3,136 research outputs found
Giant anisotropy of Zeeman splitting of quantum confined acceptors in Si/Ge
Shallow acceptor levels in Si/Ge/Si quantum well heterostructures are
characterized by resonant tunneling spectroscopy in the presence of high
magnetic fields. In a perpendicular magnetic field we observe a linear Zeeman
splitting of the acceptor levels. In an in-plane field, on the other hand, the
Zeeman splitting is strongly suppressed. This anisotropic Zeeman splitting is
shown to be a consequence of the huge light hole-heavy hole splitting caused by
a large biaxial strain and a strong quantum confinement in the Ge quantum well.Comment: 5 figures, 4 page
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
Hartree-Fock ground state of the two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit interaction
We search for the uniform Hartree-Fock ground state of the two-dimensional
electron gas formed in semiconductor heterostructures including the Rashba
spin-orbit interaction. We identify two competing quantum phases: a
ferromagnetic one with partial spin polarization in the perpendicular direction
and a paramagnetic one with in-plane spin. We present a phase diagram in terms
of the relative strengths of the Rashba to the Coulomb interaction and the
electron density. We compare our theoretical description with existing
experimental results obtained in GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructures.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Antibiotic-Impregnated Versus Silver-Bearing External Ventricular Drainage Catheters: Preliminary Results in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Evaluation of antibiotic-impregnated (AI) and ionized silver particle coated external ventricular drainage catheters (EVD) in patients with subarachnoid (SAH) or intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: Between February 2011 and June 2012, 40 patients with acute hydrocephalus due to SAH, ICH or intraventricular hemorrhage were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, mono-center pilot study. Primary endpoints were defined as: number of events of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) infections. Secondary endpoints were defined as: neurosurgical complications following the placement of the EVD, number of revisions of EVD catheters, and cost effectiveness. Results: Sixty-one EVD placements in 40 patients, 32 antibiotic-coated (Bactiseal®), 29 silver-bearing catheters (VentriGuard®), have been performed. Confirmed or high suspicion of CSF infections occurred in 11 out of 61 events (confirmed infection: p=0.71, probable infection: p=0.90). Revisions of EVD were needed in 13 cases (22%) due to CSF infection, dysfunction, impaired healing, or malplacement (p=0.37). Conclusion: Regarding CSF infection rate and dysfunction, no statistical significant differences between the two EVD catheters Bactiseal® versus VentriGuard® were found. The silver-bearing catheter might offer a safe and cost-conscious alternative to the AI cathete
Gray and white matter astrocytes differ in basal metabolism but respond similarly to neuronal activity
Astrocytes are a heterogeneous population of glial cells in the brain, which adapt their properties to the requirements of the local environment. Two major groups of astrocytes are protoplasmic astrocytes residing in gray matter as well as fibrous astrocytes of white matter. Here, we compared the energy metabolism of astrocytes in the cortex and corpus callosum as representative gray matter and white matter regions, in acute brain slices taking advantage of genetically encoded fluorescent nanosensors for the NADH/NAD+ redox ratio and for ATP. Astrocytes of the corpus callosum presented a more reduced basal NADH/NAD+ redox ratio, and a lower cytosolic concentration of ATP compared to cortical astrocytes. In cortical astrocytes, the neurotransmitter glutamate and increased extracellular concentrations of K+, typical correlates of neuronal activity, induced a more reduced NADH/NAD+ redox ratio. While application of glutamate decreased [ATP], K+ as well as the combination of glutamate and K+ resulted in an increase of ATP levels. Strikingly, a very similar regulation of metabolism by K+ and glutamate was observed in astrocytes in the corpus callosum. Finally, strong intrinsic neuronal activity provoked by application of bicuculline and withdrawal of Mg2+ caused a shift of the NADH/NAD+ redox ratio to a more reduced state as well as a slight reduction of [ATP] in gray and white matter astrocytes. In summary, the metabolism of astrocytes in cortex and corpus callosum shows distinct basal properties, but qualitatively similar responses to neuronal activity, probably reflecting the different environment and requirements of these brain regions
Collision Dynamics and Solvation of Water Molecules in a Liquid Methanol Film
Environmental molecular beam experiments are used to examine water
interactions with liquid methanol films at temperatures from 170 K to 190 K. We
find that water molecules with 0.32 eV incident kinetic energy are efficiently
trapped by the liquid methanol. The scattering process is characterized by an
efficient loss of energy to surface modes with a minor component of the
incident beam that is inelastically scattered. Thermal desorption of water
molecules has a well characterized Arrhenius form with an activation energy of
0.47{\pm}0.11 eV and pre-exponential factor of 4.6 {\times} 10^(15{\pm}3)
s^(-1). We also observe a temperature dependent incorporation of incident water
into the methanol layer. The implication for fundamental studies and
environmental applications is that even an alcohol as simple as methanol can
exhibit complex and temperature dependent surfactant behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Spin Orientation of Holes in Quantum Wells
This paper reviews the spin orientation of spin-3/2 holes in quantum wells.
We discuss the Zeeman and Rashba spin splitting in hole systems that are
qualitatively different from their counterparts in electron systems. We show
how a systematic understanding of the unusual spin-dependent phenomena in hole
systems can be gained using a multipole expansion of the spin density matrix.
As an example we discuss spin precession in hole systems that can give rise to
an alternating spin polarization. Finally, we discuss the qualitatively
different regimes of hole spin polarization decay in clean and dirty samples.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Nonadiabatic Dynamics of Ultracold Fermions in Optical Superlattices
We study the time-dependent dynamical properties of two-component ultracold
fermions in a one-dimensional optical superlattice by applying the adaptive
time-dependent density matrix renormalization group to a repulsive Hubbard
model with an alternating superlattice potential. We clarify how the time
evolution of local quantities occurs when the superlattice potential is
suddenly changed to a normal one. For a Mott-type insulating state at quarter
filling, the time evolution exhibits a profile similar to that expected for
bosonic atoms, where correlation effects are less important. On the other hand,
for a band-type insulating state at half filling, the strong repulsive
interaction induces an unusual pairing of fermions, resulting in some striking
properties in time evolution, such as a paired fermion co-tunneling process and
the suppression of local spin moments. We further address the effect of a
confining potential, which causes spatial confinement of the paired fermions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Spin Accumulation in Quantum Wires with Strong Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling
We present analytical and numerical results for the effect of Rashba
spin-orbit coupling on band structure, transport, and interaction effects in
quantum wires when the spin precession length is comparable to the wire width.
In contrast to the weak-coupling case, no common spin-quantization axis can be
defined for eigenstates within a single-electron band. The situation with only
the lowest spin-split subbands occupied is particularly interesting because
electrons close to Fermi points of the same chirality can have approximately
parallel spins. We discuss consequences for spin-dependent transport and
effective Tomonaga-Luttinger descriptions of interactions in the quantum wire.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, expanded discussion of spin accumulatio
- …