Physics Commons^™

Exploration Of H2o Ice At Extreme Conditions, Zachary M. Grande

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Static compression experiments on water ice are needed for precise characterization and discovery of new ice phases near room temperature. Here I present my efforts and the developments that have been made to reduce detrimental effects found in high-pressure experiments in order to acquire precise measurements on ice approaching 3 Mbar. Several key observations are made, relating to the phase transition of ice-VII to X, an intermediate phase I have named ice-VIIt and evidence of a post ice X phase. Some of these experiments have been replicated using D2O ice as well, in order to gain insight into nuclear quantum …

Escape Dynamics Of Confined Undulating Worms, Animesh Biswas, Arshad Kudrolli

Physics

We investigate the escape dynamics of oligochaeta Lumbriculus variegatus by confining them to a quasi-2D circular chamber with a narrow exit passage. The worms move by performing undulatory and peristaltic strokes and use their head to actively probe their surroundings. We show that the worms follow the chamber boundary with occasional reversals in direction and with velocities determined by the orientation angle of the body with respect to the boundary. The average time needed to reach the passage decreases with its width before approaching a constant, consistent with a boundary-following search strategy. We model the search dynamics as a persistent …

Nonlinear Optical Studies Of Bulk And Thin Film Complex Materials, Joel E. Taylor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nonlinear optical studies of bulk and thin film materials provide a vast playground for physical and dynamical characterization. In this thesis, we have implemented experimental methods to probe novel phase transitions in single crystals using rotational anisotropic second harmonic generation (RASHG) and carrier dynamics in thin films with time-resolved pump-probe reflectivity. Furthermore, a novel low temperature ultra-high vacuum system coupled to nonlinear optics has been developed to extend lab capabilities. Doping (Bi_1-xSb_x)₂Se₃ with antimony, the surface electronic reconstruction near x=80% was identified with RASHG by deviations in the six-fold and three-fold polarization anisotropic …

Universality Class Of Explosive Percolation In Barabási-Albert Networks, Habib E. Islam, M. K. Hassan

Physics Faculty Publications

In this work, we study explosive percolation (EP) in Barabási-Albert (BA) network, in which nodes are born with degree k = m, for both product rule (PR) and sum rule (SR) of the Achlioptas process. For m = 1 we find that the critical point t_c = 1 which is the maximum possible value of the relative link density t; Hence we cannot have access to the other phase like percolation in one dimension. However, for m > 1 we find that t_c decreases with increasing m and the critical exponents ν, α, β and γ …

Modelling Potential Fluctuations In Double Layer Graphene Systems As A Periodic Oscillation In Electron Density & Its Effect On Coulomb Drag, Ryan Bogucki

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

An expression for the drag transresistivity in a graphene double layer system exhibiting potential fluctuations modelled as a periodic oscillation in electron density is derived. Our model starts from the Coulombic interaction and we derive the correlation between a sinusoidal fluctuation in electron density in the first layer and the induced electron density in the second layer. Previous models in the literature have employed an arbitrary correlation between each layer’s electron density, and the model presented is the first attempt in the literature to explicitly derive this correlation. Recent experiments have found that the drag transresistivity in graphene double layers …

Application Of Global Search Methods To Materials Prediction And Design, Adam J. Payne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Due to increased availability and power of computational resources over the past few decades, prediction and design of novel materials using computational methods has become feasible. Simulation of material systems has become vital to the further realization of novel material systems. In order to ascertain physical properties, accurate determination and identification of stable crystalline structures is necessary. Additionally, further identification of novel properties, such as magnetic moments or orbital occupation, is necessary to further realize this goal. Global search methods provide a path to accurate prediction of these properties. In this dissertation, the Firefly algorithm and minima hopping methods are …

Granular Convection And Crystallization Of A Two-Dimensional Granular Medium, Donley S. Cormode

Honors Projects

Granular media are everywhere from beaches to factories to your kitchen cabinets. There are a rich array of phenomena to study with granular media. These include granular convection, jamming, and crystallization. The systems tend to be macroscopic, so it is easy to collect data. The supplies are low-cost and easy to obtain. Studying granular media gives researchers the opportunity to explore foundational ideas in fields such as crystallography and condensed matter. This paper describes a simple, low cost apparatus used to study a vertically shaken two-dimensional granular medium of glass beads. This paper will also describe a few preliminary studies …

