Bound hole states in a ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As environment

A numerical technique is developed to solve the Luttinger-Kohn equation for impurity states directly in k-space and is applied to calculate bound hole wave functions in a ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As host. The rich properties of the band structure of an arbitrarily strained, ferromagnetic zinc-blende semiconductor yields various features which have direct impact on the detailed shape of a valence band hole bound to an active impurity. The role of strain is discussed on the basis of explicit calculations of bound hole states.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Magnetically induced Ferroelectricity in Bi2_2CuO4_4

The tetragonal copper oxide Bi$_2$CuO$_4$ has an unusual crystal structure with a three-dimensional network of well separated CuO$_4$ plaquettes. This material was recently predicted to host electronic excitations with an unconventional spectrum and the spin structure of its magnetically ordered state appearing at T$_N$ $\sim$43 K remains controversial. Here we present the results of detailed studies of specific heat, magnetic and dielectric properties of Bi$_2$CuO$_4$ single crystals grown by the floating zone technique, combined with the polarized neutron scattering and high-resolution X-ray measurements. Our polarized neutron scattering data show Cu spins are parallel to the $ab$ plane. Below the onset of the long range antiferromagnetic ordering we observe an electric polarization induced by an applied magnetic field, which indicates inversion symmetry breaking by the ordered state of Cu spins. For the magnetic field applied perpendicular to the tetragonal axis, the spin-induced ferroelectricity is explained in terms of the linear magnetoelectric effect that occurs in a metastable magnetic state. A relatively small electric polarization induced by the field parallel to the tetragonal axis may indicate a more complex magnetic ordering in Bi$_2$CuO$_4$

Quantum turbulence and correlations in Bose-Einstein condensate collisions

We investigate numerically simulated collisions between experimentally realistic Bose-Einstein condensate wavepackets, within a regime where highly populated scattering haloes are formed. The theoretical basis for this work is the truncated Wigner method, for which we present a detailed derivation, paying particular attention to its validity regime for colliding condensates. This paper is an extension of our previous Letter [A. A. Norrie, R. J. Ballagh, and C. W. Gardiner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 040401 (2005)] and we investigate both single-trajectory solutions, which reveal the presence of quantum turbulence in the scattering halo, and ensembles of trajectories, which we use to calculate quantum-mechanical correlation functions of the field

On the electronic structure of the charge-ordered phase in epitaxial and polycrystalline La1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0.55, 0.67) perovskite manganites

In this work the charge transport properties of charge ordered (CO) La1-xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) (x= 0.55, 0.67) epitaxial thin films and polycrystals are discussed following the recent controversy of localised electron states vs. weakly or de- localised charge density wave (CDW) states in CO manganites. The transport properties were investigated by current vs. voltage, direct current resistivity vs. temperature, local activation energy vs. temperature, magnetoresistance and admittance spectroscopy measurements, which all indicated a localised electronic structure in the single CO phase. Delocalised charge anomalies observed previously may be restricted to phase separated materials.Comment: Physical Review B, to be publishe

R-process nucleosynthesis calculations with complete nuclear physics input

The r-process constitutes one of the major challenges in nuclear astrophysics. Its astrophysical site has not yet been identified but there is observational evidence suggesting that at least two possible sites should contribute to the solar system abundance of r-process elements and that the r-process responsible for the production of elements heavier than Z=56 operates quite robustly producing always the same relative abundances. From the nuclear-physics point of view the r-process requires the knowledge of a large number of reaction rates involving exotic nuclei. These include neutron capture rates, beta-decays and fission rates, the latter for the heavier nuclei produced in the r-process. We have developed for the first time a complete database of reaction rates that in addition to neutron-capture rates and beta-decay half-lives includes all possible reactions that can induce fission (neutron-capture, beta-decay and spontaneous fission) and the corresponding fission yields. In addition, we have implemented these reaction rates in a fully implicit reaction network. We have performed r-process calculations for the neutrino-driven wind scenario to explore whether or not fission can contribute to provide a robust r-process pattern