arXiv subjects

P. I. Tamborenea

Publications and source records attributed to P. I. Tamborenea.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Case study of the validity of truncation schemes of kinetic equations of motion: few magnetic impurities in a semiconductor quantum ring

We carry out a study on the validity and limitations of truncation schemes customarily employed to treat the quantum kinetic equations of motion of complex interacting systems. Our system of choice is a semiconductor quantum ring with one electron interacting with few magnetic impurities via a Kondo-like Hamiltonian. This system is an interesting prototype which displays the necessary complexity when suitably scaled (large number of magnetic impurities) but can also be solved exactly when few impurities are present. The complexity in this system comes from the indirect electron-mediated impurity-impurity interaction and is reflected in the Heisenberg equations of motion, which form an infinite hierarchy. For the cases of two and three magnetic impurities, we solve for the quantum dynamics of our system both exactly and following a truncation scheme developed for diluted magnetic semiconductors in the bulk. We find an excellent agreement between the two approaches when physical observables like the impurities' spin angular momentum are computed for times that well exceed the time window of validity of perturbation theory. On the other hand, we find that within time ranges of physical interest, the truncation scheme introduces negative populations which represents a serious methodological drawback.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Analytical solution of narrow quantum rings with general Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings

We solve analytically the energy eigenvalue problem of narrow semiconductor quantum rings with a general spin-orbit term that includes as a special case the Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions acting simultaneously. The eigenstates and eigenenergies of the system are found for arbitrary values of the spin-orbit coupling constants without making use of approximations. The general eigenstates are expressed as products of a scalar Mathieu function and a spinor factor which is periodic or pseudo-periodic on the ring. Our general solution reduces to the previously found solutions for particular combinations of the Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings, like the well-studied cases of Rashba-only and of equal coupling constants.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Spin-orbit effects in the hydrogenic impurity levels of wurtzite semiconductors

The corrections to the $E_2^*$ energy level of hydrogenic impurities in semiconductors with wurtzite crystal structure are calculated using first-order perturbation theory in the envelope-function approximation. We consider the intrinsic (Dresselhaus) spin-orbit effective Hamiltonian in the conduction band and compare its effects to the renormalized extrinsic (Rashba) spin-orbit interaction which is analogous to the spin-orbit interaction in the bare hydrogen atom. In order to evaluate the extrinsic spin-orbit interaction we obtain the renormalized coupling constant $λ^*$ for wurtzite semiconductors from 8-band Kane theory. We apply our theory to four representative binary semiconductors with wurtzite crystal structure, namely, GaN, ZnO, InN and AlN, and discuss the relative strength of the effects of the intrinsic and extrinsic spin-orbit contributions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Insensitivity of spin dynamics to the orbital angular momentum transferred from twisted light to extended semiconductors

We study the spin dynamics of carriers due to the Rashba interaction in semiconductor quantum disks and wells after excitation with light with orbital angular momentum. We find that although twisted light transfers orbital angular momentum to the excited carriers and the Rashba interaction conserves their total angular momentum, the resulting electronic spin dynamics is essentially the same for excitation with light with orbital angular momentum $l=+|l|$ and $l=-|l|$. The differences between cases with different values of $|l|$ are due to the excitation of states with slightly different energies and not to the different angular momenta per se, and vanish for samples with large radii where a $k$-space quasi-continuum limit can be established. These findings apply not only to the Rashba interaction but also to all other envelope-function approximation spin-orbit Hamiltonians like the Dresselhaus coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Numerical simulations of stick percolation: Application to the study of structured magnetorheologial elastomers

In this article we explore how structural parameters of composites filled with one-dimensional, electrically conducting elements (such as sticks, needles, chains, or rods) affect the percolation properties of the system. To this end, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of asymmetric two-dimensional stick systems with anisotropic alignments. We compute the percolation probability functions in the direction of preferential orientation of the percolating objects and in the orthogonal direction, as functions of the experimental structural parameters. Among these, we considered the average length of the sticks, the standard deviation of the length distribution, and the standard deviation of the angular distribution. We developed a computer algorithm capable of reproducing and verifying known theoretical results for isotropic networks and which allows us to go beyond and study anisotropic systems of experimental interest. Our research shows that the total electrical anisotropy, considered as a direct consequence of the percolation anisotropy, depends mainly on the standard deviation of the angular distribution and on the average length of the sticks. A conclusion of practical interest is that we find that there is a wide and well-defined range of values for the mentioned parameters for which it is possible to obtain reliable anisotropic percolation under relatively accessible experimental conditions when considering composites formed by dispersions of sticks, oriented in elastomeric matrices.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Electronic transitions in quantum dots and rings induced by inhomogeneous off-centered light beams

