The quasi-free-standing nature of graphene on H-saturated SiC(0001)

We report on an investigation of quasi-free-standing graphene on 6H-SiC(0001) which was prepared by intercalation of hydrogen under the buffer layer. Using infrared absorption spectroscopy we prove that the SiC(0001) surface is saturated with hydrogen. Raman spectra demonstrate the conversion of the buffer layer into graphene which exhibits a slight tensile strain and short range defects. The layers are hole doped (p = 5.0-6.5 x 10^12 cm^(-2)) with a carrier mobility of 3,100 cm^2/Vs at room temperature. Compared to graphene on the buffer layer a strongly reduced temperature dependence of the mobility is observed for graphene on H-terminated SiC(0001)which justifies the term "quasi-free-standing".Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter

Irreversible effects of memory

The steady state of a Langevin equation with short ranged memory and coloured noise is analyzed. When the fluctuation-dissipation theorem of second kind is not satisfied, the dynamics is irreversible, i.e. detailed balance is violated. We show that the entropy production rate for this system should include the power injected by ``memory forces''. With this additional contribution, the Fluctuation Relation is fairly verified in simulations. Both dynamics with inertia and overdamped dynamics yield the same expression for this additional power. The role of ``memory forces'' within the fluctuation-dissipation relation of first kind is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, publishe

Effective temperatures of a heated Brownian particle

We investigate various possible definitions of an effective temperature for a particularly simple nonequilibrium stationary system, namely a heated Brownian particle suspended in a fluid. The effective temperature based on the fluctuation dissipation ratio depends on the time scale under consideration, so that a simple Langevin description of the heated particle is impossible. The short and long time limits of this effective temperature are shown to be consistent with the temperatures estimated from the kinetic energy and Einstein relation, respectively. The fluctuation theorem provides still another definition of the temperature, which is shown to coincide with the short time value of the fluctuation dissipation ratio

Probability density functions of work and heat near the stochastic resonance of a colloidal particle

We study experimentally and theoretically the probability density functions of the injected and dissipated energy in a system of a colloidal particle trapped in a double well potential periodically modulated by an external perturbation. The work done by the external force and the dissipated energy are measured close to the stochastic resonance where the injected power is maximum. We show a good agreement between the probability density functions exactly computed from a Langevin dynamics and the measured ones. The probability density function of the work done on the particle satisfies the fluctuation theorem

Current-Induced Spin Polarization in Gallium Nitride

Electrically generated spin polarization is probed directly in bulk GaN using Kerr rotation spectroscopy. A series of n-type GaN epilayers are grown in the wurtzite phase both by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with a variety of doping densities chosen to broadly modulate the transverse spin lifetime, T2*. The spin polarization is characterized as a function of electrical excitation energy over a range of temperatures. Despite weak spin-orbit interactions in GaN, a current-induced spin polarization (CISP) is observed in the material at temperatures of up to 200 K.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Probing active forces via a fluctuation-dissipation relation: Application to living cells

We derive a new fluctuation-dissipation relation for non-equilibrium systems with long-term memory. We show how this relation allows one to access new experimental information regarding active forces in living cells that cannot otherwise be accessed. For a silica bead attached to the wall of a living cell, we identify a crossover time between thermally controlled fluctuations and those produced by the active forces. We show that the probe position is eventually slaved to the underlying random drive produced by the so-called active forces.Comment: 5 page

On anomalous diffusion and the out of equilibrium response function in one-dimensional models

We study how the Einstein relation between spontaneous fluctuations and the response to an external perturbation holds in the absence of currents, for the comb model and the elastic single-file, which are examples of systems with subdiffusive transport properties. The relevance of non-equilibrium conditions is investigated: when a stationary current (in the form of a drift or an energy flux) is present, the Einstein relation breaks down, as is known to happen in systems with standard diffusion. In the case of the comb model, a general relation, which has appeared in the recent literature, between the response function and an unperturbed suitable correlation function, allows us to explain the observed results. This suggests that a relevant ingredient in breaking the Einstein formula, for stationary regimes, is not the anomalous diffusion but the presence of currents driving the system out of equilibrium.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Linear response theory and transient fluctuation theorems for diffusion processes: a backward point of view

On the basis of perturbed Kolmogorov backward equations and path integral representation, we unify the derivations of the linear response theory and transient fluctuation theorems for continuous diffusion processes from a backward point of view. We find that a variety of transient fluctuation theorems could be interpreted as a consequence of a generalized Chapman-Kolmogorov equation, which intrinsically arises from the Markovian characteristic of diffusion processes

Hilbert Expansion from the Boltzmann equation to relativistic Fluids

We study the local-in-time hydrodynamic limit of the relativistic Boltzmann equation using a Hilbert expansion. More specifically, we prove the existence of local solutions to the relativistic Boltzmann equation that are nearby the local relativistic Maxwellian constructed from a class of solutions to the relativistic Euler equations that includes a large subclass of near-constant, non-vacuum fluid states. In particular, for small Knudsen number, these solutions to the relativistic Boltzmann equation have dynamics that are effectively captured by corresponding solutions to the relativistic Euler equations.Comment: 50 page