Magnetophotoluminescence study of GaAs/AlGaAs coupled double quantum wells with bimodal heterointerface roughness

This work reports on the results of magnetophotoluminescence (MPL) measurements carried out in a sample containing two Al_0.35Ga_0.65As/GaAs, coupled double quantum wells (CDQWs), with inter-well barriers of different thicknesses, which have the heterointerfaces characterized by a distribution of bimodal roughness. The MPL measurements were performed at 4 K, with magnetic fields applied parallel to the growth direction, and varying from 0 to 12 T. The diamagnetic shift of the photoluminescence (PL) peaks is more sensitive to changes in the confinement potential, due to monolayer variations in the mini-well thickness, rather than to the exciton localization at the local potential fluctuations. As the magnetic field increases, the relative intensities of the two peaks in each PL band inverts, what is attributed to the reduction in the radiative lifetime of the delocalized excitons, which results in the radiative recombination, before the excitonic migration between the higher and lower energy regions in each CDQW occurs. The dependence of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) on magnetic field shows different behaviors for each PL peak, which are attributed to the different levels and correlation lengths of the potential fluctuations present in the regions associated with each recombination channel.     

Ising model for the alloys according to the effective field theory

FeAl alloys in their disordered structural phase have been investigated through an Ising model where besides exchange interactions between nearest-neighbors Fe atoms, a superexchange interaction mediated by Al atoms is also taken into account. The model has been approximately treated according to the effective field theory. Although the phase diagram, as a function of Al concentration, is similar to the one previously obtained from Bogoliubov variational approach for the free energy, a different behavior for the superexchange interaction is achieved, which can also be physically accepted for this system.     

Modelling heavy tails and asymmetry using ARCH-type models with stable Paretian distributions

Several approaches have been considered to model the heavy tails and asymmetric effect on stocks returns volatility. The most commonly used models are the Exponential Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGARCH), the Threshold GARCH (TGARCH), and the Asymmetric Power ARCH (APARCH) which, in their original form, assume a Gaussian distribution for the innovations. In this paper we propose the estimation of all these asymmetric models on empirical distributions of the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 daily returns, assuming the Student’s t and the stable Paretian with (α < 2) distributions for innovations. To the authors’ best knowledge, analysis of the EGARCH and TGARCH assuming innovations with α-stable distribution have not yet been reported in the literature. The results suggest that this kind of distributions clearly outperforms the Gaussian case. However, when α-stable and Student’s t distributions are compared, a general conclusion should be avoided as the goodness-of-fit measures favor the α-stable distribution in the case of S&P 500 returns and the Student’s t distribution in the case of FTSE 100.     

Water structure and selective permeation of cellulose-based membranes

The techniques used in the study of water in pores are extensively reviewed. Particular importance is given to ATR-FTIR, which allows the study of the active layer in the wet state. Taking further advantage of this technique, mathematical simulation studies on the ATR-FTIR spectra of water in cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate butyrate asymmetric membranes are performed. The OH-stretching band in the spectra of cellulose acetate membranes is deconvoluted into four components, which are ascribed to water clusters of different sizes. Results support the idea that the apparent rejection to salts may be associated to the size and number of water clusters whereas the flux depends on other factors, e.g. the thickness of the active layer.

The effect of salts, such as MgCl₂ and KCl, on the structure of water in the pores is also studied. The ATR-FTIR spectra of membranes previously equilibrated with solutions of such salts are deconvoluted.     

On the approximation of the solutions of the Riemann problem for a discontinuous conservation law

For a class of discontinuous flux functions introduced in [3] (cf. also [4]), we prove, for the Riemann problem, an extension of the existence result proved in [2] for a Lipschitz continuous flux function. In the last section, and based in the previous results, we apply the Lax-Friedrichs approximation method and the limiters technique (cf.[6]) to compute the quoted solution in a numerical example. For related results see [5].     

Analytical and computational modelling for wave energy systems: the example of oscillating wave surge converters

The development of new wave energy converters has shed light on a number of unanswered questions in fluid mechanics, but has also identified a number of new issues of importance for their future deployment. The main concerns relevant to the practical use of wave energy converters are sustainability, survivability, and maintainability. Of course, it is also necessary to maximize the capture per unit area of the structure as well as to minimize the cost. In this review, we consider some of the questions related to the topics of sustain-ability, survivability, and maintenance access, with respect to sea conditions, for generic wave energy converters with an emphasis on the oscillating wave surge converter. New analytical models that have been developed are a topic of par-ticular discussion. It is also shown how existing numerical models have been pushed to their limits to provide answers to open questions relating to the operation and characteristics of wave energy converters.     

Utilization of nondestructive techniques for analysis of the Martian meteorite NWA 6963 and its implications for astrobiology

Martian meteorites are excellent study materials for understanding the present and past of Mars, as they are important historical astrophysical artifacts because they possess information about Martian geological evolution and physical and chemical characteristics. In our case, we analyzed the NWA 6963 Martian meteorite classified as basaltic shergottite because of its chemical structure. A computerized microtomography (μCT) study in the NWA 6963 Martian meteorite provided us with 2D and 3D images that were extremely useful for ascertaining the internal structure of the analyzed sample and gave us the opportunity to find a crumpled material with a very peculiar structural format. In addition, it was possible to observe through the μCT that this encrusted material also has a completely different density of the meteorite. Calcium, strontium, and potassium were detected qualitatively, among others through the technique of X‐ray fluorescence.     

Delocalized 2-magnons eigenstates in long-range correlated random Heisenberg chains

We consider the one-dimensional quantum disordered Heisenberg ferromagnetic chain model with long-range correlated exchange couplings and study the nature of collective two-spin excitations. By using an exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in the two-spin flip subspace, we compute the spin wave participation number to characterize the localized or delocalized nature of the two-magnon states. For strongly correlated random exchange couplings, extended two-spin excitations with finite energy appear. Integrating the time-dependent Schroedinger equation, we follow the time-evolution of an initially localized two-spin state. We find that, associated with the emergence of extended spin waves, the wave-packet mean-square displacement develops a ballistic spread. Further, the single-spin wave-packet acquires an asymmetric profile due to the kinematic interaction between the excited spins.