543 research outputs found
Electron backscattering in a cavity: ballistic and coherent effects
Numerous experimental and theoretical studies have focused on low-dimensional
systems locally perturbed by the biased tip of a scanning force microscope. In
all cases either open or closed weakly gate-tunable nanostructures have been
investigated, such as quantum point contacts, open or closed quantum dots, etc.
We study the behaviour of the conductance of a quantum point contact with a
gradually forming adjacent cavity in series under the influence of a scanning
gate. Here, an initially open quantum point contact system gradually turns into
a closed cavity system. We observe branches and interference fringes known from
quantum point contacts coexisting with irregular conductance fluctuations.
Unlike the branches, the fluctuations cover the entire area of the cavity. In
contrast to previous studies, we observe and investigate branches under the
influence of the confining stadium potential, which is gradually built up. We
find that the branches exist only in the area surrounded by cavity top gates.
As the stadium shrinks, regular fringes originate from tip-induced
constrictions leading to quantized conduction. In addition, we observe arc-like
areas reminiscent of classical electron trajectories in a chaotic cavity. We
also argue that electrons emanating from the quantum point contact spread out
like a fan leaving branch-like regions of enhanced backscattering.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Energy scales in 4f1 delafossite magnets: crystal-field splittings larger than the strength of spin-orbit coupling in KCeO2
Ytterbium-based delafossites with effective S=1/2 moments are investigated
intensively as candidates for quantum spin-liquid ground states. While the
synthesis of related cerium compounds has also been reported,many important
details concerning their crystal, electronic, and magnetic structures are
unclear. Here we analyze the S=1/2 system KCeO2, combining complementary
theoretical methods. The lattice geometry was optimized and the band structure
investigated using density functional theory extended to the level of a GGA+U
calculation in order to reproduce the correct insulating behavior. The Ce 4f1
states were then analyzed in more detail with the help of ab initio
wave-function-based computations. Unusually large effective crystal-field
splittings of up to 320 meV are predicted, which puts KCeO2 in the strong field
coupling regime. Our results reveal a subtle interplay between ligand-cage
electrostatics and the trigonal field generated by the extended crystalline
surroundings, relevant in the context of recent studies on tuning the nature of
the ground-state wave function in 4f triangular-lattice and pyrochlore
compounds. It also makes KCeO2 an interesting model system in relation to the
effect of large crystal-field splittings on the anisotropy of intersite
exchange in spin-orbit coupled quantum magnets.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, and 3 table
Coupled Replicator Equations for the Dynamics of Learning in Multiagent Systems
Starting with a group of reinforcement-learning agents we derive coupled
replicator equations that describe the dynamics of collective learning in
multiagent systems. We show that, although agents model their environment in a
self-interested way without sharing knowledge, a game dynamics emerges
naturally through environment-mediated interactions. An application to
rock-scissors-paper game interactions shows that the collective learning
dynamics exhibits a diversity of competitive and cooperative behaviors. These
include quasiperiodicity, stable limit cycles, intermittency, and deterministic
chaos--behaviors that should be expected in heterogeneous multiagent systems
described by the general replicator equations we derive.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures,
http://www.santafe.edu/projects/CompMech/papers/credlmas.html; updated
references, corrected typos, changed conten
The phase plane of moving discrete breathers
We study anharmonic localization in a periodic five atom chain with
quadratic-quartic spring potential. We use discrete symmetries to eliminate the
degeneracies of the harmonic chain and easily find periodic orbits. We apply
linear stability analysis to measure the frequency of phonon-like disturbances
in the presence of breathers and to analyze the instabilities of breathers. We
visualize the phase plane of breather motion directly and develop a technique
for exciting pinned and moving breathers. We observe long-lived breathers that
move chaotically and a global transition to chaos that prevents forming moving
breathers at high energies.Comment: 8 pages text, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters. See
http://www.msc.cornell.edu/~houle/localization
An Evaluation of Body-grip Trap Trigger Configurations for Reducing River Otter Take Incidental to Beaver Trapping
River otter (Lontra canadensis) populations in North America have been the focus of significant restoration efforts. Wildlife management agencies, concerned about the unintentional take of river otters incidental to beaver (Castor canadensis) trapping, may recommend techniques to avoid capturing river otters. River otter avoidance techniques that are ineffective or diminish trap performance for beavers are undesirable. We conducted a field evaluation in 2015 and 2016 in Wisconsin to assess how two trigger configurations (offset and center) on body-grip traps would affect the incidental capture rate of river otters during beaver trapping. We also evaluated effects of each configuration on beaver capture rates, body lengths, and anatomical locations of trap-jaw strikes. We used size 330 body-grip traps equipped with identical triggers and alternated between trigger configurations during beaver damage management activities. We captured 8 river otters with each trap trigger configuration. Trap-jaw strikes on beavers differed between trigger configurations, with offset triggers resulting in more abdomen strikes and center triggers causing more cervical vertebrae strikes. We found that an offset trigger configuration did not reduce incidental take of otters and was less effective for trapping beavers
The electronic structure of the doped one-dimensional transition metal oxide Y1-xCaxBaNiO5 studied using x-ray absorption
A strong anisotropic distribution of the holes in Ni 3d and O 2p orbitals is
observed in the polarization dependent O1s and Ni2p3/2 x-ray absorption
spectroscopy of the linear-chain nickelate Y1-xCaxBaNiO5 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1,
0.2), which demonstrates the one-dimensional nature of the electronic state in
these compounds. Furthermore, the additional holes introduced by Ca-doping
occupy both O 2p and Ni 3d orbitals along the NiO5 chains. By comparing the
experimental Ni 2p3/2 absorption spectra of Y1-xCaxBaNiO5 to those from charge
transfer multiplet calculations we can derive the orbital character of the
additional holes to be of ca. 60% O2p and ca. 40% Ni 3d.Comment: pdf only. Submitted to PR
Random Field and Random Anisotropy Effects in Defect-Free Three-Dimensional XY Models
Monte Carlo simulations have been used to study a vortex-free XY ferromagnet
with a random field or a random anisotropy on simple cubic lattices. In the
random field case, which can be related to a charge-density wave pinned by
random point defects, it is found that long-range order is destroyed even for
weak randomness. In the random anisotropy case, which can be related to a
randomly pinned spin-density wave, the long-range order is not destroyed and
the correlation length is finite. In both cases there are many local minima of
the free energy separated by high entropy barriers. Our results for the random
field case are consistent with the existence of a Bragg glass phase of the type
discussed by Emig, Bogner and Nattermann.Comment: 10 pages, including 2 figures, extensively revise
First principles study of strain/electronic interplay in ZnO; Stress and temperature dependence of the piezoelectric constants
We present a first-principles study of the relationship between stress,
temperature and electronic properties in piezoelectric ZnO. Our method is a
plane wave pseudopotential implementation of density functional theory and
density functional linear response within the local density approximation. We
observe marked changes in the piezoelectric and dielectric constants when the
material is distorted. This stress dependence is the result of strong, bond
length dependent, hybridization between the O and Zn electrons. Our
results indicate that fine tuning of the piezoelectric properties for specific
device applications can be achieved by control of the ZnO lattice constant, for
example by epitaxial growth on an appropriate substrate.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
- …