Bose glass behavior in (Yb1−x_{1-x}Lux_x)4_4As3_3 representing the randomly diluted quantum spin-1/2 chains

The site-diluted compound (Yb$_{1-x}$Lu$_x$)$_4$As$_3$ is a scarce realization of the linear Heisenberg antiferromagnet partitioned into finite-size segments and is an ideal model compound for studying field-dependent effects of quenched disorder in the one-dimensional antiferromagnets. It differentiates from the systems studied so far in two aspects - the type of randomness and the nature of the energy gap in the pure sample. We have measured the specific heat of single-crystal (Yb$_{1-x}$Lu$_x$)$_4$As$_3$ in magnetic fields up to 19.5 T. The contribution $C_{\perp}$ arising from the magnetic subsystem in an applied magnetic field perpendicular to the chains is determined. Compared to pure Yb$_4$As$_3$, for which $C_{\perp}$ indicates a gap opening, for diluted systems a non-exponential decay is found at low temperatures which is consistent with the thermodynamic scaling of the specific heat established for a Bose-glass phase.Comment: 8 pages, 17 figures, including supplemental material, accepted for PRB rapid communicatio

High-Temperature Transport Properties of Yb4−xSmxSb3

Polycrystalline L4Sb3 (L = La, Ce, Sm, and Yb) and Yb4−x Sm x Sb3, which crystallizes in the anti-Th3P4 structure type (I-43d no. 220), were synthesized via high-temperature reaction. Structural and chemical characterization were performed by x-ray diffraction and electronic microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. Pucks were densified by spark plasma sintering. Transport property measurements showed that these compounds are n-type with low Seebeck coefficients, except for Yb4Sb3, which shows semimetallic behavior with hole conduction above 523 K. By partially substituting Yb by a trivalent rare earth we successfully improved the thermoelectric figure of merit of Yb4Sb3 up to 0.7 at 1273 K

Real-Time Monitoring of Low-Level Mixed-Waste Loading during Polyethylene Microencapsulation using Transient Infrared Spectroscopy

In polyethylene microencapsulation, low-level mixed waste (LLMW) is homogenized with molten polyethylene and extruded into containers, resulting in a lighter, lower-volume waste form than cementation and grout methods produce. Additionally, the polyethylene-based waste form solidifies by cooling, with no risk of the waste interfering with cure, as may occur with cementation and grout processes. We have demonstrated real-time monitoring of the polyethylene encapsulation process stream using a noncontact device based on transient infrared spectroscopy (TIRS). TIRS can acquire mid-infrared spectra from solid or viscous liquid process streams, such as the molten, waste-loaded polyethylene stream that exits the microencapsulation extruder. The waste loading in the stream was determined from the TIRS spectra using partial least squares techniques. The monitor has been demonstrated during the polyethylene microencapsulation of nitrate-salt LLMW and its surrogate, molten salt oxidation LLMW and its surrogate, and flyash. The monitor typically achieved a standard error of prediction for the waste loading of about 1% by weight with an analysis time under 1 minute

EVM and Achievable Data Rate Analysis of Clipped OFDM Signals in Visible Light Communication

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been considered for visible light communication (VLC) thanks to its ability to boost data rates as well as its robustness against frequency-selective fading channels. A major disadvantage of OFDM is the large dynamic range of its time-domain waveforms, making OFDM vulnerable to nonlinearity of light emitting diodes (LEDs). DC biased optical OFDM (DCO-OFDM) and asymmetrically clipped optical OFDM (ACO-OFDM) are two popular OFDM techniques developed for the VLC. In this paper, we will analyze the performance of the DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM signals in terms of error vector magnitude (EVM), signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR), and achievable data rates under both average optical power and dynamic optical power constraints. EVM is a commonly used metric to characterize distortions. We will describe an approach to numerically calculate the EVM for DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM. We will derive the optimum biasing ratio in the sense of minimizing EVM for DCO-OFDM. Additionally, we will formulate the EVM minimization problem as a convex linear optimization problem and obtain an EVM lower bound against which to compare the DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM techniques. We will prove that the ACO-OFDM can achieve the lower bound. Average optical power and dynamic optical power are two main constraints in VLC. We will derive the achievable data rates under these two constraints for both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and frequency-selective channel. We will compare the performance of DCO-OFDM and ACO-OFDM under different power constraint scenarios

Exotic radiation from a photonic crystal excited by an ultra-relativistic electron beam

We report the observation of an exotic radiation (unconventional Smith-Purcell radiation) from a one-dimensional photonic crystal. The physical origin of the exotic radiation is direct excitation of the photonic bands by an ultra-relativistic electron beam. The spectrum of the exotic radiation follows photonic bands of a certain parity, in striking contrast to the conventional Smith-Purcell radiation, which shows solely a linear dispersion. Key ingredients for the observation are the facts that the electron beam is in an ultra-relativistic region and that the photonic crystal is finite. The origin of the radiation was identified by comparison of experimental and theoretical results.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Symmetry characterization of eigenstates in opal-based photonic crystals

The complete symmetry characterization of eigenstates in bare opal systems is obtained by means of group theory. This symmetry assignment has allowed us to identify several bands that cannot couple with an incident external plane wave. Our prediction is supported by layer-KKR calculations, which are also performed: the coupling coefficients between bulk modes and externally excited field tend to zero when symmetry properties mismatch.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Probing onset of strong localization and electron-electron interactions with the presence of direct insulator-quantum Hall transition

We have performed low-temperature transport measurements on a disordered two-dimensional electron system (2DES). Features of the strong localization leading to the quantum Hall effect are observed after the 2DES undergoes a direct insulator-quantum Hall transition with increasing the perpendicular magnetic field. However, such a transition does not correspond to the onset of strong localization. The temperature dependences of the Hall resistivity and Hall conductivity reveal the importance of the electron-electron interaction effects to the observed transition in our study.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure