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Harry Westfahl Jr.

Publications and source records attributed to Harry Westfahl Jr..

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Phase-Retrieval as a Regularization Problem

It was recently shown that the phase retrieval imaging of a sample can be modeled as a simple convolution process. Sometimes, such a convolution depends on physical parameters of the sample which are difficult to estimate a priori. In this case, a blind choice for those parameters usually lead to wrong results, e.g., in posterior image segmentation processing. In this manuscript, we propose a simple connection between phase-retrieval algorithms and optimization strategies, which lead us to ways of numerically determining the physical parameters

math.NA

Domain wall formation and spin reorientation in finite-size magnetic systems

We investigate the formation of stable one-dimensional Néel walls in a ferromagnetic slab with finite thickness and finite width. Taking into account the dipolar, the exchange and the uniaxial anisotropic crystalline field interactions, we derive an approximative analytical self-consistent expression that gives the wall width in terms of ratios between the three different energy scales of the problem. We also show that, even when the crystalline anisotropy does not favour the formation of domain walls, they can yet be formed due to the dipolar interaction and the finiteness of the system. Moreover, using a Stoner-Wohlfarth approach, we study the magnetization reorientation inside the domains under the action of an external magnetic field and obtain the respective hysteresis loops, showing that their shapes change from squared to inclined as the width of the slab varies. Finally, we discuss possible applications of this model to describe qualitatively some recent experimental data on thin films of MnAs grown over GaAs substrates.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Driven dissipative dynamics of spins in quantum dots

We have studied the dissipative dynamics of a driven electronic spin trapped in a quantum dot. We consider the dissipative mechanism as due to the indirect coupling of the electronic spin to acoustic phonons via the spin-orbit/electron-phonon couplings. Using an effective spectral function of the dissipative phonon bath, we evaluated the expectation values of the spin components through the Bloch-Redfield theory. We show that due to a sharp bath resonance present in the effective spectral function, with typical energy much smaller than the electronic confinement energy, the dissipative spin has a rich dynamical behavior that helps us to determine some features of the spin-bath coupling. We also quantify the effects produced by the sharp bath resonance, and thus indicate the best regimes of operation in order to achieve the longest relaxation times for the spin.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Correlated disorder in random block-copolymers

We study the effect of a random Flory-Huggins parameter in a symmetric diblock copolymer melt which is expected to occur in a copolymer where one block is near its structural glass transition. In the clean limit the microphase segregation between the two blocks causes a weak, fluctuation induced first order transition to a lamellar state. Using a renormalization group approach combined with the replica trick to treat the quenched disorder, we show that beyond a critical disorder strength, that depends on the length of the polymer chain, the character of the transition is changed. The system becomes dominated by strong randomness and a glassy rather than an ordered lamellar state occurs. A renormalization of the effective disorder distribution leads to nonlocal disorder correlations that reflect strong compositional fluctuation on the scale of the radius of gyration of the polymer chains. The reason for this behavior is shown to be the chain length dependent role of critical fluctuations, which are less important for shorter chains and become increasingly more relevant as the polymer length increases and the clean first order transition becomes weaker.

cond-mat.soft

Dissipative dynamics of spins in quantum dots

We present a theory for the dissipation of electronic spins trapped in quantum dots due to their coupling to the host lattice acoustic phonon modes. Based on the theory of dissipative two level systems for the spin dynamics, we derive a relation between the spin dissipative bath, the electron confinement, and the electron-phonon interaction. We find that there is an energy scale, typically smaller than the electronic lateral confinement energy, which sets the boundary between different dissipative regimes .

cond-mat.mes-hall

Dynamical Mean Field Theory for Self-Generated Quantum Glasses

We present a many body approach for non-equilibrium behavior and self-generated glassiness in strongly correlated quantum systems. It combines the dynamical mean field theory of equilibrium systems with the replica theory for classical glasses without quenched disorder. We apply this approach to study a quantized version of the Brazovskii model and find a self-generated quantum glass that remains in a quantum mechanically mixed state as T -> 0. This quantum glass is formed by a large number of competing states spread over an energy region which is determined within our theory.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Theory of Microemulsion Glasses

We show that the tendency towards microphase separation in microemulsions leads to the formation of a glassy state after sufficiently strong correlations between polar and hydrophobic regions have been established. Glassiness is predicted to occur above a critical volume fraction of surfactant, which is determined by the length of the amphiphilic molecules. Our results are obtained by solving the dynamical equations for the correlation functions of the system and by using a replica approach.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Self generated randomness, defect wandering and viscous flow in stripe glasses

We show that the competition between interactions on different length scales, as relevant for the formation of stripes in doped Mott insulators, can cause a glass transition in a system with no explicitly quenched disorder. We analytically determine a universal criterion for the emergence of an exponentially large number of metastable configurations that leads to a finite configurational entropy and a landscape dominated viscous flow. We demonstrate that glassines is unambiguously tied to a new length scale which characterizes the typical length over which defects and imperfections in the stripe pattern are allowed to wander over long times.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Effect of phase fluctuations on INS and NMR experiments in the pseudo-gap regime of the underdoped cuprates

We present a theory for inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments in the pseudo-gap regime of the underdoped high-$T_c$ cuprates. We show that superconducting phase fluctuations greatly affect the temperature and frequency dependence of the spin-susceptibility, $χ''$, probed by both experimental techniques. This result explains the appearance of a {\it resonance peak}, observed in INS experiments, below a temperature $T_0 > T_c$. In the same temperature regime, we find that the $^{63}$Cu spin-lattice relaxation rate, $1/T_1$, measured in NMR experiments, is suppressed. Our results are in qualitative agreement with the available experimental data.

cond-mat.supr-con