RKKY interaction and intervalley processes in p-doped transition metal dichalcogenides

We study the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction in p-doped transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoS$_2$ and WS$_2$. We consider magnetic impurities hybridized to the Mo d-orbitals characteristic of the valence bands. Using the Matsubara Green's function formalism, we obtain the two-impurity interaction vs their separation and chemical potential of the system, accounting for the important angular dependence which reflects the underlying triangular lattice symmetry. The inclusion of the valence band valley at the $\Gamma$ point results in a strong enhancement of the interaction. Electron scattering processes transferring momentum between valleys at different symmetry points give rise to complex spatial oscillation patterns. Variable doping would allow the exploration of rather interesting behavior in the interaction of magnetic impurities on the surfaces of these materials, including the control of the interaction symmetry, which can be directly probed in STM experiments.Comment: Includes supplemental materia

Kondo screening suppression by spin-orbit interaction in quantum dots

We study the transport properties of a quantum dot embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm ring in the presence of spin-orbit interactions. Using a numerical renormalization group analysis of the system in the Kondo regime, we find that the competition of Aharonov-Bohm and spin-orbit dynamical phases induces a strong suppression of the Kondo state singlet, somewhat akin to an effective intrinsic magnetic field in the system. This effective field breaks the spin degeneracy of the localized state and produces a finite magnetic moment in the dot. By introducing an {\em in-plane} Zeeman field we show that the Kondo resonance can be fully restored, reestablishing the spin singlet and a desired spin filtering behavior in the Kondo regime, which may result in full spin polarization of the current through the ring.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Currents and pseudomagnetic fields in strained graphene rings

We study the effects of strain on the electronic properties and persistent current characteristics of a graphene ring using the Dirac representation. For a slightly deformed graphene ring flake, one obtains sizable pseudomagnetic (gauge) fields that may effectively reduce or enhance locally the applied magnetic flux through the ring. Flux-induced persistent currents in a flat ring have full rotational symmetry throughout the structure; in contrast, we show that currents in the presence of a circularly symmetric deformation are strongly inhomogeneous, due to the underlying symmetries of graphene. This result illustrates the inherent competition between the `real' magnetic field and the `pseudo' field arising from strains, and suggest an alternative way to probe the strength and symmetries of pseudomagnetic fields on graphene systems

Dyes removal from water using low cost absorbents

In this study, the removal capacity of low cost adsorbents during the adsorption of Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) at different concentrations (50 and 100mg•L-1) was evaluated. These adsorbents were produced from wood wastes (cedar and teak) by chemical activation (ZnCl2). Both studied materials, Activated Cedar (AC) and activated teak (AT) showed a good fit of their experimental data to the pseudo second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacities for AC were 2000.0 and 444.4mg•g-1 for MB and CR, respectively, while for AT, maximum adsorption capacities of 1052.6 and 86.4mg•g-1 were found for MB and CR, respectively. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

First attempts of linking modelling, Postharvest behaviour and Melon Genetics

The onset of climacteric is associated with the end of melon fruit shelf-life. The aim of this research was to develop practical and applicable models of fruit ripening changes (hardness, moisture loss) also able to discriminate between climacteric and non-climacteric behaviour. The decrease in firmness was measured non-destructively by flat-plate compression; moisture loss was measured by weight loss. A set of 13-15 near-isogenic lines (NILs) derived from the climacteric line SC3-5 was used to verify the relationship among the climacteric behaviour and ripening related changes (weight loss, softening and color) during two consecutive seasons. The biological variance models for moisture loss and firmness followed a simple exponential behaviour that explained more than 90% of the total variance. Results of the analyses using these models could not be linked to properties of near-isogenic lines like climacteric behaviour, ethylene production or skin thickness. The results suggest that the phenotype is more important than genotype, when considering mean values. These results seem to suggest that relations may exist between the different processes and properties of NILs on an individual basis, not on mean values

Development of overturning circulation in sloping waterbodies due to surface cooling

