Transient scattering by a circular cylinder

The scattering of transient plane waves by a circular cylinder is studied by using the Kirchhoff time-retarded potential boundary integral equation method. Two distinct problems are solved: (i) surface velocity potentials (or pressures) are found for rigid cylinders scattering ramp, ramp-step and Gaussian incident potential (or pressure) waves and (ii) surface velocities are found for free boundary (pressure release) cylinders scattering ramp, ramp-step and Gaussian incident velocity waves. The numerical schemes for both boundary conditions are very similar; since the same influence coefficients are used they differ only by a sign in the final formulation. Numerical results are readily obtained for the first few transit times. This approach is complementary to the usual modal approach in that it is best suited to early time values where the modal solutions converge most slowly.     

Electron transport in graphene nanoribbons under a central potential modulation

We study electron transport in graphene nanoribbons (GNs) under a one-dimensional central potential. Two kinds of structures are considered: armchair-edged GN (AGN) where a central potential is applied on the central dimer chain, and zigzag-edged GN (ZGN) where a potential is applied on the central zigzag chain. Both nanoribbons show unique electronic structure and interesting transport properties under potential modulation. Without considering edge effect, a metallic AGN is still metallic after potential modulation. However, if the edge effect is considered, an AGN under potential modulation can be either semiconducting or metallic depending on the potential strength. The AGN transits from semiconducting to metallic and then to semiconducting again with the potential increase. As to ZGN, the potential on the central zigzag chain also greatly affect the quantum conductance. A ZGN will transit from metallic to semiconducting as the potential strength exceeds critical value. All transitions of AGN and ZGN are correlated with the localized state on the central potential chain which induces a quantum channel along the chain.     

Multidimensional semi-gap solitons in a periodic potential

The existence, stability and other dynamical properties of a new type of multi-dimensional (2D or 3D) solitons supported by a transverse low-dimensional (1D or 2D, respectively) periodic potential in the nonlinear Schr?dinger equation with the self-defocusing cubic nonlinearity are studied. The equation describes propagation of light in a medium with normal group-velocity dispersion (GVD). Strictly speaking, solitons cannot exist in the model, as its spectrum does not support a true bandgap. Nevertheless, the variational approximation (VA) and numerical computations reveal stable solutions that seem as completely localized ones, an explanation to which is given. The solutions are of the gap-soliton type in the transverse direction(s), in which the periodic potential acts in combination with the diffraction and self-defocusing nonlinearity. Simultaneously, in the longitudinal (temporal) direction these are ordinary solitons, supported by the balance of the normal GVD and defocusing nonlinearity. Stability of the solitons is predicted by the VA, and corroborated by direct simulations.     

Effect of two asymmetries on current of a Brownian particle

A Brownian particle in an asymmetric periodic potential and subjected to an asymmetric dichotomous noise was investigated. In the frame of Fokker-Planck equation, exact expression of current of the system was derived. By means of numerical calculations, the results indicate that: (i) as the symmetry of either potential or noise is broken, a steady current will form; (ii) as the two symmetries are broken simultaneously, the current does not always appear, dependent on values of symmetric parameters of the potential and the noise; (iii) the current exhibits non-monotonic behavior as a function of symmetric parameter of the potential, while monotonic behavior as a function of symmetric parameter of the noise; (iv) in the case the potential symmetry is not broken seriously, the current is greatly influenced on by the noise symmetric parameter; (v) absolute values of the current as a function of height of potential barrier first increase then approach to saturation as the spatial potential is symmetric, while varies monotonically as the dichotomous noise is symmetric. In addition, the planes of the two symmetric parameters, which determine directions of the current, are drawn.     

Local and occupation time of a particle diffusing in a random medium

We consider a particle moving in a one-dimensional potential which has a symmetric deterministic part and a quenched random part. We study analytically the probability distributions of the local time (spent by the particle around its mean value) and the occupation time (spent above its mean value) within an observation time window of size t. In the absence of quenched randomness, these distributions have three typical asymptotic behaviors depending on whether the deterministic potential is unstable, stable, or flat. These asymptotic behaviors are shown to get drastically modified when the random part of the potential is switched on, leading to the loss of self-averaging and wide sample to sample fluctuations.     

Conditional Expectations Relative to a Product State and the Corresponding Standard Potentials

For a lattice system with a finite number of Fermions and spins on each lattice point, conditional expectations relative to an even product state (such as Fermion Fock vacuum) are introduced and the corresponding standard potential for any given dynamics, or more generally for any given time derivative (at time 0) of strictly local operators, is defined, with the case of the tracial state previously treated as a special case. The standard potentials of a given time derivative relative to different product states are necessarily different but they are shown to give the same set of equilibrium states, where one can compare states satisfying the variational principle (for translation invariant states) or the local thermodynamical stability or the Gibbs condition, all in terms of the standard potential relative to different even product states.     

