2,198 research outputs found
Instanton Calculus of Lifshitz Tails
For noninteracting particles moving in a Gaussian random potential, there
exists a disagreement in the literature on the asymptotic expression for the
density of states in the tail of the band. We resolve this discrepancy. Further
we illuminate the physical facet of instantons appearing in replica and
supersymmetric derivations with another derivation employing a Lagrange
multiplier field.Comment: 5 page
Cooling of cryogenic electron bilayers via the Coulomb interaction
Heat dissipation in current-carrying cryogenic nanostructures is problematic
because the phonon density of states decreases strongly as energy decreases. We
show that the Coulomb interaction can prove a valuable resource for carrier
cooling via coupling to a nearby, cold electron reservoir. Specifically, we
consider the geometry of an electron bilayer in a silicon-based
heterostructure, and analyze the power transfer. We show that across a range of
temperatures, separations, and sheet densities, the electron-electron
interaction dominates the phonon heat-dissipation modes as the main cooling
mechanism. Coulomb cooling is most effective at low densities, when phonon
cooling is least effective in silicon, making it especially relevant for
experiments attempting to perform coherent manipulations of single spins.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Ground-plane screening of Coulomb interactions in two-dimensional systems: How effectively can one two-dimensional system screen interactions in another?
The use of a nearby metallic ground-plane to limit the range of the Coulomb
interactions between carriers is a useful approach in studying the physics of
two-dimensional (2D) systems. This approach has been used to study Wigner
crystallization of electrons on the surface of liquid helium, and most
recently, the insulating and metallic states of semiconductor-based
two-dimensional systems. In this paper, we perform calculations of the
screening effect of one 2D system on another and show that a 2D system is at
least as effective as a metal in screening Coulomb interactions. We also show
that the recent observation of the reduced effect of the ground-plane when the
2D system is in the metallic regime is due to intralayer screening.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures Accepted in PR
Probing Ion-Ion and Electron-Ion Correlations in Liquid Metals within the Quantum Hypernetted Chain Approximation
We use the Quantum Hypernetted Chain Approximation (QHNC) to calculate the
ion-ion and electron-ion correlations for liquid metallic Li, Be, Na, Mg, Al,
K, Ca, and Ga. We discuss trends in electron-ion structure factors and radial
distribution functions, and also calculate the free-atom and metallic-atom
form-factors, focusing on how bonding effects affect the interpretation of
X-ray scattering experiments, especially experimental measurements of the
ion-ion structure factor in the liquid metallic phase.Comment: RevTeX, 19 pages, 7 figure
Fractional-Period Excitations in Continuum Periodic Systems
We investigate the generation of fractional-period states in continuum
periodic systems. As an example, we consider a Bose-Einstein condensate
confined in an optical-lattice potential. We show that when the potential is
turned on non-adiabatically, the system explores a number of transient states
whose periodicity is a fraction of that of the lattice. We illustrate the
origin of fractional-period states analytically by treating them as resonant
states of a parametrically forced Duffing oscillator and discuss their
transient nature and potential observability.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures (some with multiple parts); revised version:
minor clarifications of a couple points, to appear in Physical Review
d0 Perovskite-Semiconductor Electronic Structure
We address the low-energy effective Hamiltonian of electron doped d0
perovskite semiconductors in cubic and tetragonal phases using the k*p method.
The Hamiltonian depends on the spin-orbit interaction strength, on the
temperature-dependent tetragonal distortion, and on a set of effective-mass
parameters whose number is determined by the symmetry of the crystal. We
explain how these parameters can be extracted from angle resolved
photo-emission, Raman spectroscopy, and magneto-transport measurements and
estimate their values in SrTiO3
A systematically coarse-grained model for DNA, and its predictions for persistence length, stacking, twist, and chirality
We introduce a coarse-grained model of DNA with bases modeled as rigid-body
ellipsoids to capture their anisotropic stereochemistry. Interaction potentials
are all physicochemical and generated from all-atom simulation/parameterization
with minimal phenomenology. Persistence length, degree of stacking, and twist
are studied by molecular dynamics simulation as functions of temperature, salt
concentration, sequence, interaction potential strength, and local position
along the chain, for both single- and double-stranded DNA where appropriate.
The model of DNA shows several phase transitions and crossover regimes in
addition to dehybridization, including unstacking, untwisting, and collapse
which affect mechanical properties such as rigidity and persistence length. The
model also exhibits chirality with a stable right-handed and metastable
left-handed helix.Comment: 30 pages, 20 figures, Supplementary Material available at
http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~steve/publications.htm
- …