We theoretically investigate the effect of inhomogeneous light beams with (twisted light) and without (plane-wave light) orbital angular momentum on semiconductor-based nanostructures, when the symmetry axes of the beam and the nanostructure are displaced parallel to each other. Exact analytical results are obtained by expanding the off-centered light field in terms of the appropriate light modes centered around the nanostructure. We demonstrate how electronic transitions involving the transfer of different amounts of orbital angular momentum are switched on and off as a function of the separation between the axes of the beam and the system. In particular, we show that even off-centered plane-wave beams induce transitions such that the angular momenta of the initial and final states are different.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Twisted-light-induced intersubband transitions in quantum wells at normal incidence

We examine theoretically the intersubband transitions induced by laser beams of light with orbital angular momentum (twisted light) in semiconductor quantum wells at normal incidence. These transitions become possible in the absence of gratings thanks to the fact that collimated laser beams present a component of the light's electric field in the propagation direction. We derive the matrix elements of the light-matter interaction for a Bessel-type twisted-light beam represented by its vector potential in the paraxial approximation. Then, we consider the dynamics of photo-excited electrons making intersubband transitions between the first and second subbands of a standard semiconductor quantum well. Finally, we analyze the light-matter matrix elements in order to evaluate which transitions are more favorable for given orbital angular momentum of the light beam in the case of small semiconductor structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Photoexcitation of graphene with twisted light

We study theoretically the interaction of twisted light with graphene. The light-matter interaction matrix elements between the tight-binding states of electrons in graphene are determined near the Dirac points. We examine the dynamics of the photoexcitation process by posing the equations of motion of the density matrix and working up to second order in the field. The time evolution of the angular momentum of the photoexcited electrons and their associated photocurrents are examined in order to elucidate the mechanisms of angular momentum transfer. We find that the transfer of spin and orbital angular momentum from light to the electrons is more akin here to the case of intraband than of interband transitions in semiconductors, due to the fact that the two relevant energy bands of graphene originate from the same atomic orbitals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Twisted-light-induced optical transitions in semiconductors: Free-carrier quantum kinetics

We theoretically investigate the interband transitions and quantum kinetics induced by light carrying orbital angular momentum, or twisted light, in bulk semiconductors. We pose the problem in terms of the Heisenberg equations of motion of the electron populations, and inter- and intra-band coherences. Our theory extends the free-carrier Semiconductor Bloch Equations to the case of photo-excitation by twisted light. The theory is formulated using cylindrical coordinates, which are better suited to describe the interaction with twisted light than the usual cartesian coordinates used to study regular optical excitation. We solve the equations of motion in the low excitation regime, and obtain analytical expressions for the coherences and populations; with these, we calculate the orbital angular momentum transferred from the light to the electrons and the paramagnetic and diamagnetic electric current densities.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Coherent control of localization, entanglement, and state superpositions in a double quantum dot with two electrons

We have recently proposed a quantum control method based on the knowledge of the energy spectrum as a function of an external control parameter [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 99}, 036806 (2007)]. So far, our method has been applied to connect the ground state to target states that were in all cases energy eigenstates. In this paper we extend that method in order to obtain more general target states, working, for concreteness, with a system of two interacting electrons confined in semiconductor double quantum wells. Namely, we have shown that the same basic method can be employed to obtain localization, entanglement, and general superpositions of eigenstates of the system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Electronic transitions in disc-shaped quantum dots induced by twisted light

