In-plane transport and enhanced thermoelectric performance in thin films of the topological insulators Bi₂Te₃ and Bi₂Se₃

Several small-band-gap semiconductors are now known to protect metallic surface states as a consequence of the topology of the bulk electron wave functions. The known "topological insulators" with this behavior include the important thermoelectric materials Bi?Te? and Bi?Se?, whose surfaces are observed in photoemission experiments to have an unusual electronic structure with a single Dirac cone. We study in-plane (i.e., horizontal) transport in thin films made of these materials. The surface states from top and bottom surfaces hybridize, and conventional diffusive transport predicts that the tunable hybridization-induced band gap leads to increased thermoelectric performance at low temperatures. Beyond simple diffusive transport, the conductivity shows a crossover from the spin-orbit-induced antilocalization at a single surface to ordinary localization.     

Cascaded Raman shifting of high-peak-power nanosecond pulses in As₂S₃ and As₂Se₃ optical fibers

We report efficient cascaded Raman scattering of near-IR nanosecond pulses in large-core (65 μm diameter) As?S? and As?Se? optical fibers. Raman scattering dominates other spectral broadening mechanisms, such as four-wave mixing, modulation instability, and soliton dynamics, because the fibers have large normal group-velocity dispersion in the spectral range of interest. With ~2 ns pump pulses at a wavelength of 1.9 μm, four Stokes peaks, all with peak powers greater than 1 kW, have been measured.     

Dynamic modelling and simulation of ¹⁵N separation by chemical exchange in NO, NO₂-HNO₃ system

The dynamic behaviour of a 1?N separation process by chemical exchange in a NO, NO?-HNO? system has been analysed based on an accurate mathematical model. A nonlinear system of first-order partial differential equations was determined by considering the multiple exchange reactions between the components of the gaseous mixture and the liquid phase constituents. The mathematical model of the process describes the space-time variation of the 1?N mole fraction in gas and liquid phases and provides a better understanding of operating limits and decision support in process design and optimisation.     

Detection of internal cracks and ultrasound characterization of nanostructured Bi₂Te₃-based thermoelectrics via acoustic microscopy

The search for thermoelectric (TE) materials for highly efficient devices aims at improving the TE efficiency and broadening their areas of applications. We created nanostructured thermoelectric Bi-Sb-Te-family materials by high energy (ball milling) pre-treatment of the parent materials followed by high-pressure/high-temperature treatment. Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ compositions with the superfluous maintenance of tellurium was used for the synthesis of the samples with p-type electrical conductivity. Acoustic microscopy was used to study elastic properties and bulk irregularities and to detection of internal cracks both in the parent materials and in the created nanostructured samples. The data has been used for optimization of parameters of synthesis of nanostructured thermoelectrics.     

Bulk superconducting phase with a full energy gap in the doped topological insulator Cu(x)Bi₂Se₃

The superconductivity recently found in the doped topological insulator Cu(x)Bi?Se? offers a great opportunity to search for a topological superconductor. We have successfully prepared a single-crystal sample with a large shielding fraction and measured the specific-heat anomaly associated with the superconductivity. The temperature dependence of the specific heat suggests a fully gapped, strong-coupling superconducting state, but the BCS theory is not in full agreement with the data, which hints at a possible unconventional pairing in Cu(x)Bi?Se?. Also, the evaluated effective mass of 2.6m(e) (m(e) is the free electron mass) points to a large mass enhancement in this material.     

Parity-broken chiral spin dynamics in Ba₃NbFe₃Si₂O₁₄

The spin-wave excitations emerging from the chiral helically modulated 120° magnetic order in a langasite Ba?NbFe?Si?O?? enantiopure crystal were investigated by unpolarized and polarized inelastic neutron scattering. A dynamical fingerprint of the chiral ground state is obtained, singularized by (i) spectral weight asymmetries answerable to the structural chirality and (ii) a full chirality of the spin correlations observed over the whole energy spectrum. The intrinsic chiral nature of the spin waves' elementary excitations is shown in the absence of macroscopic time-reversal symmetry breaking.     