Discrimination Between Spin-Dependent Charge Transport And Spin-Dependent Recombination In Π-Conjugated Polymers By Correlated Current And Electroluminescence-Detected Magnetic Resonance, Marzieh Kavand, Douglas Baird, Kipp Van Schooten, Hans Malissa

Dartmouth Scholarship

Spin-dependent processes play a crucial role in organic electronic devices. Spin coherence can give rise to spin mixing due to a number of processes such as hyperfine coupling, and leads to a range of magnetic field effects. However, it is not straightforward to differentiate between pure single-carrier spin-dependent transport processes which control the current and therefore the electroluminescence, and spin-dependent electron-hole recombination which determines the electroluminescence yield and in turn modulates the current. We therefore investigate the correlation between the dynamics of spin-dependent electric current and spin-dependent electroluminescence in two derivatives of the conjugated polymer poly(phenylene-vinylene) using simultaneously measured pulsed …

Exact Solution Of Quadratic Fermionic Hamiltonians For Arbitrary Boundary Conditions, Abhijeet Alase, Emilio Cobanera, Gerardo Ortiz, Lorenza Viola

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present a procedure for exactly diagonalizing finite-range quadratic fermionic Hamiltonians with arbitrary boundary conditions in one of D dimensions, and periodic in the remaining D−1. The key is a Hamiltonian-dependent separation of the bulk from the boundary. By combining information from the two, we identify a matrix function that fully characterizes the solutions, and may be used to construct an efficiently computable indicator of bulk-boundary correspondence. As an illustration, we show how our approach correctly describes the zero-energy Majorana modes of a time-reversal-invariant s-wave two-band superconductor in a Josephson ring configuration, and predicts that a fractional 4π-periodic Josephson effect …

Identification Of Photocurrents In Topological Insulators, Derek A. Bas, Rodrigo A. Muniz, Sercan Babakiray, David Lederman, J. E. Sipe, Alan D. Bristow

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Optical injection and detection of charge currents is an alternative to conventional transport and photoemission measurements, avoiding the necessity of invasive contact that may disturb the system being examined. This is a particular concern for analyzing the surface states of topological insulators. In this work one- and two-color sources of photocurrents are isolated and examined in epitaxial thin films of Bi2Se3. We demonstrate that optical excitation and terahertz detection simultaneously captures one- and two-color photocurrent contributions, which has not been required for other material systems. A method is devised to extract the two components, and in doing so each can …

Effective Microscopic Models For Sympathetic Cooling Of Atomic Gases, Roberto Onofrio, Bala Sundaram

Dartmouth Scholarship

Thermalization of a system in the presence of a heat bath has been the subject of many theoretical investigations especially in the framework of solid-state physics. In this setting, the presence of a large bandwidth for the frequency distribution of the harmonic oscillators schematizing the heat bath is crucial, as emphasized in the Caldeira-Leggett model. By contrast, ultracold gases in atomic traps oscillate at well-defined frequencies and therefore seem to lie outside the Caldeira-Leggett paradigm. We introduce interaction Hamiltonians which allow us to adapt the model to an atomic physics framework. The intrinsic nonlinearity of these models differentiates them from …

Engineering The Ground State Of Complex Oxides, Derek Joseph Meyers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transition metal oxides featuring strong electron-electron interactions have been at the forefront of condensed matter physics research in the past few decades due to the myriad of novel and exciting phases derived from their competing interactions. Beyond their numerous intriguing properties displayed in the bulk they have also shown to be quite susceptible to externally applied perturbation in various forms. The dominant theme of this work is the exploration of three emerging methods for engineering the ground states of these materials to access both their applicability and their deficiencies.

