Thermoelectric properties of heavy-element doped CrN

CrN was doped with Mo and W to study the effect of heavy elements alloying on its thermoelectric properties. An spontaneous phase segregation into Mo- and W-rich regions was observed even at the lowest concentrations probed at this work (≃1%). In the particular case of W, this segregation creates nanoinclusions into the Cr1–xWxN matrix, which results in a substantial reduction of the thermal conductivity in the whole temperature range compared to undoped CrN. In addition, an increased hybridization of N:2p and 4d/5d orbitals with respect to Cr:3d decreases the electrical resistivity in lightly doped samples. This improves substantially the thermoelectric figure of merit with respect to the undoped compound, providing a pathway for further improvement of the thermoelectric performance of CrNS

Anisotropic linear and non-linear excitonic optical properties of buckled monolayer semiconductors

The optical properties of two-dimensional materials are exceptional in several respects. They are highly anisotropic and frequently dominated by excitonic effects. Dipole-allowed second order non-linear optical properties require broken inversion symmetry. Hence, several two-dimensional materials show strong in-plane (IP) non-linearity but negligible out-of-plane (OOP) response due to vertical symmetry. By considering buckled hexagonal monolayers, we analyze the critical role of broken vertical symmetry on their excitonic optical response. Both linear as well as second order shift current and second harmonic response are studied. We demonstrate that substantial OOP non-linear response can be obtained, in particular, through off-diagonal tensor elements coupling IP excitation to OOP response. Our findings are explained by excitonic selection rules for OOP response and the impact of dielectric screening on excitons is elucidated.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Procurando loci associados a variáveis do solo através de um varrimento molecular exploratório do genoma no pseudometalófito Cistus ladanifer L.

O uso do varrimento molecular do genoma juntamente com dados ambientais dá-nos a possibilidade de identificar marcadores moleculares com relevância ambiental. Neste trabalho foram analisadas 33 populações do pseudometalófito Mediterrâneo Cistus ladanifer L. (Cistaceae) com marcadores moleculares AFLP. Aplicámos Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (GEE) para estudar a correlação entre a distribuição de alelos AFLP e as diferentes características dos solos (pH, razão Ca:Mg e teores totais dos elementos vestigiais Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb e Zn). A análise GEE incluiu informação prévia das linhagens cloroplastidiais para eliminar o efeito da filogeografia. Eliminámos, também, os falsos positivos através do teste de Mann-Whitney e da observação da distribuição geográfica dos alelos. Os resultados mostraram que os teores totais de Mn têm influência na distribuição de alelos de C. ladanifer e que esse efeito foi o mais elevado relativamente a todas as outras variáveis do solo. Pelo contrário, a razão Ca:Mg parece não ter nenhum efeito selectivo em C. ladanifer, o que é confirmado pelo conhecimento relativo às suas necessidades em cálcio. Finalmente, detectámos um alelo possivelmente relacionado com a tolerância de C. ladanifer a solos com elevadas concentrações de Mn. Esta informação pode ser usada na selecção de indivíduos tolerantes a elevadas concentrações de metais tóxicos, Mn em particular, para uso na fitorremediação de solos contaminados

Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis Induced by Acarbose Treatment

A "Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis" é uma situação clínica rara que se caracteriza pela presença de múltiplos quistos de conteúdo gasoso ao nível da submucosa ou subserosa na parede do tracto gastrointestinal. A pneumatose intestinal classifica-se em idiopática e secundária. Na última forma admite-se uma relação causal com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crónica, conectivites, amiloidose, colites infecciosas, oclusão intestinal, isquémia, doença de Crohn, fármacos e iatrogenia cirúrgica e endoscópica. O espectro de manifestações clínicas compreende dor abdominal, oclusão intestinal, diarreia e hemorragia digestiva. Todavia, é frequentemente assintomática ou constitui um achado incidental no decurso de uma investigação não relacionada. Os autores apresentam o caso clínico de uma doente com pneumatose quística intestinal associada à utilização terapêutica de um antidiabético oral - acarbose (inibidor da alfa-glucosidase)

