Bulk and interface quantum states of electrons in multi-layer heterostructures with topological materials.

In this article we describe the bulk and interface quantum states of electrons in multi-layer heterostructures in one dimension, consisting of topological insulators (TIs) and topologically trivial materials. We use and extend an effective four-band continuum Hamiltonian by introducing position dependence to the eight material parameters of the Hamiltonian. We are able to demonstrate complete conduction-valence band mixing in the interface states. We find evidence for topological features of bulk states of multi-layer TI heterostructures, as well as demonstrating both complete and incomplete conduction-valence band inversion at different bulk state energies. We show that the linear k z terms in the low-energy Hamiltonian, arising from overlap of p z orbitals between different atomic layers in the case of chalcogenides, control the amount of tunneling from TIs to trivial insulators. Finally, we show that the same linear k z terms in the low-energy Hamiltonian affect the material's ability to form the localised interface state, and we demonstrate that due to this effect the spin and probability density localisation in a thin film of Sb2Te3 is incomplete. We show that changing the parameter that controls the magnitude of the overlap of p z orbitals affects the transport characteristics of the topologically conducting states, with incomplete topological state localisation resulting in increased backscattering

Ground-State Electronic Structure of Quasi-One-Dimensional Wires in Semiconductor Heterostructures

We apply density-functional theory, in the local-density approximation, to a quasi-one-dimensional electron gas in order to quantify the effect of Coulomb and correlation effects in modulating and, therefore, patterning, the charge-density distribution. Our calculations are presented specifically for surface-gate-defined quasi-one-dimensional quantum wires in a GaAs-(AlGa)As heterostructure, but we expect our results to apply more generally for other low-dimensional semiconductor systems. We show that at high densities with strong confinement, screening of electrons in the direction transverse to the wire is efficient and density modulations are not visible. In the low-density, weak-confinement regime, the exchange-correlation potential induces small density modulations as the electrons are depleted from the wire. At the weakest confinements and lowest densities, the electron density splits into two rows, thereby forming a pair of quantum wires that lies beneath the surface gates. An additional double-well external potential forms at very low density which enhances this row-splitting phenomenon. We produce phase diagrams that show a transition between the presence of a single quantum wire in a split-gate structure and two quantum wires. We suggest that this phenomenon can be used to pattern and modulate the electron density in low-dimensional structures with particular application to systems where a proximity effect from a surface gate is valuable

Quantum counterfactual communication without a weak trace

The classical theories of communication rely on the assumption that there has to be a flow of particles from Bob to Alice in order for him to send a message to her. We develop a quantum protocol that allows Alice to perceive Bob's message "counterfactually"; that is, without Alice receiving any particles that have interacted with Bob. By utilizing a setup built on results from interaction-free measurements, we outline a communication protocol whereby the information travels in the opposite direction of the emitted particles. In comparison to previous attempts on such protocols, this one is such that a weak measurement at the message source would not leave a weak trace that could be detected by Alice's receiver. While some interaction-free schemes require a large number of carefully aligned beam splitters, our protocol is realizable with two or more beam splitters. We demonstrate this protocol by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a Hamiltonian that implements this quantum counterfactual phenomenon.This work was supported by an EPSRC DTA grant and the Cambridge Laboratory of Hitachi Limited via Project for Developing Innovation Systems of the MEXT in Japan

Analysis of a capped carbon nanotube by linear-scaling density-functional theory.

The apex region of a capped (5,5) carbon nanotube (CNT) has been modelled with the DFT package ONETEP, using boundary conditions provided by a classical calculation with a conducting surface in place of the CNT. Results from the DFT solution include the Fermi level and the physical distribution and energies of individual orbitals for the CNT tip. Application of an external electric field changes the orbital number of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and consequently changes its distribution on the CNT

Evaluation of counterfactuality in counterfactual communication protocols

We provide an in-depth investigation of parameter estimation in nested Mach-Zehnder interferometers (NMZIs) using two information measures: the Fisher information and the Shannon mutual information. Protocols for counterfactual communication have, so far, been based on two different definitions of counterfactuality. In particular, some schemes have been based on NMZI devices, and have recently been subject to criticism. We provide a methodology for evaluating the counterfactuality of these protocols, based on an information-theoretical framework. More specifically, we make the assumption that any realistic quantum channel in MZI structures will have some weak uncontrolled interaction. We then use the Fisher information of this interaction to measure counterfactual violations. The measure is used to evaluate the suggested counterfactual communication protocol of H. Salih et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 170502 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.110.170502]. The protocol of D. R. M. Arvidsson-Shukur and C. H. W. Barnes [Phys. Rev. A 94, 062303 (2016)2469-992610.1103/PhysRevA.94.062303], based on a different definition, is evaluated with a probability measure. Our results show that the definition of Arvidsson-Shukur and Barnes is satisfied by their scheme, while that of Salih et al. is only satisfied by perfect quantum channels. For realistic devices the latter protocol does not achieve its objective