Symmetry-breaking lattice distortion in Sr₃Ru₂O₇

The electronic nematic phase of Sr?Ru?O? is investigated by high-resolution in-plane thermal expansion measurements in magnetic fields close to 8 T applied at various angles Θ off the c axis. At Θ < 10° we observe a very small (10??) lattice distortion which breaks the fourfold in-plane symmetry, resulting in nematic domains with interchanged a and b axis. At Θ ? 10° the domains are almost fully aligned and thermal expansion indicates an area-preserving lattice distortion of order 2 × 10?? which is likely related to orbital ordering. Since the system is located in the immediate vicinity of a metamagnetic quantum critical end point, the results represent the first observation of a structural relaxation driven by quantum criticality.     

Current–current correlation function in the presence of chemical potential and magnetic field

A (2+1)-dimensional electronic system is considered, in which the relation between the Green functions and the conductivity is used. A current–current correlation function, Π_μν(B), of the fermion system was obtained in the presence of nonquantized fermion magnetic field B, chemical potential η and gap m. Using this function one can obtain an expression for polarization operator calculated without the magnetic field. The result obtained can be applied for graphene.     

Structural and physical–chemical properties of the CuGa5Se8, CuGa3Se5 and CuIn3Se5 compounds

Large-block (8×4×3 mm³) CuGa₅Se₈ crystals were obtained by the horizontal Bridgman method. Homogeneous CuGa₃Se₅ and CuIn₃Se₅ single crystals 12 mm in diameter and up to 40 mm in length were grown by directed crystallization of the melt. All three compounds were found to have the chalcopyrite-related structure. The melting points of these compounds were defined by means of the differential thermal analysis. The lattice parameters a and c as well as the axial thermal expansion coefficients α_a and α_c were determined as a function of temperature in the range from 90 to 650 K by the X-ray diffraction method. It is revealed that for all three compounds the coefficients of expansion along the a-axis are larger than those along the c-axis over the entire temperature range studied.     

Rechargeability improvement of δ-type chemical manganese dioxide with the co-doping of Bi and Ni in alkaline electrolyte

δ-MnO₂ with the doping of Ni and Bi was prepared through a simple chemical precipitation/oxidation method. Its structure was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction tests. The results of cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests showed that both the doping of Bi and Ni benefited the electrochemical activity of the MnO₂ electrode. Compared to the un-doped electrode, the Bi-doped one showed larger discharge capacity and the Ni-doped one showed higher discharge potential and better cycleability. With the co-doping of 5 wt% Bi and 10 wt% Ni, the discharge capacity of the MnO₂ electrode reached 252 mA h g^?1 at a 0.2C rate and 116 mA h g^?1 at a 1C rate, respectively. Its capacity remained in 105 mA h g^?1 after 50 cycles at a 1C rate, but the capacity of a commercial electrolytic MnO₂ electrode was only 37 mA h g^?1.     

Influence of super-strong magnetic field on the electron chemical potential and β decay in the stellar surroundings

In this paper, considering the quantum effect of electrons in a super-strong magnetic field, the influence of a super-strong magnetic field on the chemical potential of a non-zero temperature electron is analyzed, the rates of β decay under the super-strong magnetic field are studied, and then we compare them with the case without a magnetic field. Here, the nucleus 63Co is investigated in detail as an example. The results show that a magnetic field that is less than 1010 T has little effect on the electron chemical potential and β decay rates, but the super-strong magnetic field that is greater than 1010 T depresses the electron chemical potential and improves the β decay rates clearly.     

Influence of super-strong magnetic field on the electron chemical potential and β decay in the stellar surroundings

In this paper, considering the quantum effect of electrons in a super-strong magnetic field, the influence of a super-strong magnetic field on the chemical potential of a non-zero temperature electron is analyzed, the rates of β decay under the super-strong magnetic field are studied, and then we compare them with the case without a magnetic field. Here, the nucleus ^63Co is investigated in detail as an example. The results show that a magnetic field that is less than 1010 T has little effect on the electron chemical potential and β decay rates, but the super-strong magnetic field that is greater than 1010 T depresses the electron chemical potential and improves the β decay rates clearly.     

Electrostatic control of the evolution from a superconducting phase to an insulating phase in ultrathin YBa₂Cu₃O(7-x) films

The electrical transport properties of ultrathin YBa?Cu?O(7-x) films have been modified using an electric double layer transistor configuration employing an ionic liquid. A clear evolution from superconductor to insulator was observed in nominally 7 unit-cell-thick films. Using a finite size scaling analysis, curves of resistance versus temperature, R(T), over the temperature range from 6 to 22 K were found to collapse onto a single scaling function, which suggests the presence of a quantum critical point. However, the scaling fails at the lowest temperatures indicating the possible presence of an additional phase between the superconducting and insulating regimes.     

