Mass dependence of symmetry energy coefficients in Skyrme force

Based on the semi-classical extended Thomas-Fermi approach, we study the mass dependence of the symmetry energy coefficients of finite nuclei for 36 different Skyrme forces. The reference densities of both light and heavy nuclei are obtained. Eight models based on nuclear liquid drop concept and the Skyrme force SkM* suggest the symmetry energy coefficient $a_{rm sym}=22.90 pm 0.15 $ MeV at $A=260$, and the corresponding reference density is $rho_Asimeq 0.1$ fm$^{-3}$ at this mass region. The standard Skyrme energy density functionals give negative values for the coefficient of the $I^4$ term in the binding energy formula, whereas the latest Weizsacker-Skyrme formula and the experimental data suggest positive values for the coefficient.

Efficiency and dissipation in a two-terminal thermoelectric junction, emphasizing small dissipation

The efficiency and cooling power of a two-terminal thermoelectric refrigerator are analyzed near the limit of vanishing dissipation (ideal system), where the optimal efficiency is the Carnot one, but the cooling power then unfortunately vanishes. This limit, where transport occurs only via a single sharp electronic energy, has been referred to as strong coupling or the best thermoelectric. It follows however, that parasitic effects that make the system deviate from the ideal limit, and reduce the efficiency from the Carnot limit, are crucial for the usefulness of the device. Among these parasitics, there are: parallel phonon conduction, finite width of the electrons transport band and more than a single energy transport channel. In terms of a small parameter characterizing the deviation from the ideal limit, the efficiency and power grow linearly, and the dissipation {em quadratically}. The results are generalized to the case of broken time-reversal symmetry, and the major nontrivial changes are discussed. Finally, the recent universal relation between the thermopower and the asymmetry of the dissipation between the two terminals is briefly discussed, including the small dissipation limit.

Persistence of equilibrium states in an oscillating double-well potential

We investigate numerically parametrically driven coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equations modelling the dynamics of coupled wavefields in a periodically oscillating double-well potential. The equations describe among other things two coupled periodically-curved optical waveguides with Kerr nonlinearity or horizontally shaken Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well magnetic trap. In particular, we study the persistence of equilibrium states of the undriven system due to the presence of the parametric drive. Using numerical continuations of periodic orbits and calculating the corresponding Floquet multipliers, we find that the drive can (de)stabilize a continuation of an equilibrium state indicated by the change of the (in)stability of the orbit. Hence, we show that parametric drives can provide a powerful control to nonlinear (optical or matter wave) field tunneling. Analytical approximations based on an averaging method are presented. Using perturbation theory the influence of the drive on the symmetry breaking bifurcation point is discussed.

Hopping thermoelectric transport in finite systems: boundary effects

It is shown that for the hopping regime, the thermopowers in both finite two-terminal and three-terminal systems are governed by the edges of the samples. This is due to the fact that the energy transfer between a transport electron and a conducting terminal is determined by the site most strongly coupled to that terminal. One-dimensional systems with both nearest-neighbor and variable-range transport as well as certain types of two-dimensional systems, are considered. For a given sample, the changes in the thermopowers due to modifying the bulk are quite limited, compared with those of the conductance. When the small thermopower changes exist, their average over a large ensemble of mesoscopic samples will vanish. We also obtain the distribution of the thermopower in such an ensemble and show that its width approaches a finite limit with increasing sample length. This contrasts with the distribution of conductances in such systems, whose width vanishes in the long sample limit. Finally, we find that the thermal conductances in the three-terminal case have a boundary-dominated contribution, due to non-percolating conduction paths. This contribution can become dominant when the usual conductance is small enough. All our theoretical statements are backed by numerical computations.

Spin dynamics in semiconductors

This article reviews the current status of spin dynamics in semiconductors which has achieved a lot of progress in the past years due to the fast growing field of semiconductor spintronics. The primary focus is the theoretical and experimental developments of spin relaxation and dephasing in both spin precession in time domain and spin diffusion and transport in spacial domain. A fully microscopic many-body investigation on spin dynamics based on the kinetic spin Bloch equation approach is reviewed comprehensively.

