Ising ferromagnet with biquadratic exchange

A spin one Ising system with biquadratic exchange, is investigated, using Green's function technique in random phase approximation (RPA). Transition temperature Tc and <(Sz)2> at Tc, are found to increase with biquadratic exchange parameter α for sc, bcc and fcc lattices. The variation of <(Sz)2> at Tc with α is found to be the same for the above lattices.

Curie-temprature of a spin one xy ferromagnet with uniaxial anisotropy

A spin one XY ferromagnet with uniaxial anisotropy has been investigated, using Green's function technique in random phase approximation (RPA). The Green functions associated with the anisotropy energy are treated without decoupling. A set of coupled equations have been obtained to find the critical temperature Tc and left angle bracket(SZ)2right-pointing angle bracket at Tc as function of the uniaxial anisotropy parameter D. Tc and left angle bracket(SZ)2right-pointing angle bracket at Tc are found to increase with D. The results are compared with the earlier results obtained in the Narath type of RPA.

Plasmons in spatially separated rolled-up electron-hole double-layer systems

Using the two-component random phase approximation, we report the collective mode spectrum of a quasi-one-dimensional spatially separated electron-hole double-layer system characterized by rolled-up type-II band aligned quantum wells. We find two intra-subband collective excitations, which can be classified into optic and acoustic plasmon branches, and several inter-subband plasmon modes. At the long wavelength limit and up to a given wave vector, our model predicts and admits an undamped acoustic branch, which always lies in the gap between the intra-subband electron and hole continua, and an undamped optic branch residing within the gap between the inter-subband electron and hole continua, for all values of the electron-hole charge separations. This theoretical investigation suggests that the low-energy and Landau-undamped plasmon modes might exist based on quasi-one-dimensional, two-component spatially separated electron-hole plasmas, and their possibility could be experimentally examined. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

One-dimensional potential for image-potential states on graphene

In the framework of dielectric theory, the static non-local self-energy of an electron near an ultra-thin polarizable layer has been calculated and applied to study binding energies of image-potential states near free-standing graphene. The corresponding series of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions have been obtained by numerically solving the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation. The imagepotential state wave functions accumulate most of their probability outside the slab. We find that the random phase approximation (RPA) for the nonlocal dielectric function yields a superior description for the potential inside the slab, but a simple Fermi-Thomas theory can be used to get a reasonable quasi-analytical approximation to the full RPA result that can be computed very economically. Binding energies of the image-potential states follow a pattern close to the Rydberg series for a perfect metal with the addition of intermediate states due to the added symmetry of the potential. The formalism only requires a minimal set of free parameters: the slab width and the electronic density. The theoretical calculations are compared with experimental results for the work function and image-potential states obtained by two-photon photoemission.

Nonequilibrium dynamics of photoexcited electrons in graphene: Collinear scattering, Auger processes, and the impact of screening

We present a combined analytical and numerical study of the early stages (sub-100-fs) of the nonequilibrium dynamics of photoexcited electrons in graphene. We employ the semiclassical Boltzmann equation with a collision integral that includes contributions from electron-electron (e-e) and electron-optical phonon interactions. Taking advantage of circular symmetry and employing the massless Dirac fermion (MDF) Hamiltonian, we are able to perform an essentially analytical study of the e-e contribution to the collision integral. This allows us to take particular care of subtle collinear scattering processes - processes in which incoming and outgoing momenta of the scattering particles lie on the same line - including carrier multiplication (CM) and Auger recombination (AR). These processes have a vanishing phase space for two-dimensional MDF bare bands. However, we argue that electron-lifetime effects, seen in experiments based on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, provide a natural pathway to regularize this pathology, yielding a finite contribution due to CM and AR to the Coulomb collision integral. Finally, we discuss in detail the role of physics beyond the Fermi golden rule by including screening in the matrix element of the Coulomb interaction at the level of the random phase approximation (RPA), focusing in particular on the consequences of various approximations including static RPA screening, which maximizes the impact of CM and AR processes, and dynamical RPA screening, which completely suppresses them. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Plasmons in vertically coupled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We investigate plasmon excitations in a quantum wire that consists of an infinite one-dimensional array of vertically coupled InAs/GaAs strained quantum dots (QDs). The research is carried out in the framework of random-phase approximation using effective-mass theory. Our formalism is capable of studying plasmons with strong tunneling among QDs, which frustrate the conventionally adopted tight-binding approximation. Based on this formalism, a systematic study on the intraminiband or intrasubband plasmon in vertically coupled InAs/GaAs strained QDs is presented. It is found that an increase of the dot spacing will inevitably reduce the plasmon energy. In contrast, the role of dot height is relatively complex and depends on the dot spacing. The results demonstrate the possibility to engineer collective excitations in low dimensional systems by simply changing their geometric configuration.

