SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

J. Wrobel

Publications and source records attributed to J. Wrobel.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS). Science case and survey design

The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution ($\approx$2.5"), sensitivity (a 1$σ$ goal of 70 $μ$Jy/beam in the coadded data), full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2-4 GHz). The first observations began in September 2017, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hours of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (Declination $>-40^{\circ}$), a total of 33,885 deg$^2$. The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an "on the fly" interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations.

astro-ph.IM

A novel Monte Carlo model and simulations of magnetic alloys for nuclear applications

We develop a Magnetic Cluster Expansion (MCE) model for binary bcc and fcc Fe-Cr alloys, as well as for fcc Fe-Ni alloys, and apply it to the investigation of magnetic properties of these alloys over a broad interval of concentrations, and over a broad interval of temperatures extending well over 1000 K. We show how an MCE-based Monte Carlo study describes the magnetic properties of these alloys, for example the composition and microstructure dependence of the Curie temperature, the non-collinearity of magnetic structures found in bcc Fe-Cr alloys, phase transitions between bcc and fcc in Fe-Cr, and the enthalpy of mixing of Fe-Ni alloys. The results of simulations are in excellent agreement with experimental observations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

AGN Feedback Driven Molecular Outflow in NGC 1266

NGC 1266 is a nearby field galaxy observed as part of the ATLAS3D survey (Cappellari et al. 2011). NGC 1266 has been shown to host a compact (< 200 pc) molecular disk and a mass-loaded molecular outflow driven by the AGN (Alatalo et al. 2011). Very Long Basline Array (VLBA) observations at 1.65 GHz revealed a compact (diameter < 1.2 pc), high bright- ness temperature continuum source most consistent with a low-level AGN origin. The VLBA continuum source is positioned at the center of the molecular disk and may be responsible for the expulsion of molecular gas in NGC 1266. Thus, the candidate AGN-driven molecular outflow in NGC 1266 supports the picture in which AGNs do play a significant role in the quenching of star formation and ultimately the evolution of the red sequence of galaxies.

astro-ph.CO

Contact superconductivity in In-PbTe junctions

The authors report on electron transport studies on superconductor-semiconductor hybrid structures of indium and n-type lead telluride, either in the form of quantum wells or bulk crystals. In-PbTe contacts form by spontaneous alloying, which occurs already at room temperature. The alloyed phase penetrates deeply into PbTe and forms metallic contacts even in the presence of depletion layers at the semiconductor surface. Although the detailed structure of this phase is unknown, we observe that it exhibits a superconducting transition at temperatures below 10 K. This causes such substantial reduction of the contact resistances that they even become comparable to those predicted for ideal superconductor-normal conductor contacts. Most importantly, this result indicates that the interface phase in the superconducting state becomes nearly homogeneous - in contrast to the structure expected for alloyed contacts. We suggest that the unusual interface superconductivity is linked to the unique properties of PbTe, namely, its huge static dielectric constant. Apparently the alloyed interface phase contains superconducting precipitates randomly distributed within the depletion layers, and their Coulomb charging energies are extremely small. According to the existing models of the granular superconductivity, even very weak Josephson coupling between the neighboring precipitates gives rise to the formation of a global superconducting phase which explains our observations.

cond-mat.supr-con

Quantum effects in linear and non-linear transport of T-shaped ballistic junction

We report low-temperature transport measurements of three-terminal T-shaped device patterned from GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. We demonstrate the mode branching and bend resistance effects predicted by numerical modeling for linear conductance data. We show also that the backscattering at the junction area depends on the wave function parity. We find evidence that in a non-linear transport regime the voltage of floating electrode always increases as a function of push-pull polarization. Such anomalous effect occurs for the symmetric device, provided the applied voltage is less than the Fermi energy in equilibrium.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Motions of Galaxies in the Local Group and Beyond: an Astro2010 Science White Paper

Recent advances with the VLBA have resulted in ~10 micro-arcsec astrometry for compact sources in external galaxies, and measurement of the proper motion of Local Group galaxies has been demonstrated. With improved telescopes and equipment, we could greatly improve upon and expand these measurements, including a measurement of the proper motion of the Andromeda galaxy, which is key to understanding the history and fate of the Local Group. The combination of optical velocities and radio astrometric data would allow detailed modeling of the mass distributions of the disks, bulges, and dark matter halos of galaxies in clusters.

