Femtosecond surface plasmon resonance dynamics and electron-electron interactions in silver nanoparticles

Femtosecond excitation and relaxation of nonequilibrium electrons are investigated in silver clusters using a two color pump-probe technique with resonant excitation of the surface plasmon resonance and off resonant probing. The excitation process is shown to be identical to that in metal films, and permits creation of a strongly athermal single electron excitation in a time scale shorter than the duration of the pulses (25-30 fs), in agreement with the free-electron absorption model. Following the time evolution of the nonequilibrium distribution yields information on the internal energy redistribution dynamics of the conduction electrons and of its modification by confinement in metal clusters. Received 1st December 2000     

Time-resolved photoluminescence study of Ga In P alloys

The time-resolved photoluminescence spectra of ordered and disordered Ga_0.52In_0.48P alloys were studied at room temperature and at 77 K liquid nitrogen, respectively. The ordered samples have well fitted two exponential processes decay curves and the time constants are sample dependent and have little relationship with the ordering degree. The decay curve of disordered sample shows that it has single exponential process and its lifetime has a tendency of reduction with the decrease of excitation intensity. The photoluminescence spectra with different delay time at 77 K show that the ordered samples exhibit about 6 ∼ 10 meV blue-shift of PL peak energy with the delay time. Received 13 December 2001 Published online 19 July 2002     

Carrier scattering by Auger mechanism in a single quantum wire

We report on time-resolved microphotoluminescence experiments in a single GaAs/GaAlAs V-shaped quantum wire as a function of optical excitation intensity. At low pump power we observe that excitons are localized in quantum boxes formed by the local potential minima existing along the wire axis. As the pump power is increased, state filling of the lowest lying levels of the boxes appears. When two carriers occupy the first excited level of the box, a very efficient Auger scattering occurs, leading to a transfer of carriers from one box to another neighbouring one. The intradot Auger scattering time has been measured and is of the same order of magnitude as the LA-phonon emission rate. Received 5 February 2001     

Intermolecular and diffusive dynamics of pure acetonitrile isotopomers studied by depolarized Rayleigh scattering and femtosecond optical kerr effect

The relaxation dynamics of pure acetonitrile isotopomers has been investigated in the temperature range 8 to 75 ^° C. The overall response of the liquid is measured either recording directly the decay of the optical Kerr signal with heterodyne detection (OHD-OKE) and Fourier transforming the depolarized Rayleigh scattering spectra (DRS). The OHD-OKE signals show a decay that can be described by a bi-exponential law. At some temperatures, stressing to a maximum level the sensitivity of the OHD-OKE experimental set-up, a damped oscillation is observed on top of the fast decay component. The two techniques provide same results with a high level of reproducibility, as far as the slow component is concerned. This latter is described by an exponential law with the time constants ranging in the interval 2.0 to 0.85 ps in the light and approximately in the same interval in the deuterated molecule. The decays are, at all temperatures, well reproduced by the extended diffusion J-model. The fast component, better observed with the OHD-OKE experiments in a restricted temperature range, has time constants ranging from 550 to 350 fs. After the subtraction of the curve due to the slower decay component, the data have also been analyzed by Fourier transforming the fast part of the decay. The spectrum then consists of a broad (approximately 80 cm^-1 wide) band centered at 50 cm^-1. This band is interpreted as the manifestation of intermolecular vibrational motions. Received 21 July 2002 Published online 1st October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: foggi@colonnello.lens.unifi.it     

Gamma-ray tracking: Utilizing new concepts in the detection of gamma-radiation

Gamma-ray tracking in a closed array of highly segmented HPGe detectors is a new concept for the detection of γ-radiation. Each of the interacting γ-rays is identified and separated by measuring the energies and positions of individual interactions and by applying tracking algorithms to reconstruct the scattering sequences, even if many γ-rays hit the array at the same time. The three-dimensional position and the energy of interactions are determined by using two-dimensionally segmented Ge detectors along with pulse-shape analysis of the signals. Such a detector will have new and much improved capabilities compared to current γ-ray spectrometer. One implementation of this concept, called GRETA (Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking Array), is currently being under development at LBNL. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: kvetter@lbl.gov     

Electron dynamics in Na and Pt clusters from time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory

We present a method for the numerical investigation of the electron dynamics in small metallic clusters in intense laser fields. We obtain information about collective excitations and relaxation processes in the Na ₉ ⁺ and Pt₃ clusters analyzing the power spectrum of the dipole moment within a mean-field approach. The power spectrum is computed for various laser pulse parameters as well as for the limit of an infinitely short laser pulse. Due to the basis set expansion of the wave function our method is capable to follow the dynamics not only of the whole electron cloud, but of any particular molecular orbital. Received 28 March 2002 / Received in final form 31 May 2002 Published online 24 September 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: pavlyukh@mpi-halle.de     

