Spin-polarized transport and thermopower of organometallic nanocontacts

We present a theoretical study of the length dependence of both conductance and thermopower of organometallic vanadium-benzene molecules (V _nBz_n+1) sandwiched between magnetic Co(100) electrodes. We show that the molecules with n≥3 are efficient spin filters. Namely, we find that the zero bias conductance of the majority electrons is small and decays exponentially with increasing length of the molecule and is in the tunneling regime while the minority electrons show metallic conductance. We show furthermore that the thermopower strongly depends on the length of the molecules and can even change sign as a function of length and temperature.     

脉冲放电脱硫反应器中高能电子密度分布的光谱研究

脉冲流光放电产生的大于等于11.2 eV的高能电子能将处于基态的氮分子激发到N₂(C3Π_u)态,测试脉冲流光放电时的N₂(C3Π_u→B3Πg)发射光谱相对强度可以得出脉冲流光放电产生的高能电子的密度。实验在室温常压下研究了空气中线-板式脉冲流光放电脱硫反应器内高能电子密度分布情况,并研究了脉冲电压、反应器的线线间距对反应器内高能电子密度分布的影响。实验结果表明,反应器内的高能电子主要集中在放电线附近高电场区内,随着离放电线的距离增大,高能电子密度减小;脉冲电压对高能电子密度有很大影响,随着电压的升高,高能电子密度基本呈线性增大;线板间距固定,线线间距为线板间距的0.6～1倍时,反应器内高能电子密度分布较为均匀。     

Hard X-ray emission by clusters in an intense femtosecond laser field during collective recombination

We consider the new mechanism of X-ray generation by clusters under irradiation by femtosecond laser pulses, the so-called collective photorecombination. We develop the theory of the photo-recombination of electrons that pass from atomic clusters at the outer ionization to the ground level of a homogeneously charged cluster. Such a cluster is considered to be a quantum potential well. The dipole approximation is inapplicable for this process. We conclude that X-ray photons in collective photorecombination on a charged cluster as a whole have an energy that is much larger than that for photorecombination on separate atomic ions inside the cluster. For a typical cluster of 2.25 × 10⁶ electrons, with a radius R = 300 Å, and a number density of plasma electrons n _e = 2 × 10²² cm^?3, we find that at a 5% outer ionization of this cluster, the energy of hard X-ray photons is 7.2 keV.     

Intense short-pulse lasers irradiating wire and hollow plasma fibers

When an intense laser pulse irradiates a solid-density foil target, electrons produced at the relativistic critical density can be accelerated to relativistic energy by the ponderomotive force. When a plasma fiber is attached to the back of the foil, the produced relativistic electrons are guided to propagate along the fiber for a long distance, because the high-current electron beam induces strong radial electric fields in the fiber. Transport and heating of intense laser-driven relativistic electrons in both wire and hollow plasma fibers are compared theoretically and numerically. We found that the coupling efficiency from the laser to the plasma fiber depends on the fiber structure. Because of the enhanced return currents in the wire fiber, the temperature in the wire fiber is higher than that in the hollow fiber.     

Quantum wire hybridized with a single-level impurity

We have studied low-temperature properties of interacting electrons in a one-dimensional quantum wire (Luttinger liquid) side-hybridized with a single-level impurity. The hybridization induces a backscattering of electrons in the wire which strongly affects its low-energy properties. Using a one-loop renormalization group approach valid for a weak electron-electron interaction, we have calculated a transmission coefficient through the wire, T(epsilon), and a local density of states, nu(epsilon) at low energies epsilon. In particular, we have found that the antiresonance in T(epsilon) has a generalized Breit-Wigner shape with the effective width Gamma(epsilon) which diverges at the Fermi level.     

Rh_nAl(n=1～6)团簇结构和磁性的研究

用密度泛函理论中的广义梯度近似方法研究了Rh_nAl(n=1～6)团簇的结构和磁性.结果表明:Rh(_n-1)Al和Rh_n(n=2～7)团簇结构是相似的,结合能随团簇尺寸变化趋势一致,原子间的s,p,d轨道杂化使得Rh_nAl团簇更加稳定.几乎所有Rh原子都是电子受体,Al-Rh键长越小.Rh原子得电子就越多.团簇磁矩主要来自Rh原子的贡献,Rh原子的4d轨道磁矩是Rh原子磁矩的主要部分.Al原子失去的电子越多,则其磁矩就相对越小.     

