Processing of a spoken narrative in the human brain is shaped by family cultural background

ABSTRACTUsing neuroimaging, we studied influence of family cultural background on processing of an audiobook in human brain. The audiobook depicted life of two young Finnish men, one with the Finnish and the other with the Russian family background. Shared family cultural background enhanced similarity of narrative processing in the brain at prelexical, word, sentence, and narrative levels. Similarity was also enhanced in brain areas supporting imagery. The cultural background was further reflected as semantic differences in word lists by which the subjects described what had been on their minds when they heard the audiobook during neuroimaging. Strength of social identity shaped word, sent…

Nuclear shell model applied to metallic clusters

We apply the nuclear shell model to jellium clusters of up to twenty-one Na atoms. Binding energies, ionization potentials, and photoabsorption cross sections are calculated and compared with mean-field results.

Configuration-interaction calculations of jellium clusters by the nuclear shell model

Configuration-interaction (CI) calculations are performed on Na clusters of up to 20 atoms within the spherical jellium model, with particular attention paid to the magic clusters with N=2, 8, and 20. The interacting valence electrons are assumed to move in the Coulomb field of the jellium core. The numerical work is carried out by the nuclear-structure code oxbash modified to handle LS coupling. The many-particle bases are constructed of harmonic-oscillator single-particle states extending over 11 major shells and, alternatively, of single-particle states generated by the local-spin-density approximation (LSDA). The calculated quantities include ground- and excited state energies, ionizati…

Unrestricted Shapes of Jellium Clusters

A jellium model with a completely relaxable background charge density is used to study metal clusters containing 2 to 22 electrons. The resulting shapes of the clusters exhibit breaking of axial and inversion symmetries, as well as molecular formation. The clusters without inversion symmetry are soft against deformation. The strongly deformed 14-electron cluster is found to be semi-magic. Stable-shape isomers are predicted.

Energy spectrum, persistent current and electron localization in quantum rings

Energy spectra of quasi-one-dimensional quantum rings with a few electrons are studied using several different theoretical methods. Discrete Hubbard models and continuum models are shown to give similar results governed by the special features of the one-dimensionality. The energy spectrum of the many-body system can be described with a rotation-vibration spectrum of a 'Wigner molecule' of 'localized' electrons, combined with the spin-state determined from an effective antiferromagnetic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The persistent current as a function of magnetic flux through the ring shows periodic oscillations arising from the 'rigid rotation' of the electron ring. For polarized electrons the …

Current-spin-density-functional study of persistent currents in quantum rings

We present a numerical study of persistent currents in quantum rings using current spin density functional theory (CSDFT). This formalism allows for a systematic study of the joint effects of both spin, interactions and impurities for realistic systems. It is illustrated that CSDFT is suitable for describing the physical effects related to Aharonov-Bohm phases by comparing energy spectra of impurity-free rings to existing exact diagonalization and experimental results. Further, we examine the effects of a symmetry-breaking impurity potential on the density and current characteristics of the system and propose that narrowing the confining potential at fixed impurity potential will suppress t…

Magic triangular and tetrahedral clusters

Using the methods of density functional theory and the jellium model we show that clusters with triangular [in two dimensions (2D)] or tetrahedral [in three dimensions (3D)] shapes have a strong shell structure and enhanced stability. Moreover, the shell closings correspond to the lowest magic numbers of a 2D and 3D harmonic oscillator and at the same time to the number of divalent atoms in close-packed triangles and tetrahedrons. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for Na and Mg clusters support the results of the jellium model.