The first of the three methods involves a relatively new set …

Dynamical Generation Of Floquet Majorana Flat Bands In S-Wave Superconductors, A. Poudel, G. Ortiz, L. Viola

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present quantum control techniques to engineer flat bands of symmetry-protected Majorana edge modes in s -wave superconductors. Specifically, we show how periodic control may be employed for designing time-independent effective Hamiltonians, which support Floquet Majorana flat bands, starting from equilibrium conditions that are either topologically trivial or only support individual Majorana pairs. In the first approach, a suitable modulation of the chemical potential simultaneously induces Majorana flat bands and dynamically activates a pre-existing chiral symmetry which is responsible for their protection. In the second approach, the application of effective parity kicks dynamically generates a desired chiral symmetry by suppressing …

Below Gap Optical Absorption In Gaas Driven By Intense, Single-Cycle Coherent Transition Radiation, J. Goodfellow, Matthias Fuchs, D. Daranciang, S. Ghimire, F. Chen, H. Loos, D. A. Reis, A. S. Fisher, A. M. Lindenberg

Matthias Fuchs Publications

Single-cycle terahertz fields generated by coherent transition radiation from a relativistic electron beam are used to study the high field optical response of single crystal GaAs. Large amplitude changes in the sub-band-gap optical absorption are induced and probed dynamically by measuring the absorption of a broad-band optical beam generated by transition radiation from the same electron bunch, providing an absolutely synchronized pump and probe geometry. This modification of the optical properties is consistent with strong-field-induced electroabsorption. These processes are pertinent to a wide range of nonlinear terahertz-driven lightmatter interactions anticipated at accelerator-based sources.

Majorana Flat Bands In S -Wave Gapless Topological Superconductors, Shusa Deng, Gerardo Ortiz, Amrit Poudel, Lorenza Viola

Dartmouth Scholarship

We demonstrate how the nontrivial interplay between spin-orbit coupling and nodeless s-wave superconductivity can drive a fully gapped two-band topological insulator into a time-reversal invariant gapless topological superconductor supporting symmetry-protected Majorana flat bands. We characterize topological phase diagrams by a Z2×Z2 partial Berry-phase invariant, and show that, despite the trivial crystal geometry, no unique bulk-boundary correspondence exists. We trace this behavior to the anisotropic quasiparticle bulk gap closing, linear vs quadratic, and argue that this provides a unifying principle for gapless topological superconductivity. Experimental implications for tunneling conductance measurements are addressed, relevant for lead chalcogenide materials.

Universal Quantum Fluctuations Of A Cavity Mode Driven By A Josephson Junction, A. D. Armour, M. P. Blencowe, E. Brahimi, A. J. Rimberg

Dartmouth Scholarship

We analyze the quantum dynamics of a superconducting cavity coupled to a voltage-biased Josephson junction. The cavity is strongly excited at resonances where the voltage energy lost by a Cooper pair traversing the circuit is a multiple of the cavity photon energy. We find that the resonances are accompanied by substantial squeezing of the quantum fluctuations of the cavity over a broad range of parameters and are able to identify regimes where the fluctuations in the system take on universal values.

Multiband S -Wave Topological Superconductors: Role Of Dimensionality And Magnetic Field Response, Shusa Deng, Gerardo Ortiz, Lorenza Viola

Dartmouth Scholarship

We further investigate a class of time-reversal-invariant two-band s-wave topological superconductors introduced earlier [Deng, Viola, and Ortiz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 036803 (2012)]. Provided that a sign reversal between the two superconducting pairing gaps is realized, the topological phase diagram can be determined exactly (within mean field) in one and two dimensions as well as in three dimensions upon restricting to the excitation spectrum of time-reversal-invariant momentum modes. We show how, in the presence of time-reversal symmetry, Z2 invariants that distinguish between trivial and nontrivial quantum phases can be constructed by considering only one of the Kramers’ sectors …

Theoretical Studies Of Structural And Electronic Properties In Transition Metal Oxides, Tsezar F. Seman

Dissertations

The following studies are presented: theory of K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and its application for La_0.5Sr_1.5MnO₄, effects of rare earth ion size on the stability of the coherent Jahn-Teller distortions in undoped perovskite manganites, and symmetry-mode-based classical and quantum mechanical formalism of lattice dynamics.

