45,769 research outputs found
Many-body Green's function theory for electron-phonon interactions: ground state properties of the Holstein dimer
We study ground-state properties of a two-site, two-electron Holstein model
describing two molecules coupled indirectly via electron-phonon interaction by
using both exact diagonalization and self-consistent diagrammatic many-body
perturbation theory. The Hartree and self-consistent Born approximations used
in the present work are studied at different levels of self-consistency. The
governing equations are shown to exhibit multiple solutions when the
electron-phonon interaction is sufficiently strong whereas at smaller
interactions only a single solution is found. The additional solutions at
larger electron-phonon couplings correspond to symmetry-broken states with
inhomogeneous electron densities. A comparison to exact results indicates that
this symmetry breaking is strongly correlated with the formation of a bipolaron
state in which the two electrons prefer to reside on the same molecule. The
results further show that the Hartree and partially self-consistent Born
solutions obtained by enforcing symmetry do not compare well with exact
energetics, while the fully self-consistent Born approximation improves the
qualitative and quantitative agreement with exact results in the same symmetric
case. This together with a presented natural occupation number analysis
supports the conclusion that the fully self-consistent approximation describes
partially the bipolaron crossover. These results contribute to better
understanding how these approximations cope with the strong localizing effect
of the electron-phonon interaction.Comment: 9 figures, corrected typo
Strain Modulated Electronic Properties of Ge Nanowires - A First Principles Study
We used density-functional theory based first principles simulations to study
the effects of uniaxial strain and quantum confinement on the electronic
properties of germanium nanowires along the [110] direction, such as the energy
gap and the effective masses of the electron and hole. The diameters of the
nanowires being studied are up to 50 {\AA}. As shown in our calculations, the
Ge [110] nanowires possess a direct band gap, in contrast to the nature of an
indirect band gap in bulk. We discovered that the band gap and the effective
masses of charge carries can be modulated by applying uniaxial strain to the
nanowires. These strain modulations are size-dependent. For a smaller wire (~
12 {\AA}), the band gap is almost a linear function of strain; compressive
strain increases the gap while tensile strain reduces the gap. For a larger
wire (20 {\AA} - 50 {\AA}), the variation of the band gap with respect to
strain shows nearly parabolic behavior: compressive strain beyond -1% also
reduces the gap. In addition, our studies showed that strain affects effective
masses of the electron and hole very differently. The effective mass of the
hole increases with a tensile strain while the effective mass of the electron
increases with a compressive strain. Our results suggested both strain and size
can be used to tune the band structures of nanowires, which may help in design
of future nano-electronic devices. We also discussed our results by applying
the tight-binding model.Comment: 1 table, 8 figure
Active role of elongation factor G in maintaining the mRNA reading frame during translation.
During translation, the ribosome moves along the mRNA one codon at a time with the help of elongation factor G (EF-G). Spontaneous changes in the translational reading frame are extremely rare, yet how the precise triplet-wise step is maintained is not clear. Here, we show that the ribosome is prone to spontaneous frameshifting on mRNA slippery sequences, whereas EF-G restricts frameshifting. EF-G helps to maintain the mRNA reading frame by guiding the A-site transfer RNA during translocation due to specific interactions with the tip of EF-G domain 4. Furthermore, EF-G accelerates ribosome rearrangements that restore the ribosome's control over the codon-anticodon interaction at the end of the movement. Our data explain how the mRNA reading frame is maintained during translation
Low-velocity anisotropic Dirac fermions on the side surface of topological insulators
We report anisotropic Dirac-cone surface bands on a side-surface geometry of
the topological insulator BiSe revealed by first-principles
density-functional calculations. We find that the electron velocity in the
side-surface Dirac cone is anisotropically reduced from that in the
(111)-surface Dirac cone, and the velocity is not in parallel with the wave
vector {\bf k} except for {\bf k} in high-symmetry directions. The size of the
electron spin depends on the direction of {\bf k} due to anisotropic variation
of the noncollinearity of the electron state. Low-energy effective Hamiltonian
is proposed for side-surface Dirac fermions, and its implications are presented
including refractive transport phenomena occurring at the edges of tological
insulators where different surfaces meet.Comment: 4 pages, 2 columns, 4 figure
Random solids and random solidification: What can be learned by exploring systems obeying permanent random constraints?
In many interesting physical settings, such as the vulcanization of rubber,
the introduction of permanent random constraints between the constituents of a
homogeneous fluid can cause a phase transition to a random solid state. In this
random solid state, particles are permanently but randomly localized in space,
and a rigidity to shear deformations emerges. Owing to the permanence of the
random constraints, this phase transition is an equilibrium transition, which
confers on it a simplicity (at least relative to the conventional glass
transition) in the sense that it is amenable to established techniques of
equilibrium statistical mechanics. In this Paper I shall review recent
developments in the theory of random solidification for systems obeying
permanent random constraints, with the aim of bringing to the fore the
similarities and differences between such systems and those exhibiting the
conventional glass transition. I shall also report new results, obtained in
collaboration with Weiqun Peng, on equilibrium correlations and
susceptibilities that signal the approach of the random solidification
transition, discussing the physical interpretation and values of these
quantities both at the Gaussian level of approximation and, via a
renormalization-group approach, beyond.Comment: Paper presented at the "Unifying Concepts in Glass Physics" workshop,
International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy (September
15-18, 1999
Hawking Fluxes, Back reaction and Covariant Anomalies
Starting from the chiral covariant effective action approach of Banerjee and
Kulkarni [Phys. Lett. B 659, 827(2008)], we provide a derivation of the Hawking
radiation from a charged black hole in the presence of gravitational back
reaction. The modified expressions for charge and energy flux, due to effect of
one loop back reaction are obtained.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, minor changes and references added, to appear in
Classical and Quantum Gravit
Collective Almost Synchronization in Complex Networks
This work introduces the phenomenon of Collective Almost Synchronization
(CAS), which describes a universal way of how patterns can appear in complex
networks even for small coupling strengths. The CAS phenomenon appears due to
the existence of an approximately constant local mean field and is
characterized by having nodes with trajectories evolving around periodic stable
orbits. Common notion based on statistical knowledge would lead one to
interpret the appearance of a local constant mean field as a consequence of the
fact that the behavior of each node is not correlated to the behaviors of the
others. Contrary to this common notion, we show that various well known weaker
forms of synchronization (almost, time-lag, phase synchronization, and
generalized synchronization) appear as a result of the onset of an almost
constant local mean field. If the memory is formed in a brain by minimising the
coupling strength among neurons and maximising the number of possible patterns,
then the CAS phenomenon is a plausible explanation for it.Comment: 3 figure
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