13,422 research outputs found
Anisotropic spin splitting and spin relaxation in asymmetric zinc-blende semiconductor quantum structures
Spin relaxation due to the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism is intimately related
with the spin splitting of the electronic states. We determine the spin
relaxation rates from anisotropic spin splittings of electron subbands in
n-(001) zinc-blende semiconductor quantum structures calculated
self-consistently in the multi-band envelope function approach. The giant
anisotropy of spin relaxation rates found for different spin-components in the
(001) plane can be ascribed to the interplay between the bulk and quantum well
inversion asymmetry. One of the in-plane relaxation rates may exhibit a
striking nonmonotonous dependence on the carrier density.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures; revised version with minor changes after
refereein
Side-jumps in the spin-Hall effect: construction of the Boltzmann collision integral
We present a systematic derivation of the side-jump contribution to the
spin-Hall current in systems without band structure spin-orbit interactions,
focusing on the construction of the collision integral for the Boltzmann
equation. Starting from the quantum Liouville equation for the density operator
we derive an equation describing the dynamics of the density matrix in the
first Born approximation and to first order in the driving electric field.
Elastic scattering requires conservation of the total energy, including the
spin-orbit interaction energy with the electric field: this results in a first
correction to the customary collision integral found in the Born approximation.
A second correction is due to the change in the carrier position during
collisions. It stems from the part of the density matrix off-diagonal in wave
vector. The two corrections to the collision integral add up and are
responsible for the total side-jump contribution to the spin-Hall current. The
spin-orbit-induced correction to the velocity operator also contains terms
diagonal and off-diagonal in momentum space, which together involve the total
force acting on the system. This force is explicitly shown to vanish (on the
average) in the steady state: thus the total contribution to the spin-Hall
current due to the additional terms in the velocity operator is zero.Comment: Added references, expanded discussion, revised introductio
A program for calculating optimum dimensions of alpha radioisotope capsules exposed to varying stress and temperature
Method and computer program for calculating creep and optimizing dimensions of capsules filled with alpha-emitting radioisotopes and exposed to varying stress and temperatur
Cubic Dresselhaus Spin-Orbit Coupling in 2D Electron Quantum Dots
We study effects of the oft-neglected cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling
(i.e., ) in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots. Using a semiclassical
billiard model, we estimate the magnitude of the spin-orbit induced avoided
crossings in a closed quantum dot in a Zeeman field. Using these results,
together with previous analyses based on random matrix theory, we calculate
corresponding effects on the conductance through an open quantum dot. Combining
our results with an experiment on conductance through an 8 um^2 quantum dot [D
M Zumbuhl et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 081305 (2005)] suggests that 1) the GaAs
Dresselhaus coupling constant, , is approximately 9 eVA^3,
significantly less than the commonly cited value of 27.5 eVA^3 and 2) the
majority of the spin-flip component of spin-orbit coupling can come from the
cubic Dresselhaus term.Comment: 4 pages plus supplementary tabl
Spin Density Matrix of Spin-3/2 Hole Systems
For hole systems with an effective spin j=3/2, we present an invariant
decomposition of the spin density matrix that can be interpreted as a multipole
expansion. The charge density corresponds to the monopole moment and the spin
polarization due to a magnetic field corresponds to a dipole moment while heavy
hole-light hole splitting can be interpreted as a quadrupole moment. For quasi
two-dimensional hole systems in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field B
the spin polarization is a higher-order effect that is typically much smaller
than one even if the minority spin subband is completely depopulated. On the
other hand, the field B can induce a substantial octupole moment which is a
unique feature of j=3/2 hole systems.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 3 table
Experimental observation of the spin-Hall effect in a two dimensional spin-orbit coupled semiconductor system
We report the experimental observation of the spin-Hall effect in a
two-dimensional (2D) hole system with Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
The 2D hole layer is a part of a p-n junction light-emitting diode with a
specially designed co-planar geometry which allows an angle-resolved
polarization detection at opposite edges of the 2D hole system. In equilibrium
the angular momenta of the Rashba split heavy hole states lie in the plane of
the 2D layer. When an electric field is applied across the hole channel a non
zero out-of-plane component of the angular momentum is detected whose sign
depends on the sign of the electric field and is opposite for the two edges.
Microscopic quantum transport calculations show only a weak effect of disorder
suggesting that the clean limit spin-Hall conductance description (intrinsic
spin-Hall effect) might apply to our system.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, paper based on work presented at the Gordon
Research Conference on Magnetic Nano-structures (August 2004) and Oxford Kobe
Seminar on Spintronics (September 2004); accepted for publication in Physical
Review Letters December 200
Hydrogen Generation Catalyzed by Fluorinated Diglyoxime−Iron Complexes at Low Overpotentials
Fe^(II) complexes containing the fluorinated ligand 1,2-bis(perfluorophenyl)ethane-1,2-dionedioxime (dAr^FgH_2; H = dissociable proton) exhibit relatively positive Fe^(II/I) reduction potentials. The air-stable difluoroborated species [(dAr^FgBF_2)_2Fe(py)_2] (2) electrocatalyzes H_2 generation at −0.9 V vs SCE with i_(cat)/i_p ≈ 4, corresponding to a turnover frequency (TOF) of ~ 20 s^(–1) [Faradaic yield (FY) = 82 ± 13%]. The corresponding monofluoroborated, proton-bridged complex [(dArFg2H-BF2)Fe(py)2] (3) exhibits an improved TOF of ~ 200 s^(–1) (i_(cat)/i_p ≈ 8; FY = 68 ± 14%) at −0.8 V with an overpotential of 300 mV. Simulations of the electrocatalytic cyclic voltammograms of 2 suggest rate-limiting protonation of an Fe“0” intermediate (k_(RLS) ≈ 200 M^(–1) s^(–1)) that undergoes hydride protonation to form H_2. Complex 3 likely reacts via protonation of an Fe^I intermediate that subsequently forms H_2 via a bimetallic mechanism (k_(RLS) ≈ 2000 M^(–1) s^(–1)). 3 catalyzes production at relatively positive potentials compared with other iron complexes
Invariant expansion for the trigonal band structure of graphene
We present a symmetry analysis of the trigonal band structure in graphene,
elucidating the transformational properties of the underlying basis functions
and the crucial role of time-reversal invariance. Group theory is used to
derive an invariant expansion of the Hamiltonian for electron states near the K
points of the graphene Brillouin zone. Besides yielding the characteristic
k-linear dispersion and higher-order corrections to it, this approach enables
the systematic incorporation of all terms arising from external electric and
magnetic fields, strain, and spin-orbit coupling up to any desired order.
Several new contributions are found, in addition to reproducing results
obtained previously within tight-binding calculations. Physical ramifications
of these new terms are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; expanded version with more details and additional
result
Quantum black holes from null expansion operators
Using a recently developed quantization of spherically symmetric gravity
coupled to a scalar field, we give a construction of null expansion operators
that allow a definition of general, fully dynamical quantum black holes. These
operators capture the intuitive idea that classical black holes are defined by
the presence of trapped surfaces, that is surfaces from which light cannot
escape outward. They thus provide a mechanism for classifying quantum states of
the system into those that describe quantum black holes and those that do not.
We find that quantum horizons fluctuate, confirming long-held heuristic
expectations. We also give explicit examples of quantum black hole states. The
work sets a framework for addressing the puzzles of black hole physics in a
fully quantized dynamical setting.Comment: 5 pages, version to appear in CQ
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