The formula based on tight-binding approach for the calculation of K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectrum for transition metal oxides is presented first, by extending the previous existing result to include explicit momentum dependence and a basis with multiple core-hole sites. This formula is applied to layered charge, …

Origin Of The Low Frequency Radiation Emitted By Radiative Polaritons Excited By Infrared Radiation In Planar La2o3 Films, Anita J. Vincent-Johnson, Yosep Schwab, Harkirat S. Mann, Mathieu Francoeur, James S. Hammonds Jr., Giovanna Scarel

Department of Physics and Astronomy - Faculty Scholarship

Upon excitation in thin oxide films by infrared radiation, radiative polaritons are formed with complex angular frequency ω, according to the theory of Kliewer and Fuchs (1966 Phys. Rev. 150 573). We show that radiative polaritons leak radiation with frequency ωi to the space surrounding the oxide film. The frequency ωi is the imaginary part of ω. The effects of the presence of the radiation leaked out at frequency ωi are observed experimentally and numerically in the infrared spectra of La2O3 films on silicon upon excitation by infrared radiation of the 0TH type radiative polariton. The frequency ωi is found …

Nanomechanical Resonator Coupled Linearly Via Its Momentum To A Quantum Point Contact, Latchezar L. Benatov, Miles P. Blencowe

Dartmouth Scholarship

We use a Born-Markov approximated master equation approach to study the symmetrized-in-frequency current noise spectrum and the oscillator steady state of a nanoelectromechanical system where a nanoscale resonator is coupled linearly via its momentum to a quantum point contact (QPC). Our current noise spectra exhibit clear signatures of the quantum correlations between the QPC current and the back-action force on the oscillator at a value of the relative tunneling phase (η=−π/2) where such correlations are expected to be maximized. We also show that the steady state of the oscillator obeys a classical Fokker-Planck equation, but can experience thermomechanical noise squeezing …

Information Content Of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, Marcelo Gleiser, Nikitas Stamatopoulos

Dartmouth Scholarship

We propose a measure of order in the context of nonequilibrium field theory and argue that this measure, which we call relative configurational entropy (RCE), may be used to quantify the emergence of coherent low-entropy configurations, such as time-dependent or time-independent topological and nontopological spatially extended structures. As an illustration, we investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of spontaneous symmetry breaking in three spatial dimensions. In particular, we focus on a model where a real scalar field, prepared initially in a symmetric thermal state, is quenched to a broken-symmetric state. For a certain range of initial temperatures, spatially localized, long-lived structures known …

Majorana Modes In Time-Reversal Invariant S -Wave Topological Superconductors, Shusa Deng, Lorenza Viola, Gerardo Ortiz

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present a time-reversal invariant s-wave superconductor supporting Majorana edge modes. The multiband character of the model together with spin-orbit coupling are key to realizing such a topological superconductor. We characterize the topological phase diagram by using a partial Chern number sum, and show that the latter is physically related to the parity of the fermion number of the time-reversal invariant modes. By taking the self-consistency constraint on the s-wave pairing gap into account, we also establish the possibility of a direct topological superconductor-to-topological insulator quantum phase transition.

Effect Of Impurities On The Superheating Field Of Type-Ii Superconductors, F. Pei-Jen Lin, A. Gurevich

Physics Faculty Publications

We consider the effect of nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities on the superheating field H_s in a type-II superconductor. We solved the Eilenberger equations, which take into account the nonlinear pairbreaking of Meissner screening currents, and calculated H_s(T) for arbitrary temperatures and impurity concentrations in a single-band s-wave superconductor with a large Ginzburg-Landau parameter. At low temperatures, nonmagnetic impurities suppress a weak maximum in H_s(T), which has been predicted for the clean limit, resulting, instead, in a maximum of H_s as a function of impurity concentration in a moderately clean limit. It is shown that …

Experimental Characterization Of Coherent Magnetization Transport In A One-Dimensional Spin System, Chandrasekhar Ramanathan, Paola Cappellaro, Lorenza Viola, David G. Cory