General plasma behavior in the energy relaxation of electrons in highly p-doped semiconductors

We present a systematic study of the dependence of the energy relaxation of photo-excited minority electrons on the doping concentration in highly p-doped GaAs. A nonmonotonic dependence is found in the region where the characteristics of the carrier-carrier interaction changes from plasmon-mediated to quasistatically screened. Using a detailed Monte-Carlo study we are able to attribute this observation to a general property of plasmas at high density. Received: 1st April 1998 / Revised: 6 May 1998 / Accepted: 18 May 1998     

Fluctuation-induced magnetotransport of superconductors in the quasiballistic regime

We study the fluctuation-induced magnetotransport of a two-dimensional superconductor in the quasiballistic regime, where ξ _GL(T) ≪ ℓ (ℓ is the electron mean free path and ξ _GL(T) is the Ginzburg-Landau coherence length). The magnetoconductivity is evaluated in the nonlocal fluctuation regime thereby extending the existing theory valid in the local limit. We show that the Maki-Thompson (MT) and density-of-states (DOS) contributions strongly compensate each other and their sum is negligible in comparison with the Aslamazov-Larkin (AL) term. The hierarchy of the fluctuation contributions to the magnetoconductivity in the high-field limit is also qualitatively discussed. Received 10 July 2002 / Received in final form 21 November 2002 Published online 7 May 2003     

Ice shielding in the large scale GENIUS experiment for double beta decay and dark matter search

We suggest here the use of ice as shielding material in the large scale GENIUS experiment for the ultimate sensitive double beta decay and dark matter search. The idea is to pack a working volume of several tons of liquid nitrogens, which contains the “naked” Ge detectors, inside an ice shielding. Very thin plastic foil would be used in order to prevent leakage of the liquid nitrogen. Due to the excellent advantages of ice shielding (high purity and low cost, self-supporting ability, thermo-isolation and optical properties, safety) this could be another possible way of realization of the GENIUS project. Received: 30 July 1998     

CPA density of states and conductivity in a double-exchange system containing impurities

We study density of states and conductivity of the doped double-exchange system, treating interaction of charge carriers both with the localized spins and with the impurities in the coherent potential approximation. It is shown that under appropriate conditions there is a gap between the conduction band and the impurity band in paramagnetic phase, while the density of states is gapless in ferromagnetic phase. This can explain metal-insulator transition frequently observed in manganites and magnetic semiconductors. Activated conductivity in the insulator phase is numerically calculated. Received 13 June 2000 and Received in final form 5 January 2001     

On the role of athermal electrons in non-linear photoemission from Ag(100)

The non-linear photoelectron spectra obtained by short laser pulses from a Ag(100) surface show a high-energy electron emission due to an athermal electron distribution created by the laser pulse. By comparing the photoemission at normal and non-normal emission geometry it is possible to evidence the independence of the hot electron photoemission on the parallel momentum and on different final-state configurations. A photoemission correlation measurement evidences that non-photoelectric effects, as tunneling or thermally assisted photoemission, do not contribute to the electron yield. Various theoretical models are discussed on the basis of the present data.     

Magnetoconductance of a two-dimensional metal in the presence of spin-orbit coupling

We show that in the metallic phase of a two dimensional electron gas the spin-orbit coupling due to structure inversion asymmetry leads to a characteristic anisotropy in the magnetoconductance. Within the assumption that the metallic phase can be described by a Fermi liquid, we compute the conductivity in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. Both the spin-orbit coupling and the Zeeman coupling with the magnetic field give rise to two spin subbands, in terms of which most of the transport properties can be discussed. The strongest conductivity anisotropy occurs for Zeeman energies of the order of the Fermi energy corresponding to the depopulation of the upper spin subband. The energy scale associated with the spin-orbit coupling controls the strength of the effect. More in particular, we find that the detailed behavior and the sign of the anisotropy depends on the underlying scattering mechanism. Assuming small angle scattering to be the dominant scattering mechanism our results agree with recent measurement on Si-MOSFET's in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition. Received 11 July 2001     

A novel mechanism for spin dephasing due to spin-conserving scatterings

A new spin dephasing mechanism is proposed for semiconductors with carrier momentum-dependent transition energies (inhomogeneous broadening) between spin states. In the presence of this inhomogeneous broadening of the spin transitions, spin-conserving (SC) scatterings lead to irreversible spin dephasing in a complete analogy to the optical dephasing of inhomogeneously broadened optical transitions. This phenomenon is demonstrated for the case when the g-factor becomes electron-energy dependent. Received 29 June 2000     

