Bundling up carbon nanotubes through Wigner defects

We show, using ab initio total energy density functional theory, that the so-called Wigner defects, an interstitial carbon atom right besides a vacancy, which are present in irradiated graphite can also exist in bundles of carbon nanotubes. Due to the geometrical structure of a nanotube, however, this defect has a rather low formation energy, lower than the vacancy itself, suggesting that it may be one of the most important defects that are created after electron or ion irradiation. Moreover, they form a strong link between the nanotubes in bundles, increasing their shear modulus by a sizeable amount, clearly indicating its importance for the mechanical properties of nanotube bundles.Comment: 5 pages and 4 figure

An accurate measurement of electron beam induced displacement cross sections for single-layer graphene

We present an accurate measurement and a quantitative analysis of electron-beam induced displacements of carbon atoms in single-layer graphene. We directly measure the atomic displacement ("knock-on") cross section by counting the lost atoms as a function of the electron beam energy and applied dose. Further, we separate knock-on damage (originating from the collision of the beam electrons with the nucleus of the target atom) from other radiation damage mechanisms (e.g. ionization damage or chemical etching) by the comparison of ordinary (12C) and heavy (13C) graphene. Our analysis shows that a static lattice approximation is not sufficient to describe knock-on damage in this material, while a very good agreement between calculated and experimental cross sections is obtained if lattice vibrations are taken into account.Comment: 10 pages including supplementary inf

Resonant electron transfer between quantum dots

An interaction of electromagnetic field with a nanostructure composed of two quantum dots is studied theoretically. An effect of a resonant electron transfer between the localized low-lying states of quantum dots is predicted. A necessary condition for such an effect is the existence of an excited bound state whose energy lies close to the top of the barrier separating the quantum dots. This effect may be used to realize the reversible quantum logic gate NOT if the superposition of electron states in different quantum dots is viewed as the superposition of bits 0 and 1.Comment: 8 pages, 1 EPS-figure, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-von Weizsacker hydrodynamics in laterally modulated electronic systems

We have studied the collective plasma excitations of a two-dimensional electron gas with an arbitrary lateral charge-density modulation. The dynamics is formulated using a previously developed hydrodynamic theory based on the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-von Weizsacker approximation. In this approach, both the equilibrium and dynamical properties of the periodically modulated electron gas are treated in a consistent fashion. We pay particular attention to the evolution of the collective excitations as the system undergoes the transition from the ideal two-dimensional limit to the highly-localized one-dimensional limit. We also calculate the power absorption in the long-wavelength limit to illustrate the effect of the modulation on the modes probed by far-infrared (FIR) transmission spectroscopy.Comment: 27 page Revtex file, 15 Postscript figure

Belingwe komatiites (2.7 Ga) originate from a plume with moderate water content, as inferred from inclusions in olivine

Major and trace elements, and volatile components have been measured in melt inclusions in olivine from fresh 2.7 Ga old komatiites from the Reliance Formation of the Belingwe Greenstone Belt, Zimbabwe. Reconstructed compositions of melt inclusions contain 20–23.5 wt% MgO and up to 0.3 wt% H2O; these compositions probably represent those of the erupted lava. In inclusions in relatively evolved (low Fo) olivines, an excess of Na2O, CaO, Li, La, Cu, Rb, Y, Sc as well as volatile components (H2O, F, Cl and S) relative to other highly incompatible elements is attributed to assimilation of seawater altered mafic material. No assimilation signature is observed for the most primitive melt inclusions hosted in the magnesium rich olivines. The primary melt composition, estimated using melt inclusions in the most magnesian olivine (Fo 93.5), contains up to 27.5 wt% MgO and ca. 0.2 wt% H2O. The presence of H2O slightly depressed the liquidus temperature to ca. 1513 °C. Our results suggest formation of the Belingwe komatiite magma at ca. 7 GPa pressure and ca. 1790 °C temperature in a mantle plume. The plume picked up water and probably chlorine through interaction with a hydrous transition mantle zone in the way similar to that previously proposed by Sobolev et al. (2016) for komatiites in Canada

Evidence for Archean hydrous deep-mantle reservoir provided by Abitibi komatiites

Archean komatiites result from melting under extreme conditions of the Earth’s mantle. Their chemical compositions evoke very high eruption temperatures, up to 1600°C, providing clues to still higher temperatures in their mantle source [1]. This message is clouded, however, by uncertainty about the water content in komatiite magmas. One school holds that komatiites were essentially dry and originated in mantle plumes [2] while the other argues that these magmas contained several percent of water, which drastically reduced their eruption temperature and links them to subduction processes [3]

Critical temperature of an anisotropic superconductor containing both nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities

The combined effect of both nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities on the superconducting transition temperature is studied theoretically within the BCS model. An expression for the critical temperature as a function of potential and spin-flip scattering rates is derived for a two-dimensional superconductor with arbitrary in-plane anisotropy of the superconducting order parameter, ranging from isotropic s-wave to d-wave (or any pairing state with nonzero angular momentum) and including anisotropic s-wave and mixed (d+s)-wave as particular cases. This expression generalizes the well-known Abrikosov-Gor'kov formula for the critical temperature of impure superconductors. The effect of defects and impurities in high temperature superconductors is discussed.Comment: 4 eps figure