astro-ph.GA

0.7-anomaly and magnetotransport of disordered quantum wires

The unexpected "0.7" plateau of conductance quantisation is usually observed for ballistic one-dimensional devices. In this work we study a quasi-ballistic quantum wire, for which the disorder induced backscattering reduces the conductance quantisation steps. We find that the transmission probability resonances coexist with the anomalous plateau. The studies of these resonances as a function of the in-plane magnetic field and electron density point to the presence of spin polarisation at low carrier concentrations and constitute a method for the determination of the effective g-factor suitable for disordered quantum wires.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magneto-resistive memory in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As nanostructures

We show a novel magneto-resistive effect that appears in lithographically shaped, three-arm nanostructure, fabricated from ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As layers. The effect, related to a rearrangement of magnetic domain walls between different pairs of arms in the structure, reveals as a dependence of zero-field resistance on the direction of previously applied magnetic field. This effect could allow designing devices with unique switching and memory properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Disorder suppression and precise conductance quantization in constrictions of PbTe quantum wells

Conductance quantization was measured in submicron constrictions of PbTe, patterned into narrow,12 nm wide quantum wells deposited between Pb$_{0.92}$Eu$_{0.08}$Te barriers. Because the quantum confinement imposed by the barriers is much stronger than the lateral one, the one-dimensional electron energy level structure is very similar to that usually met in constrictions of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures. However, in contrast to any other system studied so far, we observe precise conductance quantization in $2e^2/h$ units, {\it despite of significant amount of charged defects in the vicinity of the constriction}. We show that such extraordinary results is a consequence of the paraelectric properties of PbTe, namely, the suppression of long-range tails of the Coulomb potentials due to the huge dielectric constant.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetotransport and Domain Wall in Nanoconstriction of Ferromagnetic Semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As

We studied magnetoresistance (MR) of nanoconstrictions created in (Ga,Mn)As epilayers by O+ ion implantation. Original layers exhibit a negative MR that is plausibly caused by weak localization (WL) effects at the lowest temperatures. In constricted samples, additionally, jumps of an enhanced conductance appear on the background of the negative MR, whose positions reflect the hysteresis of magnetization. We argue that they are manifestation of a suppression of WL due to the nucleation of a domain wall in the constriction

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Unidirectional Transmission of Electrons in a Magnetic Field Gradient

The work presents an experimental demonstration of time-reversal asymmetry of electron states propagating along boundary separating areas with opposite magnetic fields. For this purpose we have fabricated a hybrid ferromagnet-semiconductor device in form of a Hall cross with two ferromagnets deposited on top. The magnets generated two narrow magnetic barriers of opposite polarity in the active Hall area. We have observed that if the signs of the barriers are reversed, the bend resistance changes its sign. Using the Landauer-Buttiker theory, we have demonstrated that this is a direct consequence of asymmetric transmission of the "snake" and the "cycloidal" trajectories formed the boundary separating the regions with opposite magnetic field directions.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Resonant photoluminescence and excitation spectroscopy of CdSe/ZnSe and CdTe/ZnTe self-assembled quantum dots

We show that two major carrier excitation mechanisms are present in II-VI self-assembled quantum dots. The first one is related to direct excited state - ground state transition. It manifests itself by the presence of sharp and intense lines in the excitation spectrum measured from single quantum dots. Apart from these lines, we also observe up to four much broader excitation lines. The energy spacing between these lines indicates that they are associated with absorption related to longitudinal optical phonons. By analyzing resonantly excited photoluminescence spectra, we are able to separate the contributions from these two mechanisms. In the case of CdTe dots, the excited state - ground state relaxation is important for all dots in ensemble, while phonon - assisted processes are dominant for the dots with smaller lateral size.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Resonant Spectroscopy of II-VI Self-Assembled Quantum Dots: Excited States and Exciton-LO Phonon Coupling

