Chaotic dynamics of electric-field domains in periodically driven superlattices

Self-sustained time-dependent current oscillations under dc voltage bias have been observed in recent experiments on n-doped semiconductor superlattices with sequential resonant tunneling. The current oscillations are caused by the motion and recycling of the domain wall separating low- and high-electric-field regions of the superlattice, as the analysis of a discrete drift model shows and experimental evidence supports. Numerical simulation shows that different nonlinear dynamical regimes of the domain wall appear when an external microwave signal is superimposed on the dc bias and its driving frequency and driving amplitude vary. On the frequency-amplitude parameter plane, there are regions of entrainment and quasiperiodicity forming Arnold tongues. Chaos is demonstrated to appear at the boundaries of the tongues and in the regions where they overlap. Coexistence of up to four electric-field domains randomly nucleated in space is detected under ac+dc driving.

Coherent patterns and self-induced diffraction of electrons on a thin nonlinear layer

Electron scattering on a thin layer where the potential depends self-consistently on the wave function has been studied. When the amplitude of the incident wave exceeds a certain threshold, a soliton-shaped brightening (darkening) appears on the layer causing diffraction of the wave. Thus the spontaneously formed transverse pattern can be viewed as a self-induced nonlinear quantum screen. Attractive or repulsive nonlinearities result in different phase shifts of the wave function on the screen, which give rise to quite different diffraction patterns. Among others, the nonlinearity can cause self-focusing of the incident wave into a beam, splitting in two "beams," single or double traces with suppressed reflection or transmission, etc.

First principles LDA+U and GGA+U study of cerium oxides: Dependence on the effective U-parameter

The electronic structure and properties of cerium oxides (CeO2 and Ce2O3) have been studied in the framework of the LDA+U and GGA(PW91)+U implementations of density functional theory. The dependence of selected observables of these materials on the effective U parameter has been investigated in detail. The examined properties include lattice constants, bulk moduli, density of states, and formation energies of CeO2 and Ce2O3. For CeO2, the LDA+U results are in better agreement with experiment than the GGA+U results whereas for the computationally more demanding Ce2O3 both approaches give comparable accuracy. Furthermore, as expected, Ce2O3 is much more sensitive to the choice of the U value. Generally, the PW91 functional provides an optimal agreement with experiment at lower U energies than LDA does. In order to achieve a balanced description of both kinds of materials, and also of nonstoichiometric CeO2¿x phases, an appropriate choice of U is suggested for LDA+U and GGA+U schemes. Nevertheless, an optimum value appears to be property dependent, especially for Ce2O3. Optimum U values are found to be, in general, larger than values determined previously in a self-consistent way.

Effects of new nonlinear couplings in relativistic effective field theory

We extend the relativistic mean field theory model of Sugahara and Toki by adding new couplings suggested by modern effective field theories. An improved set of parameters is developed with the goal to test the ability of the models based on effective field theory to describe the properties of finite nuclei and, at the same time, to be consistent with the trends of Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations at densities away from the saturation region. We compare our calculations with other relativistic nuclear force parameters for various nuclear phenomena.