Search results for " GAP"
showing 10 items of 811 documents
A proposed quantum mechanics mechanism for (e−, h+) charges separation applied to photosynthesis and energy production efficiency improovement
2009
Based on concepts in semiconductor band gap engineering (the staggered one), a qualitative model is proposed for the first step mechanism in artificial catalysis and natural systems such as photosynthesis in green leaves.
Resonant atom-field interaction in large-size coupled-cavity arrays
2011
We consider an array of coupled cavities with staggered inter-cavity couplings, where each cavity mode interacts with an atom. In contrast to large-size arrays with uniform-hopping rates where the atomic dynamics is known to be frozen in the strong-hopping regime, we show that resonant atom-field dynamics with significant energy exchange can occur in the case of staggered hopping rates even in the thermodynamic limit. This effect arises from the joint emergence of an energy gap in the free photonic dispersion relation and a discrete frequency at the gap's center. The latter corresponds to a bound normal mode stemming solely from the finiteness of the array length. Depending on which cavity …
Infra-Red Asymptotic Dynamics of Gauge Invariant Charged Fields: QED versus QCD
1999
The freedom one has in constructing locally gauge invariant charged fields in gauge theories is analyzed in full detail and exploited to construct, in QED, an electron field whose two-point function W(p), up to the fourth order in the coupling constant, is normalized with on-shell normalization conditions and is, nonetheless, infra-red finite; as a consequence the radiative corrections vanish on the mass shell $p^2=\mu^2$ and the free field singularity is dominant, although, in contrast to quantum field theories with mass gap, the eigenvalue $\mu^2$ of the mass operator is not isolated. The same construction, carried out for the quark in QCD, is not sufficient for cancellation of infra-red …
Topologically Protected Twist Edge States for a Resonant Mechanical Laser-Beam Scanner
2019
We design a one-dimensional chain of two different alternating three-dimensional elastic chiral unit cells. The chain’s topological band gap, a result of the alternation of unit cells combined with their chirality and an effective mirror symmetry, guarantees a protected edge state, corresponding to a localized twist mode with an eigenfrequency inside the one-dimensional band gap. A small axial modulation at the one end of the beam can excite this resonant twist mode at the other end of the beam, via evanescent modes in the gap. The topological robustness of the edge state allows us to add a micromirror to the other end of the beam, turning the arrangement into a resonant mechanical laser-be…
Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator with Nonsymmorphic Protection in Two Dimensions
2019
The recent demonstration of topological states in antiferromagnets (AFMs) provides an exciting platform for exploring prominent physical phenomena and applications of antiferromagnetic spintronics. A famous example is the AFM topological insulator (TI) state, which, however, was still not observed in two dimensions. Using a tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, we show that, in contrast to previously observed AFM topological insulators in three dimensions, an AFM TI can emerge in two dimensions as a result of a nonsymmorphic symmetry that combines the twofold rotation symmetry and half-lattice translation. Based on the spin Chern number, Wannier charge centers, and gapless …
Magnetism-mediated transition between crystalline and higher-order topological phases in NpSb
2021
Merging the fields of topology and magnetism expands the scope of fundamental quantum phenomena with novel functionalities for topological spintronics enormously. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that ferromagnetism provides an efficient means to achieve a topological switching between crystalline and higher-order topological insulator phases in two dimensions. Using a tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, we identify layered NpSb as a long-awaited two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator with intrinsic ferromagnetic order with a band gap which is as large as 220 meV. We show that when ${\mathcal{M}}_{z}$ symmetry is preserved for the out of plane magnetization o…
Review on up/down conversion materials for solar cell application
2012
The present paper reviews the methods of photon up- and down conversion strategies for improving the efficiency of solar cells. Photons with a lower energy than the band gap will be lost in a normal solar cell. The principle of the up conversion technique is that two or more photons are converted into a photon with energy higher than the band gap energy. High energy photons will lose the energy above the band gap energy limit. Down conversion is a process where a high energy photon is converted into several lower energy photons with energies above the band gap. A description is given of the most common methods and materials for these conversions resulting in higher solar cell efficiencies.
THE LIMITING EFFICIENCY OF FOUR-BAND CELLS REVISITED
2014
The limiting theoretical efficiency of four-band solar cells is revisited. In previous work, researchers have looked at the theoretical efficiency of four band cells where the smallest of the three sub-band gaps is closest to the valence band and the largest closest to the conduction band. In this work, limits are calculated also for other possible band configurations. In multi-band cells, photon selectivity can be assured by adjusting the band widths. The present work shows that previous authors have put too rigid constraints on the band structure to achieve spectral selectivity. Relieving these constraints gives a considerably higher limiting efficiency for cells with band width restricti…
Energy gap of intermediate-valentSmB6studied by point-contact spectroscopy
2001
We have investigated the intermediate valence narrow-gap semiconductor ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ at low temperatures using both conventional spear-anvil type point contacts as well as mechanically controllable break junctions. The zero-bias conductance varied between less than $0.01 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{S}$ and up to 1 mS. The position of the spectral anomalies, which are related to the different activation energies and band gaps of ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6},$ did not depend on the the contact size. Two different regimes of charge transport could be distinguished: Contacts with large zero-bias conductance are in the diffusive Maxwell regime. They had spectra with only small nonlinearities. Contacts…
Galileo, God and Mathematics
2005
This chapter explores the relationship between God and the mathematics of Galileo. In the early modern era, the mathematical sciences began to produce potential instruments of power and to supply technically and socially valuable knowledge—for use in engineering, administration, and social control. This ability to produce useful knowledge and potential instruments of power became the critical basis for the existence of the mathematical sciences. In discussing Galileo's thoughts about mathematics and the mathematical sciences, it is necessary to keep in mind that he did not codify them and that he worked—as did many early modern scholars—with conflicting epistemologies. Furthermore, there is…