Similarity of the Fermi surface in the hidden order state and in the antiferromagnetic state of URu₂Si₂

Shubnikov-de Haas measurements of high quality URu2Si2 single crystals reveal two previously unobserved Fermi surface branches in the so-called hidden order phase. Therefore, about 55% of the enhanced mass is now detected. Under pressure in the antiferromagnetic state, the Shubnikov-de Haas frequencies for magnetic fields applied along the crystalline c axis show little change compared with the zero pressure data. This implies a similar Fermi surface in both the hidden order and antiferromagnetic states, which strongly suggests that the lattice doubling in the antiferromagnetic phase due to the ordering vector Q(AF)=(001) already occurs in the hidden order. These measurements provide a good test for existing or future theories of the hidden order parameter.     

Nonlocal Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model and chiral chemical potential

We derive the critical temperature in a nonlocal Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model with the presence of a chiral chemical potential. The model we consider uses a form factor derived from recent studies of the gluon propagator in Yang–Mills theory and has the property to fit in excellent way the form factor arising from the instanton liquid picture for the vacuum of the theory. Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model is derived form quantum chromodynamics providing all the constants of the theory without any need for fits. We show that the critical temperature in this case always exists and increases as the square of the chiral chemical potential. The expression we obtain for the critical temperature depends on the mass gap that naturally arises from Yang–Mills theory at low-energy as also confirmed by lattice computations.     

Determination of the thickness and optical constants of amorphous Ge–Se–Bi thin films

The effect of varying bismuth concentration on the optical constants of amorphous Ge₂₀Se_{80? x} Bi _x (where x = 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 at%) thin films prepared by thermal evaporation has been investigated. The transmission spectra T(λ) of the films at normal incidence were obtained in the spectral region from 400 to 2500 nm. An analysis proposed by Swanepoel [J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 16 (1983) p.1214], based on the use of the maxima and minima of the interference fringes, was applied to derive the real and imaginary parts of the complex index of refraction and also the film thickness. Increasing bismuth content was found to affect the refractive index and extinction coefficient of the Ge₂₀Se_{80? x} Bi _x films. Optical absorption measurements show that the fundamental absorption edge is a function of composition. With increasing bismuth content, the refractive index increases while the optical band gap decreases.     

Disjointness of β-KMS states with different chemical potential

The disjointness of -KMS states with different chemical potential is proved. Accordingly, states with different chemical potential are in different superselection sectors so that the chemical potential is a classical observable.     

Hybrid control of bifurcation and chaos in stroboscopic model of Internet congestion control system

Interaction between transmission control protocol （TCP） and random early detection （RED） gateway in the Internet congestion control system has been modelled as a discrete-time dynamic system which exhibits complex bifurcating and chaotic behaviours. In this paper, a hybrid control strategy using both state feedback and parameter perturbation is employed to control the bifurcation and stabilize the chaotic orbits embedded in this discrete-time dynamic system of TCP/RED. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the bifurcation is delayed and the chaotic orbits are stabilized to a fixed point, which reliably achieves a stable average queue size in an extended range of parameters and even completely eliminates the chaotic behaviour in a particular range of parameters. Therefore it is possible to decrease the sensitivity of RED to parameters. By using the hybrid strategy, we may improve the stability and performance of TCP/RED congestion control system significantly.     

The effect of Bi content on the thermal stability and crystallization of Se–Te chalcogenide glass

Glass formation and devitrification of intermediate alloys in the Se–Te–Bi system were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. A comparison of various simple quantitative methods to assess the level of stability of the glassy materials in the above-mentioned system is presented. All of these methods are based on characteristic temperatures, such as the glass transition temperature, T _g, the onset temperature of crystallization, T _in, the temperature corresponding to the maximum crystallization rate, T _p, or the melting temperature, T _m. In this work, a kinetic parameter, K _r(T), is added to the stability criteria. The thermal stability of several compositions of Se–Te–Bi was evaluated experimentally and correlated with the activation energies of crystallization by this kinetic criterion and compared with those evaluated by other criteria. All the results confirm that the thermal stability decreases with increasing Bi content in this glassy system. The crystallization results are analysed and the activation energy and mechanism of crystallization characterized.