152 research outputs found
Conductance quantization and snake states in graphene magnetic waveguides
We consider electron waveguides (quantum wires) in graphene created by
suitable inhomogeneous magnetic fields. The properties of uni-directional snake
states are discussed. For a certain magnetic field profile, two spatially
separated counter-propagating snake states are formed, leading to conductance
quantization insensitive to backscattering by impurities or irregularities of
the magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, final version accepted as Rapid Comm. in PR
Superconducting non-equilibrium transport through a weakly interacting quantum dot
We study the out-of-equilibrium current through an interacting quantum dot
modelled as an Anderson impurity contacted by two BCS superconductors held at
fixed voltage bias. In order to account for multiple Andreev reflections, we
develop a Keldysh Green's function scheme perturbative in the dot's interaction
strength. We find an unexpected enhancement of the current due to repulsive
interactions for small lead-to-dot couplings.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, replaced with published versio
The dynamical structure factor in topologically disordered systems
A computation of the dynamical structure factor of topologically disordered
systems, where the disorder can be described in terms of euclidean random
matrices, is presented. Among others, structural glasses and supercooled
liquids belong to that class of systems. The computation describes their
relevant spectral features in the region of the high frequency sound. The
analytical results are tested with numerical simulations and are found to be in
very good agreement with them. Our results may explain the findings of
inelastic X-ray scattering experiments in various glassy systems.Comment: Version to be published in J. Chem. Phy
Synthesis and activity of -Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the catalytic reduction of halonitroarenes under sustainable conditions
Abstract.
The catalytic reduction of nitroarenes towards anilines is an important reaction from both academic
and industrial points of view, being the resulting products important intermediates to produce dyes,
agrochemicals, pigments, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, removal of nitroarene pollutants from
water by reducing them into anilines is a valuable method to purify contaminated matrices. Such
reductive reactions are frequently carried out by using noble metal catalysts [1], which are usually
very active and recyclable in some cases. Recently, the use of earth abundant metal catalysts has
gained great interest especially for economic reasons, as these materials are generally cheap and
easy to be reached [2]. In this framework, iron oxides catalysts are very attractive because they are
cheap and not toxic. Herein, we report on the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) of size
ranging from 50 to 80 nm starting from a porous organic polymer (POP) containing Fe(III) sites,
which was in turn annealed at 400°C. The obtained NPs were characterized by SEM-EDX, XRPD,
IR and TXRF and were employed as active and recyclable catalysts in the reduction of p-bromonitrobenzene into p-bromo-aniline, using hydrazine hydrate in ethanol, taken as the model reaction.
[1] Dell’Anna, M.M.; Intini, S.; Romanazzi, G.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Piccinni, F.; Mastrorilli,
P. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2014, 395, 307–314.
[2] Romanazzi, G.; Fiore, A.M.; Mali, M.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Nacci, A.; Mastrorilli, P.;
Dell'Anna, M. M. Mol. Catal., 2018, 446, 31–3
Observation of Umklapp processes in non-crystalline materials
Umklapp processes are known to exist in cristalline materials, where they
control important properties such as thermal conductivity, heat capacity and
electrical conductivity. In this work we report the provocative observation of
Umklapp processes in a non-periodical system, namely liquid Lithium. The lack
of a well defined periodicity seems then not to prevent the existence of these
scattering processes mechanisms provided that the local order of the systems
i.e. the maxima of the static structure factor supply the equivalent of a
reciprocal lattice vector in the case of cristalline materials.Comment: 13 pages P
Raman scattering from fractals. Simulation on large structures by the method of moments
We have employed the method of spectral moments to study the density of
vibrational states and the Raman coupling coefficient of large 2- and 3-
dimensional percolators at threshold and at higher concentration. We first
discuss the over-and under-flow problems of the procedure which arise when
-like in the present case- it is necessary to calculate a few thousand moments.
Then we report on the numerical results; these show that different scattering
mechanisms, all {\it a priori} equally probable in real systems, produce
largely different coupling coefficients with different frequency dependence.
Our results are compared with existing scaling theories of Raman scattering.