Charge-density and spin-density excitations in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

We study theoretically the charge-density and spin-density excitations in a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field and a Rashba type spin-orbit coupling. The dispersion and the corresponding intensity of excitations in the vicinity of cyclotron resonance frequency are calculated within the framework of random phase approximation. The dependence of excitation dispersion on various system parameters, i.e., the Rashba spin-orbit interaction strength, the electron density, the Zeeman spin splitting, and the Coulomb interaction strength is investigated.

CALCULATION OF DIELECTRIC-CONSTANTS FOR SEMICONDUCTORS - AN APPLICATION OF ABINITIO PSEUDOPOTENTIAL METHOD

We have used ab initio pseudopotential method to generate basis wavefunctions and eigen energies to carry out first principle calculations of the static macroscopic dielectric constant for GaAs and GaP. The resulted converged random phase approximation (RPA) value is 12.55 and 10.71, in excellent agreement to the experimental value of 12.4 and 10.86, respectively. The inclusion of the exchange correlation contribution makes the calculated result slightly worsen. A convergence test with respect to the number of k points in Brillouin zone (BZ) integration was carried out. Sixty irreducible BZ k points were used to achieve the converged results. Integration with only 10 special k points increased the RPA value by 15%.

Symmetry energy and isovector giant dipole resonance in finite nuclei

We study the relationship between the properties of the isovector giant dipole resonance of finite nuclei and the symmetry energy in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory with six different parameter sets of nonlinear effective Lagrangian. A strong linear correlation of excited energies of the dipole resonance in finite nuclei and symmetry energy at and below the saturation density is found. This linear correlation leads to the symmetry energy at the saturation density at the interval 33.0MeV <= S(po) <= 37.0 MeV. The comparison to the present experimental data in the soft dipole mode of (132) Sn constrains approximately the symmetry energy at p = 0.1 fm(-3) at the interval 21.2MeV similar to 22.5 MeV. It is proposed that a precise measurement of the soft dipole mode in neutron rich nuclei could set up an important constraint on the equation of state for asymmetric nuclear matter.

Constraints on the symmetry energy and neutron skins from pygmy resonances in Ni-68 and Sn-132

Correlations between the behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy, the neutron skins, and the percentage of energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR) exhausted by the pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) in Ni-68 and Sn-132 are investigated by using different random phase approximation (RPA) models for the dipole response, based on a representative set of Skyrme effective forces plus meson-exchange effective Lagrangians. A comparison with the experimental data has allowed us to constrain the value of the derivative of the symmetry energy at saturation. The neutron skin radius is deduced under this constraint.

Compositional dependence of the microphase separation transition in styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer/polystyrene blends

The change in the microphase separation transition (MST) temperature of a styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer induced by the addition of polystyrene (PS) was investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering. It was found that the transition temperature was determined from the molecular weight (M(H)) Of the added PS in relation to that of the corresponding blocks (M(A)) in the copolymer. The MST temperature decreased with added PS if M(H)/M(A) < 1/4, while it increased with added PS when M(H)/M(A) > 1/4 Analysis of the theoretical expression based on the random phase approximation showed exactly the same tendency of change in the transition temperatures as that observed experimentally. The interaction parameter, chi(SB), obtained by nonlinear fitting of the scattering profiles of SBS/PS blends in the disordered state, was found to be a function of temperature and composition. Composition fluctuations were found to exist in SBS/PS blends, increasing with increasing addition of PS but diminishing with increasing molecular weight of the added PS.