Field-dependent Behavior of AC Susceptibility in [Y<inf>0.8</inf>Ca<inf>0.2</inf>](Ba<inf>0.5</inf>Sr<inf>0.5</inf>)<inf>2</inf>Cu<inf>3</inf>O<inf>7−δ</inf>

The AC susceptibility of [Y0.8Ca0.2](Ba0.5Sr0.5)2 Cu3O7−δ was investigated as a function of frequency and amplitude of AC magnetic field. The susceptibilities of the sample display the field amplitude dependence. The peak temperature (Tp) of its imaginary part shows not frequency dependence but field amplitude dependence. The frequency effect on AC susceptibility was negligible. As the field amplitude increases, Tp shifts to lower temperature. This effect can be interpreted in terms of bulk pinning hysteresis loss due to the vortices motion in/out grain boundary.The work in Peru has been supported by the Superior Council of Research of the National University of San Marcos (Grant No. 151301031). This work was also supported by the National Research Foundation of President Post-doctoral fellowship Program (NRF-2013R1A6A3A060443). “L. De Los Santos thanks the Ministry of the Production “Programa Nacional de Innovacion´ para la Competitividad y Productividad” for financial support (Project ECIP-1-P-069-14)”.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10948-015-3238-

Electrically tunable spin injector free from the impedance mismatch problem

Injection of spin currents into solids is crucial for exploring spin physics and spintronics. There has been significant progress in recent years in spin injection into high-resistivity materials, for example, semiconductors and organic materials, which uses tunnel barriers to circumvent the impedance mismatch problem; the impedance mismatch between ferromagnetic metals and high-resistivity materials drastically limits the spin-injection efficiency. However, because of this problem, there is no route for spin injection into these materials through low-resistivity interfaces, that is, Ohmic contacts, even though this promises an easy and versatile pathway for spin injection without the need for growing high-quality tunnel barriers. Here we show experimental evidence that spin pumping enables spin injection free from this condition; room-temperature spin injection into GaAs from Ni81Fe19 through an Ohmic contact is demonstrated through dynamical spin exchange. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this exchange can be controlled electrically by applying a bias voltage across a Ni81Fe19/GaAs interface, enabling electric tuning of the spin-pumping efficiency

Transparent and flexible polymerized graphite oxide thin film with frequency-dependent dielectric constant

Here we report on the preparation of transparent and flexible polymerized graphite oxide, which is composed of carbons with sp3-hybridized orbitals and a non-planar ring structure, and which demonstrates dispersion in its dielectric constant at room temperature. This frequency dependence renders the material suitable for creating miniaturized, flexible, and transparent variable capacitors, allowing for smaller and simpler integrated electronic devices. We discuss this polarizability in terms of space charge effects

Weak localization and weak antilocalization in doped germanium epilayers

The magnetoresistance of 50 nm thick epilayers of doped germanium is measured at a range of temperatures down to 1.6 K. Both n- and p-type devices show quantum corrections to the conductivity in an applied magnetic field, with n-type devices displaying weak localization and p-type devices showing weak antilocalization. From fits to these data using the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka model, the phase coherence length of each device is extracted, as well as the spin diffusion length of the p-type device. We obtain phase coherence lengths as large as 325 nm in the highly doped n-type device, presenting possible applications in quantum technologies. The decay of the phase coherence length with temperature is found to obey the same power law of lφ∝Tc, where c=-0.68±0.03, for each device, in spite of the clear differences in the nature of the conduction. In the p-type device, the measured spin diffusion length does not change over the range of temperatures for which weak antilocalization can be observed. The presence of a spin-orbit interaction manifested as weak antilocalization in the p-type epilayer suggests that these structures could be developed for use in spintronic devices such as the spin-FET, where significant spin lifetimes would be important for efficient device operation.This work was supported by the EPSRC funded “Spintronic device physics in Si/Ge heterostructures” EP/J003263/1 and EP/J003638/1 projects and a Platform Grant No. EP/J001074/1

Energy-dependent tunneling from few-electron dynamic quantum dots

We measure the electron escape rate from surface-acoustic-wave dynamic quantum dots (QDs) through a tunnel barrier. Rate equations are used to extract the tunneling rates, which change by an order of magnitude with tunnel-barrier-gate voltage. We find that the tunneling rates depend on the number of electrons in each dynamic QD because of Coulomb energy. By comparing this dependence to a saddle-point-potential model, the addition energies of the second and third electron in each dynamic QD are estimated. The scale (similar to a few meV) is comparable to those in static QDs as expected