3,315 research outputs found
Interfaces Within Graphene Nanoribbons
We study the conductance through two types of graphene nanostructures:
nanoribbon junctions in which the width changes from wide to narrow, and curved
nanoribbons. In the wide-narrow structures, substantial reflection occurs from
the wide-narrow interface, in contrast to the behavior of the much studied
electron gas waveguides. In the curved nanoribbons, the conductance is very
sensitive to details such as whether regions of a semiconducting armchair
nanoribbon are included in the curved structure -- such regions strongly
suppress the conductance. Surprisingly, this suppression is not due to the band
gap of the semiconducting nanoribbon, but is linked to the valley degree of
freedom. Though we study these effects in the simplest contexts, they can be
expected to occur for more complicated structures, and we show results for
rings as well. We conclude that experience from electron gas waveguides does
not carry over to graphene nanostructures. The interior interfaces causing
extra scattering result from the extra effective degrees of freedom of the
graphene structure, namely the valley and sublattice pseudospins.Comment: 19 pages, published version, several references added, small changes
to conclusion
Phase-locked magnetoconductance oscillations as a probe of Majorana edge states
We calculate the Andreev conductance of a superconducting ring interrupted by
a flux-biased Josephson junction, searching for electrical signatures of
circulating edge states. Two-dimensional pair potentials of spin-singlet d-wave
and spin-triplet p-wave symmetry support, respectively, (chiral) Dirac modes
and (chiral or helical) Majorana modes. These produce h/e-periodic
magnetoconductance oscillations of amplitude \simeq (e^{2}/h)N^{-1/2}, measured
via an N-mode point contact at the inner or outer perimeter of the grounded
ring. For Dirac modes the oscillations in the two contacts are independent,
while for an unpaired Majorana mode they are phase locked by a topological
phase transition at the Josephson junction.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. New appendix on the gauge invariant
discretization of the Bogoliubov-De Gennes equation. Accepted for publication
in PR
Applications of Abundance Data and Requirements for Cosmochemical Modeling
Understanding the evolution of the universe from Big Bang to its present state requires an understanding of the evolution of the abundances of the elements and isotopes in galaxies, stars, the interstellar medium, the Sun and the heliosphere, planets and meteorites. Processes that change the state of the universe include Big Bang nucleosynthesis, star formation and stellar nucleosynthesis, galactic chemical evolution, propagation of cosmic rays, spallation, ionization and particle transport of interstellar material, formation of the solar system, solar wind emission and its fractionation (FIP/FIT effect), mixing processes in stellar interiors, condensation of material and subsequent geochemical fractionation. Here, we attempt to compile some major issues in cosmochemistry that can be addressed with a better knowledge of the respective element or isotope abundances. Present and future missions such as Genesis, Stardust, Interstellar Pathfinder, and Interstellar Probe, improvements of remote sensing instrumentation and experiments on extraterrestrial material such as meteorites, presolar grains, and lunar or returned planetary or cometary samples will result in an improved database of elemental and isotopic abundances. This includes the primordial abundances of D, ^3He, ^4He, and ^7Li, abundances of the heavier elements in stars and galaxies, the composition of the interstellar medium, solar wind and comets as well as the (highly) volatile elements in the solar system such as helium, nitrogen, oxygen or xenon
Is \gamma-ray emission from novae affected by interference effects in the 18F(p,\alpha)15O reaction?
The 18F(p,\alpha)15O reaction rate is crucial for constraining model
predictions of the \gamma-ray observable radioisotope 18F produced in novae.
The determination of this rate is challenging due to particular features of the
level scheme of the compound nucleus, 19Ne, which result in interference
effects potentially playing a significant role. The dominant uncertainty in
this rate arises from interference between J\pi=3/2+ states near the proton
threshold (Sp = 6.411 MeV) and a broad J\pi=3/2+ state at 665 keV above
threshold. This unknown interference term results in up to a factor of 40
uncertainty in the astrophysical S-factor at nova temperatures. Here we report
a new measurement of states in this energy region using the 19F(3He,t)19Ne
reaction. In stark contrast with previous assumptions we find at least 3
resonances between the proton threshold and Ecm=50 keV, all with different
angular distributions. None of these are consistent with J\pi= 3/2+ angular
distributions. We find that the main uncertainty now arises from the unknown
proton-width of the 48 keV resonance, not from possible interference effects.