RhnAl(n=1-6)团簇结构和磁性的研究

用密度泛函理论中的广义梯度近似方法研究了RhnAl(n=1~6)团簇的结构和磁性。结果表明：Rhn-1Al和Rhn (n=2~7)团簇结构是相似的,结合能随团簇尺寸变化趋势一致,原子间的s,p,d轨道杂化使得RhnAl团簇更加稳定。几乎所有Rh原子都是电子受体,Al-Rh键长越小,Rh原子得电子就越多。团簇磁矩主要来自Rh原子的贡献,Rh原子的4d轨道磁矩是Rh原子磁矩的主要部分。Al原子失去的电子越多,则其磁矩就相对越小。     

Spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays produced on the 1 MA Z-pinch generator

The spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays are studied. The experiments were performed on the 1 MA Zebra generator at UNR. Implosions of Mo planar wire arrays radiate high peak powers and produce high-temperature L-shell plasmas. In particular, plasma electron temperature of single-planar wire arrays of Mo reached ～1375 eV. To estimate and analyze the evolution of plasma parameters in space and time, spatially resolved, time-integrated L-shell Mo X-ray spectra as well as time-gated and time-integrated pinhole images were collected and analyzed. A non-LTE kinetic model was applied to study the spatial structures, temperatures and densities of different wire loads of Mo planar wire arrays. Effects of non-Maxwellian hot electrons on L-shell radiation of Mo are discussed. Furthermore, Mo planar wire arrays generate bright spots or clusters of bright spots along the axial directions. Temperature and density gradients inside these bright spots or its clusters are also investigated. The results are compared with results of previous experiments with X-pinches on UNR Zebra and nested wire arrays at SNL-Z. Radiation magnetohydrodynamics modeling was performed to analyze the mechanisms of Z-pinch plasma heating in the presence of strong density gradients.     

Entanglement in spatially inhomogeneous many-fermion systems

We investigate entanglement of strongly interacting fermions in spatially inhomogeneous environments. To quantify entanglement in the presence of spatial inhomogeneity, we propose a local-density approximation (LDA) to the entanglement entropy, and a nested LDA scheme to evaluate the entanglement entropy on inhomogeneous density profiles. These ideas are applied to models of electrons in superlattice structures with different modulation patterns, electrons in a metallic wire in the presence of impurities, and phase-separated states in harmonically confined many-fermion systems, such as electrons in quantum dots and atoms in optical traps. We find that the entanglement entropy of inhomogeneous systems is strikingly different from that of homogeneous systems.     

新型金属丝靶电子源实验研究

电子束在基础科学研究、工农业生产和医疗领域发挥了重要作用。提出了一种新型的电子源技术方案:高功率激光脉冲轰击金属丝靶,可以产生大量能量在百keV量级的热电子,一部分热电子在丝靶表面自生电磁场的作用下沿着丝靶运动,丝靶后方可以获得指向性良好的电子束。实验上成功在金、钨和铜丝靶后方获得了电子束团,测量了束团束斑、电荷量和能谱。铜丝靶单发实验收集到的电子束团总电荷量可达3 nC,能量分布在0～240 keV区间内,能谱在100 keV附近呈现峰值。提出了微波压缩方案,设计了2腔微波聚束腔,利用ASTRA对微波腔压缩过程进行了模拟计算。结果显示,可以将电荷量1 nC、长度55 ps的束团压缩至27 ps,满足后续微波加速器对电子源的要求。     

Stern-Gerlach studies of organometallic sandwich clusters

Stern-Gerlach type magnetic deflection measurements were performed for two types of multiple sandwich clusters: vanadium-benzene V_n(C₆H₆)_n+1 and terbium-cyclooctatetraene Tb_n(C₈H₈)_n+1. Beams of V_n(C₆H₆)_n+1 clusters (n = 1-4) showed symmetric broadening induced by the inhomogeneous field, indicating free spin behavior similar to that displayed by isolated paramagnetic atoms. By contrast, beams of Tb_n(C₈H₈)_n+1 clusters displayed one-sided deflection, indicating that fast spin relaxation occurs within the clusters. The difference in the magnetic deflection behavior exhibited by these two systems is explained by their electronic structures, specifically the bonding characteristics between metal atoms and ligand molecules.     

Anions of xenon clusters bound by long-range electron correlations

In contrast with the single atom, atomic van der Waals clusters can form stable anions where the excess electron is bound due to long-range correlations with the electrons of the cluster. We report on extensive all-electron many-body ab initio studies on Xe clusters. Three-dimensional, planar, and linear structures of the clusters are investigated and compared. In particular, we find that the minimal number of Xe atoms in the cluster required to form a stable anion is 5 independently of the dimensionality of the cluster. We provide electron affinities for clusters made of 5, 6, and 7 atoms in all dimensions and find that the planar clusters form the most stable anions. The Dyson orbitals of the excess electrons are computed and analyzed.     

