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L. L. Bonilla

Publications and source records attributed to L. L. Bonilla.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2008

Dislocations in cubic crystals described by discrete models

Discrete models of dislocations in cubic crystal lattices having one or two atoms per unit cell are proposed. These models have the standard linear anisotropic elasticity as their continuum limit and their main ingredients are the elastic stiffness constants of the material and a dimensionless periodic function that restores the translation invariance of the crystal and influences the dislocation size. For these models, conservative and damped equations of motion are proposed. In the latter case, the entropy production and thermodynamic forces are calculated and fluctuation terms obeying the fluctuation-dissipation theorem are added. Numerical simulations illustrate static perfect screw and 60$^\circ$ dislocations for GaAs and Si.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2007

Homogeneous nucleation of dislocations as bifurcations in a periodized discrete elasticity model

A novel analysis of homogeneous nucleation of dislocations in sheared two-dimensional crystals described by periodized discrete elasticity models is presented. When the crystal is sheared beyond a critical strain $F=F_{c}$, the strained dislocation-free state becomes unstable via a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation. Selecting a fixed final applied strain $F_{f}>F_{c}$, different simultaneously stable stationary configurations containing two or four edge dislocations may be reached by setting $F=F_{f}t/t_{r}$ during different time intervals $t_{r}$. At a characteristic time after $t_{r}$, one or two dipoles are nucleated, split, and the resulting two edge dislocations move in opposite directions to the sample boundary. Numerical continuation shows how configurations with different numbers of edge dislocation pairs emerge as bifurcations from the dislocation-free state.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2007

Multiquantum well spin oscillator

A dc voltage biased II-VI semiconductor multiquantum well structure attached to normal contacts exhibits self-sustained spin-polarized current oscillations if one or more of its wells are doped with Mn. Without magnetic impurities, the only configurations appearing in these structures are stationary. Analysis and numerical solution of a nonlinear spin transport model yield the minimal number of wells (four) and the ranges of doping density and spin splitting needed to find oscillations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2006

Asymptotic and numerical studies of the Becker-Doering model for transient homogeneous nucleation

Transient homogeneous nucleation is studied in the limit of large critical sizes. Starting from pure monomers, three eras of transient nucleation are characterized in the classic Becker-Döring kinetic equations with the Turnbull-Fisher discrete diffusivity. After an initial stage in which the number of monomers decreases, many clusters of small size are produced and a continuous size distribution is created. During the second era, nucleii are increasing steadily in size in such a way that their distribution appears as a wave front advancing towards the critical size for steady nucleation. The nucleation rate at critical size is negligible during this era. After the wave front reaches critical size, it ignites the creation of supercritical clusters at a rate that increases monotonically until its steady value is reached. Analytical formulas for the transient nucleation rate and the time lag are obtained that improve classical ones and compare very well with direct numerical solutions. In addition, we propose and solve numerically a modified Becker-Döring model having a discrete diffusivity proportional to the area of a spherical cluster with $k$ monomers for small $k$ (as in the Turnbull-Fisher case) and to the cluster radius for large $k$ (as in the case of diffusive growth of clusters).

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2006

Kinetics of helium bubble formation in nuclear materials

The formation and growth of helium bubbles due to self-irradiation in plutonium has been modelled by a discrete kinetic equations for the number densities of bubbles having $k$ atoms. Analysis of these equations shows that the bubble size distribution function can be approximated by a composite of: (i) the solution of partial differential equations describing the continuum limit of the theory but corrected to take into account the effects of discreteness, and (ii) a local expansion about the advancing leading edge of the distribution function in size space. Both approximations contribute to the memory term in a close integrodifferential equation for the monomer concentration of single helium atoms. The present boundary layer theory for discrete equations is compared to the numerical solution of the full kinetic model and to previous approximation of Schaldach and Wolfer involving a truncated system of moment equations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2006