Photo-double detachment from the F- ion

The correlated process of photodetaching two electrons from the F- ion following the absorption of a single photon has been investigated over an energy range 20-62 eV. In the experiment, a beam of photons from the Advanced Light Source was collinearly merged with a counter-propagating beam of F- ions from a sputter ion source. The F+ ions produced in the interaction region were detected, and the normalized signal was used to monitor the relative cross section for the double-detachment reaction. An absolute scale for the cross section was established by measuring the spatial overlap of the two beams and by determining the efficiency for collection and detection of the F+ ions. The measured cross section is compared with R-matrix and random phase approximation calculations. These calculations show that the Auger decay of the 2s2p(6) core-excited state of the F atom plays a minor role in the production of F+ ions and that double detachment is likely to be dominated by simultaneous correlated ejection of two valence electrons at energies well above threshold.

Local-field and excitonic effects in the optical response of alpha-alumina

This paper introduces key ingredients of the dielectric response of a-alumina that go beyond an independent-particle (IP) treatment of the valence-electron excitations. The optical-response functions were calculated from first-principles both at the Bethe-Salpeter and the random-phase approximation (RPA) levels. Excitonic effects obtained within the Bethe-Salpeter framework were found essential for reproducing the low-energy part of the experimental spectra (below 15 eV) and the bound exciton in particular. For higher energies, local-field effects introduced through the RPA modified considerably the IP results and provided a satisfactory account of the reflectivity spectra and of the position and shape of the dominant bulk plasmon resonance in the electron energy-loss spectra.

Density functionals from many-body perturbation theory: The band gap for semiconductors and insulators

Theoretically the Kohn-Sham band gap differs from the exact quasiparticle energy gap by the derivative discontinuity of the exchange-correlation functional. In practice for semiconductors and insulators the band gap calculated within any local or semilocal density approximations underestimates severely the experimental energy gap. On the other hand, calculations with an "exact" exchange potential derived from many-body perturbation theory via the optimized effective potential suggest that improving the exchange-correlation potential approximation can yield a reasonable agreement between the Kohn-Sham band gap and the experimental gap. The results in this work show that this is not the case. In fact, we add to the exact exchange the correlation that corresponds to the dynamical (random phase approximation) screening in the GW approximation. This accurate exchange-correlation potential provides band structures similar to the local density approximation with the corresponding derivative discontinuity that contributes 30%-50% to the energy gap. Our self-consistent results confirm substantially the results for Si and other semiconductors obtained perturbatively [R. W. Godby , Phys. Rev. B 36, 6497 (1987)] and extend the conclusion to LiF and Ar, a wide-gap insulator and a noble-gas solid. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Performance of polarisation functionals for linear and nonlinear optical properties of bulk zinc chalcogenides ZnX (X=S,Se,Te).

We calculated the frequency dependent macroscopic dielectric function and second-harmonic generation of cubic ZnS, ZnSe and ZnTe within time-dependent density-polarisation functional theory. The macroscopic dielectric function is calculated in a linear response framework, and second-harmonic generation in a real-time framework. The macroscopic exchange–correlation electric field that enters the time-dependent Kohn–Sham equations and accounts for long range correlation is approximated as a simple polarisation functional αP, where P is the macroscopic polarisation. Expressions for α are taken from the recent literature. The performance of the resulting approximations for the exchange–correlation electric field is analysed by comparing the theoretical spectra with experimental results and results obtained at the levels of the independent particle approximation and the random-phase approximation. For the dielectric function we also compare with state-of-the art calculations at the level of the Bethe–Salpeter equation.