Resonances while surmounting a fluctuating barrier

Electronic analog experiments on escape over a fluctuating potential barrier are performed for the case when the fluctuations are caused by Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise (OUN). In its dependence on the relation between the two OUN parameters (the correlation time tau and noise strength Q) the nonmonotonic variation of the mean escape time T as a function of tau can exhibit either a minimum (resonant activation), or a maximum (inhibition of activation), or both these effects. The possible resonant nature of these features is discussed. We claim that T is not a good quantity to describe the resonancelike character of the problem. Independently of the specific relation between the OUN parameters, the resonance manifests itself as a maximal lowering of the potential barrier during the escape event, and it appears for tau of the order of the relaxation time toward the metastable state.     

Quasi-normal oscillations of a schwarzschild black hole

The modes of oscillation of a Schwarzschild black hole are determined within an analytic framework. These quasi-normal modes are related to the bound states of the inverted black hole potential which is approximated by the inverted Eckart potential. For a given angular momentum parameter j, the real part of the quasi-normal frequency decreases as the mode number n (or, equivalently, the damping factor) increases, in agreement with the results of numerical studies.     

Derivation of a proximity interaction between nuclei from the Hartree-Fock functional with Skyrme interactions

The potential between heavy or medium heavy spherical nuclei is derived on the basis of the proximity approximation and the assumption of undisturbed spherical density distributions. The HF-theory with Skyrme forces is used to write the energy as a functional of the density. The resulting potential consists of an isoscalar and a (much smaller) isospin-dependent part. Depending on the choice of the Skyrme parameters calculated interaction between heavy ions are close to the double folding potential or to the proximity potential. Our interaction can be factorized with a very good approximation into scaling factors and universal functions of the proximity distance in units of the surface thickness.     

SH surface acoustic wave propagation in a cylindrically layered piezomagnetic/piezoelectric structure

SH surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) propagation in a cylindrically layered magneto-electro-elastic structure is investigated analytically, where a piezomagnetic (or piezoelectric) material layer is bonded to a piezoelectric (or piezomagnetic) substrate. By means of transformation, the governing equations of the coupled waves are reduced to Bessel equation and Laplace equation. The boundary conditions imply that the displacements, shear stresses, electric potential, and electric displacements are continuous across the interface between the layer and the substrate together with the traction free at the surface of the layer. The magneto-electrically open and shorted conditions at cylindrical surface are taken to solve the problem. The phase velocity is numerically calculated for different thickness of the layer and wavenumber for piezomagnetic ceramics CoFe₂O₄ and piezoelectric ceramics BaTiO₃. The effects of magnetic permeability on propagation properties of SH-SAW are discussed in detail. The distributions of displacement, magnetic potential and magneto-electromechanical coupling factor are also figured and discussed.     

Effects of confinement on a magnetized ideal gas: I. The electron gas

Using the framework of the grand canonical ensemble the effects of a two (or three) dimensional confinement (harmonic) potential on the magnetic properties of an ideal electron gas are investigated. The high temperature results for the magnetic moment obtained by Felderhof and Raval are generalized to take into account the spin. At low temperature the confinement potential introduces a new oscillatory phenomena besides a modification or even a destruction of the de Haas-van Alphen effect. The changes in Landau diamagnetism are also analysed.     

Finite correction to Aharonov-Bohm scattering by a contact potential

We study the influence of a contact (or delta) potential on the Aharonov-Bohm scattering of nonrelativistic particles. In general the contact potential has no effect on the scattering as expected. However, when the magnetic flux and the strength of the contact potential take some special values, the Aharonov-Bohm scattering cross-section is manifestly changed. It is shown that these special values correspond to the simultaneous existence of two half-bound states in two adjacent angular momentum channels. Two limiting processes are presented to deal with the singularity of the contact potential and results of the same nature are obtained.     

Structures and Dynamics of a Two-Dimensional Confined Dusty Plasma System

The influence of the confining potential strength and temperature on the structures and dynamics of a two-dimensional (2D) dusty plasma system is investigated through molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. The circular symmetric confining potential leads to the nonuniform packing of particles, that is, an inner core with a hexagon lattice surrounded by a few outer circular shells. Under the appropriate confining potential and temperature, the particle trajectories on middle shells form a series of concentric and nested hexagons due to tangential movements of particles.Mean square displacement, self-diffusion constant, pair correlation function, and the nearest bond are used to characterize the structural and dynamical properties of the system. With the increase of the confining potential, the radial and tangential movements of particles have different behaviors. With the increase of temperature, the radial and tangential motions strengthen, particle trajectories gradually become disordered, and the system gradually changes from a crystal or liquid state to a gas state.     

