Search results for "mesoscale and nanoscale physics"
showing 10 items of 720 documents
Complete mapping of the spin-wave spectrum in vortex state nano-disk
2016
© 2016 American Physical Society.We report a study on the complete spin-wave spectrum inside a vortex-state nanodisk. Transformation of this spectrum is continuously monitored as the nanodisk becomes gradually magnetized by a perpendicular magnetic field and encounters a second-order phase transition to the uniformly magnetized state. This reveals the bijective relationship that exists between the eigenmodes in the vortex state and the ones in the saturated state. It is found that the gyrotropic mode can be continuously viewed as a uniform phase precession, which uniquely softens (its frequency vanishes) at the saturation field to transform above into the Kittel mode. By contrast, the other…
How Do Schr\"odinger's Cats Die?
2008
Recent experiments with superconducting qubits are motivated by the goal of fabricating a quantum computer, but at the same time they illuminate the more fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. In this paper we analyze the physics of switching current measurements from the point of view of macroscopic quantum mechanics.
Hybrid optomechanics for Quantum Technologies
2014
We review the physics of hybrid optomechanical systems consisting of a mechanical oscillator interacting with both a radiation mode and an additional matter-like system. We concentrate on the cases embodied by either a single or a multi-atom system (a Bose-Einstein condensate, in particular) and discuss a wide range of physical effects, from passive mechanical cooling to the set-up of multipartite entanglement, from optomechanical non-locality to the achievement of non-classical states of a single mechanical mode. The reviewed material showcases the viability of hybridised cavity optomechanical systems as basic building blocks for quantum communication networks and quantum state-engineering…
Cross-Kerr nonlinearity: a stability analysis
2015
We analyse the combined effect of the radiation-pressure and cross-Kerr nonlinearity on the stationary solution of the dynamics of a nanomechanical resonator interacting with an electromagnetic cavity. Within this setup, we show how the optical bistability picture induced by the radiation-pressure force is modified by the presence of the cross-Kerr interaction term. More specifically, we show how the optically bistable region, characterising the pure radiation-pressure case, is reduced by the presence of a cross-Kerr coupling term. At the same time, the upper unstable branch is extended by the presence of a moderate cross-Kerr term, while it is reduced for larger values of the cross-Kerr co…
Exchange Splitting of a Hybrid Surface State and Ferromagnetic Order in a 2D Surface Alloy
2019
Surface alloys are highly flexible materials for tailoring the spin-dependent properties of surfaces. Here, we study the spin-dependent band structure of a DyAg$_2$ surface alloy formed on an Ag(111) crystal. We find a significant exchange spin-splitting of the localized Dy 4f states pointing to a ferromagnetic coupling between the localized Dy moments at $40\,$K. The magnetic coupling between these moments is mediated by an indirect, RKKY-like exchange coupling via the spin-polarized electrons of the hole-like Dy-Ag hybrid surface state.
Nanoscale subsurface dynamics of solids upon high-intensity laser irradiation observed by femtosecond grazing-incidence x-ray scattering
2020
Observing ultrafast laser-induced structural changes in nanoscale systems is essential for understanding the dynamics of intense light-matter interactions. For laser intensities on the order of $10^{14} \, \rm W/cm^2$, highly-collisional plasmas are generated at and below the surface. Subsequent transport processes such as heat conduction, electron-ion thermalization, surface ablation and resolidification occur at picosecond and nanosecond time scales. Imaging methods, e.g. using x-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL), were hitherto unable to measure the depth-resolved subsurface dynamics of laser-solid interactions with appropriate temporal and spatial resolution. Here we demonstrate picosecond…
Statistical Characterization of Self-Assembled Colloidal Crystals by Single-Step Vertical Deposition
2014
Abstract We have statistically characterized the self-assembly of multi-layer polystyrene colloidal crystals, using the technique of vertical deposition, with parameters chosen to produce thick layers of self-assembled crystals in one deposition step. The size distribution of domains produced with this technique was seen to follow a log-normal distribution, hinting that aggregation or fragmentation phenomena play a role. In addition, using a lithographically directed self-assembly method, we have shown that the size of multi-layer, continuous crack-free domains in lithographically defined areas can be many times larger than in the surrounding areas. In a single deposition step, we have prod…
Light-induced anomalous Hall effect in massless Dirac fermion systems and topological insulators with dissipation
2019
Employing the quantum Liouville equation with phenomenological dissipation, we investigate the transport properties of massless and massive Dirac fermion systems that mimics graphene and topological insulators, respectively. The massless Dirac fermion system does not show an intrinsic Hall effect, but it shows a Hall current under the presence of circularly-polarized laser fields as a nature of a optically-driven nonequilibrium state. Based on the microscopic analysis, we find that the light-induced Hall effect mainly originates from the imbalance of photocarrier distribution in momentum space although the emergent Floquet–Berry curvature also has a non-zero contribution. We further compute…
Charge dynamics in molecular junctions: nonequilibrium Green's function approach made fast
2014
Real-time Green's function simulations of molecular junctions (open quantum systems) are typically performed by solving the Kadanoff-Baym equations (KBE). The KBE, however, impose a serious limitation on the maximum propagation time due to the large memory storage needed. In this work we propose a simplified Green's function approach based on the Generalized Kadanoff-Baym Ansatz (GKBA) to overcome the KBE limitation on time, significantly speed up the calculations, and yet stay close to the KBE results. This is achieved through a twofold advance: first we show how to make the GKBA work in open systems and then construct a suitable quasi-particle propagator that includes correlation effects …
Efficient conversion of orbital Hall current to spin current for spin-orbit torque switching
2021
Spin Hall effect, an electric generation of spin current, allows for efficient control of magnetization. Recent theory revealed that orbital Hall effect creates orbital current, which can be much larger than spin Hall-induced spin current. However, orbital current cannot directly exert a torque on a ferromagnet, requiring a conversion process from orbital current to spin current. Here, we report two effective methods of the conversion through spin-orbit coupling engineering, which allows us to unambiguously demonstrate orbital-current-induced spin torque, or orbital Hall torque. We find that orbital Hall torque is greatly enhanced by introducing either a rare-earth ferromagnet Gd or a Pt in…