arXiv subjects

B. Wells

Publications and source records attributed to B. Wells.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Structural second-order nonlinearity in metamaterials

Nonlinear processes are at the core of many optical technologies including lasers, information processing, sensing, and security, and require optimised materials suitable for nanoscale integration. Here we demonstrate the emergence of a strong bulk second-order nonlinear response in a composite plasmonic nanorod material comprised of centrosymmetric materials. The metamaterial provides equally strong generation of the p-polarized second harmonic light in response to both s- and p-polarized excitation. We develop an effective-medium description of the underlying physics, compare its predictions to the experimental results and analyze the limits of its applicability. We show that while the effective medium theory adequately describes the nonlinear polarization, the process of emission of second harmonic light cannot be described in the same framework. The work provides an understanding of the emergent nonlinear optical response in composites and opens a doorway to new nonlinear optical platform designs for integrated nonlinear photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2002

Coherence-Incoherence and Dimensional Crossover in Layered Strongly Correlated Metals

Correlations between electrons and the effective dimensionality are crucial factors that shape the properties of an interacting electron system. For example, the onsite Coulomb repulsion, U, may inhibit, or completely block the intersite electron hopping, t, and depending on the ratio U/t, a material may be a metal or an insulator. The correlation effects increase as the number of allowed dimensions decreases. In 3D systems, the low energy electronic states behave as quasiparticles (QP), while in 1D systems, even weak interactions break the quasiparticles into collective excitations. Dimensionality is particularly important for a class of new exotic low-dimensional materials where 1D or 2D building blocks are loosely connected into a 3D whole. Small interactions between the blocks may induce a whole variety of unusual transitions. Here, we examine layered systems that in the direction perpendicular to the layers display a crossover from insulating-like, at high temperatures, to metallic-like character at low temperatures, while being metallic over the whole temperature range within the layers. We show that this change in effective dimensionality correlates with the existence or non-existence of coherent quasiparticles within the layers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Precision Pion-Proton Elastic Differential Cross Sections at Energies Spanning the Delta Resonance

A precision measurement of absolute pi+p and pi-p elastic differential cross sections at incident pion laboratory kinetic energies from T_pi= 141.15 to 267.3 MeV is described. Data were obtained detecting the scattered pion and recoil proton in coincidence at 12 laboratory pion angles from 55 to 155 degrees for pi+p, and six angles from 60 to 155 degrees for pi-p. Single arm measurements were also obtained for pi+p energies up to 218.1 MeV, with the scattered pi+ detected at six angles from 20 to 70 degrees. A flat-walled, super-cooled liquid hydrogen target as well as solid CH2 targets were used. The data are characterized by small uncertainties, ~1-2% statistical and ~1-1.5% normalization. The reliability of the cross section results was ensured by carrying out the measurements under a variety of experimental conditions to identify and quantify the sources of instrumental uncertainty. Our lowest and highest energy data are consistent with overlapping results from TRIUMF and LAMPF. In general, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute SM95 partial wave analysis solution describes our data well, but the older Karlsruhe-Helsinki PWA solution KH80 does not.

nucl-ex↗