Structures and Dynamics of a Two-Dimensional Confined Dusty Plasma System

The influence of the confining potential strength and temperature on the structures and dynamics of a two-dimensional （2D） dusty plasma system is investigated through molecular dynamic （MD） simulation. The circular symmetric confining potential leads to the nonuniform packing of particles, that is, an inner core with a hexagon lattice surrounded by a few outer circular shells. Under the appropriate confining potential and temperature, the particle trajectories on middle shells form a series of concentric and nested hexagons due to tangential movements of particles. Mean square displacement, self-diffusion constant, pair correlation function, and the nearest bond are used to characterize the structural and dynamical properties of the system. With the increase of the confining potential, the radial and tangential movements of particles have different behaviors. With the increase of temperature, the radial and tangential motions strengthen, particle trajectories gradually become disordered, and the system gradually changes from a crystal or liquid state to a gas state.     

Microtrap on a concave grating reflector for atom trapping

We propose a novel scheme of optical confinement for atoms by using a concave grating reflector.The two-dimension grating structure with a concave surface shape exhibits strong focusing ability under radially polarized illumination.Especially,the light intensity at the focal point is about 100 times higher than that of the incident light.Such a focusing optical field reflected from the curved grating structure can provide a deep potential to trap cold atoms.We discuss the feasibility of the structure serving as an optical dipole trap.Our results are as follows.(i) Van der Waals attraction potential to the surface of the structure has a low effect on trapped atoms,(ⅱ) The maximum trapping potential is ~1.14 mK in the optical trap,which is high enough to trap cold ~(87)Rb atoms from a standard magneto-optical trap with a temperature of 120 μK,and the maximum photon scattering rate is lower than 1/s.(ⅲ) Such a microtrap array can also manipulate and control cold molecules,or microscopic particles.     

Determination of the vapor–liquid transition of square-well particles using a novel generalized-canonical-ensemble-based method

The square-well(SW) potential is one of the simplest pair potential models and its phase behavior has been clearly revealed, therefore it has become a benchmark for checking new theories or numerical methods. We introduce the generalized canonical ensemble(GCE) into the isobaric replica exchange Monte Carlo(REMC) algorithm to form a novel isobaric GCE-REMC method, and apply it to the study of vapor–liquid transition of SW particles. It is validated that this method can reproduce the vapor–liquid diagram of SW particles by comparing the estimated vapor–liquid binodals and the critical point with those from the literature. The notable advantage of this method is that the unstable vapor–liquid coexisting states,which cannot be detected using conventional sampling techniques, are accessed with a high sampling efficiency. Besides,the isobaric GCE-REMC method can visit all the possible states, including stable, metastable or unstable states during the phase transition over a wide pressure range, providing an effective pathway to understand complex phase transitions during the nucleation or crystallization process in physical or biological systems.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties in a disk-shaped quantum dot with a parabolic potential plus a hyperbolic potential in a static magnetic field

Linear and nonlinear optical properties in a disk-shaped quantum dot (DSQD) with a parabolic potential plus a hyperbolic potential in a static magnetic field are theoretically investigated within the framework of the compact-density-matrix approach and iterative method. The energy levels and the wave functions of an electron are obtained by three kinds of approximation methods. It is found that optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes are not only by the characteristic parameters of the hyperbolic potential and the confinement frequency, but also by the magnetic field.     

Acceleration Field of a Universe Modeled as a Mixture of Scalar and Matter Fields

A model of the Universe as a mixture of a scalar (inflaton or rolling tachyon from the string theory) and a matter field (classical particles) is analyzed. The particles are created at the expense of the gravitational energy through an irreversible process whereas the scalar field is supposed to interact only with itself and to be minimally coupled with the gravitational field. The irreversible processes of particle creation are related to the non-equilibrium pressure within the framework of the extended (causal or second-order) thermodynamic theory. The scalar field (inflaton or tachyon) is described by an exponential potential density added by a parameter which represents its asymptotic value and can be interpreted as the vacuum energy. This model can simulate three phases of the acceleration field of the Universe, namely, (a) an inflationary epoch with a positive acceleration followed by a decrease of the acceleration field towards zero, (b) a past decelerated period where the acceleration field decreases to a maximum negative value followed by an increase towards zero, and (c) a present accelerated epoch. For the energy densities there exist also three distinct epochs which begin with a scalar field dominated period followed by a matter field dominated epoch and coming back to a scalar field dominated phase.     

Donor Centers in a Gaussian Potential

We study a neutral donor center （D^0） and a negatively charged donor center （D^-） trapped by a quantum dot, which is subjected to a Gaussian potential confinement. Calculations are made by using the method of numerical diagonalization of Hamiltonian within the effective-mass approximation. The dependence of the ground state of the neutral shallow donor and the negatively charged donor on the dot size and the potential depth is investigated. The same calculations performed with the parabolic approximation of the Gaussian potential lead to the results that are qualitatively and quantitatively different from each other.