Finite boson and fermion systems under extreme rotation: edge reconstruction and vortex formation

Vortices can form when finite quantal systems are set rotating. In the limit of small particle numbers, the vortex formation in a harmonically trapped fermion system, with repulsively interacting particles, shows similarities to the corresponding boson system, with vortices entering the rotating cloud for increasing rotation. For a larger number of fermions, N greater than or similar to 15, the fermion vortices compete and co-exist with (Chamon-Wen) edge-reconstructed ground states, forcing some ground states, as for example the central single vortex, into the spectrum of excited states. Experimentally, the fermion system could, for instance, be electrons in a semiconductor heterostructure,…

Fractional Periodicity of Persistent Currents: A Signature of Broken Internal Symmetry

We show from the symmetries of the many body Hamiltonian, cast into the form of the Heisenberg (spin) Hamiltonian, that the fractional periodicities of persistent currents are due to the breakdown of internal symmetry and the spin Hamiltonian holds the explanation to this transition. Numerical diagonalizations are performed to show this explicitely. Persistent currents therefore, provide an easy way to experimentally verify broken internal symmetry in electronic systems.

Linear Nuclei: A Density Functional Interpretation

We show that linear shape isomers of small even-even nuclei exist with nearly any internucleon interactions. The shapes of the linear isomers look like chains of alpha-particles, but single-particle spectrum reveals that alpha-particle interpretation is not needed. Indeed, the same shapes are obtained even with noninteracting particles in a rectangular cavity. Linear shape isomers are shown to exist also in metal clusters.

Electronic and magnetic structure of artificial atoms

The concept of shell structure has been found useful in the description of semiconductor quantum dots, which today can be made so small that they contain less than 20 electrons. We review the experimental discovery of magic numbers and spin alignment following Hund’s rules in the addition spectra of vertical quantum dots, and show that these results compare well to model calculations within spin density functional theory. We further discuss the occurrence of spin density waves in quantum dots and quantum wires. For deformable two-dimensional quantum dots (for example, jellium clusters on surfaces), we study the interplay between Hund’s rules and Jahn–Teller deformations and investigate the …

Rotational and vibrational spectra of quantum rings

One can confine the two-dimensional electron gas in semiconductor heterostructures electrostatically or by etching techniques such that a small electron island is formed. These man-made ``artificial atoms'' provide the experimental realization of a text-book example of many-particle physics: a finite number of quantum particles in a trap. Much effort was spent on making such "quantum dots" smaller and going from the mesoscopic to the quantum regime. Far-reaching analogies to the physics of atoms, nuclei or metal clusters were obvious from the very beginning: The concepts of shell structure and Hund's rules were found to apply -- just as in real atoms! In this Letter, we report the discovery…

Universality of Many-Body States in Rotating Bose and Fermi Systems

We propose a universal transformation from a many-boson state to a corresponding many-fermion state in the lowest Landau level approximation of rotating many-body systems, inspired by the Laughlin wave function and by the Jain composite-fermion construction. We employ the exact-diagonalization technique for finding the many-body states. The overlap between the transformed boson ground state and the true fermion ground state is calculated in order to measure the quality of the transformation. For very small and high angular momenta, the overlap is typically above 90%. For intermediate angular momenta, mixing between states complicates the picture and leads to small ground-state overlaps at s…

Formation of Wigner molecules in small quantum dots

It was recently argued that in small quantum dots the electrons could crystallize at much higher densities than in the infinite two-dimensional electron gas. We compare predictions that the onset of spin polarization and the formation of Wigner molecules occurs at a density parameter $r_s\approx 4 a_B^*$ to the results of a straight-forward diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix.

Many-body origin of the plasmon resonance in small metal clusters

The origin of the plasmon excitation in small metal clusters is studied within the jellium model through ab initio electronic-structure calculations based on the nuclear shell model. In the limit of infinite size, the plasmon classically represents pure harmonic motion of the center of mass of the valence electrons. It is shown that this limit is already well approximated by clusters of only eight electrons.

