1,414 research outputs found
Injection statistics simulator for dynamic analysis of noise in mesoscopic devices
We present a model for electron injection from thermal reservoirs which is
applied to particle simulations of one-dimensional mesoscopic conductors. The
statistics of injected carriers is correctly described from nondegenerate to
completely degenerate conditions. The model is validated by comparing Monte
Carlo simulations with existing analytical results for the case of ballistic
conductors. An excellent agreement is found for average and noise
characteristics, in particular, the fundamental unities of electrical and
thermal conductances are exactly reproduced.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 4 PS figures, accepted Semicond. Sci. Techno
Noise suppression due to long-range Coulomb interaction: Crossover between diffusive and ballistic transport regimes
We present a Monte Carlo analysis of shot-noise suppression due to long-range
Coulomb interaction in semiconductor samples under a crossover between
diffusive and ballistic transport regimes. By varying the mean time between
collisions we find that the strong suppression observed under the ballistic
regime persists under quasi-ballistic conditions, before being washed out when
a complete diffusive regime is reached.Comment: RevTex, 3 pages, 4 figures, minor correction
Tuning the Correlation Decay in the Resistance Fluctuations of Multi-Species Networks
A new network model is proposed to describe the resistance noise
in disordered materials for a wide range of values ().
More precisely, we have considered the resistance fluctuations of a thin
resistor with granular structure in different stationary states: from nearly
equilibrium up to far from equilibrium conditions. This system has been
modelled as a network made by different species of resistors, distinguished by
their resistances, temperature coefficients and by the energies associated with
thermally activated processes of breaking and recovery. The correlation
behavior of the resistance fluctuations is analyzed as a function of the
temperature and applied current, in both the frequency and time domains. For
the noise frequency exponent, the model provides at low
currents, in the Ohmic regime, with decreasing inversely with the
temperature, and at high currents, in the non-Ohmic regime.
Since the threshold current associated with the onset of nonlinearity also
depends on the temperature, the proposed model qualitatively accounts for the
complicate behavior of versus temperature and current observed in many
experiments. Correspondingly, in the time domain, the auto-correlation function
of the resistance fluctuations displays a variety of behaviors which are tuned
by the external conditions.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, Submitted to JSTAT - Special issue SigmaPhi200
Stationary Regime of Random Resistor Networks Under Biased Percolation
The state of a 2-D random resistor network, resulting from the simultaneous
evolutions of two competing biased percolations, is studied in a wide range of
bias values. Monte Carlo simulations show that when the external current is
below the threshold value for electrical breakdown, the network reaches a
steady state with a nonlinear current-voltage characteristic. The properties of
this nonlinear regime are investigated as a function of different model
parameters. A scaling relation is found between and , where
is the average resistance, the linear regime resistance and
the threshold value for the onset of nonlinearity. The scaling exponent is
found to be independent of the model parameters. A similar scaling behavior is
also found for the relative variance of resistance fluctuations. These results
compare well with resistance measurements in composite materials performed in
the Joule regime up to breakdown.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, proceedings of the Merida Satellite Conference
STATPHYS2
06/07/1995 - Nolan Recipient Of Chemistry Awards.pdf
International audienc
Direct imaging constraints on planet populations detected by microlensing
Results from gravitational microlensing suggested the existence of a large
population of free-floating planetary mass objects. The main conclusion from
this work was partly based on constraints from a direct imaging survey. This
survey determined upper limits for the frequency of stars that harbor giant
exoplanets at large orbital separations. Aims. We want to verify to what extent
upper limits from direct imaging do indeed constrain the microlensing results.
We examine the current derivation of the upper limits used in the microlensing
study and re-analyze the data from the corresponding imaging survey. We focus
on the mass and semi-major axis ranges that are most relevant in context of the
microlensing results. We also consider new results from a recent M-dwarf
imaging survey as these objects are typically the host stars for planets
detected by microlensing. We find that the upper limits currently applied in
context of the microlensing results are probably underestimated. This means
that a larger fraction of stars than assumed may harbor gas giant planets at
larger orbital separations. Also, the way the upper limit is currently used to
estimate the fraction of free-floating objects is not strictly correct. If the
planetary surface density of giant planets around M-dwarfs is described as
df_Planet ~ a^beta da, we find that beta ~ 0.5 - 0.6 is consistent with results
from different observational studies probing semi-major axes between ~0.03 - 30
AU. Having a higher upper limit on the fraction of stars that may have gas
giant planets at orbital separations probed by the microlensing data implies
that more of the planets detected in the microlensing study are potentially
bound to stars rather than free-floating. The current observational data are
consistent with a rising planetary surface density for giant exoplanets around
M-dwarfs out to ~30 AU.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A as Research Note, 3 page
Erdheim-Chester disease : from palliative care to targeted treatment
Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a life-threatening multi-systemic non-Langerhans histiocytosis with cardiovascular complications as the leading cause of death. ECD affects the kidneys in up to 30% of cases, with fibrotic tissue deposition in the perirenal fat and renal hilum. Diagnosis is usually based on histological analysis of the pathologic tissue, which typically shows xanthogranulomatous infiltrates of foamy CD68+/CD1a-histiocytes surrounded by fibrosis. A consistent percentage of patients affected by ECD develop renal failure and hypertension as a consequence of renal artery stenosis and hydronephrosis. These conditions have been generally treated with the placement of stents and nephrostomies that frequently led to disappointing outcomes. Before the introduction of interferon-alpha (IFN\u3b1) treatment, the mortality rate was as high as 57% in the long term. Recent studies have granted new insights into the pathogenesis of ECD, which seems to bear a dual component of clonal and inflammatory disease. These advances led to use specific therapies targeting either the oncogenes (BRAFV600E) or the effectors of the immune response implicated in ECD (IL-1, TNF\u3b1). Drugs such as anakinra (recombinant human IL-1 receptor antagonist), infliximab (monoclonal antibody against TNF\u3b1) and vemurafenib (inhibitor of mutant BRAF) showed promising results in small single-centre series. Although larger trials will be needed to address the impact of these drugs on ECD prognosis and to select the most effective treatment, targeted therapies hold the premises to drastically change the outcome of this condition. \ua9 2014 The Author
Effect of long-range Coulomb interaction on shot-noise suppression in ballistic transport
We present a microscopic analysis of shot-noise suppression due to long-range
Coulomb interaction in semiconductor devices under ballistic transport
conditions. An ensemble Monte Carlo simulator self-consistently coupled with a
Poisson solver is used for the calculations. A wide range of injection-rate
densities leading to different degrees of suppression is investigated. A sharp
tendency of noise suppression at increasing injection densities is found to
scale with a dimensionless Debye length related to the importance of
space-charge effects in the structure.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 4 figures, minor correction
Strong compensation of the quantum fluctuation corrections in clean superconductor
The theory of fluctuation conductivity for an arbitrary impurity
concentration including ultra-clean limit is developed. It is demonstrated that
the formal divergency of the fluctuation density of states contribution
obtained previously for the clean case is removed by the correct treatment of
the non-local ballistic electron scattering. We show that in the ultra-clean
limit () the density-of-states quantum
corrections are canceled by the Maki-Thompson term and only quasi-classical
paraconductivity remains.Comment: 7 pages 2 figure
- …