Using resonantly excited photoluminescence along with photoluminescence excitation spectroscopies, we study the carrier excitation processes in CdTe/ZnTe and CdSe/ZnSe self-assembled quantum dots. Photoluminescence excitation spectra of single CdTe quantum dots reflect two major mechanisms for carrier excitation: The first, associated with the presence of sharp and intense lines in the spectrum, is a direct excited state ? ground state transition. The second, associated with the appearance of up to four much broader excitation lines, is a LO phonon-assisted absorption directly into the quantum dot ground states. LO phonons with energies of both quantum dots and ZnTe barrier material are identified in the photoluminescence excitation spectra. Resonantly excited PL measurements for the dot ensemble as a function of excitation energy makes it possible to separate the contributions of these two mechanisms. We find that for CdTe quantum dots the distribution of excited states coupled to the ground states reflects the energy distribution of the quantum dot emission, but shifted up in energy by 100 meV. This large splitting between excited and ground states in CdTe quantum dots suggests strong spatial confinement. In contrast, the LO phonon-assisted absorption shows significant size selectivity. In the case of CdTe dots the exciton-LO phonon coupling is strongly enhanced for smaller-sized dots which have higher emission energies. In contrast, for CdSe quantum dots the exciton-LO phonon coupling is uniform over the ensemble ? that is, the energy distribution determines the intensities of LO phonon replicas. We show that for CdTe quantum dots after annealing, that is after an increase in the average dot size, the exciton-LO phonon interaction reflects the dot energy distribution, as observed for CdSe quantum dots.

cond-mat.soft

Exciton spin relaxation in resonantly excited CdTe/ZnTe self-assembled quantum dots

We study the exciton spin relaxation in CdTe self-assembled quantum dots by using polarized photoluminescence spectroscopy in magnetic field. The experiments on single CdTe quantum dots and on large quantum dot ensembles show that by combining phonon-assisted absorption with circularly polarized resonant excitation the spin-polarized excitons are photo-excited directly into the ground states of quantum dots. We find that for single symmetric quantum dots at B=0 T, where the exciton levels are degenerate, the spins randomize very rapidly, so that no net spin polarization is observed. In contrast, when this degeneracy is lifted by applying external magnetic field, optically created spin-polarized excitons maintain their polarization on a time scale much longer than the exciton recombination time. We also observe that the exciton spin polarization is conserved when the splitting between exciton states is caused by quantum dot shape asymmetry. Similar behavior is found in a large ensemble of CdTe quantum dots. These results show that while exciton spins scatter rapidly between degenerate states, the spin relaxation time increases by orders of magnitude as the exciton spin states in a quantum dot become non-degenerate. Finally, due to strong electronic confinement in CdTe quantum dots, the large spin polarization of excitons shows no dependence on the number of phonons emitted between the virtual state and the exciton ground state during the excitation.

cond-mat.soft

Ising Quantum Hall Ferromagnet in Magnetically Doped Quantum Wells

We report on the observation of the Ising quantum Hall ferromagnet with Curie temperature $T_C$ as high as 2 K in a modulation-doped (Cd,Mn)Te heterostructure. In this system field-induced crossing of Landau levels occurs due to the giant spin-splitting effect. Magnetoresistance data, collected over a wide range of temperatures, magnetic fields, tilt angles, and electron densities, are discussed taking into account both Coulomb electron-electron interactions and s$-$d coupling to Mn spin fluctuations. The critical behavior of the resistance ``spikes'' at $T \to T_C$ corroborates theoretical suggestions that the ferromagnet is destroyed by domain excitations.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Effects of Spin Polarization on Electron Transport in Modulation Doped Cd(1-x)Mn(x)Te/Cd(1-y)Mg(y)Te:I Heterostructures

We examine and identify magnetoresistance mechanisms in 2D system containing a sizable concentration of magnetic ions. We argue that some of these mechanisms can serve as a tool to measure spin polarization. Lack of spin degeneracy and enhanced localization make it possible to detect an additional QHE plateau associated with extended states floating-up in vanishing magnetic field.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Quantum ballistic transport in constrictions of n-PbTe

Conductance of submicron constrictions of PbTe:Bi was studied up to 8T and between 4.2K and 50mK. The structures were fabricated by electron beam lithography and chemical etching of high--electron mobility films grown by MBE on BaF_2. In the moderately strong magnetic fields perpendicular to the current, B>1T, the conductance shows accurate quantization in the units of 1e^2/h as a function of the side-gate voltage. In the absence of the field, a temperature-independent step structure, with an average step height approx. 1e^2/h, is observed. It is suggested that such a quantization may reflect the lifting of the Kramers degeneracy by the exchange interaction among the electrons, effective despite a large dielectric constant of bulk PbTe.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetoconductance noise and irreversibilities in submicron wires of spin-glass n-CdMnTe

Signatures of spin-glass freezing such as the appearance of 1/f conductance noise, the recovery of universal conductance fluctuations, aging, as well as magnetic and thermal irreversibilities are detected in mesoscopic wires of CdMnTe:I at millikelvin temperatures. Spectral characteristics of conductance time series are consistent with the droplet model of short-range spin-glasses.

cond-mat.mes-hall