Unrestricted shapes of light nuclei in the local-density approximation: Comparison with jellium clusters

Abstract The shapes of light nuclei are studied within density-functional theory. The Kohn-Sham method and the local-density approximation are used. No symmetry restrictions are imposed. A parallel study is made of monovalent atomic clusters described on the jellium model. The shapes obtained for nuclei with Z = N = 2–22 show a striking similarity to those of atomic clusters of an equal number of valence electrons. Moments of inertia, when suitably normalized, are virtually identical. The calculated nuclear quadrupole moments are found insensitive to the effective interaction and in good agreement with experiment. Similar shape coexistence is established in both systems.

Vortex rings in two-dimensional harmonic traps

We use the configuration interaction technique to study vortex formation in rotating systems of interacting spinless fermions and bosons trapped in a two-dimensional harmonic potential. In the fermionic case, the vortices appear as holes in the Fermi sea and localize in rings. The yrast spectrum is dominated by rigid rotation of the vortex ring, showing periodic oscillations. The Bose system shows a similar yrast spectrum and vortex formation. This can be explained by a one-to-one correspondence of the fermion and boson many-particle configurations. A simple mean-field model can reproduce the oscillations in the yrast spectrum, but fails to explain the localization of vortices.

Electron-hole duality and vortex rings in quantum dots

In a quantum-mechanical system, particle-hole duality implies that instead of studying particles, we can get equivalent information by studying the missing particles, the so-called holes. Using this duality picture for rotating fermion condensates the vortices appear as holes in the Fermi see. Here we predict that the formation of vortices in quantum dots at high magnetic fields causes oscillations in the energy spectrum which can be experimentally observed using accurate tunnelling spectroscopy. We use the duality picture to show that these oscillations are caused by the localisation of vortices in rings.

Photoionization of metal clusters.

The photoionization cross section of metal clusters is studied using simple theoretical models. In the case of small clusters, the plasmon is well below the photoionization threshold and the photoionization is dominated by simple independent-particle processes: One electron absorbs all the energy of the photon and immediately leaves the cluster. For large sodium clusters the photoionization efficiency curve is a result of a two-step process: First, the photon excites a plasmon and then the plasmon decays, either by emitting a photoelectron or by heating the cluster. A simple expression for the photoionization cross section near the threshold is derived. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Ph…

Quantum dots in magnetic fields: Phase diagram and broken symmetry of the Chamon-Wen edge

Quantum dots in magnetic fields are studied within the current spin density functional formalism avoiding any spatial symmetry restrictions of the solutions. We find that the maximum density droplet reconstructs into states with broken internal symmetry: The Chamon-Wen edge co-exists with a modulation of the charge density along the edge. The phase boundaries between the polarization transition, the maximum density droplet and its reconstruction are in agreement with recent experimental results.

Social-, health care and rehabilitation educators’ competence : a cross-sectional study

An educator’s competence influences the implementation of evidence-based education and the overall quality of social and health care. This study aimed to identify distinct competence profiles from Finnish social, health and rehabilitative care educators, as well as describe which personal and professional characteristics influenced belonging to a certain profile. Data were collected from 28 educational organizations located throughout Finland using the Health and Social Care Educators’ Competence instrument. The survey was answered by 422 educators. The performed K-means cluster analysis identified three distinct educator competence profiles, which differed in terms of self-assessed experti…

Spectral properties of rotating electrons in quantum dots and their relation to quantum Hall liquids

The exact diagonalization technique is used to study many-particle properties of interacting electrons with spin, confined in a two-dimensional harmonic potential. The single-particle basis is limited to the lowest Landau level. The results are analyzed as a function of the total angular momentum of the system. Only at angular momenta corresponding to the filling factors 1, 1/3, 1/5 etc. the system is fully polarized. The lowest energy states exhibit spin-waves, domains, and localization, depending on the angular momentum. Vortices exist only at excited polarized states. The high angular momentum limit shows localization of electrons and separation of the charge and spin excitations.

