15,510 research outputs found
First results of observations of transient pulsar SAXJ2103.5+4545 with the INTEGRAL observatory
We present preliminary results of observations of X-ray pulsar SAX
J2103.5+4545 with INTEGRAL observatory in Dec 2002. Maps of this sky region in
energy bands 3-10, 15-40, 40-100 and 100-200 keV are presented. The source is
significantly detected up to energies of keV. The hard X-ray flux in
the 15-100 energy band is variable, that could be connected with the orbital
phase of the binary system. We roughly reconstructed the source spectrum using
its comparison to that of Crab nebula. It is shown that the parameters of the
source spectrum in 18-150 keV energy range are compatible with that obtained
earlier by RXTE observatoryComment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomy Letter
Optical orientation of electron spins in GaAs quantum wells
We present a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of the optical
orientation of electron spins in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells. Using time and
polarization resolved photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, the initial
degree of electron spin polarization is measured as a function of excitation
energy for a sequence of quantum wells with well widths between 63 Ang and 198
Ang. The experimental results are compared with an accurate theory of excitonic
absorption taking fully into account electron-hole Coulomb correlations and
heavy-hole light-hole coupling. We find in wide quantum wells that the measured
initial degree of polarization of the luminescence follows closely the spin
polarization of the optically excited electrons calculated as a function of
energy. This implies that the orientation of the electron spins is essentially
preserved when the electrons relax from the optically excited high-energy
states to quasi-thermal equilibrium of their momenta. Due to initial spin
relaxation, the measured polarization in narrow quantum wells is reduced by a
constant factor that does not depend on the excitation energy.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Side-jumps in the spin-Hall effect: construction of the Boltzmann collision integral
We present a systematic derivation of the side-jump contribution to the
spin-Hall current in systems without band structure spin-orbit interactions,
focusing on the construction of the collision integral for the Boltzmann
equation. Starting from the quantum Liouville equation for the density operator
we derive an equation describing the dynamics of the density matrix in the
first Born approximation and to first order in the driving electric field.
Elastic scattering requires conservation of the total energy, including the
spin-orbit interaction energy with the electric field: this results in a first
correction to the customary collision integral found in the Born approximation.
A second correction is due to the change in the carrier position during
collisions. It stems from the part of the density matrix off-diagonal in wave
vector. The two corrections to the collision integral add up and are
responsible for the total side-jump contribution to the spin-Hall current. The
spin-orbit-induced correction to the velocity operator also contains terms
diagonal and off-diagonal in momentum space, which together involve the total
force acting on the system. This force is explicitly shown to vanish (on the
average) in the steady state: thus the total contribution to the spin-Hall
current due to the additional terms in the velocity operator is zero.Comment: Added references, expanded discussion, revised introductio
Hybridization and spin decoherence in heavy-hole quantum dots
We theoretically investigate the spin dynamics of a heavy hole confined to an
unstrained III-V semiconductor quantum dot and interacting with a narrowed
nuclear-spin bath. We show that band hybridization leads to an exponential
decay of hole-spin superpositions due to hyperfine-mediated nuclear pair flips,
and that the accordant single-hole-spin decoherence time T2 can be tuned over
many orders of magnitude by changing external parameters. In particular, we
show that, under experimentally accessible conditions, it is possible to
suppress hyperfine-mediated nuclear-pair-flip processes so strongly that
hole-spin quantum dots may be operated beyond the `ultimate limitation' set by
the hyperfine interaction which is present in other spin-qubit candidate
systems.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Effect of strain on hyperfine-induced hole-spin decoherence in quantum dots
We theoretically consider the effect of strain on the spin dynamics of a
single heavy-hole (HH) confined to a self-assembled quantum dot and interacting
with the surrounding nuclei via hyperfine interaction. Confinement and strain
hybridize the HH states, which show an exponential decay for a narrowed nuclear
spin bath. For different strain configurations within the dot, the dependence
of the spin decoherence time on external parameters is shifted and the
non-monotonic dependence of the peak is altered. Application of external strain
yields considerable shifts in the dependence of on external parameters.
We find that external strain affects mostly the effective hyperfine coupling
strength of the conduction band (CB), indicating that the CB admixture of the
hybridized HH states plays a crucial role in the sensitivity of on
strain
Semiflexible polymers under external fields confined to two dimensions
The non-equilibrium structural and dynamical properties of semiflexible
polymers confined to two dimensions are investigated by molecular dynamics
simulations. Three different scenarios are considered: The force-extension
relation of tethered polymers, the relaxation of an initially stretched
semiflexible polymer, and semiflexible polymers under shear flow. We find
quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions for the force-extension
relation and the time dependence of the entropically contracting polymer. The
semiflexible polymers under shear flow exhibit significant conformational
changes at large shear rates, where less stiff polymers are extended by the
flow, whereas rather stiff polymers are contracted. In addition, the polymers
are aligned by the flow, thereby the two-dimensional semiflexible polymers
behave similarly to flexible polymers in three dimensions. The tumbling times
display a power-law dependence at high shear rate rates with an exponent
comparable to the one of flexible polymers in three-dimensional systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Chem. Phy
Spin Density Matrix of Spin-3/2 Hole Systems
For hole systems with an effective spin j=3/2, we present an invariant
decomposition of the spin density matrix that can be interpreted as a multipole
expansion. The charge density corresponds to the monopole moment and the spin
polarization due to a magnetic field corresponds to a dipole moment while heavy
hole-light hole splitting can be interpreted as a quadrupole moment. For quasi
two-dimensional hole systems in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field B
the spin polarization is a higher-order effect that is typically much smaller
than one even if the minority spin subband is completely depopulated. On the
other hand, the field B can induce a substantial octupole moment which is a
unique feature of j=3/2 hole systems.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 3 table
Quantum Hamiltonian for gravitational collapse
Using a Hamiltonian formulation of the spherically symmetric gravity-scalar
field theory adapted to flat spatial slicing, we give a construction of the
reduced Hamiltonian operator. This Hamiltonian, together with the null
expansion operators presented in an earlier work, form a framework for studying
gravitational collapse in quantum gravity. We describe a setting for its
numerical implementation, and discuss some conceptual issues associated with
quantum dynamics in a partial gauge fixing.Comment: 17 pages, published version (minor changes
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