Quantum switch based on coupled waveguides

The problem of construction of quantum multiplexer is discussed. A possible construction based on resonance transport properties of quantum waveguides coupled through small windows is considered. Small apertures play double role of “connecting channels" and “resonant elements". Transmission coefficients for the system are determined. The workability of the device as a quantum switch to one of three (or to two of three) channels is discussed. Control parameters for the switch are electron energy and bias voltage. Received 13 August 2000 and Received in final form 19 February 2001     

Distribution of the delay time and the dwell time for wave reflection from a long random potential

We re-examine and correct an earlier derivation of the distribution of the Wigner phase delay time for wave reflection from a long one-dimensional disordered conductor treated in the continuum limit. We then numerically compare the distributions of the Wigner phase delay time and the dwell time, the latter being obtained by the use of an infinitesimal imaginary potential as a clock, and investigate the effects of strong disorder and a periodic (discrete) lattice background. We find that the two distributions coincide even for strong disorder, but only for energies well away from the band-edges. Received 11 June 2001 and Received in final form 30 July 2001     

The influence of the dynamics of ionic multiplets onto electronic transport properties of heavy-fermion systems: a semi-phenomenological approach

We present calculations of the electronic transport properties of heavy-fermion systems within a semi-phenomenological approach to the dynamical mean field theory. In this approach the dynamics of the Hund's rules 4f (5f )-ionic multiplet split in a crystalline environment is taken into account. Within the scope of this calculation we use the linear response theory to reproduce qualitative features of the temperature-dependent resistivity and hall conductivity, the magneto-resistivity and the thermoelectric power typical for heavy-fermion systems. The model calculations are directly compared with experimental results on CeCu ₂ Si ₂. Received 30 June 2000 and Received in final form 15 December 2000     

Light scattering by longitudinal acoustic modes in supercooled molecular liquids II: microscopic derivation of the phenomenological equations

The constitutive equations for the orientational dynamics of a liquid formed of linear molecules are derived microscopically. The resulting generalised Langevin equations coincide with the phenomenological approach of Dreyfus et al. [1]. Formally exact expressions are given for the phenomenological coefficients and various constraints are shown to be consequences of this microscopic approach. Received 14 August 2002 Published online 4 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: franosch@hmi.de     

Coherent transport in disordered metals out of equilibrium

We derive a formula for the quantum corrections to the electrical current for a metal out of equilibrium. In the limit of linear current-voltage characteristics our formula reproduces the well known Altshuler-Aronov correction to the conductivity of a disordered metal. The current formula is obtained by a direct diagrammatic approach, and is shown to agree with what is obtained within the Keldysh formulation of the non-linear sigma model. As an application we calculate the current of a mesoscopic wire. We find a current-voltage characteristics that scales with eV/kT, and calculate the different scaling curves for a wire in the hot-electron regime and in the regime of full non-equilibrium. Received 13 June 2001     

Ultrafast spin dynamics of an individual CoPt3 ferromagnetic dot

We have studied the ultrafast magneto-optical response of CoPt₃ ferromagnetic nanodots with diameters ranging from 0.2 to 1 μm. Our experiments combine an accurate temporal resolution using femtosecond laser pulses and a high spatial resolution ( 300 nm) obtained with a reflective confocal Kerr microscope. Our experimental approach allows exploring the dynamics of the magnetization of magnetic nanostructures over a broad temporal scale ranging from 100 fs to 1 ns. We report the corresponding relaxation behavior of the electrons and the spins initially excited with a large excess energy above the Fermi level.     

Balance-equation approach to impact ionization induced by an intense terahertz radiation: Application to InAs/AlSb heterojunctions

We have extended the balance equations to account for conduction-valence interband impact ionization (II) process induced by an intense terahertz (THz) electromagnetic irradiation in semiconductors, and applied them to study the II effect on electron transport and electron-hole pair generation-recombination rate in THz-driven InAs/AlSb heterojunctions (HJ). As many as needed multiphoton channels are self-consistently taken into account for yielding a given accuracy. The time evolution of transport state including THz-radiation-induced II process are monitored in details by an extensive time-dependent analysis. Two different physical stages, the quasi-steady state and the complete steady-state, are clearly identified from the present calculations. Intersubband electron transfer rate and net electron-hole generation rate are derived as functions of the THz radiation strength E _ac for various radiation frequencies from f _ac = 0.42 to 6 THz at lattice temperatures T = 6 K. It's indicated that the THz radiation with a larger E _ac or a lower f _ac, has a stronger effect on electron transport and II process. Qualitative agreement is obtained between the calculated electron-hole generation rate and the available experimental data for InAs/AlSb HJ's at T = 6 K. Received 24 May 2002 / Received in final form 26 August 2002 Published online 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: jccao8@hotmail.com