822 research outputs found
Hole spin dynamics and hole factor anisotropy in coupled quantum well systems
Due to its p-like character, the valence band in GaAs-based heterostructures
offers rich and complex spin-dependent phenomena. One manifestation is the
large anisotropy of Zeeman spin splitting. Using undoped, coupled quantum wells
(QWs), we examine this anisotropy by comparing the hole spin dynamics for high-
and low-symmetry crystallographic orientations of the QWs. We directly measure
the hole factor via time-resolved Kerr rotation, and for the low-symmetry
crystallographic orientations (110) and (113a), we observe a large in-plane
anisotropy of the hole factor, in good agreement with our theoretical
calculations. Using resonant spin amplification, we also observe an anisotropy
of the hole spin dephasing in the (110)-grown structure, indicating that
crystal symmetry may be used to control hole spin dynamics
Engineering ultralong spin coherence in two-dimensional hole systems at low temperatures
For the realisation of scalable solid-state quantum-bit systems, spins in
semiconductor quantum dots are promising candidates. A key requirement for
quantum logic operations is a sufficiently long coherence time of the spin
system. Recently, hole spins in III-V-based quantum dots were discussed as
alternatives to electron spins, since the hole spin, in contrast to the
electron spin, is not affected by contact hyperfine interaction with the
nuclear spins. Here, we report a breakthrough in the spin coherence times of
hole ensembles, confined in so called natural quantum dots, in narrow
GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells at temperatures below 500 mK. Consistently,
time-resolved Faraday rotation and resonant spin amplification techniques
deliver hole-spin coherence times, which approach in the low magnetic field
limit values above 70 ns. The optical initialisation of the hole spin
polarisation, as well as the interconnected electron and hole spin dynamics in
our samples are well reproduced using a rate equation model.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Spin dephasing and photoinduced spin diffusion in high-mobility 110-grown GaAs-AlGaAs two-dimensional electron systems
We have studied spin dephasing and spin diffusion in a high-mobility
two-dimensional electron system, embedded in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well grown
in the [110] direction, by a two-beam Hanle experiment. For very low excitation
density, we observe spin lifetimes of more than 16 ns, which rapidly decrease
as the pump intensity is increased. Two mechanisms contribute to this decrease:
the optical excitation produces holes, which lead to a decay of electron spin
via the Bir-Aranov-Pikus mechanism and recombination with spin-polarized
electrons. By scanning the distance between the pump and probe beams, we
observe the diffusion of spin-polarized electrons over more than 20 microns.
For high pump intensity, the spin polarization in a distance of several microns
from the pump beam is larger than at the pump spot, due to the reduced
influence of photogenerated holes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Gate control of low-temperature spin dynamics in two-dimensional hole systems
We have investigated spin and carrier dynamics of resident holes in
high-mobility two-dimensional hole systems in GaAs/AlGaAs
single quantum wells at temperatures down to 400 mK. Time-resolved Faraday and
Kerr rotation, as well as time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy are
utilized in our study. We observe long-lived hole spin dynamics that are
strongly temperature dependent, indicating that in-plane localization is
crucial for hole spin coherence. By applying a gate voltage, we are able to
tune the observed hole g factor by more than 50 percent. Calculations of the
hole g tensor as a function of the applied bias show excellent agreement with
our experimental findings.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Statics and Dynamics of the Wormlike Bundle Model
Bundles of filamentous polymers are primary structural components of a broad
range of cytoskeletal structures, and their mechanical properties play key
roles in cellular functions ranging from locomotion to mechanotransduction and
fertilization. We give a detailed derivation of a wormlike bundle model as a
generic description for the statics and dynamics of polymer bundles consisting
of semiflexible polymers interconnected by crosslinking agents. The elastic
degrees of freedom include bending as well as twist deformations of the
filaments and shear deformation of the crosslinks. We show that a competition
between the elastic properties of the filaments and those of the crosslinks
leads to renormalized effective bend and twist rigidities that become
mode-number dependent. The strength and character of this dependence is found
to vary with bundle architecture, such as the arrangement of filaments in the
cross section and pretwist. We discuss two paradigmatic cases of bundle
architecture, a uniform arrangement of filaments as found in F-actin bundles
and a shell-like architecture as characteristic for microtubules. Each
architecture is found to have its own universal ratio of maximal to minimal
bending rigidity, independent of the specific type of crosslink induced
filament coupling; our predictions are in reasonable agreement with available
experimental data for microtubules. Moreover, we analyze the predictions of the
wormlike bundle model for experimental observables such as the tangent-tangent
correlation function and dynamic response and correlation functions. Finally,
we analyze the effect of pretwist (helicity) on the mechanical properties of
bundles. We predict that microtubules with different number of protofilaments
should have distinct variations in their effective bending rigidity
Effect of initial spin polarization on spin dephasing and electron g factor in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system
We have investigated the spin dynamics of a high-mobility two-dimensional
electron system (2DES) in a GaAs--AlGaAs single quantum well by
time-resolved Faraday rotation (TRFR) in dependence on the initial degree of
spin polarization, , of the 2DES. From to %, we observe
an increase of the spin dephasing time, , by an order of magnitude,
from about 20 ps to 200 ps, in good agreement with theoretical predictions by
Weng and Wu [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 68}, 075312 (2003)]. Furthermore, by applying an
external magnetic field in the Voigt configuration, also the electron
factor is found to decrease for increasing . Fully microscopic calculations,
by numerically solving the kinetic spin Bloch equations considering the
D'yakonov-Perel' and the Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanisms, reproduce the most
salient features of the experiments, {\em i.e}., a dramatic decrease of spin
dephasing and a moderate decrease of the electron factor with increasing
. We show that both results are determined dominantly by the Hartree-Fock
contribution of the Coulomb interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR
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