Donor and acceptor guided modes in photonic crystal fibers

We present a triangular photonic-crystal-fiber structure that exhibits guided modes simultaneously above and below the first conduction band. We achieve this configuration by decreasing the size of one of the airholes (the defect) in a specific triangular lattice. More generally, we analyze the behavior of guided modes that depends on the size of the defect. Defects generated by decreasing or increasing the size of one of the holes produce donor or acceptor guided modes, respectively, in analogy with impurity levels in solid-state crystals. We conclude that the guiding mechanism for both donor and acceptor modes is produced by a unique phenomenon of multiple interference by a periodic structure.     

Competition for popularity in bipartite networks

We present a dynamical model for rewiring and attachment in bipartite networks. Edges are placed between nodes that belong to catalogs that can either be fixed in size or growing in size. The model is motivated by an empirical study of data from the video rental service Netflix, which invites its users to give ratings to the videos available in its catalog. We find that the distribution of the number of ratings given by users and that of the number of ratings received by videos both follow a power law with an exponential cutoff. We also examine the activity patterns of Netflix users and find bursts of intense video-rating activity followed by long periods of inactivity. We derive ordinary differential equations to model the acquisition of edges by the nodes over time and obtain the corresponding time-dependent degree distributions. We then compare our results with the Netflix data and find good agreement. We conclude with a discussion of how catalog models can be used to study systems in which agents are forced to choose, rate, or prioritize their interactions from a large set of options.     

Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics and Entropy Production in a Classical Infinite System of Rotators

We analyze the dynamics of a simple but nontrivial classical Hamiltonian system of infinitely many coupled rotators. We assume that this infinite system is driven out of thermal equilibrium either because energy is injected by an external force (Case I), or because heat flows between two thermostats at different temperatures (Case II). We discuss several possible definitions of the entropy production associated with a finite or infinite region, or with a partition of the system into a finite number of pieces. We show that these definitions satisfy the expected bounds in terms of thermostat temperatures and energy flow.     

First-principles investigation of the effects of B impurities on the mechanical properties of NiAl intermetallics

We have investigated the effects of B impurities on the structure and mechanical properties of NiAl intermetallics by using a first-principles pseudopotential total-energy method, based on the density functional theory with a generalized gradient approximation. We found that the impurity B atoms can either replace Ni atoms or Al atoms or both, depending on the surrounding environment. We demonstrated that the presence of B will cause an increase in brittleness and a decrease in the ductility of NiAl for the...     

Testing partonic charge symmetry at a high-energy electron collider

We examine the possibility that one could measure partonic charge symmetry violation (CSV) by comparing neutrino or antineutrino production through charged-current reactions induced by electrons or positrons at a possible electron collider at the LHC. We calculate the magnitude of CSV that might be expected at such a facility. We show that this is likely to be a several percent effect, substantially larger than the typical CSV effects expected for partonic reactions.     

Surface-wave mechanism of subwavelength imaging by a flat left-handed superlens

We develop a theory describing the dynamics and interaction of electromagnetic surface waves (ESWs) resonantly excited by an external source in a slab of left-handed material (LHM) with identical negative (equal to −1) values of dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability that makes up a so-called perfect lens, or a superlens. We show that subwavelength imaging by a superlens is associated with the degeneracy of the spectrum of eigen electromagnetic surface modes at the interfaces of the metamaterial slab, whereas the dynamic response of the superlens is completely determined by the dynamics of these modes and the dispersion properties of the metamaterial. We obtain conditions that enable one to find out when a superlens produces subwavelength images of an external source. We consider the cases of a stationary and a pulse source, as well as of a source that moves with constant velocity or oscillates in space.     

Equivalence Principle and Radiation by a Uniformly Accelerated Charge

We address the old question of whether or not a uniformly accelerated charged particle radiates, and consequently, if weak equivalence principle is violated by electrodynamics. We show that radiation has different meanings; some absolute, some relative. Detecting photons or electromagnetic waves is not absolute, it depends both on the electromagnetic field and on the state of motion of the antenna. An antenna used by a Rindler observer does not detect any radiation from a uniformly accelerated co-moving charged particle. Therefore, a Rindler observer cannot decide whether or not he is in an accelerated lab or in a gravitational field. We also discuss the general case.     

