14,791 research outputs found
On-board timeline validation and repair : a feasibility study
We report on the progress and outcome of a recent ESAfunded project (MMOPS) designed to explore the feasibility of on-board reasoning about payload timelines. The project sought to examine the role of on-board timeline reasoning and the operational context into which it would fit. We framed a specification for an on-board service that fits with existing practices and represents a plausible advance within sensible constraints on the progress of operations planning. We have implemented a prototype to demonstrate the feasibility of such a system and have used it to show how science gathering operations might be improved by its deployment
Probing the Melting of a Two-dimensional Quantum Wigner Crystal via its Screening Efficiency
One of the most fundamental and yet elusive collective phases of an
interacting electron system is the quantum Wigner crystal (WC), an ordered
array of electrons expected to form when the electrons' Coulomb repulsion
energy eclipses their kinetic (Fermi) energy. In low-disorder, two-dimensional
(2D) electron systems, the quantum WC is known to be favored at very low
temperatures () and small Landau level filling factors (), near the
termination of the fractional quantum Hall states. This WC phase exhibits an
insulating behavior, reflecting its pinning by the small but finite disorder
potential. An experimental determination of a vs phase diagram for
the melting of the WC, however, has proved to be challenging. Here we use
capacitance measurements to probe the 2D WC through its effective screening as
a function of and . We find that, as expected, the screening
efficiency of the pinned WC is very poor at very low and improves at higher
once the WC melts. Surprisingly, however, rather than monotonically
changing with increasing , the screening efficiency shows a well-defined
maximum at a which is close to the previously-reported melting temperature
of the WC. Our experimental results suggest a new method to map out a vs
phase diagram of the magnetic-field-induced WC precisely.Comment: The formal version is published on Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 116601
(2019
Surface segregation and the Al problem in GaAs quantum wells
Low-defect two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) are essential for studies
of fragile many-body interactions that only emerge in nearly-ideal systems. As
a result, numerous efforts have been made to improve the quality of
modulation-doped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs), with an emphasis
on purifying the source material of the QW itself or achieving better vacuum in
the deposition chamber. However, this approach overlooks another crucial
component that comprises such QWs, the AlGaAs barrier. Here we show
that having a clean Al source and hence a clean barrier is instrumental to
obtain a high-quality GaAs 2DES in a QW. We observe that the mobility of the
2DES in GaAs QWs declines as the thickness or Al content of the
AlGaAs barrier beneath the QW is increased, which we attribute to
the surface segregation of Oxygen atoms that originate from the Al source. This
conjecture is supported by the improved mobility in the GaAs QWs as the Al cell
is cleaned out by baking
Spectrophotometry of 2 complete samples of flat radio spectrum quasars
Spectrophotometry of two complete samples of flat-spectrum radio quasars show that for these objects there is a strong correlation between the equivalent width of the CIV wavelength 1550 emission line and the luminosity of the underlying continuum. Assuming Friedmann cosmologies, the scatter in this correlation is a minimum for q (sub o) is approximately 1. Alternatively, luminosity evolution can be invoked to give compact distributions for q (sub o) is approximately 0 models. A sample of Seyfert galaxies observed with IUE shows that despite some dispersion the average equivalent width of CIV wavelength 1550 in Seyfert galaxies is independent of the underlying continuum luminosity. New redshifts for 4 quasars are given
Evidence for a Fractional Quantum Hall Nematic State in Parallel Magnetic Fields
We report magneto-transport measurements for the fractional quantum Hall
state at filling factor 5/2 as a function of applied parallel magnetic
field (). As is increased, the 5/2 state becomes increasingly
anisotropic, with the in-plane resistance along the direction of
becoming more than 30 times larger than in the perpendicular direction.
Remarkably, the resistance anisotropy ratio remains constant over a relatively
large temperature range, yielding an energy gap which is the same for both
directions. Our data are qualitatively consistent with a fractional quantum
Hall \textit{nematic} phase
Reorientation of the stripe Phase of 2D Electrons by a Minute Density Modulation
Interacting two-dimensional electrons confined in a GaAs quantum well exhibit
isotropic transport when the Fermi level resides in the first excited ()
Landau level. Adding an in-plane magnetic field () typically leads to
an anisotropic, stripe-like (nematic) phase of electrons with the stripes
oriented perpendicular to the direction. Our experimental data reveal
how a periodic density modulation, induced by a surface strain grating from
strips of negative electron-beam resist, competes against the -induced
orientational order of the stripe phase. Even a minute () density
modulation is sufficient to reorient the stripes along the direction of the
surface grating.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Phase Diagrams for the = 1/2 Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in Electron Systems Confined to Symmetric, Wide GaAs Quantum Wells
We report an experimental investigation of fractional quantum Hall effect
(FQHE) at the even-denominator Landau level filling factor = 1/2 in very
high quality wide GaAs quantum wells, and at very high magnetic fields up to 45
T. The quasi-two-dimensional electron systems we study are confined to GaAs
quantum wells with widths ranging from 41 to 96 nm and have variable
densities in the range of to cm. We present several experimental phase diagrams for the
stability of the FQHE in these quantum wells. In general, for a given
, the 1/2 FQHE is stable in a limited range of intermediate densities where
it has a bilayer-like charge distribution; it makes a transition to a
compressible phase at low densities and to an insulating phase at high
densities. The densities at which the FQHE is stable are larger for
narrower quantum wells. Moreover, even a slight charge distribution asymmetry
destabilizes the FQHE and turns the electron system into a
compressible state. We also present a plot of the symmetric-to-antisymmetric
subband separation (), which characterizes the inter-layer
tunneling, vs density for various . This plot reveals that at
the boundary between the compressible and FQHE phases increases
\textit{linearly} with density for all the samples. Finally, we summarize the
experimental data in a diagram that takes into account the relative strengths
of the inter-layer and intra-layer Coulomb interactions and . We
conclude that, consistent with the conclusions of some of the previous studies,
the FQHE observed in wide GaAs quantum wells with symmetric charge
distribution is stabilized by a delicate balance between the inter-layer and
intra-layer interactions, and is very likely described by a two-component
() state.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Anisotropic Fermi Contour of (001) GaAs Holes in Parallel Magnetic Fields
We report a severe, spin-dependent, Fermi contour anisotropy induced by
parallel magnetic field in a high-mobility (001) GaAs two-dimensional hole
system. Employing commensurability oscillations created by a unidirectional,
surface-strain-induced, periodic potential modulation, we directly probe the
anisotropy of the two spin subband Fermi contours. Their areas are obtained
from the Fourier transform of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Our findings
are in semi-quantitative agreement with the results of parameter-free
calculations of the energy bands.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Observation of An Anisotropic Wigner Crystal
We report a new correlated phase of two-dimensional charged carriers in high
magnetic fields, manifested by an anisotropic insulating behavior at low
temperatures. It appears near Landau level filling factor in hole
systems confined to wide GaAs quantum wells when the sample is tilted in
magnetic field to an intermediate angle. The parallel field component
() leads to a crossing of the lowest two Landau levels, and an
elongated hole wavefunction in the direction of . Under these
conditions, the in-plane resistance exhibits an insulating behavior, with the
resistance along more than 10 times smaller than the resistance
perpendicular to . We interpret this anisotropic insulating phase as a
two-component, striped Wigner crystal
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