We theoretically investigate the absorption and emission of light carrying orbital angular momentum (twisted-light) by quasi-two-dimensional (disc-shaped) quantum dots in the presence of a static magnetic field. We calculate the transition matrix element for the light-matter interaction and use it to explore different scenarios, depending on the initial and final state of the electron undergoing the optically-induced transition. We make explicit the selection rule for the conservation of the z-projection of the orbital angular momentum. For a realistic set of parameters (quantum dots size, beam waist, photon energy, etc.) the strength of the transition induced by twisted light is 10% of that induced by plane-waves. Finally, our analysis indicates that it may be possible to select precisely the electronic level one wishes to populate using the appropriate combination of light-beam parameters suggesting technological applications to the quantum control of electronic states in quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Theory of the optical absorption of light carrying orbital angular momentum by semiconductors

We develop a free-carrier theory of the optical absorption of light carrying orbital angular momentum (twisted light) by bulk semiconductors. We obtain the optical transition matrix elements for Bessel-mode twisted light and use them to calculate the wave function of photo-excited electrons to first-order in the vector potential of the laser. The associated net electric currents of first and second-order on the field are obtained. It is shown that the magnetic field produced at the center of the beam for the $\ell=1$ mode is of the order of a millitesla, and could therefore be detected experimentally using, for example, the technique of time-resolved Faraday rotation.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Hartree-Fock ground state of the two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We search for the uniform Hartree-Fock ground state of the two-dimensional electron gas formed in semiconductor heterostructures including the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. We identify two competing quantum phases: a ferromagnetic one with partial spin polarization in the perpendicular direction and a paramagnetic one with in-plane spin. We present a phase diagram in terms of the relative strengths of the Rashba to the Coulomb interaction and the electron density. We compare our theoretical description with existing experimental results obtained in GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Landau-Zener transitions in a semiconductor quantum dot

We study the transitions between neighboring energy levels in a quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor quantum dot with two interacting electrons in it, when it is subject to a linearly time-dependent electric field. We analyze the applicability of simple two-level Landau-Zener model to describe the evolution of the probability amplitudes in this realistic system. We show that the Landau-Zener model works very well when it is viewed in the adibatic basis, but it is not as robust in the diabatic basis.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Spin-orbit effects on two-electron states in nanowhisker double quantum dots

We investigate theoretically the combined effects of the electron-electron and the Rashba spin-orbit interactions on two electrons confined in quasi-one-dimensional AlInSb-based double quantum dots. We calculate the two-electron wave functions and explore the interplay between these two interactions on the energy levels and the spin of the states. The energy spectrum as a function of an applied magnetic field shows crossings and anticrossings between triplet and singlet states, associated with level mixing induced by the spin-orbit coupling. We find that the fields at which these crossings occur can be naturally controlled by the interdot barrier width, which controls the exchange integral in the structure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Quantum control using diabatic and adiabatic transitions

We exploit the concept of Landau-Zener transitions at avoided energy crossings as a quantum-control tool. In an avoided crossing the two quantum states interchange their characteristics as an external parameter is varied. Depending on the rate of change of the parameter it is possible to control the final state. We use this simple idea to travel along the energy spectrum of a realistic system: two interacting electrons confined in a quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Coherent control of interacting electrons in quantum dots via navigation in the energy spectrum

Quantum control of the wave function of two interacting electrons confined in quasi-one-dimensional double-well semiconductor structures is demonstrated. The control strategies are based on the knowledge of the energy spectrum as a function of an external uniform electric field. When two low-lying levels have avoided crossings our system behaves dynamically to a large extent as a two-level system. This characteristic is exploited to implement coherent control strategies based on slow (adiabatic passage) and rapid (diabatic Landau-Zener transition) changes of the external field. We apply this method to reach desired target states that lie far in the spectrum from the initial state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Spin relaxation rates in quasi-one-dimensional coupled quantum dots

We study theoretically the spin relaxation rate in quasi-one-dimensional coupled double semiconductor quantum dots. We consider InSb and GaAs-based systems in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction, which causes mixing of opposite-spin states, and allows phonon-mediated transitions between energy eigenstates. Contributions from all phonon modes and coupling mechanisms in zincblende semiconductors are taken into account. The spin relaxation rate is shown to display a sharp, cusp-like maximum as function of the interdot-barrier width, at a value of the width which can be controlled by an external magnetic field. This remarkable behavior is associated with the symmetric-antisymmetric level splitting in the structure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