Detecting topological order through a continuous quantum phase transition

We study a continuous quantum phase transition that breaks a Z2 symmetry. We show that the transition is described by a new critical point which does not belong to the Ising universality class, despite the presence of well-defined symmetry-breaking order parameter. The new critical point arises since the transition not only breaks the Z2 symmetry, it also changes the topological or quantum order in the two phases across the transition. We show that the new critical point can be identified in experiments by measuring critical exponents. So measuring critical exponents and identifying new critical points is a way to detect new topological phases and a way to measure topological or quantum orders in those phases.     

Ordered community structure in networks

Community structure in networks is often a consequence of homophily, or assortative mixing, based on some attribute of the vertices. For example, researchers may be grouped into communities corresponding to their research topic. This is possible if vertex attributes have unordered discrete values, but many networks exhibit assortative mixing by some ordered (discrete or continuous) attribute, such as age or geographical location. In such cases, the identification of discrete communities may be difficult or impossible. We consider how the notion of community structure can be generalized to networks that have assortative mixing by ordered attributes. We propose a method of generating synthetic networks with ordered communities and investigate the effect of ordered community structure on the spread of infectious diseases. We also show that current community detection algorithms fail to recover community structure in ordered networks, and evaluate an alternative method using a layout algorithm to recover the ordering.     

Acoustoelectric effects in carbon nanotubes

We report observations of acoustoelectric effects in carbon nanotubes. We excite sound in &mgr;m long ropes of single walled carbon nanotubes suspended between two metallic contacts by applying radio-frequency electric field. The sound is detected by measuring either the dc resistance of the tubes in a region of strong temperature dependence (in the vicinity of superconducting or metal-insulator transition), or their critical current. We show that, depending on the excitation power, the vibrations produce either electron heating or phase coherence breaking.     

Effect of headway and velocity on safety-collision transition induced by lane changing in traffic flow

We study the traffic behavior when a vehicle changes from the first lane to the second lane on a two-lane highway. The incoming vehicle decelerates or accelerates by interacting with the vehicle ahead or behind on the second lane. We apply the extended optimal velocity model to the vehicular motion to take into account the velocity difference. We investigate whether or not the incoming vehicle collides with the vehicles ahead or behind. We derive such conditions that the incoming vehicle comes into collision with the vehicles ahead or behind. The safety-collision transition occurs by changing the lane. The dynamic transition depends highly on the headway, the vehicular speed, the sensitivity, and the velocity difference. We present the phase diagram (or region map) for the safety-collision transition.     

Volatility return intervals analysis of the Japanese market

We investigate scaling and memory effects in return intervals between price volatilities above a certain threshold q for the Japanese stock market using daily and intraday data sets. We find that the distribution of return intervals can be approximated by a scaling function that depends only on the ratio between the return interval τ and its mean 〈τ〉. We also find memory effects such that a large (or small) return interval follows a large (or small) interval by investigating the conditional distribution and mean return interval. The results are similar to previous studies of other markets and indicate that similar statistical features appear in different financial markets. We also compare our results between the period before and after the big crash at the end of 1989. We find that scaling and memory effects of the return intervals show similar features although the statistical properties of the returns are different.     

圆偏振激光附加太赫兹场作用下的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生

本文通过数值求解二维含时薛定谔方程,研究了圆偏振激光和太赫兹组合场作用下,H+2的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒(1 as=10-18s)脉冲的产生.研究发现,无论在圆偏振激光场的x或y方向附加一个太赫兹场,都可以产生一个比较平滑的连续谐波谱.通过时频分析我们发现,高次谐波的贡献主要来自于短轨道.适当选取一些级次的连续谐波进行叠加,可以得到129 as或83 as的孤立阿秒脉冲.     

