14 research outputs found
Phonon-mediated thermal conductance of mesoscopic wires with rough edges
We present an analysis of acoustic phonon propagation through long,
free-standing, insulating wires with rough surfaces. Due to a crossover from
ballistic propagation of the lowest-frequency phonon mode at to a diffusive (or even localized) behavior upon the increase of
phonon frequency, followed by re-entrance into the quasi-ballistic regime, the
heat conductance of a wire acquires an intermediate tendency to saturate within
the temperature range .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures included; minor changes and corrections, figures 1
and 2 replaced by better versions; to appear in PRB Brief Report
Quantum energy flow in mesoscopic dielectric structures
We investigate the phononic energy transport properties of mesoscopic,
suspended dielectric wires. The Landauer formula for the thermal conductance is
derived and its universal aspects discussed. We then determine the variance of
the energy current in the presence of a steady state current flow. In the final
part, some initial results are presented concerning the nature of the
temperature fluctuations of a mesoscopic electron gas thermometer due to the
absorption and emission of wire phonons.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Thermopower of a 2D electron gas in suspended AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures
We present thermopower measurements on a high electron mobility
two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a thin suspended membrane.We show that
the small dimension of the membrane substantially reduces the thermal
conductivity compared to bulk material so that it is possible to establish a
strong thermal gradient along the 2DEG even at a distance of few micrometers.
We find that the zero-field thermopower is significantly affected by the micro
patterning. In contrast to 2DEGs incorporated in a bulk material, the diffusion
contribution to the thermopower stays dominant up to a temperature of 7 K until
the phonon-drag becomes strong and governs the run of the thermopower. We also
find that the coupling between electrons and phonons in the phonon-drag regime
is due to screened deformation potentials, in contrast to piezoelectric
coupling found with bulk phonons.Comment: 7 page
Theory of Two-Dimensional Josephson Arrays in a Resonant Cavity
We consider the dynamics of a two-dimensional array of underdamped Josephson
junctions placed in a single-mode resonant cavity. Starting from a well-defined
model Hamiltonian, which includes the effects of driving current and
dissipative coupling to a heat bath, we write down the Heisenberg equations of
motion for the variables of the Josephson junction and the cavity mode,
extending our previous one-dimensional model. In the limit of large numbers of
photons, these equations can be expressed as coupled differential equations and
can be solved numerically. The numerical results show many features similar to
experiment. These include (i) self-induced resonant steps (SIRS's) at voltages
V = (n hbar Omega)/(2e), where Omega is the cavity frequency, and n is
generally an integer; (ii) a threshold number N_c of active rows of junctions
above which the array is coherent; and (iii) a time-averaged cavity energy
which is quadratic in the number of active junctions, when the array is above
threshold. Some differences between the observed and calculated threshold
behavior are also observed in the simulations and discussed. In two dimensions,
we find a conspicuous polarization effect: if the cavity mode is polarized
perpendicular to the direction of current injection in a square array, it does
not couple to the array and there is no power radiated into the cavity. We
speculate that the perpendicular polarization would couple to the array, in the
presence of magnetic-field-induced frustration. Finally, when the array is
biased on a SIRS, then, for given junction parameters, the power radiated into
the array is found to vary as the square of the number of active junctions,
consistent with expectations for a coherent radiation.Comment: 11 pages, 8 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev
Nonlinear Viscous Vortex Motion in Two-Dimensional Josephson-Junction Arrays
When a vortex in a two-dimensional Josephson junction array is driven by a
constant external current it may move as a particle in a viscous medium. Here
we study the nature of this viscous motion. We model the junctions in a square
array as resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junctions and carry out
numerical calculations of the current-voltage characteristics. We find that the
current-voltage characteristics in the damped regime are well described by a
model with a {\bf nonlinear} viscous force of the form , where is the vortex velocity,
is the velocity dependent viscosity and and are
constants for a fixed value of the Stewart-McCumber parameter. This result is
found to apply also for triangular lattices in the overdamped regime. Further
qualitative understanding of the nature of the nonlinear friction on the vortex
motion is obtained from a graphic analysis of the microscopic vortex dynamics
in the array. The consequences of having this type of nonlinear friction law
are discussed and compared to previous theoretical and experimental studies.Comment: 14 pages RevTex, 9 Postscript figure
Row-switched states in two-dimensional underdamped Josephson junction arrays
When magnetic flux moves across layered or granular superconductor
structures, the passage of vortices can take place along channels which develop
finite voltage, while the rest of the material remains in the zero-voltage
state. We present analytical studies of an example of such mixed dynamics: the
row-switched (RS) states in underdamped two-dimensional Josephson arrays,
driven by a uniform DC current under external magnetic field but neglecting
self-fields. The governing equations are cast into a compact
differential-algebraic system which describes the dynamics of an assembly of
Josephson oscillators coupled through the mesh current. We carry out a formal
perturbation expansion, and obtain the DC and AC spatial distributions of the
junction phases and induced circulating currents. We also estimate the interval
of the driving current in which a given RS state is stable. All these
analytical predictions compare well with our numerics. We then combine these
results to deduce the parameter region (in the damping coefficient versus
magnetic field plane) where RS states can exist.Comment: latex, 48 pages, 15 figs using psfi
Arches and contact forces in a granular pile
Assemblies of granular particles mechanically stable under their own weight
contain arches. These are structural units identified as sets of mutually
stable grains. It is generally assumed that these arches shield the weight
above them and should bear most of the stress in the system. We test such
hypothesis by studying the stress born by in-arch and out-of-arch grains. We
show that, indeed, particles in arches withstand larger stresses. In
particular, the isotropic stress tends to be larger for in-arch-grains whereas
the anisotropic component is marginally distinguishable between the two types
of particles. The contact force distributions demonstrate that an exponential
tail (compatible with the maximization of entropy under no extra constraints)
is followed only by the out-of-arch contacts. In-arch contacts seem to be
compatible with a Gaussian distribution consistent with a recently introduced
approach that takes into account constraints imposed by the local force balance
on grains.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, major revisio
Magnetotransport measurements on freely suspended two-dimensional electron gases
We present magnetotransport measurements on freely suspended two-dimensional electron gases from AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures. The technique to realize such devices relies on a specially molecular beam epitaxy grown GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs-heterostructure, including a sacrificial layer. We fabricated simple mini-Hall-bars as well as quantum cavities and quantum dot systems. We find well-pronounced Shubnikovâde Haas oscillations and observe commensurability resonances, allowing characterization of the electron gas in these 100-nm thin membranes