Voltage switching and domain relocation in semiconductor superlattices

A numerical study of domain wall relocation during voltage switching with different ramping times is presented for weakly coupled, doped semiconductor superlattices exhibiting multistable domain formation in the first plateau of their current-voltage characteristics. Stable self-oscillations of the current at the end of stable stationary branches of the current-voltage characteristics have been found. These oscillations are due to periodic motion of charge dipoles near the cathode that disappear inside the SL, before they can reach the receiving contact. Depending on the dc voltage step, the type of multistability between static branches and the duration of voltage switching, unusual relocation scenarios are found including changes of the current that follow adiabatically the stable I--V branches, different faster episodes involving charge tripoles and dipoles, and even small amplitude oscillations of the current near the end of static I--V branches followed by dipole-tripole scenarios.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Wigner-Poisson and nonlocal drift-diffusion model equations for semiconductor superlattices

A Wigner-Poisson kinetic equation describing charge transport in doped semiconductor superlattices is proposed. Electrons are supposed to occupy the lowest miniband, exchange of lateral momentum is ignored and the electron-electron interaction is treated in the Hartree approximation. There are elastic collisions with impurities and inelastic collisions with phonons, imperfections, etc. The latter are described by a modified BGK (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision model that allows for energy dissipation while yielding charge continuity. In the hyperbolic limit, nonlocal drift-diffusion equations are derived systematically from the kinetic Wigner-Poisson-BGK system by means of the Chapman-Enskog method. The nonlocality of the original quantum kinetic model equations implies that the derived drift-diffusion equations contain spatial averages over one or more superlattice periods. Numerical solutions of the latter equations show self-sustained oscillations of the current through a voltage biased superlattice, in agreement with known experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Discrete models of dislocations and their motion in cubic crystals

A discrete model describing defects in crystal lattices and having the standard linear anisotropic elasticity as its continuum limit is proposed. The main ingredients entering the model are the elastic stiffness constants of the material and a dimensionless periodic function that restores the translation invariance of the crystal and influences the Peierls stress. Explicit expressions are given for crystals with cubic symmetry: sc, fcc and bcc. Numerical simulations of this model with conservative or damped dynamics illustrate static and moving edge and screw dislocations and describe their cores and profiles. Dislocation loops and dipoles are also numerically observed. Cracks can be created and propagated by applying a sufficient load to a dipole formed by two edge dislocations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2005

Periodically generated propagating pulses

Certain equations with integral constraints have as solutions time-periodic pulses of a field-like unknown while a current-like unknown oscillates periodically with time. A general asymptotic theory of this phenomenon, the generalized Gunn effect, has been found recently. Here we extend this theory to the case of nonlinearities having only one stable zero, which is the case for the usual Gunn effect in n-GaAs. Our ideas are presented in the context of a simple scalar model where the waves can be constructed analytically and explicit expressions for asymptotic approximations can be found.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2004

Theory of charge fluctuations and domain relocation times in semiconductor superlattices

Shot noise affects differently the nonlinear electron transport in semiconductor superlattices depending on the strength of the coupling among the superlattice quantum wells. Strongly coupled superlattices can be described by a miniband Boltzmann-Langevin equation from which a stochastic drift-diffusion equation is derived by means of a consistent Chapman-Enskog method. Similarly, shot noise in weakly coupled, highly doped semiconductor superlattices is described by a stochastic discrete drift-diffusion model. The current-voltage characteristics of the corresponding deterministic model consist of a number of stable branches corresponding to electric field profiles displaying two domains separated by a domain wall. If the initial state corresponds to a voltage on the middle of a stable branch and is suddenly switched to a final voltage corresponding to the next branch, the domains relocate after a certain delay time, called relocation time. The possible scalings of this mean relocation time are discussed using bifurcation theory and the classical results for escape of a Brownian particle from a potential well.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2004