Dartmouth Scholarship

We experimentally characterize the non-equilibrium, room-temperature magnetization dynamics of a spin chain evolving under an effective double-quantum (DQ) Hamiltonian. We show that the Liouville space operators corresponding to the magnetization and the two-spin correlations evolve 90 degrees out of phase with each other, and drive the transport dynamics. For a nearest-neighbor-coupled N-spin chain, the dynamics are found to be restricted to a Liouville operator space whose dimension scales only as N², leading to a slow growth of multi-spin correlations. Even though long-range couplings are present in the real system, we find excellent agreement between the analytical predictions …

Generic Phases Of Cross-Linked Active Gels: Relaxation, Oscillation And Contractility, Shiladitya Banerjee, Tanniemola B. Liverpool, M. C. Marchetti

Physics - All Scholarship

We study analytically and numerically a generic continuum model of an isotropic active solid with internal stresses generated by non-equilibrium `active' mechano-chemical reactions. Our analysis shows that the gel can be tuned through three classes of dynamical states by increasing motor activity: a constant unstrained state of homogeneous density, a state where the local density exhibits sustained oscillations, and a steady-state which is spontaneously contracted, with a uniform mean density.

Substrate Rigidity Deforms And Polarizes Active Gels, Shiladitya Banerjee, M. C. Marchetti

Physics - All Scholarship

We present a continuum model of the coupling between cells and substrate that accounts for some of the observed substrate-stiffness dependence of cell properties. The cell is modeled as an elastic active gel, adapting recently developed continuum theories of active viscoelastic fluids. The coupling to the substrate enters as a boundary condition that relates the cell's deformation field to local stress gradients. In the presence of activity, the coupling to the substrate yields spatially inhomogeneous contractile stresses and deformations in the cell and can enhance polarization, breaking the cell's front-rear symmetry.

Active Jamming: Self-Propelled Soft Particles At High Density, Silke Henkes, Yaouen Fily, M. Christina Marchetti

Physics - All Scholarship

We study numerically the phases and dynamics of a dense collection of self-propelled particles with soft repulsive interactions in two dimensions. The model is motivated by recent in vitro experiments on confluent monolayers of migratory epithelial and endothelial cells. The phase diagram exhibits a liquid phase with giant number fluctuations at low packing fraction and high self-propulsion speed and a jammed phase at high packing fraction and low self-propulsion speed. The dynamics of the jammed phase is controlled by the low frequency modes of the jammed packing.

Decay Of Nuclear Hyperpolarization In Silicon Microparticles, M. Lee, M. C. Cassidy, C. Ramanathan, C. M. Marcus

Dartmouth Scholarship

We investigate the low-field relaxation of nuclear hyperpolarization in undoped and highly doped silicon microparticles at room temperature following removal from high field. For nominally undoped particles, two relaxation time scales are identified for ambient fields above 0.2 mT. The slower, T1,s, is roughly independent of ambient field; the faster, T1,f, decreases with increasing ambient field. A model in which nuclear spin relaxation occurs at the particle surface via a two-electron mechanism is shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data, particularly the field independence of T1,s. For boron-doped particles, a single relaxation time scale is observed. This …

Nonlinear Hydrodynamics Of Disentangled Flux-Line Liquids, Panayotis Benetatos, M. Cristina Marchetti

Physics - All Scholarship

In this paper we use non-Gaussian hydrodynamics to study the magnetic response of a flux-line liquid in the mixed state of a type-II superconductor. Both the derivation of our model, which goes beyond conventional Gaussian flux liquid hydrodynamics, and its relationship to other approaches used in the literature are discussed. We focus on the response to a transverse tilting field which is controlled by the tilt modulus, c44, of the flux array. We show that interaction effects can enhance c44 even in infinitely thick clean materials. This enhancement can be interpreted as the appearance of a disentangled flux-liquid fraction. In …

Theory Of Double-Sided Flux Decorations, M. Cristina Marchetti, David R. Nelson

Physics - All Scholarship

A novel two-sided Bitter decoration technique was recently employed by Yao et al. to study the structure of the magnetic vortex array in high-temperature superconductors. Here we discuss the analysis of such experiments. We show that two-sided decorations can be used to infer {\it quantitative} information about the bulk properties of flux arrays, and discuss how a least squares analysis of the local density differences can be used to bring the two sides into registry. Information about the tilt, compressional and shear moduli of bulk vortex configurations can be extracted from these measurements.