Collective excitations of Dirac electrons in a graphene layer with spin-orbit interaction

Coulomb screening and excitation spectra of electrons in a graphene layer with spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is studied in the random phase approximation. The SOI opens a gap between the valence and conduction bands of the semi-metal Dirac system and reshapes the bottom and top of the bands. As a result, we have observed a dramatic change in the long-wavelength dielectric function of the system. An undamped plasmon mode emerges from the inter-band electron-hole excitation continuum edge and vanishes or merges with a Landau damped mode on the edge of the intra-band electron-hole continuum. The characteristic collective excitation of the Dirac gas is recovered in a system with high carrier density or for a large wave vector

Liquid-Crystal Blazed-Grating Beam Deflector

A transmission-type nonmechanical multiple-angle beam-steering device that uses liquid-crystal blazed grating has been developed. Sixteen steering angles with a contrast ratio of 18 has been demonstrated. A detailed analysis of the liquid-crystal and poly(methyl methacrylate) blazed-grating deflector was carried out to provide guidance during the deflector’s development. A manufacturing offset compensation technique is proposed to improve the device’s performance greatly. A hybrid approach utilizing electrically generated blazed grating combined with the cascading approach described here yields in excess of 500 deflecting angles

A Relation between the Anomalous Dimensions and OPE Coefficients in Asymptotic Free Field Theories

In asymptotic free field theories we show that part of the OPE of the trace of the stress-energy tensor and an arbitrary composite field is determined by the anomalous dimension of the composite field. We take examples from the two-dimensional O(N) non-linear sigma model.Comment: 6 pages, plain TeX, uses harvma

Bouncing cosmologies with dark matter and dark energy

We review matter bounce scenarios where the matter content is dark matter and dark energy. These cosmologies predict a nearly scale-invariant power spectrum with a slightly red tilt for scalar perturbations and a small tensor-to-scalar ratio. Importantly, these models predict a positive running of the scalar index, contrary to the predictions of the simplest inflationary and ekpyrotic models, and hence could potentially be falsified by future observations. We also review how bouncing cosmological space-times can arise in theories where either the Einstein equations are modified or where matter fields that violate the null energy condition are included.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, v2: Discussion extended and clarifications added. Invited review for special edition of Univers

Doping driven structural distortion in the bilayer iridate (Sr1−x_{1-x}Lax_x)3_3Ir2_2O7_7

Neutron single crystal diffraction and rotational anisotropy optical second harmonic generation data are presented resolving the nature of the structural distortion realized in electron-doped (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$ with $x=0.035$ and $x=0.071$. Once electrons are introduced into the bilayer spin-orbit assisted Mott insulator Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$, previous studies have identified the appearance of a low temperature structural distortion and have suggested the presence of a competing electronic instability in the phase diagram of this material. Our measurements resolve a lowering of the structural symmetry from monoclinic $C2/c$ to monoclinic $P2_1/c$ and the creation of two unique Ir sites within the chemical unit cell as the lattice distorts below a critical temperature $T_S$. Details regarding the modifications to oxygen octahedral rotations and tilting through the transition are discussed as well as the evolution of the low temperature distorted lattice as a function of carrier substitution.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure