Transport of electrons on liquid helium in a microchannel device near the current threshold

We study the transport of strongly interacting electrons on the surface of liquid helium confined in a microchannel geometry, near the current threshold point. The current threshold depends on the electrostatic confinement, created by the microchannel electrodes, and on the electrostatic potential of electron system. Depending on the geometry of the microchannel, the current pinch-off can occur at the center or move to the edges of the microchannel, as confirmed by Finite Element Model calculations. The confining potential dependence of electron conductivity above the current threshold point is consistent with a classical charge continuum model. However, we find that below the threshold point electron transport is suppressed due to charging energy effects.     

Conduction of Strongly Coupled Electrons Through Narrow Channels on Liquid Helium Surface: Simulation

The conduction of electrons through narrow channels formed on the surface of liquid helium is analyzed by numerical simulations. It is shown that, when electrons are strongly coupled, we have nonlinear and even negative dependence of conductance on the width of the constriction which is controlled by the gate voltage (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Photon-induced vanishing of magnetoconductance in 2D electrons on liquid helium

We report on a novel transport phenomenon realized by optical pumping in surface state electrons on helium subjected to perpendicular magnetic fields. The electron dynamics is governed by the photon-induced excitation and scattering-mediated transitions between electric subbands. In a range of magnetic fields, we observe vanishing longitudinal conductivity σ(xx)→0. Our result suggests the existence of radiation-induced zero-resistance states in the nondegenerate 2D electron system.     

Commensurability-dependent transport of a Wigner crystal in a nanoconstriction

We present the first transport measurements of a classical Wigner crystal through a constriction formed by a split-gate electrode. The Wigner crystal is formed on the surface of superfluid helium confined in a microchannel. At low temperatures, the current is periodically suppressed with increasing split-gate voltage, resulting in peaklike transport features. We also present the results of molecular dynamics simulations that reproduce this phenomenon. We demonstrate that, at the split-gate voltages for which the current is suppressed, the electron lattice is arranged such that the stability of particle positions against thermal fluctuations is enhanced. In these configurations, the suppression of transport due to interelectron Coulomb forces becomes important.     

核力和重子相互作用

本文评述了核力和重子相互作用研究的历程,取得的成就和存在的问题。     

On the state of supersaturation of a 2D electron system on a liquid-helium surface

The reasons why supersaturated states appear for a 2D electron system on a liquid-helium surface and the possibility of stationary existence of such states are discussed. The main characteristics of a 2D electron system on helium under stationary saturation conditions are calculated. It is shown that the well-known saturation state for electrons above helium is one of a continuum of supersaturated states. The experimental possibilities for observing and identifying supersaturated states for electrons on a helium surface are noted. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 4, 274–278 (25 August 1999)     

Escape rate of two-dimensional electrons on liquid helium surface

Escape rate of two-dimensional electrons on liquid helium surface is measured. A strong dependence of the escape rate on the surface electron density suggests that the surface electron system is in a “liquid” state.     

Properties of surface state electrons on liquid helium

Electrons on the surface of liquid helium form a two-dimensional system that is of great interest for its own unique properties as well as being a probe of the helium surface. The spectroscopic evidence for the hydrogenic nature of the surface state is compared with predictions. Measurements of the electron mobility parallel to the surface in low and high electric fields are compared with theory. The lifetime in the surface state is discussed as well as the effect of the electron on the liquid surface. The possibility that the electrons crystallize to form a two-dimensional lattice and the properties of this lattice are also analyzed.     