Igniting homogeneous nucleation

Transient homogeneous nucleation is studied in the limit of large critical sizes. Starting from pure monomers, three eras of transient nucleation are characterized in the classic Becker-Döring kinetic equations with two different models of discrete diffusivity: the classic Turnbull-Fisher formula and an expression describing thermally driven growth of the nucleus. The latter diffusivity yields time lags for nucleation which are much closer to values measured in experiments with disilicate glasses. After an initial stage in which the number of monomers decreases, many clusters of small size are produced and a continuous size distribution is created. During the second era, nucleii are increasing steadily in size in such a way that their distribution appears as a wave front advancing towards the critical size for steady nucleation. The nucleation rate at critical size is negligible during this era. After the wave front reaches critical size, it ignites the creation of supercritical clusters at a rate that increases monotonically until its steady value is reached. Analytical formulas for the transient nucleation rate and the time lag are obtained that improve classical ones and compare very well with direct numerical solutions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2003

Generalized drift-diffusion model for miniband superlattices

A drift-diffusion model of miniband transport in strongly coupled superlattices is derived from the single-miniband Boltzmann-Poisson transport equation with a BGK (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision term. We use a consistent Chapman-Enskog method to analyze the hyperbolic limit, at which collision and electric field terms dominate the other terms in the Boltzmann equation. The reduced equation is of the drift-diffusion type, but it includes additional terms, and diffusion and drift do not obey the Einstein relation except in the limit of high temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2003

Edge dislocations in crystal structures considered as traveling waves of discrete models

The static stress needed to depin a 2D edge dislocation, the lower dynamic stress needed to keep it moving, its velocity and displacement vector profile are calculated from first principles. We use a simplified discrete model whose far field distortion tensor decays algebraically with distance as in the usual elasticity. An analytical description of dislocation depinning in the strongly overdamped case (including the effect of fluctuations) is also given. A set of $N$ parallel edge dislocations whose centers are far from each other can depin a given one provided $N=O(L)$, where $L$ is the average inter-dislocation distance divided by the Burgers vector of a single dislocation. Then a limiting dislocation density can be defined and calculated in simple cases.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2003

Oscillatory wave fronts in chains of coupled nonlinear oscillators

Wave front pinning and propagation in damped chains of coupled oscillators are studied. There are two important thresholds for an applied constant stress $F$: for $|F| F_{cs}$ (static Peierls stress) there are only stable moving wave fronts. For piecewise linear models, extending an exact method of Atkinson and Cabrera's to chains with damped dynamics corroborates this description. For smooth nonlinearities, an approximate analytical description is found by means of the active point theory. Generically for small or zero damping, stable wave front profiles are non-monotone and become wavy (oscillatory) in one of their tails.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2003

Free boundary problems describing two-dimensional pulse recycling and motion in semiconductors

An asymptotic analysis of the Gunn effect in two-dimensional samples of bulk n-GaAs with circular contacts is presented. A moving pulse far from contacts is approximated by a moving free boundary separating regions where the electric potential solves a Laplace equation with subsidiary boundary conditions. The dynamical condition for the motion of the free boundary is a Hamilton-Jacobi equation. We obtain the exact solution of the free boundary problem (FBP) in simple one-dimensional and axisymmetric geometries. The solution of the FBP is obtained numerically in the general case and compared with the numerical solution of the full system of equations. The agreement is excellent so that the FBP can be adopted as the basis for an asymptotic study of the multi-dimensional Gunn effect.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2002

Three eras of micellization

Micellization is the precipitation of lipids from aqueous solution into aggregates with a broad distribution of aggregation number. Three eras of micellization are characterized in a simple kinetic model of Becker-Döring type. The model asigns the same constant energy to the $(k-1)$ monomer-monomer bonds in a linear chain of $k$ particles. The number of monomers decreases sharply and many clusters of small size are produced during the first era. During the second era, nucleii are increasing steadily in size until their distribution becomes a self-similar solution of the diffusion equation. Lastly, when the average size of the nucleii becomes comparable to its equilibrium value, a simple mean-field Fokker-Planck equation describes the final era until the equilibrium distribution is reached.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2002

Depinning transitions in discrete reaction-diffusion equations

We consider spatially discrete bistable reaction-diffusion equations that admit wave front solutions. Depending on the parameters involved, such wave fronts appear to be pinned or to glide at a certain speed. We study the transition of traveling waves to steady solutions near threshold and give conditions for front pinning (propagation failure). The critical parameter values are characterized at the depinning transition and an approximation for the front speed just beyond threshold is given.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