Possible effect of collective modes in zero magnetic field transport in an electron-hole bilayer

We report single layer resistivities of 2-dimensional electron and hole gases in an electron-hole bilayer with a 10nm barrier. In a regime where the interlayer interaction is stronger than the intralayer interaction, we find that an insulating state ($d\rho/dT < 0$) emerges at $T\sim1.5{\rm K}$ or lower, when both the layers are simultaneously present. This happens deep in the $"$metallic" regime, even in layers with $k_{F}l>500$, thus making conventional mechanisms of localisation due to disorder improbable. We suggest that this insulating state may be due to a charge density wave phase, as has been expected in electron-hole bilayers from the Singwi-Tosi-Land-Sj\"olander approximation based calculations of L. Liu {\it et al} [{\em Phys. Rev. B}, {\bf 53}, 7923 (1996)]. Our results are also in qualitative agreement with recent Path-Integral-Monte-Carlo simulations of a two component plasma in the low temperature regime [ P. Ludwig {\it et al}. {\em Contrib. Plasma Physics} {\bf 47}, No. 4-5, 335 (2007)]Comment: 5 pages + 3 EPS figures (replaced with published version

Herschel-SPIRE-Fourier Transform Spectroscopy of the nearby spiral galaxy IC342

We present observations of the nearby spiral galaxy IC342 with the Herschel Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) Fourier Transform Spectrometer. The spectral range afforded by SPIRE, 196-671 microns, allows us to access a number of 12CO lines from J=4--3 to J=13--12 with the highest J transitions observed for the first time. In addition we present measurements of 13CO, [CI] and [NII]. We use a radiative transfer code coupled with Bayesian likelihood analysis to model and constrain the temperature, density and column density of the gas. We find two 12CO components, one at 35 K and one at 400 K with CO column densities of 6.3x10^{17} cm^{-2} and 0.4x10^{17} cm^{-2} and CO gas masses of 1.26x10^{7} Msolar and 0.15x10^{7} Msolar, for the cold and warm components, respectively. The inclusion of the high-J 12CO line observations, indicate the existence of a much warmer gas component (~400 K) confirming earlier findings from H_{2} rotational line analysis from ISO and Spitzer. The mass of the warm gas is 10% of the cold gas, but it likely dominates the CO luminosity. In addition, we detect strong emission from [NII] 205microns and the {3}P_{1}->{3}P_{0} and {3}P_{2} ->{3}P_{1} [CI] lines at 370 and 608 microns, respectively. The measured 12CO line ratios can be explained by Photon-dominated region (PDR) models although additional heating by e.g. cosmic rays cannot be excluded. The measured [CI] line ratio together with the derived [C] column density of 2.1x10^{17} cm^{-2} and the fact that [CI] is weaker than CO emission in IC342 suggests that [CI] likely arises in a thin layer on the outside of the CO emitting molecular clouds consistent with PDRs playing an important role.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS

Switching between attractive and repulsive Coulomb-interaction-mediated drag in an ambipolar GaAs/AlGaAs bilayer device

We present measurements of Coulomb drag in an ambipolar GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum well structure that can be configured as both an electron-hole bilayer and a hole-hole bilayer, with an insulating barrier of only 10 nm between the two quantum wells. The Coulomb drag resistivity is a direct measure of the strength of the interlayer particle-particle interactions. We explore the strongly interacting regime of low carrier densities (2D interaction parameter $r_s$ up to 14). Our ambipolar device design allows comparison between the effects of the attractive electron-hole and repulsive hole-hole interactions, and also shows the effects of the different effective masses of electrons and holes in GaAs.This work was financially supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. A.F.C. acknowledges financial support from Trinity College, Cambridge, and IF from Toshiba Research Europe.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Institute of Physics via http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.494176

Linear non-hysteretic gating of a very high density 2DEG in an undoped metal-semiconductor-metal sandwich structure

Modulation doped GaAs-AlGaAs quantum well based structures are usually used to achieve very high mobility 2-dimensional electron (or hole) gases. Usually high mobilities ($>10^{7}{\rm{cm}^{2}\rm{V}^{-1}\rm{s}^{-1}}$) are achieved at high densities. A loss of linear gateability is often associated with the highest mobilites, on account of a some residual hopping or parallel conduction in the doped regions. We have developed a method of using fully undoped GaAs-AlGaAs quantum wells, where densities $\approx{6\times10^{11}\rm{cm}^{-2}}$ can be achieved while maintaining fully linear and non-hysteretic gateability. We use these devices to understand the possible mobility limiting mechanisms at very high densities.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure

Dissecting the origin of the submillimeter emission in nearby galaxies with Herschel and LABOCA

