Non-uniqueness of the heat current operator and the hopping thermoelectric and Nernst-Ettingshausen effects in amorphous semiconductors

The Hardy correction in the heat current operator is generalized to the case of non-zero electron-phonon coupling constantg. It is then shown that not only the lowest (minus first) order but also the fist order contribution ing to the thermoelectric power of amorphous semiconductors in the hopping regime disappears. Consequently, since the lowest (zero) order contribution to the thermoelectric effects in the magnetic field yields no Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in these materials, the last effect is of the second order ing, at least.     

Spatial correlations and temperature dependence of the phonon-assisted hopping thermoelectric power in amorphous semiconductors

The assumption that the thermoelectric power of amorphous elemental semiconductors remains constant (in the hopping regime) down to zero temperature (which accords with some experiments on e.g. amorphous Ge performed above 100 K) is shown to be incompatible with the lowest order single-phonon hopping theory until the spatial interlevel correlations are taken into account.     

Thermopower in the Anderson model of semiconducting glasses

The thermoelectric power in the Anderson model of electrons in localized states in the mobility gap of semiconducting glasses interacting by attractive forces is calculated at low temperatures. Under some conditions, a transition from the activated form ofS to S=const at low temperatures is predicted. In connection with the activated character of the conductivity, it well corresponds to the experiment on some chalcogenide glasses.The author would like to thank ing. V.Cháb for communicating him the experimental data on As₂Te₃TI_x prior to publication.     

Potential formation in a bounded two-electron temperature plasma system with floating collector that emits electrons

Formation of the plasma potential in a plasma that contains energetic electrons and is bounded by a floating collector that emits electrons is studied theoretically. The problem is treated by a static. kinetic plasma-sheath model of Schwager and Birdsall [Phys. Fluids B2 (1990) 1057], which we have extended in order to include additional energetic electron population. The distribution of these electrons is assumed to be a high-temperature Maxwellian. They are called hot electrons. In the paper we study effects of the density and temperature of the hot electrons on the formation of the plasma potential. The model shows that for certain densities and temperatures of the hot electron population plasmas with two different plasma potentials can coexist in the system. These two plasmas are separated spatially by a double layer. For the case when there is no emission of electrons from the collector, results of the model are compared with computer simulation and very good agreement between the model and the simulation is found. The simulation also confirms existence of two plasmas with two different potentials separated by a double layer.     

Elastic properties of poly(hydroxybutyrate) molecules

Elasticity of various poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) molecules of regular and irregular conformational structure was examined by the molecular mechanics (MM) calculations. Force - distance functions and the Young's moduli E were computed by stretching of PHB molecules. Unwinding of the 2(1) helical conformation H is characterized at small deformations by the Young's modulus E = 1.8 GPa. The H form is transformed on stretching into the highly extended twisted form E, similar to the beta-structure observed earlier by X-ray fiber diffraction. The computations revealed that in contrast to paraffins, the planar all-trans structure of undeformed PHB is bent. Hence, a PHB molecule attains the maximum contour length in highly straightened, but slightly twisted conformations. A dependence of the single-chain moduli of regular and disordered conformations on the chain extension ratio x was found. The computed data were used to analyze elastic response of tie (bridging) molecules in the interlamellar (IL) region of a semi-crystalline PHB. A modification of the chain length distribution function of tie molecules tau(N) due to secondary crystallization of PHB was conjectured. The resulting narrow distribution tau(N) comprises the taut tie molecules of higher chain moduli prone to overstressing. The molecular model outlined is in line with the macroscopically observed increase in the modulus and brittleness of PHB with storage time.     

Problems of Dust Grains Charging to Negative Potentials

The presence of dust grains is a common phenomenon in the space environment. Grains can be charged by many different processes (e.g., photoemission, attachment of electrons/ions, the secondary emission, etc.). If the grain's surface potential becomes high enough, one can observe field emission of ions or electrons. We are trapping a single dust grain in a Paul trap, expose it to a low-energy electron beam, and investigate the evolution of its charge-to-mass ratio with respect to the energy of primary electron beam. We use micron-sized (D = 2–11 m) glass grains and charge them up to -300 V of surface potentials; it corresponds to the electric field strength of about 10⁸ V/m. Analysis of the charging/discharging processes has shown that (1) the effect of the field enhanced secondary emission is negligible in the case of insulators and (2) the effective work function for electron field emission from charged insulators is as low as 1 eV.     

Large Deviations for the Markov Binomial Distribution

Considering the Markov binomial distribution, we study large deviations for the Poisson approximation. Apart from the standard choice of parameters, we use the approach where the parameter of approximation depends on the argument of the approximated distribution function.