255 research outputs found
The role of lighter and heavier embedded nanoparticles on the thermal conductivity of SiGe alloys
We have used an atomistic {\it ab initio} approach with no adjustable
parameters to compute the lattice thermal conductivity of SiGe
with a low concentration of embedded Si or Ge nanoparticles of diameters up to
4.4 nm. Through exact Green's function calculation of the nanoparticle
scattering rates, we find that embedding Ge nanoparticles in
provides 20% lower thermal conductivities than
embedding Si nanoparticles. This contrasts with the Born approximation which
predicts an equal amount of reduction for the two cases, irrespective of the
sign of the mass difference. Despite these differences, we find that the Born
approximation still performs remarkably well, and it permits investigation of
larger nanoparticle sizes, up to 60 nm in diameter, not feasible with the exact
approach.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Doublet structures in quantum well absorption spectra due to Fano-related interference
In this theoretical investigation we predict an unusual interaction between a
discrete state and a continuum of states, which is closely related to the case
of Fano-interference. It occurs in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum well between the
lowest light-hole exciton and the continuum of the second heavy-hole exciton.
Unlike the typical case for Fano-resonance, the discrete state here is outside
the continuum; we use uniaxial stress to tune its position with respect to the
onset of the continuum. State-of-the art calculations of absorption spectra
show that as the discrete state approaches the continuum, a doublet structure
forms which reveals anticrossing behaviour. The minimum separation energy of
the anticrossing depends characteristically on the well width and is unusually
large for narrow wells. This offers striking evidence for the strong underlying
valence-band mixing. Moreover, it proves that previous explanations of similar
doublets in experimental data, employing simple two-state models, are
incomplete.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures and 5 equations. Accepted for publication in
Physical Review
Diffusion and Transport Coefficients in Synthetic Opals
Opals are structures composed of the closed packing of spheres in the size
range of nano-to-micro meter. They are sintered to create small necks at the
points of contact. We have solved the diffusion problem in such structures. The
relation between the diffusion coefficient and the termal and electrical
conductivity makes possible to estimate the transport coefficients of opal
structures. We estimate this changes as function of the neck size and the
mean-free path of the carriers. The theory presented is also applicable to the
diffusion problem in other periodic structures.Comment: Submitted to PR
Optically-controlled single-qubit rotations in self-assembled InAs quantum dots
We present a theory of the optical control of the spin of an electron in an
InAs quantum dot. We show how two Raman-detuned laser pulses can be used to
obtain arbitrary single-qubit rotations via the excitation of an intermediate
trion state. Our theory takes into account a finite in-plane hole -factor
and hole-mixing. We show that such rotations can be performed to high
fidelities with pulses lasting a few tens of picoseconds.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; minor changes, J-ref adde
Orbital current mode in elliptical quantum dots
An orbital current mode peculiar to deformed quantum dots is theoretically
investigated; first by using a simple model that allows to interpret
analytically its main characteristics, and second, by numerically solving the
microscopic equations of time evolution after an initial perturbation within
the time-dependent local-spin-density approximation. Results for different
deformations and sizes are shown.Comment: 4 REVTEX pages, 4 PDF figures, accepted in PRB:R
Relativistic three-body bound states and the reduction from four to three dimensions
Beginning with an effective field theory based upon meson exchange, the
Bethe-Salpeter equation for the three-particle propagator (six-point function)
is obtained. Using the one-boson-exchange form of the kernel, this equation is
then analyzed using time-ordered perturbation theory, and a three-dimensional
equation for the propagator is developed. The propagator consists of a
pre-factor in which the relative energies are fixed by the initial state of the
particles, an intermediate part in which only global propagation of the
particles occurs, and a post-factor in which relative energies are fixed by the
final state of the particles. The pre- and post-factors are necessary in order
to account for the transition from states where particles are off their mass
shell to states described by the global propagator with all of the particle
energies on shell. The pole structure of the intermediate part of the
propagator is used to determine the equation for the three-body bound state: a
Schr{\"o}dinger-like relativistic equation with a single, global Green's
function. The role of the pre- and post-factors in the relativistic dynamics is
to incorporate the poles of the breakup channels in the initial and final
states. The derivation of this equation by integrating over the relative times
rather than via a constraint on relative momenta allows the inclusion of
retardation and dynamical boost corrections without introducing unphysical
singularities.Comment: REVTeX, 21 pages, 4 figures, epsf.st
Center-of-Mass Properties of the Exciton in Quantum Wells
We present high-quality numerical calculations of the exciton center-of-mass
dispersion for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells of widths in the range 2-20 nm. The
k.p-coupling of the heavy- and light-hole bands is fully taken into account. An
optimized center-of-mass transformation enhances numerical convergence. We
derive an easy-to-use semi-analytical expression for the exciton groundstate
mass from an ansatz for the exciton wavefunction at finite momentum. It is
checked against the numerical results and found to give very good results. We
also show multiband calculations of the exciton groundstate dispersion using a
finite-differences scheme in real space, which can be applied to rather general
heterostructures.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures included, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Collective charge-density excitations of non-circular quantum dots in a magnetic field
Recent photoabsorption measurements have revealed a rich fine structure in
the collective charge-density excitation spectrum of few-electron quantum dots
in the presence of magnetic fields. We have performed systematic computational
studies of the far-infrared density response of quantum dots, using
time-dependent density-functional theory in the linear regime and treating the
dots as two-dimensional disks. It turns out that the main characteristics
observed in the experiment can be understood in terms of the electronic shell
structure of the quantum dots. However, new features arise if a breaking of the
circular symmetry of the dots is allowed, leading to an improved description of
the experimental results.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Magnetization of noncircular quantum dots
We calculate the magnetization of quantum dots deviating from circular
symmetry for noninteracting electrons or electrons interacting according to the
Hartree approximation. For few electrons the magnetization is found to depend
on their number, and the shape of the dot. The magnetization is an ideal probe
into the many-electron state of a quantum dot.Comment: 11 RevTeX pages with 6 included Postscript figure
Magnetoplasmon excitations in arrays of circular and noncircular quantum dots
We have investigated the magnetoplasmon excitations in arrays of circular and
noncircular quantum dots within the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-von Weizs\"acker
approximation. Deviations from the ideal collective excitations of isolated
parabolically confined electrons arise from local perturbations of the
confining potential as well as interdot Coulomb interactions. The latter are
unimportant unless the interdot separations are of the order of the size of the
dots. Local perturbations such as radial anharmonicity and noncircular symmetry
lead to clear signatures of the violation of the generalized Kohn theorem. In
particular, the reduction of the local symmetry from SO(2) to results in
a resonant coupling of different modes and an observable anticrossing behaviour
in the power absorption spectrum. Our results are in good agreement with recent
far-infrared (FIR) transmission experiments.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, typeset in RevTe
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