圆偏振激光附加太赫兹场作用下的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生

本文通过数值求解二维含时薛定谔方程,研究了圆偏振激光和太赫兹组合场作用下,H2+的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生。研究发现,无论在圆偏振激光场的 或 方向附加一个太赫兹场,都可以产生一个比较平滑的连续谐波谱。通过时频分析我们发现,高次谐波的贡献主要来自于短轨道。适当选取一些级次的连续谐波进行叠加,可以得到129 as或83 as的孤立阿秒脉冲。     

Hydrodynamic Synchronisation of Model Microswimmers

We define a model microswimmer with a variable cycle time, thus allowing the possibility of phase locking driven by hydrodynamic interactions between swimmers. We find that, for extensile or contractile swimmers, phase locking does occur, with the relative phase of the two swimmers being, in general, close to 0 or π, depending on their relative position and orientation. We show that, as expected on grounds of symmetry, self T-dual swimmers, which are time-reversal covariant, do not phase-lock. We also discuss the phase behaviour of a line of tethered swimmers, or pumps. These show oscillations in their relative phases reminiscent of the metachronal waves of cilia.     

Different types of integrability and their relation to decoherence in central spin models

We investigate the relation between integrability and decoherence in central spin models with more than one central spin. We show that there is a transition between integrability ensured by the Bethe ansatz and integrability ensured by complete sets of commuting operators. This has a significant impact on the decoherence properties of the system, suggesting that it is not necessarily integrability or nonintegrability which is related to decoherence, but rather its type or a change from integrability to nonintegrability.     

Absence of thermalization in nonintegrable systems

We establish a link between unitary relaxation dynamics after a quench in closed many-body systems and the entanglement in the energy eigenbasis. We find that even if reduced states equilibrate, they can have memory on the initial conditions even in certain models that are far from integrable. We show that in such situations the equilibrium states are still described by a maximum entropy or generalized Gibbs ensemble, regardless of whether a model is integrable or not, thereby contributing to a recent debate. In addition, we discuss individual aspects of the thermalization process, comment on the role of Anderson localization, and collect and compare different notions of integrability.     

Photo-induced electrical instability in hydrogenated amorphous silicon based thin-film transistors and the effect of its phase transition

We investigate the origin of photo-induced electrical instability in hydrogenated amorphous silicon based thin-film transistors (a-Si:H TFTs). Photo instability alone was accompanied by a positive shift in the threshold voltage (V_TH) caused by photo irradiation, and even larger positive or negative shift further exacerbated the instability caused by photo-induced electrical bias stress. Such phenomena can occur as a result of extended charge trapping and/or the creation of defect-states at the semiconductor/dielectric interface or in the gate dielectric. The mechanism for such is difficult to describe through chemical interactions of electron-donating and -withdrawing molecules that exhibit a shift in V_TH in only one direction. We also prove that a transition from an amorphous to a protocrystalline phase improves the photo-induced electrical stability. Such results originate from a reduction in the density of the localized states in protocrystalline-Si:H films relative to that of a-Si:H. We believe that this study provides significant information on the device physics of optoelectronics, which commonly exhibit photo-induced instability and charge transport, as a result of prolonged exposure to photo irradiation.     

Artificial square ice and related dipolar nanoarrays

We study a frustrated dipolar array recently manufactured lithographically by Wang in order to realize the square ice model in an artificial structure. We discuss models for thermodynamics and dynamics of this system. We show that an ice regime can be stabilized by small changes in the array geometry; a different magnetic state, kagome ice, can similarly be constructed. At low temperatures, the square ice regime is terminated by a thermodynamic ordering transition, which can be chosen to be ferro- or antiferromagnetic. We show that the arrays do not fully equilibrate experimentally, and identify a likely dynamical bottleneck.     

Nonequilibrium dynamics in type-II superconductors with inhomogeneous vortex pinning

We study numerically the dynamics relating to negative vortex motion in inhomogeneous pinning systems. We show that this dynamical phenomenon results from the internal field effect produced by the growing local barriers with decreasing temperature. We find that the negative motion is characterized by a peak of negative voltage or resistance in resistance–temperature transport measurements. We also demonstrate that the time window to observe the negative motion is determined by the magnitude of driving force in addition to the temperature scanning rate.