Measurement of the isotope composition of hydrogen in carbon materials using elastically scattered electron peak spectroscopy

The quantitative composition of hydrogen and helium isotopes in the surface layers of structural materials is reconstructed using the developed technique for processing the energy spectra of electrons scattered from plane-parallel layers of solids into a preset solid angle element. These are the spectra measured with a high energy resolution ΔE ∷ 0.2−0.4 eV. The change in the shape of peaks for elastically scattered electrons is analyzed depending on the probe electron beam energy and experimental geometry. The theory of electrons scattered from plane-parallel layers of solids is constructed using the solution of the boundary value problem for the transfer equation by invariant immersion methods. The analytic solution to the system of equations is found in the small-angle approximation for the reflection and transmission functions. The results of calculations are compared with experimental data on electron scattering from polyethylene. The shape of the energy spectra of electron scattering from deuterium and tritium is predicted. The sensitivity threshold of the method relative to percentage concentration of hydrogen isotopes in hydrocarbons is analyzed.     

Semiclassical calculation of ionisation rate for Rydberg helium atoms in an electric field

The ionisation of Rydberg helium atoms in an electric field above the classical ionisation threshold has been examined using the semiclassical method, with particular emphasis on discussing the influence of the core scattering on the escape dynamics of electrons. The results show that the Rydberg helium atoms ionise by emitting a train of electron pulses. Unlike the case of the ionisation of Rydberg hydrogen atom in parallel electric and magnetic fields, where the pulses of the electron are caused by the external magnetic field, the pulse trains for Rydberg helium atoms are created through core scattering. Each peak in the ionisation rate corresponds to the contribution of one core-scattered combination trajectory. This fact further illustrates that the ionic core scattering leads to the chaotic property of the Rydberg helium atom in external fields. Our studies provide a simple explanation for the escape dynamics in the ionisation of nonhydrogenic atoms in external fields.     

An electrohydrodynamics model for non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating

The electrons and phonons in metal films after ultra-short pulse laser heating are in highly non-equilibrium states not only between the electrons and the phonons but also within the electrons. An electrohydrodynamics model consisting of the balance equations of electron density, energy density of electrons, and energy density of phonons is derived from the coupled non-equilibrium electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations to study the nonlinear thermal transport by considering the electron density fluctuation and the transient electric current in metal films, after ultra-short pulse laser heating. The temperature evolution is calculated by the coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations, the electrohydrodynamics model derived in this work, and the two-temperature model. Different laser pulse durations, film thicknesses, and laser fluences are considered. We find that the two-temperature model overestimates the electron temperature at the front surface of the film and underestimates the damage threshold when the nonlinear thermal transport of electrons is important. The electrohydrodynamics model proposed in this work could be a more accurate prediction tool to study the non-equilibrium electron and phonon transport process than the two-temperature model and it is much easier to be solved than the Boltzmann transport equations.     

Bistability in scanning tunneling spectroscopy of Ga-terminated Si(111)

Bistable electron transport, a phenomenon usually associated with double-barrier structures, has been observed with a conventional STM junction formed between a metal tip and a Ga-terminated Si(111) surface at 77 K. Large hysteresis loops appear in the current-voltage characteristics when electrons are injected from the tip to the surface. The turn-on bias varies from -3.1 to -4.0 V and shows an inverse dependence on the tip-sample distance, indicating a strong field effect. The turn-off bias, however, is essentially pinned at a conductance threshold of -2.7 V.     

Effects of magnetic field on photon-induced quantum transport in a single dot-cavity system

In this study,we show how a static magnetic field can control photon-induced electron transport through a quantum dot system coupled to a photon cavity.The quantum dot system is connected to two electron reservoirs and exposed to an external perpendicular static magnetic field.The propagation of electrons through the system is thus influenced by the static magnetic and the dynamic photon fields.It is observed that the photon cavity forms photon replica states controlling electron transport in the system.If the photon field has more energy than the cyclotron energy,then the photon field is dominant in the electron transport.Consequently,the electron transport is enhanced due to activation of photon replica states.By contrast,the electron transport is suppressed in the system when the photon energy is smaller than the cyclotron energy.     