Electron spin relaxation in bulk III-V semiconductors from a fully microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equation approach

Electron spin relaxation in bulk III-V semiconductors is investigated from a fully microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equation approach where all relevant scatterings, such as, the electron--nonmagnetic-impurity, electron-phonon, electron-electron, electron-hole, and electron-hole exchange (the Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanism) scatterings are explicitly included. The Elliot-Yafet mechanism is also fully incorporated. This approach offers a way toward thorough understanding of electron spin relaxation both near and far away from the equilibrium in the metallic regime. The dependence of the spin relaxation time on electron density, temperature, initial spin polarization, photo-excitation density, and hole density are studied thoroughly with the underlying physics analyzed. In contrast to the previous investigations in the literature, we find that: (i) In $n$-type materials, the Elliot-Yafet mechanism is {em less} important than the Dyakonov-Perel mechanism, even for the narrow band-gap semiconductors such as InSb and InAs. (ii) The density dependence of the spin relaxation time is nonmonotonic and we predict a {em peak} in the metallic regime in both $n$-type and intrinsic materials. (iii) In intrinsic materials, the Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanism is found to be negligible compared with the Dyakonov-Perel mechanism. We also predict a peak in the temperature dependence of spin relaxation time which is due to the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the electron-electron Coulomb scattering in intrinsic materials with small initial spin polarization. (iv) In $p$-type III-V semiconductors, ...... (the remaining is omitted here due to the limit of space)

Kinetics of spin coherence of electrons in $n$-type InAs quantum wells under intense terahertz laser fields

Spin kinetics in $n$-type InAs quantum wells under intense terahertz laser fields is investigated by developing fully microscopic kinetic spin Bloch equations via the Floquet-Markov theory and the nonequilibrium Greens function approach, with all the relevant scattering, such as the electron-impurity, electron-phonon, and electron-electron Coulomb scattering explicitly included. We find that a {em finite} steady-state terahertz spin polarization induced by the terahertz laser field, first predicted by Cheng and Wu [Appl. Phys. Lett. {bf 86}, 032107 (2005)] in the absence of dissipation, exists even in the presence of all the scattering. We further discuss the effects of the terahertz laser fields on the spin relaxation and the steady-state spin polarization. It is found that the terahertz laser fields can {em strongly} affect the spin relaxation via hot-electron effect and the terahertz-field-induced effective magnetic field in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. The two effects compete with each other, giving rise to {em non-monotonic} dependence of the spin relaxation time as well as the amplitude of the steady state spin polarization on the terahertz field strength and frequency. The terahertz field dependences of these quantities are investigated for various impurity densities, lattice temperatures, and strengths of the spin-orbit coupling. Finally, the importance of the electron-electron Coulomb scattering on spin kinetics is also addressed.

Reexamination of spin decoherence in semiconductor quantum dots from equation-of-motion approach

The longitudinal and transversal spin decoherence times, $T_1$ and $T_2$, in semiconductor quantum dots are investigated from equation-of-motion approach for different magnetic fields, quantum dot sizes, and temperatures. Various mechanisms, such as the hyperfine interaction with the surrounding nuclei, the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling together with the electron--bulk-phonon interaction, the $g$-factor fluctuations, the direct spin-phonon coupling due to the phonon-induced strain, and the coaction of the electron--bulk/surface-phonon interaction together with the hyperfine interaction are included. The relative contributions from these spin decoherence mechanisms are compared in detail. In our calculation, the spin-orbit coupling is included in each mechanism and is shown to have marked effect in most cases. The equation-of-motion approach is applied in studying both the spin relaxation time $T_1$ and the spin dephasing time $T_2$, either in Markovian or in non-Markovian limit. When many levels are involved at finite temperature, we demonstrate how to obtain the spin relaxation time from the Fermi Golden rule in the limit of weak spin-orbit coupling. However, at high temperature and/or for large spin-orbit coupling, one has to use the equation-of-motion approach when many levels are involved. Moreover, spin dephasing can be much more efficient than spin relaxation at high temperature, though the two only differs by a factor of two at low temperature.