongside with the map of topological phase transitions discloses the complexity of the Floquet band structure in the low frequency regime. The proposed method for obtaining the effective Hamiltonian can be easily adapted to other Dirac Hamiltonians of two dimensional materials and even the surface of a 3D topological insulator.Comment: Phys. Rev. A 91, 04362

Multi-wavelength differential astrometry of the S5 polar cap sample

We report on the status of our S5 polar cap astrometry program. Since 1997 we have observed all the 13 radio sources of the complete S5 polar cap sample at the wavelengths of 3.6 cm, 2 cm and 7 mm. Images of the radio sources at 3.6 and 2 cm have already been published reporting morphological changes. Preliminary astrometric analyses have been carried out at three frequencies with precisions in the relative position determination ranging from 80 to 20 microarcseconds. We report also on the combination of our phase-delay global astrometry results with the microarcsecond-precise optical astrometry that will be provided by future space-based instruments.Comment: 2 pages. 1 figure. Proceedings of the 7th European VLBI Network Symposium held in Toledo, Spain on October 12-15, 2004. Editors: R. Bachiller, F. Colomer, J.-F. Desmurs, P. de Vicente (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional), p. 323-324. Needs evn2004.cl

Non-perturbative laser effects on the electrical properties of graphene nanoribbons

The use of Floquet theory combined with a realistic description of the electronic structure of illuminated graphene and graphene nanoribbons is developed to assess the emergence of non-adiabatic and non-perturbative effects on the electronic properties. Here, we introduce an efficient computational scheme and illustrate its use by applying it to graphene nanoribbons in the presence of both linear and circular polarization. The interplay between confinement due to the finite sample size and laser-induced transitions is shown to lead to sharp features on the average conductance and density of states. Particular emphasis is given to the emergence of the bulk limit response.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, to appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, special issue on "Ultrafast and nonlinear optics in carbon nanomaterials

Laser-induced effects on the electronic features of graphene nanoribbons

We study the interplay between lateral confinement and photon-induced processes on the electronic properties of illuminated graphene nanoribbons. We find that by tuning the device setup (edges geometries, ribbon width and polarization direction), a laser with frequency {\Omega} may either not affect the electronic structure, or induce bandgaps or depletions at \hbar {\Omega}/2, and/or at other energies not commensurate with half the photon energy. Similar features are also observed in the dc conductance, suggesting the use of the polarization direction to switch on and off the graphene device. Our results could guide the design of novel types of optoelectronic nano-devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure