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Antonio Puente

Publications and source records attributed to Antonio Puente.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Roto-vibrational spectrum and Wigner crystallization in two-electron parabolic quantum dots

We provide a quantitative determination of the crystallization onset for two electrons in a parabolic two-dimensional confinement. This system is shown to be well described by a roto-vibrational model, Wigner crystallization occurring when the rotational motion gets decoupled from the vibrational one. The Wigner molecule thus formed is characterized by its moment of inertia and by the corresponding sequence of rotational excited states. The role of a vertical magnetic field is also considered. Additional support to the analysis is given by the Hartree-Fock phase diagram for the ground state and by the random-phase approximation for the moment of inertia and vibron excitations.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Zeeman energy and anomalous spin splitting in lateral GaAs quantum dots

The level splittings induced by a horizontal magnetic field in a parabolic two-dimensional quantum dot with spin-orbit interaction are obtained. Characteristic features induced by the spin-orbit coupling are the appearance of zero-field gaps as well as energy splittings that depend on the electronic state and the orientation of the magnetic field in the quantum-dot plane. It is suggested that these quantum-dot properties could be used to determine the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit intensities

cond-mat.mes-hall

Spin splitting and precession in quantum dots with spin-orbit coupling: the role of spatial deformation

Extending a previous work on spin precession in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots with spin-orbit coupling, we study the role of deformation in the external confinement. Small elliptical deformations are enough to alter the precessional characteristics at low magnetic fields. We obtain approximate expressions for the modified $g$ factor including weak Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit terms. For more intense couplings numerical calculations are performed. We also study the influence of the magnetic field orientation on the spin splitting and the related anisotropy of the $g$ factor. Using realistic spin-orbit strengths our model calculations can reproduce the experimental spin-splittings reported by Hanson et al. (cond-mat/0303139) for a one-electron dot. For dots containing more electrons, Coulomb interaction effects are estimated within the local-spin-density approximation, showing that many features of the non-iteracting system are qualitatively preserved.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Electron spin precession in semiconductor quantum wires with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

The influence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling on the electron spin dynamics is investigated for a ballistic semiconductor quantum wire with a finite width. We monitor the spin evolution using the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The pure spin precession characteristic of the 1D limit is lost in a 2D wire with a finite lateral width. In general, the time evolution in the latter case is characterized by several frequencies and a nonrigid spin motion.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Spin-Orbit induced semiconductor spin guides

The tunability of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling allows to build semiconductor heterostructures with space modulated coupling intensities. We show that a wire-shaped spin-orbit modulation in a quantum well can support propagating electronic states inside the wire only for a certain spin orientation and, therefore, it acts as an effective spin transmission guide for this particular spin orientation.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Electronic spin precession in semiconductor quantum dots with spin-orbit coupling

The electronic spin precession in semiconductor dots is strongly affected by the spin-orbit coupling. We present a theory of the electronic spin resonance at low magnetic fields that predicts a strong dependence on the dot occupation, the magnetic field and the spin-orbit coupling strength. Coulomb interaction effects are also taken into account in a numerical approach.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Spin switching in semiconductor quantum dots through spin-orbit coupling

The spin-orbit coupling influences the total spin of semiconductor quantum dots. We analyze the theoretical prediction for the combined effects of spin-orbit coupling, weak vertical magnetic fields and deformation of the dot. Our results allow the characterization of the quantum dots as spin switches, controllable with electric gates.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Characterization of Bernstein modes in quantum dots

The dipole modes of non-parabolic quantum dots are studied by means of their current and density patterns as well as with their local absorption distribution. The anticrossing of the so-called Bernstein modes originates from the coupling with electron-hole excitations of the two Landau bands which are occupied at the corresponding magnetic fields. Non-quadratic terms in the potential cause an energy separation between bulk and edge current modes in the anticrossing region. On a local scale the fragmented peaks absorb energy in complementary spatial regions which evolve with the magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Role of spin-orbit coupling in the far infrared absorption of lateral semiconductor dots

We investigate the relevance of the spin-orit coupling to the far-infrared absorption of two-dimensional semiconductor dots. Varying the strength of the Dresselhaus term, a mechanism feasible in experiment by changing the dot width, distinctive splittings of the Kohn peak as well as additional low energy modes are predicted in a non-interacting model. Each mode has a spatial distribution of charge, perpendicular and in-plane spin densities that correlate in a peculiar way with the frequency and polarization of the external field. We study the robustness of these features against electron-electron interactions as well as the appearance of interaction-induced additional characteristics.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Far infrared absorption in triangular and square quantum dots: characterization of corner and side modes

The far-infrared absorption of triangular and square two-dimensional quantum dots is studied by means of time simulations of the density oscillations within the time-dependent local-spin-density approximation. The absorption is spatially analyzed using a local-response theory that allows the identification of {\em corner} and {\em side} modes in the geometric nanostructures. The evolution with a vertical magnetic field of varying intensity is also discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Hartree-Fock dynamics in highly excited quantum dots

Time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory is used to describe density oscillations of symmetry-unrestricted two-dimensional nanostructures. In the small amplitude limit the results reproduce those obtained within a perturbative approach such as the linearized time-dependent Hartree-Fock one. The nonlinear regime is explored by studying large amplitude oscillations in a non-parabolic potential, which are shown to introduce a strong coupling with internal degrees of freedom. This excitation of internal modes, mainly of monopole and quadrupole character, results in sizeable modifications of the dipole absorption.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole responses of elliptic quantum dots in magnetic fields

The magnetic dipole (M1) and electric quadupole (E2) responses of two-dimensional quantum dots with an elliptic shape are theoretically investigated as a function of the dot deformation and applied static magnetic field. Neglecting the electron-electron interaction we obtain analytical results which indicate the existence of four characteristic modes, with different $B$-dispersion of their energies and associated strengths. Interaction effects are numerically studied within the time-dependent local-spin-density theory, assessing the validity of the non-interacting picture.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Ground state and far-infrared absorption of two-electron rings in a magnetic field

Motivated by recent experiments [A. Lorke {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett.\ {\bf 84}, 2223 (2000)] an analysis of the ground state and far-infrared absorption of two electrons confined in a quantum ring is presented. The height of the repulsive central barrier in the confining potential is shown to influence in an important way the ring properties. The experiments are best explained assuming the presence of both high- and low-barrier quantum rings in the sample. The formation of a two-electron Wigner molecule in certain cases is discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetic Thomas-Fermi-Weizsäcker model for quantum dots: a comparison with Kohn-Sham ground states

The magnetic extension of the Thomas-Fermi-Weizsäcker kinetic energy is used within density-functional-theory to numerically obtain the ground state densities and energies of two-dimensional quantum dots. The results are thoroughly compared with the microscopic Kohn-Sham ones in order to assess the validity of the semiclassical method. Circular as well as deformed systems are considered.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Collective oscillations in quantum rings: a broken symmetry case

We present calculations within density functional theory of the ground state and collective electronic oscillations in small two-dimensional quantum rings. No spatial symmetries are imposed to the solutions and, as in a recent contribution, a transition to a broken symmetry solution in the intrinsic reference frame for an increasingly narrow ring is found. The oscillations are addressed by using real-time simulation. Conspicuous effects of the broken symmetry solution on the spectra are pointed out.

cond-mat.str-el

Orbital current mode in elliptical quantum dots

An orbital current mode peculiar to deformed quantum dots is theoretically investigated; first by using a simple model that allows to interpret analytically its main characteristics, and second, by numerically solving the microscopic equations of time evolution after an initial perturbation within the time-dependent local-spin-density approximation. Results for different deformations and sizes are shown.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Oscillation modes of two-dimensional nanostructures within the time-dependent local-spin-density approximation

We apply the time-dependent local-spin-density approximation as general theory to describe ground states and spin-density oscillations in the linear response regime of two-dimensional nanostructures of arbitrary shape. For this purpose, a frequency analysis of the simulated real-time evolution is performed. The effect on the response of the recently proposed spin-density waves in the ground state of certain parabolic quantum dots is considered. They lead to the prediction of a new class of excitations, soft spin-twist modes, with energies well below that of the spin dipole oscillation.

cond-mat.mes-hall