Low-energy termination of graphene edges via the formation of narrow nanotubes

We demonstrate that free graphene sheet edges can curl back on themselves, reconstructing as nanotubes. This results in lower formation energies than any other nonfunctionalized edge structure reported to date in the literature. We determine the critical tube size and formation barrier and compare with density functional simulations of other edge terminations including a new reconstructed Klein edge. Simulated high resolution electron microscopy images show why such rolled edges may be difficult to detect. Rolled zigzag edges serve as metallic conduction channels, separated from the neighboring bulk graphene by a chain of insulating sp(3)-carbon atoms, and introduce van Hove singularities into the graphene density of states.     

Heralding two-photon and four-photon path entanglement on a chip

Generating quantum entanglement is not only an important scientific endeavor, but will be essential to realizing quantum-enhanced technologies, in particular, quantum-enhanced measurements with precision beyond classical limits. We investigate the heralded generation of multiphoton entanglement for quantum metrology using a reconfigurable integrated waveguide device in which projective measurement of auxiliary photons heralds the generation of path-entangled states. We use four and six-photon inputs, to analyze the heralding process of two- and four-photon NOON states-a superposition of N photons in two paths, capable of enabling phase supersensitive measurements at the Heisenberg limit. Realistic devices will include imperfections; as part of the heralded state preparation, we demonstrate phase superresolution within our chip with a state that is more robust to photon loss.     

Transport through graphene on SrTiO3

We report transport measurements through graphene on SrTiO(3) substrates as a function of magnetic field B, carrier density n, and temperature T. The large dielectric constant of SrTiO(3) very effectively screens long-range electron-electron interactions and potential fluctuations, making Dirac electrons in graphene virtually noninteracting. The absence of interactions results in an unexpected behavior of the longitudinal resistance in the N=0 Landau level and in a large suppression of the transport gap in nanoribbons. The "bulk" transport properties of graphene at B=0 T, on the contrary, are completely unaffected by the substrate dielectric constant.     

Synthesis and characterization of graphene-based nanocomposites with potential use for biomedical applications

In this paper, GaN nanoparticles were synthesized from the complex Ga(H₂NCONH₂)₆Cl₃ in the flow of NH₃ at a mild temperature (350 °C). Further purification was performed by the ethanol-thermal method. The ethanol-thermal method also prompted the GaN nanoparticles to grow into an anisotropic morphology. XRD patterns reveal that GaN nanoparticles have crystallized in a hexagonal wurtzite structure. TEM observation shows that the average size of the as-prepared nanoparticles is about 5–10 nm. The photoluminescence spectrum exhibits a broad green emission band with a peak at 510 nm. It can be known from the first-principle theoretic simulation by the TDDFT method that this fluorescence emission band is attributed to the hydride defects of V _N-H on the surface of GaN nanoparticles.     

Honeycomb pattern formation by laser-beam filamentation in atomic sodium vapor

We have observed transverse pattern formation leading to highly regular structures in both the near and far fields when a near-resonant laser beam propagates without feedback through an atomic sodium vapor. One example is a regular far-field honeycomb pattern, which results from the transformation of the laser beam within the vapor into a stable three-lobed structure with a uniform phase distribution and highly correlated power fluctuations. The predictions of a theoretical model of the filamentation process are in good agreement with these observations.     

An Improved Anharmonic Force Field of Difluoromethanimine, F2C NH

The anharmonic force field of difluoromethanimine, F₂C NH, has been reinvestigated theoretically using a coupled-cluster singles and doubles approach, augmented for structural optimization and harmonic force field by a contribution of connected triple excitations, CCSD(T). The cubic and quartic force constants have been obtained by numerical derivatives computed from analytical quadratic force constants calculated by second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory, MP2. The quadratic force constants and the equilibrium structure of F₂C NH have then been scaled by a global least-squares fitting procedure to the spectroscopic data and parameters experimentally determined for this molecule. This force field, obtained in the internal coordinates space and therefore valid for all isotopomers of difluoromethanimine, yields a complete set of spectroscopic molecular constants providing a critical assessment of the experimental rotational and centrifugal distortion constants, fundamentals, overtones, and combination bands determined so far for F₂C NH. In addition, the final force field can be used to make predictions of all important vibrational and rotational parameters which should be accurate and useful for new spectroscopic investigations.     

Squeezing and Quantum Canonical Transformations

In this paper we present an approach to quantum mechanical canonical transformations. Our main result is that time-dependent quantum canonical transformations can always be cast in the form of squeezing operators. We revise the main properties of these operators in regard to its Lie group properties, how two of them can be combined to yield another operator of the same class and how can also be decomposed and fragmented. In the second part of the paper we show how this procedure works extremely well for the time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator. The issue of the systematic construction of quantum canonical transformations is also discussed along the lines of Dirac, Wigner, and Schwinger ideas and to the more recent work by Lee. The main conclusion is that the classical phase space transformation can be maintained in the operator formalism but the construction of the quantum canonical transformation is not clearly related to the classical generating function of a classical canonical transformation. We hereby propose the much more efficient method given by the squeezing operators. This method has also been proved to be very useful, by one of the authors, in the framework of the dynamical symmetries (Cerveró, J. M. (1999). International Journal of Theoretical Physics 38, 2095–2109).     

Optimisation of sensor positions in random linear arrays based on statistical relations between geometry and performance

Due to the widespread use of acoustic arrays, optimisation techniques for array design, focused on improving array performance, have been widely published. This paper exploits the statistical relation between different measures of sidelobe levels and the spacing of elements in random linear arrays made up of a small number of sensors. This paper defines the methodology to obtain maximum probability functions, associating array geometry and performance. These maximum probability functions allow a pre-selection of those array geometries that are more likely to be associated to specified sidelobe level values. This pre-selection results in a significantly reduced computational burden.