The situation that emerges is complex; on the one hand, there is indication
that the existing theory is not satisfactory; on the other hand, the
simulations above threshold show that in this case the coupling coefficients
have very little resemblance, if any, with the same quantities at threshold.Comment: 26 pages, RevTex, 8 figures available on reques
The energy center initiative at politecnico di torino: practical experiences on energy efficiency measures in the municipality of torino
Urban districts should evolve towards a more sustainable infrastructure and greener energy carriers. The utmost challenge is the smart integration and control, within the existing infrastructure, of new information and energy technologies (such as sensors, appliances, electric and thermal power and storage devices) that are able to provide multi-services based on multi-actors and multi and interchangeable energy carriers. In recent years, the Municipality of Torino represents an experimental scenario, in which practical experiences in the below-areas have taken place through a number of projects: 1. energy efficiency in building; 2. smart energy grids management and smart metering; 3. biowaste-to-energy: mixed urban/industrial waste management with enhanced energy recovery from biogas. This work provides an overview and update on the most interesting initiatives of smart energy management in the urban context of Torino, with an analysis and quantification of the advantages gained in terms of energy and environmental efficiency
Critical temperature of non-interacting Bose gases on disordered lattices
For a non-interacting Bose gas on a lattice we compute the shift of the
critical temperature for condensation when random-bond and onsite disorder are
present. We evidence that the shift depends on the space dimensionality D and
the filling fraction f. For D -> infinity (infinite-range model), using results
from the theory of random matrices, we show that the shift of the critical
temperature is negative, depends on f, and vanishes only for large f. The
connections with analogous results obtained for the spherical model are
discussed. For D=3 we find that, for large f, the critical temperature Tc is
enhanced by disorder and that the relative shift does not sensibly depend on f;
at variance, for small f, Tc decreases in agreement with the results obtained
for a Bose gas in the continuum. We also provide numerical estimates for the
shift of the critical temperature due to disorder induced on a non-interacting
Bose gas by a bichromatic incommensurate potential.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures; Fig. 8 improved adding results for another value
of q (q=830/1076
Revealing the electronic structure of a carbon nanotube carrying a supercurrent
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are not intrinsically superconducting but they can
carry a supercurrent when connected to superconducting electrodes. This
supercurrent is mainly transmitted by discrete entangled electron-hole states
confined to the nanotube, called Andreev Bound States (ABS). These states are a
key concept in mesoscopic superconductivity as they provide a universal
description of Josephson-like effects in quantum-coherent nanostructures (e.g.
molecules, nanowires, magnetic or normal metallic layers) connected to
superconducting leads. We report here the first tunneling spectroscopy of
individually resolved ABS, in a nanotube-superconductor device. Analyzing the
evolution of the ABS spectrum with a gate voltage, we show that the ABS arise
from the discrete electronic levels of the molecule and that they reveal
detailed information about the energies of these levels, their relative spin
orientation and the coupling to the leads. Such measurements hence constitute a
powerful new spectroscopic technique capable of elucidating the electronic
structure of CNT-based devices, including those with well-coupled leads. This
is relevant for conventional applications (e.g. superconducting or normal
transistors, SQUIDs) and quantum information processing (e.g. entangled
electron pairs generation, ABS-based qubits). Finally, our device is a new type
of dc-measurable SQUID
Voronoi-Delaunay analysis of normal modes in a simple model glass
We combine a conventional harmonic analysis of vibrations in a one-atomic
model glass of soft spheres with a Voronoi-Delaunay geometrical analysis of the
structure. ``Structure potentials'' (tetragonality, sphericity or perfectness)
are introduced to describe the shape of the local atomic configurations
(Delaunay simplices) as function of the atomic coordinates. Apart from the
highest and lowest frequencies the amplitude weighted ``structure potential''
varies only little with frequency. The movement of atoms in soft modes causes
transitions between different ``perfect'' realizations of local structure. As
for the potential energy a dynamic matrix can be defined for the ``structure
potential''. Its expectation value with respect to the vibrational modes
increases nearly linearly with frequency and shows a clear indication of the
boson peak. The structure eigenvectors of this dynamical matrix are strongly
correlated to the vibrational ones. Four subgroups of modes can be
distinguished
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