334 research outputs found
Nuclear spin warm-up in bulk n-GaAs
We show that the spin-lattice relaxation in n-type insulating GaAs is
dramatically accelerated at low magnetic fields. The origin of this effect,
that cannot be explained in terms of well-known diffusion-limited hyperfine
relaxation, is found in the quadrupole relaxation, induced by fluctuating donor
charges. Therefore, quadrupole relaxation, that governs low field nuclear spin
relaxation in semiconductor quantum dots, but was so far supposed to be
harmless to bulk nuclei spins in the absence of optical pumping can be studied
and harnessed in much simpler model environment of n-GaAs bulk crystal.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Ballistic spin transport in exciton gases
Traditional spintronics relies on spin transport by charge carriers, such as
electrons in semiconductor crystals. This brings several complications: the
Pauli principle prevents the carriers from moving with the same speed; Coulomb
repulsion leads to rapid dephasing of electron flows. Spin-optronics is a
valuable alternative to traditional spintronics. In spin-optronic devices the
spin currents are carried by electrically neutral bosonic quasi-particles:
excitons or exciton-polaritons. They can form highly coherent quantum liquids
and carry spins over macroscopic distances. The price to pay is a finite
life-time of the bosonic spin carriers. We present the theory of exciton
ballistic spin transport which may be applied to a range of systems where
bosonic spin transport has been reported, in particular, to indirect excitons
in coupled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. We describe the effect of spin-orbit
interaction of electrons and holes on the exciton spin, account for the Zeeman
effect induced by external magnetic fields, long range and short range exchange
splittings of the exciton resonances. We also consider exciton transport in the
non-linear regime and discuss the definitions of exciton spin current,
polarization current and spin conductivity.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures to be published in Phys. Rev.
Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in p-type GaAs
Spin-lattice relaxation of the nuclear spin system in p-type GaAs is studied
using a three-stage experimental protocol including optical pumping and
measuring the difference of the nuclear spin polarization before and after a
dark interval of variable length. This method allows us to measure the
spin-lattice relaxation time of optically pumped nuclei "in the dark",
that is, in the absence of illumination. The measured values fall into
the sub-second time range, being three orders of magnitude shorter than in
earlier studied n-type GaAs. The drastic difference is further emphasized by
magnetic-field and temperature dependences of in p-GaAs, showing no
similarity to those in n-GaAs. This unexpected behavior is explained within a
developed theoretical model involving quadrupole relaxation of nuclear spins,
which is induced by electric fields within closely spaced donor-acceptor pairs.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Ultimate photo-induced Kerr rotation achieved in semiconductor microcavities
Photoinduced Kerr rotation by more than radians is demonstrated in
planar quantum well microcavity in the strong coupling regime. This result is
close to the predicted theoretical maximum of . It is achieved by
engineering microcavity parameters such that the optical impedance matching
condition is reached at the smallest negative detuning between exciton
resonance and the cavity mode. This ensures the optimum combination of the
exciton induced optical non-linearity and the enhancement of the Kerr angle by
the cavity. Comprehensive analysis of the polarization state of the light in
this regime shows that both renormalization of the exciton energy and the
saturation of the excitonic resonance contribute to the observed optical
nonlinearities.Comment: Shortened version prepared to submit in Phys. Rev. Letter
On the existence of traveling waves in the 3D Boussinesq system
We extend earlier work on traveling waves in premixed flames in a
gravitationally stratified medium, subject to the Boussinesq approximation. For
three-dimensional channels not aligned with the gravity direction and under the
Dirichlet boundary conditions in the fluid velocity, it is shown that a
non-planar traveling wave, corresponding to a non-zero reaction, exists, under
an explicit condition relating the geometry of the crossection of the channel
to the magnitude of the Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers, or when the advection
term in the flow equations is neglected.Comment: 15 pages, to appear in Communications in Mathematical Physic
Iron oxidation state effect on the Mg-Al- Si-O glassy system
Mg-Al-Si-O glassy systems have a great importance in a wide range of industrial applications, specifically as an electrolyte for molten oxide electrolysis processes in steelmaking. Understanding how the iron oxidation state of the raw material (Fe2+/Fe3+) and its corresponding amount influence this glassy system's properties will be the aim of the current work. Iron oxides (as Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) were used to dope Mg-Al-Si-O system obtaining amorphous materials through an unconventional method: Laser Floating Zone (LFZ). Above 8% mol of Fe formation of magnetic phases or iron clusters, were observed in the glass matrix. Samples with Fe2O3 showed a higher crystal concentration, when compared with Fe3O4. The electron paramagnetic resonance measurements show a strong dependence on the iron source (Fe3O4 or Fe2O3). In addition, the magnetization decreases linearly with iron content, independently of iron oxidation state, except for samples with a higher concentration of Fe2O3(15% mol), due to sample crystallization. Moreover, with Fe3O4 as raw material there is an improvement (~250 times) of the electrical conductivity when compared with Fe2O3. The results show that the presence of Fe2+ on the glass influences the electrical conductivity, which could have impact in the efficiency of molten oxide electrolysis process.publishe
Flame Evolution During Type Ia Supernovae and the Deflagration Phase in the Gravitationally Confined Detonation Scenario
We develop an improved method for tracking the nuclear flame during the
deflagration phase of a Type Ia supernova, and apply it to study the variation
in outcomes expected from the gravitationally confined detonation (GCD)
paradigm. A simplified 3-stage burning model and a non-static ash state are
integrated with an artificially thickened advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR)
flame front in order to provide an accurate but highly efficient representation
of the energy release and electron capture in and after the unresolvable flame.
We demonstrate that both our ADR and energy release methods do not generate
significant acoustic noise, as has been a problem with previous ADR-based
schemes. We proceed to model aspects of the deflagration, particularly the role
of buoyancy of the hot ash, and find that our methods are reasonably
well-behaved with respect to numerical resolution. We show that if a detonation
occurs in material swept up by the material ejected by the first rising bubble
but gravitationally confined to the white dwarf (WD) surface (the GCD
paradigm), the density structure of the WD at detonation is systematically
correlated with the distance of the deflagration ignition point from the center
of the star. Coupled to a suitably stochastic ignition process, this
correlation may provide a plausible explanation for the variety of nickel
masses seen in Type Ia Supernovae.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Mixing and reaction efficiency in closed domains
We present a numerical study of mixing and reaction efficiency in closed
domains. In particular we focus our attention on laminar flows. In the case of
inert transport the mixing properties of the flows strongly depend on the
details of the Lagrangian transport. We also study the reaction efficiency.
Starting with a little spot of product we compute the time needed to complete
the reaction in the container. We found that the reaction efficiency is not
strictly related to the mixing properties of the flow. In particular, reaction
acts as a "dynamical regulator".Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Model Flames in the Boussinesq Limit: The Effects of Feedback
We have studied the fully nonlinear behavior of pre-mixed flames in a
gravitationally stratified medium, subject to the Boussinesq approximation. Key
results include the establishment of criterion for when such flames propagate
as simple planar flames; elucidation of scaling laws for the effective flame
speed; and a study of the stability properties of these flames. The simplicity
of some of our scalings results suggests that analytical work may further
advance our understandings of buoyant flames.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, RevTex, gzipped tar fil
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