STM imaging of electronic waves on the surface of Bi2_2Te3_3: topologically protected surface states and hexagonal warping effects

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy studies on high-quality Bi$_2$Te$_3$ crystals exhibit perfect correspondence to ARPES data, hence enabling identification of different regimes measured in the local density of states (LDOS). Oscillations of LDOS near a step are analyzed. Within the main part of the surface band oscillations are strongly damped, supporting the hypothesis of topological protection. At higher energies, as the surface band becomes concave, oscillations appear which disperse with a particular wave-vector that may result from an unconventional hexagonal warping term.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Revised manuscript with improved analysis and figure

Analysis and Interpretation of Hard X-ray Emission from the Bullet Cluster (1E0657-56), the Most Distant Cluster of Galaxies Observed by RXTE

Evidence for non-thermal activity in clusters of galaxies is well established from radio observations of synchrotron emission by relativistic electrons. New windows in the Extreme Ultraviolet and Hard X-ray ranges have provided for more powerful tools for the investigation of this phenomenon. Detection of hard X-rays in the 20 to 100 keV range have been reported from several clusters of galaxies, notably from Coma and others. Based on these earlier observations we identified the relatively high redshift cluster 1E0657-56 (also known as RX J0658-5557) as a good candidate for hard X-ray observations. This cluster, also known as the bullet cluster, has many other interesting and unusual features, most notably that it is undergoing a merger, clearly visible in the X-ray images. Here we present results from a successful RXTE observations of this cluster. We summarize past observations and their theoretical interpretation which guided us in the selection process. We describe the new observations and present the constraints we can set on the flux and spectrum of the hard X-rays. Finally we discuss the constraints one can set on the characteristics of accelerated electrons which produce the hard X-rays and the radio radiation.Comment: Accepted by the Astrophysical Journa

Two-dimensional vortex behavior in highly underdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x} observed by scanning Hall probe microscopy

We report scanning Hall probe microscopy of highly underdoped superconducting YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x} with T_c ranging from 5 to 15 K which showed distinct flux bundles with less than one superconducting flux quantum (Phi_0) through the sample surface. The sub-Phi_0 features occurred more frequently for lower T_c, were more mobile than conventional vortices, and occurred more readily when the sample was cooled with an in-plane field component. We show that these features are consistent with kinked stacks of pancake vortices.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Examining electron-boson coupling using time-resolved spectroscopy

Nonequilibrium pump-probe time domain spectroscopies can become an important tool to disentangle degrees of freedom whose coupling leads to broad structures in the frequency domain. Here, using the time-resolved solution of a model photoexcited electron-phonon system we show that the relaxational dynamics are directly governed by the equilibrium self-energy so that the phonon frequency sets a window for "slow" versus "fast" recovery. The overall temporal structure of this relaxation spectroscopy allows for a reliable and quantitative extraction of the electron-phonon coupling strength without requiring an effective temperature model or making strong assumptions about the underlying bare electronic band dispersion.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures + Supplementary Material and movies, to appear in PR

Time-resolved pump-probe experiments at the LCLS

The first time-resolved x-ray/optical pump-probe experiments at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) used a combination of feedback methods and post-analysis binning techniques to synchronize an ultrafast optical laser to the linac-based x-ray laser. Transient molecular nitrogen alignment revival features were resolved in time-dependent x-ray-induced fragmentation spectra. These alignment features were used to find the temporal overlap of the pump and probe pulses. The strong-field dissociation of x-ray generated quasi-bound molecular dications was used to establish the residual timing jitter. This analysis shows that the relative arrival time of the Ti:Sapphire laser and the x-ray pulses had a distribution with a standard deviation of approximately 120 fs. The largest contribution to the jitter noise spectrum was the locking of the laser oscillator to the reference RF of the accelerator, which suggests that simple technical improvements could reduce the jitter to better than 50 fs