We model the infrared to submillimeter spectral energy distribution of 11 nearby galaxies of the KINGFISH sample using Spitzer and Herschel data and compare model extrapolations at 870um (using different fitting techniques) with LABOCA 870um observations. We investigate how the differences between predictions and observations vary with model assumptions or environment. At global scales, we find that modified blackbody models using realistic cold emissivity indices (beta_c=2 or 1.5) are able to reproduce the 870um observed emission within the uncertainties for most of the sample. Low values (beta_c<1.3) would be required in NGC0337, NGC1512 and NGC7793. At local scales, we observe a systematic 870um excess when using beta_=2.0. The beta_c=1.5 or the Draine and Li (2007) models can reconcile predictions with observations in part of the disks. Some of the remaining excesses occur towards the centres and can be partly or fully accounted for by non-dust contributions such as CO(3-2) or, to a lesser extent, free-free or synchrotron emission. In three non-barred galaxies, the remaining excesses rather occur in the disk outskirts. This could be a sign of a flattening of the submm slope (and decrease of the effective emissivity index) with radius in these objects.Comment: 31 pages (including appendix), 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Quantum condensation in electron-hole bilayers with density imbalance

We study the two-dimensional spatially separated electron-hole system with density imbalance at absolute zero temperature. By means of the mean-field theory, we find that the Fulde-Ferrell state is fairly stabilized by the order parameter mixing effect.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Anomalous Coulomb Drag in Electron-Hole Bilayers

We report Coulomb drag measurements on GaAs-AlGaAs electron-hole bilayers. The two layers are separated by a 10 or 25 nm barrier. Below T approximate to 1 K we find two features that a Fermi-liquid picture cannot explain. First, the drag on the hole layer shows an upturn, which may be followed by a downturn. Second, the effect is either absent or much weaker in the electron layer, even though the measurements are within the linear response regime. Correlated phases have been anticipated in these, but surprisingly, the experimental results appear to contradict Onsager's reciprocity theorem

A Study of Heating and Cooling of the ISM in NGC 1097 with Herschel-PACS and Spitzer-IRS

NGC 1097 is a nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy with a bright circumnuclear starburst ring, a strong large-scale bar and an active nucleus. We present a detailed study of the spatial variation of the far infrared (FIR) [CII]158um and [OI]63um lines and mid-infrared H2 emission lines as tracers of gas cooling, and of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bands as tracers of the photoelectric heating, using Herschel-PACS, and Spitzer-IRS infrared spectral maps. We focus on the nucleus and the ring, and two star forming regions (Enuc N and Enuc S). We estimated a photoelectric gas heating efficiency ([CII]158um+[OI]63um)/PAH in the ring about 50% lower than in Enuc N and S. The average 11.3/7.7um PAH ratio is also lower in the ring, which may suggest a larger fraction of ionized PAHs, but no clear correlation with [CII]158{\mu}m/PAH(5.5 - 14um) is found. PAHs in the ring are responsible for a factor of two more [CII]158um and [OI]63um emission per unit mass than PAHs in the Enuc S. SED modeling indicates that at most 25% of the FIR power in the ring and Enuc S can come from high intensity photodissociation regions (PDRs), in which case G0 ~ 10^2.3 and nH ~ 10^3.5 cm^-3 in the ring. For these values of G0 and nH PDR models cannot reproduce the observed H2 emission. Much of the the H2 emission in the starburst ring could come from warm regions in the diffuse ISM that are heated by turbulent dissipation or shocks.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables; accepted for publication in Ap

Resolving the far-IR line deficit : photoelectric heating and far-IR line cooling in NGC 1097 and NGC 4559

The physical state of interstellar gas and dust is dependent on the processes which heat and cool this medium. To probe heating and cooling of the interstellar medium over a large range of infrared surface brightness, on sub-kiloparsec scales, we employ line maps of [C II] 158 mu m, [O I] 63 mu m, and [N II] 122 mu m in NGC 1097 and NGC 4559, obtained with the Photodetector Array Camera & Spectrometer on board Herschel. We matched new observations to existing Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph data that trace the total emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We confirm at small scales in these galaxies that the canonical measure of photoelectric heating efficiency, ([C II] + [O I])/TIR, decreases as the far-infrared (far-IR) color, nu f(nu)(70 mu m) nu f(nu)(100 mu m), increases. In contrast, the ratio of far-IR cooling to total PAH emission, ([C II] + [O I])/PAH, is a near constant similar to 6% over a wide range of far-IR color, 0.5 , derived from models of the IR spectral energy distribution. Emission from regions that exhibit a line deficit is characterized by an intense radiation field, indicating that small grains are susceptible to ionization effects. We note that there is a shift in the 7.7/11.3 mu m PAH ratio in regions that exhibit a deficit in ([C II] + [O I])/PAH, suggesting that small grains are ionized in these environments