3,282 research outputs found
Influence of heavy modes on perturbations in multiple field inflation
We investigate linear cosmological perturbations in multiple field
inflationary models where some of the directions are light while others are
heavy (with respect to the Hubble parameter). By integrating out the massive
degrees of freedom, we determine the multi-dimensional effective theory for the
light degrees of freedom and give explicitly the propagation matrix that
replaces the effective sound speed of the one-dimensional case. We then examine
in detail the consequences of a sudden turn along the inflationary trajectory,
in particular the possible breakdown of the low energy effective theory in case
the heavy modes are excited. Resorting to a new basis in field space, instead
of the usual adiabatic/entropic basis, we study the evolution of the
perturbations during the turn. In particular, we compute the power spectrum and
compare with the result obtained from the low energy effective theory.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures; v2 substantial changes in sec.V; v3 matching
the published version on JCA
Electrical conduction of silicon oxide containing silicon quantum dots
Current-voltage measurements have been made at room temperature on a Si-rich
silicon oxide film deposited via Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Enhanced
Chemical Vapor Deposition (ECR-PECVD) and annealed at 750 - 1000C. The
thickness of oxide between Si quantum dots embedded in the film increases with
the increase of annealing temperature. This leads to the decrease of current
density as the annealing temperature is increased. Assuming the Fowler-Nordheim
tunneling mechanism in large electric fields, we obtain an effective barrier
height of 0.7 0.1 eV for an electron tunnelling
through an oxide layer between Si quantum dots. The Frenkel-Poole effect can
also be used to adequately explain the electrical conduction of the film under
the influence of large electric fields. We suggest that at room temperature Si
quantum dots can be regarded as traps that capture and emit electrons by means
of tunneling.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Conden. Mat
Electric-field-induced phase transition of <001> oriented Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 single crystals
oriented 0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3 single crystals were poled under
different electric fields, i.e. Epoling=4 kV/cm and Epoling=13 kV/cm. In
addition to the temperature-dependent dielectric constant measurement, X-ray
diffraction was also used to identify the poling-induced phase transitions.
Results showed that the phase transition significantly depends on the poling
intensity. A weaker field (Epoling=4 kV/cm) can overcome the effect of random
internal field to perform the phase transition from rhombohedral ferroelectric
state with short range ordering (microdomain) FESRO to rhombohedral
ferroelectric state with long range ordering (macrodomain) FElRO. But the
rhombohedral ferroelectric to tetragonal ferroelectric phase transition
originating from to polarization rotation can only be induced by a
stronger field (Epoling=13 kV/cm). The sample poled at Epoling=4 kV/cm showed
higher piezoelectric constant, d33>1500 pC/N, than the sample poled at
Epoling=13 kV/cm.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Anomalous thermoelectric effects of ZrTe in and beyond the quantum limit
Thermoelectric effects are more sensitive and promising probes to topological
properties of emergent materials, but much less addressed compared to other
physical properties. Zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe) has inspired active
investigations recently because of its multiple topological nature. We study
the thermoelectric effects of ZrTe in a magnetic field and find several
anomalous behaviors. The Nernst response has a steplike profile near zero field
when the charge carriers are electrons only, suggesting the anomalous Nernst
effect arising from a nontrivial profile of Berry curvature. Both the
thermopower and Nernst signal exhibit exotic peaks in the strong-field quantum
limit. At higher magnetic fields, the Nernst signal has a sign reversal at a
critical field where the thermopower approaches to zero. We propose that these
anomalous behaviors can be attributed to the Landau index inversion, which is
resulted from the competition of the dependence of the Dirac-type
Landau bands and linear- dependence of the Zeeman energy ( is the
magnetic field). Our understanding to the anomalous thermoelectric properties
in ZrTe opens a new avenue for exploring Dirac physics in topological
materials.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
A Statistical Approach to Multifield Inflation: Many-field Perturbations Beyond Slow Roll
We study multifield contributions to the scalar power spectrum in an ensemble
of six-field inflationary models obtained in string theory. We identify
examples in which inflation occurs by chance, near an approximate inflection
point, and we compute the primordial perturbations numerically, both exactly
and using an array of truncated models. The scalar mass spectrum and the number
of fluctuating fields are accurately described by a simple random matrix model.
During the approach to the inflection point, bending trajectories and
violations of slow roll are commonplace, and 'many-field' effects, in which
three or more fields influence the perturbations, are often important. However,
in a large fraction of models consistent with constraints on the tilt the
signatures of multifield evolution occur on unobservably large scales. Our
scenario is a concrete microphysical realization of quasi-single-field
inflation, with scalar masses of order , but the cubic and quartic couplings
are typically too small to produce detectable non-Gaussianity. We argue that
our results are characteristic of a broader class of models arising from
multifield potentials that are natural in the Wilsonian sense.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures. References added. Matches version published in
JCA
Linear magnetoresistance in commercial n-type silicon due to inhomogeneous doping
Free electron theory tells us that resistivity is independent of magnetic
field. In fact, most observations match the semiclassical prediction of a
magnetoresistance that is quadratic at low fields before saturating. However, a
non-saturating linear magnetoresistance has been observed in exotic
semiconductors such as silver chalcogenides, lightly-doped InSb, N-doped InAs,
MnAs-GaAs composites, PrFeAsO, and epitaxial graphene. Here we report the
observation of a large linear magnetoresistance in the ohmic regime in
commonplace commercial n-type silicon wafer. It is well-described by a
classical model of spatially fluctuating donor densities, and may be amplified
by altering the aspect ratio of the sample to enhance current-jetting:
increasing the width tenfold increased the magnetoresistance at 8 T from 445 %
to 4707 % at 35 K. This physical picture may well offer insights into the large
magnetoresistances recently observed in n-type and p-type Si in the non-ohmic
regime.Comment: submitted to Nature Material
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