Many-body spectrum and particle localization in quantum dots and finite rotating Bose condensates

The yrast spectra (i.e. the lowest states for a given total angular momentum) of quantum dots in strong magnetic fields, are studied in terms of exact numerical diagonalization and analytic trial wave functions. We argue that certain features (cusps) in the many-body spectrum can be understood in terms of particle localization due to the strong field. A new class of trial wavefunctions supports the picture of the electrons being localized in Wigner molecule-like states consisting of consecutive rings of electrons, with low-lying excitations corresponding to rigid rotation of the outer ring of electrons. The geometry of the Wigner molecule is independent of interparticle interactions and the…

Shell-model and projected mean-field approach to electronic excitations of atomic clusters

Electron-gas clusters: the ultimate jellium model

The local spin-density approximation is used to calculate ground- and isomeric-state geometries of jellium clusters with 2 to 22 electrons. The positive background charge of the model is completely deformable, both in shape and in density. The model has no input parameters. The resulting shapes of the clusters exhibit breaking of axial and inversion symmetries; in general the shapes are far from ellipsoidal. Those clusters which lack inversion symmetry are extremely soft against odd-multipole deformations. Some clusters can be interpreted as molecules built from magic clusters. The deformation produces a gap at the Fermi level. This results in a regular odd-even staggering of the total ener…

Hund's Rules and Spin Density Waves in Quantum Dots

Spin density functional theory is used to calculate the ground state electronic structures of circular parabolic quantum dots. We find that such dots either have a spin configuration determined by Hund's rule or make a spin-density-wave-like state with zero total spin. The dependence of the spin-density-wave amplitudes on the density of the two-dimensional electron gas is studied.

Magnetism in one-dimensional quantum dot arrays

We employ the density functional Kohn-Sham method in the local spin-density approximation to study the electronic structure and magnetism of quasi one-dimensional periodic arrays of few-electron quantum dots. At small values of the lattice constant, the single dots overlap, forming a non-magnetic quantum wire with nearly homogenous density. As the confinement perpendicular to the wire is increased, i.e. as the wire is squeezed to become more one-dimensional, it undergoes a spin-Peierls transition. Magnetism sets in as the quantum dots are placed further apart. It is determined by the electronic shell filling of the individual quantum dots. At larger values of the lattice constant, the band …

Jahn-Teller deformations of jellium slices

Equilibrium geometries of quasi two-dimensional jellium systems are calculated in the local density approximation, closely following the “Ultimate Jellium Model” of [1]. The background charge is assumed to be fully deformable in a layer between two parallel planes, whereas the wave functions in the direction perpendicular to such a “jellium slice” are confined to their ground state. Like for jellium clusters in three dimensions [1], we find that for various system sizes, a trend towards a breaking of axial and inversion symmetries is observable.

Vortex localization in rotating clouds of bosons and fermions

Finite quantal systems at high angular momenta may exhibit vortex formation and localization. These phenomena occur independent of the statistics of the repulsively interacting particles, which may be of bosonic or fermionic nature. We analyze the relation between vortex localization and formation of stable Wigner molecules at high angular momenta in the view of particle-hole duality.Trial wave functions for the vortex states and the corresponding fermion-boson relations are discussed.

Quantum Dots in Magnetic Fields: Phase Diagram and Broken Symmetry at the Maximum-Density-Droplet Edge

Quantum dots in magnetic fields are studied within the current spin-density-functional formalism avoiding any spatial symmetry restrictions of the solutions. We find that the maximum-density droplet reconstructs into states with broken internal symmetry: The Chamon-Wen edge coexists with a modulation of the charge density along the edge. The phase boundaries between the polarization transition, the maximum-density droplet, and its reconstruction are in agreement with recent experimental results.

