Strictly correlated uniform electron droplets

We study the energetic properties of finite but internally homogeneous D-dimensional electron droplets in the strict-correlation limit. The indirect Coulomb interaction is found to increase as a function of the electron number, approaching the tighter forms of the Lieb-Oxford bound recently proposed by Rasanen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 206406 (2009)]. The bound is satisfied in three-, two-, and one-dimensional droplets, and in the latter case it is reached exactly - regardless of the type of interaction considered. Our results provide useful reference data for delocalized strongly correlated systems, and they can be used in the development and testing of exchange-correlation density functionals in the framework of density-functional theory

Controllable quantum scars in semiconductor quantum dots

Quantum scars are enhancements of quantum probability density along classical periodic orbits. We study the recently discovered phenomenon of strong, perturbation-induced quantum scarring in the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator exposed to a homogeneous magnetic field. We demonstrate that both the geometry and the orientation of the scars are fully controllable with a magnetic field and a focused perturbative potential, respectively. These properties may open a path into an experimental scheme to manipulate electric currents in nanostructures fabricated in a two-dimensional electron gas.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Geometric and impurity effects on quantum rings in magnetic fields

We investigate the effects of impurities and changing ring geometry on the energetics of quantum rings under different magnetic field strengths. We show that as the magnetic field and/or the electron number are/is increased, both the quasiperiodic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations and various magnetic phases become insensitive to whether the ring is circular or square in shape. This is in qualitative agreement with experiments. However, we also find that the Aharonov-Bohm oscillation can be greatly phase-shifted by only a few impurities and can be completely obliterated by a high level of impurity density. In the many-electron calculations we use a recently developed fourth-order imaginary time projection algorithm that can exactly compute the density matrix of a free-electron in a uniform magnetic field.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, to appear in PR

Exchange-energy functionals for finite two-dimensional systems

Implicit and explicit density functionals for the exchange energy in finite two-dimensional systems are developed following the approach of Becke and Roussel [Phys. Rev. A 39, 3761 (1989)]. Excellent agreement for the exchange-hole potentials and exchange energies is found when compared with the exact-exchange reference data for the two-dimensional uniform electron gas and few-electron quantum dots, respectively. Thereby, this work significantly improves the availability of approximate density functionals for dealing with electrons in quasi-two-dimensional structures, which have various applications in semiconductor nanotechnology.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The Spatial Averaging Limit of Covariant Macroscopic Gravity - Scalar Corrections to the Cosmological Equations

It is known that any explicit averaging scheme of the type essential for describing the large scale behaviour of the Universe, must necessarily yield corrections to the Einstein equations applied in the Cosmological setting. The question of whether or not the resulting corrections to the Einstein equations are significant, is still a subject of debate, partly due to possible ambiguities in the averaging schemes available. In particular, it has been argued in the literature that the effects of averaging could be gauge artifacts. We apply the formalism of Zalaletdinov's Macroscopic Gravity (MG) which is a fully covariant and nonperturbative averaging scheme, in an attempt to construct gauge independent corrections to the standard Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) equations. We find that whereas one cannot escape the problem of dependence on \emph{one} gauge choice -- which is inherent in the assumption of large scale homogeneity and isotropy -- it is however possible to construct \emph{spacetime scalar} corrections to the standard FLRW equations. This partially addresses the criticism concerning the corrections being gauge artifacts. For a particular initial choice of gauge which simplifies the formalism, we explicitly construct these scalars in terms of the underlying inhomogeneous geometry, and incidentally demonstrate that the formal structure of the corrections with this gauge choice is identical to that of analogous corrections derived by Buchert in the context of spatial averaging of scalars.Comment: 18 pages, no figures, revtex4; v2 - minor clarifications added; v3 - minor changes in presentation to improve clarity, reference added, to appear in Phys. Rev.

A method for detecting the presence of organic fraction in nucleation mode sized particles

New particle formation and growth has a very important role in many climate processes. However, the overall knowlegde of the chemical composition of atmospheric nucleation mode (particle diameter, d<20 nm) and the lower end of Aitken mode particles (d&#x2264;50 nm) is still insufficient. In this work, we have applied the UFO-TDMA (ultrafine organic tandem differential mobility analyzer) method to shed light on the presence of an organic fraction in the nucleation mode size class in different atmospheric environments. The basic principle of the organic fraction detection is based on our laboratory UFO-TDMA measurements with organic and inorganic compounds. Our laboratory measurements indicate that the usefulness of the UFO-TDMA in the field experiments would arise especially from the fact that atmospherically the most relevant inorganic compounds do not grow in subsaturated ethanol vapor, when particle size is 10 nm in diameter and saturation ratio is about 86% or below it. Furthermore, internally mixed particles composed of ammonium bisulfate and sulfuric acid with sulfuric acid mass fraction &#x2264;33% show no growth at 85% saturation ratio. In contrast, 10 nm particles composed of various oxidized organic compounds of atmospheric relevance are able to grow in those conditions. These discoveries indicate that it is possible to detect the presence of organics in atmospheric nucleation mode sized particles using the UFO-TDMA method. In the future, the UFO-TDMA is expected to be an important aid to describe the composition of atmospheric newly-formed particles

Interpreting eddy covariance data from heterogeneous Siberian tundra : land-cover-specific methane fluxes and spatial representativeness

The non-uniform spatial integration, an inherent feature of the eddy covariance (EC) method, creates a challenge for flux data interpretation in a heterogeneous environment, where the contribution of different land cover types varies with flow conditions, potentially resulting in biased estimates in comparison to the areally averaged fluxes and land cover attributes. We modelled flux footprints and characterized the spatial scale of our EC measurements in Tiksi, a tundra site in northern Siberia. We used leaf area index (LAI) and land cover class (LCC) data, derived from very-high-spatial-resolution satellite imagery and field surveys, and quantified the sensor location bias. We found that methane (CH4) fluxes varied strongly with wind direction (-0.09 to 0.59 mu gCH(4)m(-2) s(-1) on average) during summer 2014, reflecting the distribution of different LCCs. Other environmental factors had only a minor effect on short-term flux variations but influenced the seasonal trend. Using footprint weights of grouped LCCs as explanatory variables for the measured CH4 flux, we developed a multiple regression model to estimate LCC group-specific fluxes. This model showed that wet fen and graminoid tundra patches in locations with topography-enhanced wetness acted as strong sources (1.0 mu gCH(4) m(-2) s(-1) during the peak emission period), while mineral soils were significant sinks (-0.13 mu gCH(4) m(-2) s(-1)). To assess the representativeness of measurements, we upscaled the LCC group-specific fluxes to different spatial scales. Despite the landscape heterogeneity and rather poor representativeness of EC data with respect to the areally averaged LAI and coverage of some LCCs, the mean flux was close to the CH4 balance upscaled to an area of 6.3 km(2), with a location bias of 14 %. We recommend that EC site descriptions in a heterogeneous environment should be complemented with footprint-weighted high-resolution data on vegetation and other site characteristics.Peer reviewe