Hydrodynamic nova model calculations performed indicate that this unknown width
affects 18F production by at least a factor of two in the model considered.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Biexciton recombination rates in self-assembled quantum dots
The radiative recombination rates of interacting electron-hole pairs in a
quantum dot are strongly affected by quantum correlations among electrons and
holes in the dot. Recent measurements of the biexciton recombination rate in
single self-assembled quantum dots have found values spanning from two times
the single exciton recombination rate to values well below the exciton decay
rate. In this paper, a Feynman path-integral formulation is developed to
calculate recombination rates including thermal and many-body effects. Using
real-space Monte Carlo integration, the path-integral expressions for realistic
three-dimensional models of InGaAs/GaAs, CdSe/ZnSe, and InP/InGaP dots are
evaluated, including anisotropic effective masses. Depending on size, radiative
rates of typical dots lie in the regime between strong and intermediate
confinement. The results compare favorably to recent experiments and
calculations on related dot systems. Configuration interaction calculations
using uncorrelated basis sets are found to be severely limited in calculating
decay rates.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Spectroscopy of Ne for the thermonuclear O()Ne and F()O reaction rates
Uncertainties in the thermonuclear rates of the
O()Ne and F()O reactions
affect model predictions of light curves from type I X-ray bursts and the
amount of the observable radioisotope F produced in classical novae,
respectively. To address these uncertainties, we have studied the nuclear
structure of Ne over MeV and MeV using
the F(He,t)Ne reaction. We find the values of the
4.14 and 4.20 MeV levels to be consistent with and
respectively, in contrast to previous assumptions. We confirm the recently
observed triplet of states around 6.4 MeV, and find evidence that the state at
6.29 MeV, just below the proton threshold, is either broad or a doublet. Our
data also suggest that predicted but yet unobserved levels may exist near the
6.86 MeV state. Higher resolution experiments are urgently needed to further
clarify the structure of Ne around the proton threshold before a
reliable F()O rate for nova models can be determined.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. C (in press
Multi-spacecraft observations and transport simulations of solar energetic particles for the May 17th 2012 event
Context. The injection, propagation and arrival of solar energetic particles (SEPs) during eruptive solar events is an important and current research topic of heliospheric physics. During the largest solar events, particles may have energies up to a few GeVs and sometimes even trigger ground-level enhancements (GLEs) at Earth. These large SEP events are best investigated through multispacecraft observations.
Aims.We study the first GLE-event of solar cycle 24, from 17th May 2012, using data from multiple spacecraft (SOHO, GOES, MSL, STEREO-A, STEREO-B and MESSENGER). These spacecraft are located throughout the inner heliosphere, at heliocentric distances between 0.34 and 1.5 astronomical units (au), covering nearly the whole range of heliospheric longitudes.
Methods. We present and investigate sub-GeV proton time profiles for the event at several energy channels, obtained via different instruments aboard the above spacecraft. We investigate issues due to magnetic connectivity, and present results of three-dimensional SEP propagation simulations.We gather virtual time profiles and perform qualitative and quantitative comparisons with observations, assessing longitudinal injection and transport effects as well as peak intensities.
Results. We distinguish different time profile shapes for well-connected and weakly connected observers, and find our onset time analysis to agree with this distinction. At select observers, we identify an additional low-energy component of Energetic Storm Particles (ESPs). Using well-connected observers for normalisation, our simulations are able to accurately recreate both time profile shapes and peak intensities at multiple observer locations.
Conclusions. This synergetic approach combining numerical modelling with multi-spacecraft observations is crucial for understanding the propagation of SEPs within the interplanetary magnetic field. Our novel analysis provides valuable proof of the ability to simulate SEP propagation throughout the inner heliosphere, at a wide range of longitudes. Accurate simulations of SEP transport allow for better constraints of injection regions at the Sun, and thus, better understanding of acceleration processes
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