Ellipsoidal deformation of vertical quantum dots

Addition energy spectra at 0 T of circular and ellipsoidally deformed few-electron vertical quantum dots are measured and compared to results of model calculations within spin-density functional theory. Because of the rotational symmetry of the lateral harmonic confining potential, circular dots show a pronounced shell structure. With the lifting of the single- particle level degeneracies, even a small deformation is found to radically alter the shell structure leading to significant modifications in the addition energy spectra. Breaking the circular symmetry with deformation also induces changes in the total spin. This "piezo-magnetic" behavior of quantum dots is discussed, and the additio…

Broken symmetries in the reconstruction of ν=1 quantum Hall edges

Spin-polarized reconstruction of the v=1 quantum Hall edge is accompanied by a spatial modulation of the charge density along the edge. We find that this is also the case for finite quantum Hall droplets: current spin density functional calculations show that the so-called Chamon-Wen edge forms a ring of apparently localized electrons around the maximum density droplet (MDD). The boundaries of these different phases qualitatively agree with recent experiments. For very soft confinement, Chern-Simons Ginzburg-Landau theory indicates formation of a non-translational invariant edge with vortices (holes) trapped in the edge region.

On the formation of Wigner molecules in small quantum dots

It was recently argued that in small quantum dots the electrons could crystallize at much higher densities than in the infinite two-dimensional electron gas. We compare predictions that the onset of spin polarization and the formation of Wigner molecules occurs at a density parameter $r_s\approx 4 a_B^*$ to the results of a straight-forward diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix.

Low-energy spectrum and finite temperature properties of quantum rings

Recently it was demonstrated that the rotational and vibrational spectra of quantum rings containing few electrons can be described quantitatively by an effective spin-Hamiltonian combined with rigid center-of-mass rotation and internal vibrations of localized electrons. We use this model Hamiltonian to study the quantum rings at finite temperatures and in presence of a nonzero magnetic field. Total spin, angular momentum and pair correlation show similar phase diagram which can be understood with help of the rotational spectrum of the ring.

Spin-density waves in superdeformed quantum dots

Abstract Electronic shell structure and spin effects in deformed quantum dots are investigated using spin-density functional theory. We recently suggested (Koskinen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 79 (1997) 1389) that for circular dots, depending on the density of the two-dimensional electron gas and the electron number, a spin-density wave-like state can occur as a possible ground state. Here these studies are extended to deformed and superdeformed dots, which approach the limit of a finite quantum wire.

Magnetic interaction between coupled quantum dots

We study the magnetic coupling in artificial molecules composed of two and four laterally coupled quantum dots. The electronic ground-state configurations of such systems are determined by applying current spin density functional theory which allows to include effects of magnetic fields. While the ground-state of a two-dot molecule with strong enough inter-dot coupling tends to be antiferromagnetic with respect to the spins of the single dot components, we find that a square lattice of four dots has a ferromagnetic ground state.

Quantum dots in magnetic fields: Unrestricted symmetries in the current spin-density functional formalism

We apply the current spin-density functional formalism (CSDFT) of Vignale and Rasolt to two-dimensional quantum dots in magnetic fields. Avoiding any spatial symmetry restrictions of the solutions, we find that a broken rotational symmetry of the electronic charge density can occur in high magnetic fields.

Vertical quantum dots with elliptically deformed cross sections

Abstract Few-electron vertical quantum dot artificial atoms with circular and elliptically deformed cross sections are investigated. Because of the high symmetry of the lateral confining potential, circular dots show a pronounced shell structure. With the lifting of level degeneracies, even a small deformation in shape is found to radically alter the shell structure leading to significant modifications of the addition energy spectra, and to induce change in the total spin.

Deformations of quasi-two-dimensional electron gas clusters

Shell effects and Jahn-Teller deformations of quasi-two-dimensional jellium droplets are studied. Utilizing the ultimate jellium assumption, previously successfully used for three-dimensional systems, we calculate unrestricted shape relaxations and binding energies of the ground-state and the lowest isomers, using the methods of density-functional theory in the local spin-density approximation. Strong variations with particle number are found in the shape of the droplets. In particular, for certain magic electron numbers the shapes show triangular or circular symmetry, while for other electron numbers, more complicated symmetries are found. We finally show that from a more simple ``billiard…