近阈值下He原子的双电离实验反冲离子动量分析

利用最新发展起来的适用于低能电子入射的反应显微成像谱仪,对电子轰击He原子近阈值的双电离过程进行了研究,实验测量了反应后4个粒子的全部动量,获得了五重微分截面及出射粒子间的关联信息.着重分析了在入射电子束与出射电子构成的平面内,3个均分系统剩余能量的电子出射角关联关系,并与理论计算进行了比较.研究表明,当两个电子反向出射时,第3个电子垂直于这两个电子动量方向出射的几率最大.在1个电子垂直于平面出射时,通过理论计算结果与平面内出射角分布的比较,发现DS6C理论能够较好地描述实验结果.     

同轴空心阴极氦等离子体的电子激发温度研究

利用同轴空心阴极放电装置,产生氦低温等离子体。通过对等离子体的发射光谱进行测量和计算,研究放电功率以及氦气压强对等离子体的电子激发温度的影响。结果表明:氦低温等离子体的发射光谱主要由连续谱和原子谱线构成,放电功率和压强对谱线的强度具有明显影响。压强的变化不仅影响电子从电场中获得的能量,还会影响电子与原子的碰撞频率,从而导致电子激发温度随着氦气压强的增大,出现先上升后下降的变化趋势。     

Microwave-resonance-induced resistivity: evidence of ultrahot surface-state electrons on liquid 3He

Measurements of the dc resistivity of surface-state electrons on liquid helium exposed to microwave radiation are reported. It is shown that the resonant microwave excitation of surface-state electrons is accompanied by a strong increase in their resistivity, which is opposite to the result expected from the previously used two-level model. We show that even a very small fraction of electrons excited to the first excited state and decaying back due to vapor-atom scattering strongly heat the electron system, causing a population of higher subbands. The calculated resistivity change is in good agreement with the observed data.     

磁场中液氦薄膜表面电子涟波子系统的性质

研究了磁场中液氦薄膜表面电子与涟波子强耦合和弱耦合的性质。采用线性组合算符方法导出磁场中液氦薄膜表面电子 涟波子系统的振动频率和基态能量。讨论磁场对表面电子 涟波子系统的振动频率和基态能量的影响。     

Dynamics of electron beams in plasmas

The characteristic features of the relaxation of the energy and momentum distribution functions of the electrons in a plasma produced by a low-voltage beam discharge in helium are investigated. It is established that, contrary to widely held opinion, the energy of an intense electron beam may relax due to the wave excitation. The critical currents corresponding to a jumplike transition from one relaxation mechanism to another are measured. The density of metastable helium atoms is determined from the comparative analysis of theoretical and experimental results on the structure of the energy spectrum of the electrons of an intense beam. An intense electron beam is found to become more isotropic in the course of its interaction with Langmuir waves in a collisionless plasma. The cross section for quasi-elastic collisions between the electrons and Langmuir plasmons is estimated. The wave nature of the beam-plasma mechanism for the relaxation of the anisotropic electron energy distribution function is demonstrated, and the mechanism itself is shown to come into play when the discharge current exceeds a certain critical level. The experimental threshold criterion for the energy relaxation of an intense monoenergetic beam is obtained for the first time. It is shown that the relaxation occurs in two stages: the isotropization stage, in which the beam energy decreases insignificantly, is followed by the stage in which the beam relaxes to a state with a plateau-like energy distribution function. The threshold criterion for the relaxation of the anisotropic electron energy distribution function is universal in character regardless of the cause of anisotropy.     

Quantum thermal conductance of electrons in a one-dimensional wire

We use an electron thermometer to measure the temperature rise of approximately 2 x 10(5) electrons in a two-dimensional box, due to heat flow into the box through a ballistic one-dimensional (1D) constriction. Using a simple model we deduce the thermal conductance kappa(Vg) of the 1D constriction, which we compare to its electrical conductance characteristics; for the first four 1D subbands the heat carried by the electrons passing through the wire is proportional to its electrical conductance G(Vg). In the vicinity of the 0.7 structure this proportionality breaks down, and a plateau at the quantum of thermal conductance pi(2)k(2/B)T/3h is observed.