Two interacting electrons in a disorder potential: localization properties

Two electrons move in a quasi one-dimensional wire under the influence of a short-range interaction. We restrict Hilbert space to those states where the two electrons are close to each other. Using supersymmetry, we present a complete analytical solution to this problem. The two-body interaction affects the density of states and, thereby, the localization length. We derive a criterion for the onset of changes of the localization length due to the two-body interaction.     

An atomic force microscope study of vanadium-benzene sandwich clusters soft-landed on self-assembled monolayers

Multiple-decker vanadium-benzene sandwich clusters V_n(benzene)_n+1 produced by a laser-vaporization synthesis method were soft-landed onto self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiol (C₁₈H-SAM) and fluorinated alkanethiol (C₁₀F-SAM) at 200 K. Noncontact atomic force microscopy has been used to examine the resulting adsorption states of the clusters landed on the SAMs at room temperature. For each SAM substrate, the aggregates of the deposited clusters were observed at the vacancy islands and near the steps of the SAM surface. The result indicates that, at room temperature, the clusters landed on the SAM substrate thermally diffuse on the surface to form columnar-shape islands around the defect sites of the SAM surface.     

Universal and shape dependent features of surface superconductivity

We analyze the response of a type II superconducting wire to an external magnetic field parallel to it in the framework of Ginzburg–Landau theory. We focus on the surface superconductivity regime of applied field between the second and third critical values, where the superconducting state survives only close to the sample’s boundary. Our first finding is that, in first approximation, the shape of the boundary plays no role in determining the density of superconducting electrons. A second order term is however isolated, directly proportional to the mean curvature of the boundary. This demonstrates that points of higher boundary curvature (counted inwards) attract superconducting electrons.     

Effect of Intersubband Coulomb Interaction on Hot-Electron Transport in Two-and One-Dimensional Electron Systems

We study the hot-electron transport properties of model GaAs-based quasi-two-dimensional(-quantum-well) and quasi-one-dimensional'(quantum wire) systems having two occupied subbands by using the Lei-Ting balance-equations for two types of carriers. Both the intersubband electron-phonon interaction and intersubband Coulomb interaction are taken into account. Our numerical results show that when the electron density is high enough, the intersubband Coulomb interaction is substantially strong in thermalizing the electrons between the different subbands. As a consequence, the one-type-of-carriers model (OTCM) is a good approximation for electron transport. However, in the cases of the lower electron densities, the intersubband Coulomb interaction is not strong enough to fire the electrons in differents-ubbands to share a common electron temperature and a more accurate two-types-of-carriers model (TTCM) must be used for analysis.     

Drag effect of one-dimensional electrons upon photoionization of D<Superscript>(−)</Superscript> centers in a longitudinal magnetic field

A theory is elaborated for the impurity photon drag effect in a semiconductor quantum wire exposed to a longitudinal magnetic field B directed along the axis of the quantum wire. The phonon drag effect is associated with the transfer of the longitudinal photon momentum to localized electrons in optical transitions from D^(?) states to hybrid-quantized states of the quantum wire, which is described by a confinement parabolic potential. An analytical expression for the drag current density is derived within the model of a zero-range potential in the effective mass approximation, and the spectral dependence of the drag current density is examined at different magnitudes of B and parameters of the quantum wire upon electron scattering by a system of impurities with short-range potentials. It is established that the spectral dependence of the drag current density exhibits a Zeeman doublet with a clear beak-shaped peak due to optical transitions of electrons from D^(?) states to states with the magnetic quantum number m=1. The possibility of using the photon drag effect in a longitudinal magnetic field for the development of laser radiation detectors is analyzed.     

Conductance of a quantum wire in the Wigner-crystal regime

We study the effect of Coulomb interactions on the conductance of a single-mode quantum wire connecting two bulk leads. When the density of electrons in the wire is very low, they arrange in a finite-length Wigner crystal. In this regime the electron spins form an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain with an exponentially small coupling J. An electric current in the wire perturbs the spin chain and gives rise to a temperature-dependent contribution of the spin subsystem to the resistance. At low temperature TJ the spin effect reduces the conductance to e2/h.     

Spontaneous formation of a pi soliton in a superconducting wire with an odd number of electrons

We consider a one-dimensional superconducting wire where the total number of electrons can be controlled in the Coulomb blockade regime. We predict that a pi soliton (kink) will spontaneously form in the system when the number of electrons is odd, because this configuration has a lower energy. If the wire with an odd number of electrons is closed in a ring, the phase difference on the two sides of the soliton will generate a supercurrent detectable by a SQUID. The two degenerate states with the current flowing clockwise or counterclockwise can be utilized as a qubit.