Strongly modulated transmissions in gapped armchair graphene nanoribbons with sidearm or on-site gate voltage

We propose two schemes of field-effect transistor based on gapped armchair graphene nanoribbons connected to metal leads, by introducing sidearms or on-site gate voltages. We make use of the band gap to reach excellent switch-off character. By introducing one sidearm or on-site gate to the graphene nanoribbon, conduction peaks appear inside the gap regime. By further applying two sidearms or on-site gates, these peaks are broadened to conduction plateaus with a wide energy window, thanks to the resonance from the dual structure. The position of the conduction windows inside the gap can be fully controlled by the length of the sidearms or the on-site gate voltages, which allows "on" and "off" operations for a specific energy window inside the gap regime. The high robustness of both the switch-off character and the conduction windows is demonstrated and shows the feasibility of the proposed dual structures for real applications.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

The optical/UV excess of isolated neutron stars in the RCS model

The X-ray dim isolated neutron stars (XDINSs) are peculiar pulsar-like objects, characterized by their very well Planck-like spectrum. In studying their spectral energy distributions, the optical/UV excess is a long standing problem. Recently, Kaplan et al. (2011) have measured the optical/UV excess for all seven sources, which is understandable in the resonant cyclotron scattering (RCS) model previously addressed. The RCS model calculations show that the RCS process can account for the observed optical/UV excess for most sources . The flat spectrum of RX J2143.0+0654 may due to contribution from bremsstrahlung emission of the electron system in addition to the RCS process.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysic

AXPs and SGRs in the outer gap model: confronting Fermi observations

Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) are magnetar candidates, i.e., neutron stars powered by strong magnetic field. If they are indeed magnetars, they will emit high-energy gamma-rays which are detectable by Fermi-LAT according to the outer gap model. However, no significant detection is reported in recent Fermi-LAT observations of all known AXPs and SGRs. Considering the discrepancy between theory and observations, we calculate the theoretical spectra for all AXPs and SGRs with sufficient observational parameters. Our results show that most AXPs and SGRs are high-energy gamma-ray emitters if they are really magnetars. The four AXPs 1E 1547.0-5408, XTE J1810-197, 1E 1048.1-5937, and 4U 0142+61 should have been detected by Fermi-LAT. Then there is conflict between out gap model in the case of magnetars and Fermi observations. Possible explanations in the magnetar model are discussed. On the other hand, if AXPs and SGRs are fallback disk systems, i.e., accretion-powered for the persistent emissions, most of them are not high-energy gamma-ray emitters. Future deep Fermi-LAT observations of AXPs and SGRs will help us make clear whether they are magnetars or fallback disk systems.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Bayesian analysis of endogenous delay threshold models

We develop Bayesian methods of analysis for a new class of threshold autoregressive models: endogenous delay threshold. We apply our methods to the commonly used sunspot data set and find strong evidence in favor of the Endogenous Delay Threshold Autoregressive (EDTAR) model over linear and traditional threshold autoregressions

A second-order class-D audio amplifier

Class-D audio amplifiers are particularly efficient, and this efficiency has led to their ubiquity in a wide range of modern electronic appliances. Their output takes the form of a high-frequency square wave whose duty cycle (ratio of on-time to off-time) is modulated at low frequency according to the audio signal. A mathematical model is developed here for a second-order class-D amplifier design (i.e., containing one second-order integrator) with negative feedback. We derive exact expressions for the dominant distortion terms, corresponding to a general audio input signal, and confirm these predictions with simulations. We also show how the observed phenomenon of “pulse skipping” arises from an instability of the analytical solution upon which the distortion calculations are based, and we provide predictions of the circumstances under which pulse skipping will take place, based on a stability analysis. These predictions are confirmed by simulations