Contribution to excitonic linewidth from free carrier–exciton scattering in layered materials: the example of hBN

Scattering of excitons by free carriers is a phenomenon, which is especially important when considering moderately to heavily doped semiconductors in low-temperature experiments, where the interaction of excitons with acoustic and optical phonons is reduced. In this paper, we consider the scattering of excitons by free carriers in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride encapsulated by a dielectric medium. We describe the excitonic states by variational wave functions, modeling the electrostatic interaction via the Rytova–Keldysh potential. Making the distinction between elastic and inelastic scattering, the relevance of each transition between excitonic states is also considered. Finally, we discuss the contribution of free carrier scattering to the excitonic linewidth, analyzing both its temperature and carrier density dependence.M.F.C.M.Q. acknowledges the International Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the Quantum Portugal Initiative (QPI) grant SFRH/BD/151114/2021. N.M.R.P. acknowledges support by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/2020, COMPETE 2020, PORTUGAL 2020, FEDER, and FCT through projects PTDC/FIS-MAC/2045/2021, EXPL/FIS-MAC/0953/ 2021, and from the European Commission through the project Graphene Driven Revolutions in ICT and Beyond (Ref. No. 881603, CORE 3)

A colloquium on the variational method applied to excitons in 2D materials

In this colloquium, we review the research on excitons in van der Waals heterostructures from the point of view of variational calculations. We first make a presentation of the current and past literature, followed by a discussion on the connections between experimental and theoretical results. In particular, we focus our review of the literature on the absorption spectrum and polarizability, as well as the Stark shift and the dissociation rate. Afterwards, we begin the discussion of the use of variational methods in the study of excitons. We initially model the electron-hole interaction as a soft-Coulomb potential, which can be used to describe interlayer excitons. Using an \emph{ansatz}, based on the solution for the two-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator, we study the Rytova-Keldysh potential, which is appropriate to describe intralayer excitons in two-dimensional (2D) materials. These variational energies are then recalculated with a different \emph{ansatz}, based on the exact wavefunction of the 2D hydrogen atom, and the obtained energy curves are compared. Afterwards, we discuss the Wannier-Mott exciton model, reviewing it briefly before focusing on an application of this model to obtain both the exciton absorption spectrum and the binding energies for certain values of the physical parameters of the materials. Finally, we briefly discuss an approximation of the electron-hole interaction in interlayer excitons as an harmonic potential and the comparison of the obtained results with the existing values from both first--principles calculations and experimental measurements.The authors thank Eduardo Castro and Joao Lopes dos Santos for comments on a preliminary version of this work, and Bruno Amorim for outlining the derivation in the Appendix A. N.M.R.P. acknowledges support from the European Commission through the project Graphene-Driven Revolutions in ICT and Beyond (Ref. No. 881603 - core 3), and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Financing UID/FIS/04650/2019. In addition, funding from the projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028114, and POCI01-0145-FEDER-029265, and PTDC/NAN-OPT/29265/2017, and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-02888 is acknowledged

Wannier Excitons Confined in Hexagonal Boron Nitride Triangular Quantum Dots

With the ever-growing interest in quantum computing, understanding the behaviour of excitons in monolayer quantum dots has become a topic of great relevance. In this paper, we consider a Wannier exciton confined in a triangular quantum dot of hexagonal Boron Nitride. We begin by outlining the adequate basis functions to describe a particle in a triangular enclosure, analyzing their degeneracy and symmetries. Afterwards, we discuss the excitonic hamiltonian inside the quantum dot and study the influence of the quantum dot dimensions on the excitonic states.Comment: 5 figure

Efeito da terra de diatomácea sobre a mortalidade de adultos de zabrotes subfasciatus em feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris).

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da Terra de Diatomácea na mortalidade do caruncho do feijão Z. subfasciatus em diferentes períodos de armazenamento.CONAFE