On the Energy Spectra of GeV/TeV Cosmic Ray Leptons

Recent observations of cosmic ray electrons from several instruments have revealed various degrees of deviation in the measured electron energy distribution from a simple power-law, in a form of an excess around 0.1 to 1 TeV energies. An even more prominent deviation and excess has been observed in the fraction of cosmic ray positrons around 10 and 100 GeV energies. These observations have received considerable attention and many theoretical models have been proposed to explain them. The models rely on either dark matter annihilation/decay or specific nearby astrophysical sources, and involve several additional assumptions regarding the dark matter distribution or particle acceleration. In this paper we show that the observed excesses in the electron spectrum may be easily reproduced without invoking any unusual sources other than the general diffuse Galactic components of cosmic rays. The model presented here assumes a power-law injection of electrons (and protons) by supernova remnants, and evaluates their expected energy spectrum based on a simple kinetic equation describing the propagation of charged particles in the interstellar medium. The primary physical effect involved is the Klein-Nishina suppression of the electron cooling rate around TeV energies. With a very reasonable choice of the model parameters characterizing the local interstellar medium, we can reproduce the most recent observations by Fermi and HESS experiments. Interestingly, in our model the injection spectral index of cosmic ray electrons becomes comparable to, or even equal to that of cosmic ray protons. The Klein-Nishina effect may also affect the propagation of the secondary e{sup {+-}} pairs, and therefore modify the cosmic ray positron-to-electron ratio. We have explored this possibility by considering two mechanisms for production of e{sup {+-}} pairs within the Galaxy. The first is due to the decay of {pi}{sup {+-}}'s produced by interaction of cosmic ray nuclei with ambient protons. The second source discussed here is due to the annihilation of the diffuse Galactic {gamma}-rays on the stellar photon field. We find that high positron fraction increasing with energy, as claimed by the PAMELA experiment, cannot be explained in our model with the conservative set of the model parameters. We are able, however, to reproduce the PAMELA (as well as Fermi and HESS) results assuming high values of the starlight and interstellar gas densities, which would be more appropriate for vicinities of supernova remnants. A possible solution to this problem may be that cosmic rays undergo most of their interactions near their sources due to the efficient trapping in the far upstream of supernova shocks by self-generated, cosmic ray-driven turbulence

On the Radio and Optical Luminosity Evolution of Quasars

We calculate simultaneously the radio and optical luminosity evolutions of quasars, and the distribution in radio loudness R defined as the ratio of radio and optical luminosities, using a flux limited data set containing 636 quasars with radio and optical fluxes from White et al. We first note that when dealing with multivariate data it is imperative to first determine the true correlations among the variables, not those introduced by the observational selection effects, before obtaining the individual distributions of the variables. We use the methods developed by Efron and Petrosian which are designed to obtain unbiased correlations, distributions, and evolution with redshift from a data set truncated due to observational biases. It is found that the population of quasars exhibits strong positive correlation between the radio and optical luminosities. With this correlation, whether intrinsic or observationally induced accounted for, we find that there is a strong luminosity evolution with redshift in both wavebands, with significantly higher radio than optical evolution. We also construct the local radio and optical luminosity functions and the density evolution. Finally, we consider the distribution of the radio loudness parameter R obtained from careful treatment of the selection effects and luminosity evolutions with that obtained from the raw data without such considerations. We find a significant difference between the two distributions and no clear sign of bi-modality in the true distribution for the range of R values considered. Our results indicate therefore, somewhat surprisingly, that there is no critical switch in the efficiency of the production of disk outflows/jets between very radio quiet and very radio loud quasars, but rather a smooth transition. Also, this efficiency seems higher for the high-redshift and more luminous sources in the considered sample.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, accepted to ApJ, updated to in press versio

Imaging nonequilibrium atomic vibrations with x-ray diffuse scattering

For over a century, x-ray scattering has been the most powerful tool for determining the equilibrium structure of crystalline materials. Deviations from perfect periodicity, for example due to thermal motion of the atoms, reduces the intensity of the Bragg peaks as well as produces structure in the diffuse scattering background. Analysis of the thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) had been used to determine interatomic force constants and phonon dispersion in relatively simple cases before inelastic neutron scattering became the preferred technique to study lattice dynamics. With the advent of intense synchrotron x-ray sources, there was a renewed interest in TDS for measuring phonon dispersion. The relatively short x-ray pulses emanating from these sources also enables the measurement of phonon dynamics in the time domain. Prior experiments on nonequilibrium phonons were either limited by time-resolution and/or to relatively long wavelength excitations. Here we present the first images of nonequilibrium phonons throughout the Brillouin zone in photoexcited III-V semiconductors, indium-phosphide and indium-antimonide, using picosecond time-resolved diffuse scattering. In each case, we find that the lattice remain out of equilibrium for several hundred picoseconds up to nanoseconds after laser excitation. The non-equilibrium population is dominated by transverse acoustic phonons which in InP are directed along high-symmetry directions. The results have wide implications for the detailed study of electron-phonon and phonon-phonon coupling in solids.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

THz Pump and X-Ray Probe Development at LCLS

We report on measurements of broadband, intense, coherent transition radiation at terahertz frequencies, generated as the highly compressed electron bunches in Linear Coherent Light Source (LCLS) pass through a thin metal foil. The foil is inserted at 45{sup o} to the electron beam, 31 m downstream of the undulator. The THz emission passes downward through a diamond window to an optical table below the beamline. A fully compressed 350-pC bunch produces up to 0.5 mJ in a nearly half-cycle pulse of 50 fs FWHM with a spectrum peaking at 10 THz. We estimate a peak field at the focus of over 2.5 GV/m. A 20-fs Ti:sapphire laser oscillator has recently been installed for electro-optic measurements. We are developing plans to add an x-ray probe to this THz pump, by diffracting FEL x rays onto the table with a thin silicon crystal. The x rays would arrive with an adjustable time delay after the THz. This will provide a rapid start to user studies of materials excited by intense single-cycle pulses and will serve as a step toward a THz transport line for LCLS-II