This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project Buoyancy driven nearshore transport in lakes, HYPOlimnetic THErmal SIphonS, HYPOTHESIS, reference 175919) and by the Physics of Aquatic Systems Laboratory (APHYS), EPFL.Cooling the surface of freshwater bodies, whose temperatures are above the temperature of maximum density, can generate differential cooling between shallow and deep regions. When surface cooling occurs over a long enough period, the thermally induced cross-shore pressure gradient may drive an overturning circulation, a phenomenon called ‘thermal siphon’. However, the conditions under which this process begins are not yet fully characterised. Here, we examine the development of thermal siphons driven by a uniform loss of heat at the air–water interface in sloping, stratified basins. For a two-dimensional framework, we derive theoretical time and velocity scales associated with the transition from Rayleigh–Bénard type convection to a horizontal overturning circulation across the shallower sloping basin. This transition is characterised by a three-way horizontal momentum balance, in which the cross-shore pressure gradient balances the inertial terms before reaching a quasi-steady regime. We performed numerical and field experiments to test and show the robustness of the analytical scaling, describe the convective regimes and quantify the cross-shore transport induced by thermal siphons. Our results are relevant for understanding the nearshore fluid dynamics induced by nighttime or seasonal surface cooling in lakes and reservoirs.Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) European Commission 175919Physics of Aquatic Systems Laboratory (APHYS), EPF

Phonon Rabi-assisted tunneling in diatomic molecules

We study electronic transport in diatomic molecules connected to metallic contacts in the regime where both electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions are important. We find that the competition between these interactions results in unique resonant conditions for interlevel transitions and polaron formation: the Coulomb repulsion requires additional energy when electrons attempt phonon-assisted interlevel jumps between fully or partially occupied levels. We apply the equations of motion approach to calculate the electronic Green's functions. The density of states and conductance through the system are shown to exhibit interesting Rabi-like splitting of Coulomb blockade peaks and strong temperature dependence under the it interacting resonant conditions.Comment: Updated version, 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B on 9/1

The distribution of biodiversity richness in the tropics

We compare the numbers of vascular plant species in the three major tropical areas. The Afrotropical Region (Africa south of the Sahara Desert plus Madagascar), roughly equal in size to the Latin American Region (Mexico southward), has only 56,451 recorded species (about 170 being added annually), as compared with 118,308 recorded species (about 750 being added annually) in Latin America. Southeast Asia, only a quarter the size of the other two tropical areas, has approximately 50,000 recorded species, with an average of 364 being added annually. Thus, Tropical Asia is likely to be proportionately richest in plant diversity, and for biodiversity in general, for its size. In the animal groups we reviewed, the patterns of species diversity were mostly similar except for mammals and butterflies. Judged from these relationships, Latin America may be home to at least a third of global biodiversity

Kondo Regime of a Quantum Dot Molecule: A Finite-U Slave-Boson Approach

We study the electronic transport in a double quantum dot structure connected to leads in the Kondo regime for both series and parallel arrangements. By applying a finite-U slave boson technique in the mean field approximation we explore the effect of level degeneracy in the conductance through the system. Our results show that for the series connection, as the energy difference of the localized dot levels increases, the tunneling via the Kondo state is destroyed. For the parallel configuration, we find an interesting interplay of state symmetry and conductance. Our results are in good agrement with those obtained with other methods, and provide additional insights into the physics of the Kondo state in the double dot system.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physica

Quantum phase transitions into Kondo states in bilayer graphene

We study a magnetic impurity intercalated in bilayer graphene. A representative configuration generates a hybridization function with strong dependence on the conduction-electron energy, including a full gap with one hard and one soft edge. Shifts of the chemical potential via gating or doping drive the system between non-Kondo (free-moment) and Kondo-screened phases, with strong variation of the Kondo scale. Quantum phase transitions near the soft edge are of Kosterlitz-Thouless type, while others are first order. Near the hard edge, a bound-state singlet appears inside the gap; although of single-particle character, its signatures in scanning tunneling spectroscopy are very similar to those arising from a many-body Kondo resonance