Sep 2008, Volume 3 Issue 3
    

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  • Electromagnetic momentum in frontiers of modern physics
    SPAVIERI Gianfranco, ERAZO Jesús, SANCHEZ Arturo, AGUIRRE Felix, GILLIES George T., RODRIGUEZ Miguel
    2008, 3(3): 239-249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0036-9
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    We review the role of the momentum of the electromagnetic (EM) fields Pe in several areas of modern physics. Pe represents the EM interaction in equations for matter and t waves propagation. As an application of wave propagation properties, a first order optical experiment which tests the speed of light in moving rarefied gases is presented. Within a classical context, the momentum Pe appears also in proposed tests of EM interactions involving open currents and angular momentum conservation laws.Moreover, Pe is the link to the unitary vision of the quantum effects of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) type and, for several of these effects, the strength of Pe is evaluated. These effects provide a quantum approach to evaluate the limit of the photon mass mph. A new effect of the AB type, together with the scalar AB effect, provides the basis for table-top experiments which yield the limit mph = 9.4 × 10-52 g, a value that improves the results achieved with recent classical and quantum approaches.
  • Concurrence vectors for entanglement of high-dimensional systems
    LI You-quan, ZHU Guo-qiang
    2008, 3(3): 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0022-2
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    The concurrence vectors are proposed by employing the fundamental representation of An Lie algebra, which provides a clear criterion to evaluate the entanglement of bipartite systems of arbitrary dimension. Accordingly, a state is separable if the norm of its concurrence vector vanishes. The state vectors related to SU(3) states and SO(3) states are discussed in detail. The sign situation of nonzero components of concurrence vectors of entangled bases presents a simple criterion to judge whether the whole Hilbert subspace spanned by those bases is entangled, or there exists an entanglement edge. This is illustrated in terms of the concurrence surfaces of several concrete examples.
  • Entanglement reciprocation between two charge qubits and two-cavity field
    CUI Hui-ping, SHAN Yan, ZOU Jian, SHAO Bin
    2008, 3(3): 258-263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0030-2
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    We propose a simple scheme to generate two-mode entangled coherent state in two separated cavities and realize the entanglement reciprocation between the superconducting charge qubits and continuous-variable system. By measuring the state of charge qubits, we find that the entanglement of two charge qubits, which are initially prepared in the maximally entangled state, can be transferred to the two-cavity field, and at this time the two-cavity field is in the entangled coherent state. We also find that the entanglement can be retrieved back to the two charge qubits after measuring the state of the two-cavity field.
  • Theory of the resonance escape factors of plasma resonance lines basing on the exact Voigt profile
    ZHANG Qing-guo, HE Jian
    2008, 3(3): 264-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0020-4
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    In this paper, based on the exact Voigt profile we obtained, we derive the theory of resonance escape factors of plasma resonance lines, for both Lorentzian profile and Voigt profile. The oscillator strength, the number density of the absorbing atoms in the ground state, and the optical depth in the line center are discussed. As an example, the helium He I 1083.0 nm, lithium Li I 670.970 nm and carbon C I 111.74 nm are discussed for infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions. The results we calculated are in good agreement with the experimental results. These calculations will be significant in the theoretical analysis of plasma.
  • Shot noises of spin and charge currents in a ferromagnet-quantum-dot-ferromagnet system
    ZHAO Hong-kang, WANG Jian
    2008, 3(3): 280-293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0026-y
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    We have investigated the shot noises of charge and spin current by considering the spin polarized electron tunneling through a ferromagnet-quantum-dot-ferromagnet system. We have derived the spin polarized current noise matrix, from which we can derive general expressions of shot noises associated with charge and spin currents. The spin and charge currents are intimately related to the polarization angles, and they behave quite differently from each other. The shot noise of charge current is symmetric about the gate voltage whose structure is modified by the Zeeman field considerably. There exists oscillations in spin current shot noise in the absence of source-drain bias at zero temperature, and it is asymmetric in the positive and negative regimes of sourcedrain voltage. The shot noise of spin current behaves quite differently from the shot noise of charge current, since the spin current components Ixs, Iys oscillate sinusoidally with the frequency ?? in the ?th lead, while the Izs component of spin current is independent of time.
  • Noise suppression for micromechanical resonator via intrinsic dynamic feedback
    IAN Hou, GONG Zhi-rui, SUN Chang-pu
    2008, 3(3): 294-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0025-z
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    We study a dynamic mechanism to passively suppress the thermal noise of a micromechanical resonator through an intrinsic self-feedback that is genuinely non-Markovian. We use two coupled resonators, one as the target resonator and the other as an ancillary resonator, to illustrate the mechanism and its noise reduction effect. The intrinsic feedback is realized through the dynamics of coupling between the two resonators: the motions of the target resonator and the ancillary resonator mutually influence each other in a cyclic fashion. Specifically, the states that the target resonator has attained earlier will affect the state it attains later due to the presence of the ancillary resonator. We show that the feedback mechanism will bring forth the effect of noise suppression in the spectrum of displacement, but not in the spectrum of momentum.
  • High-energy y-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts - before GLAST
    FAN Yi-Zhong, PIRAN Tsvi
    2008, 3(3): 306-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0033-z
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    Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are short and intense emission of soft γ-rays, which have fascinated astronomers and astrophysicists since their unexpected discovery in 1960s. The X-ray/optical/radio afterglow observations confirm the cosmological origin of GRBs, support the fireball model, and imply a long-activity of the central engine. The high-energy γ-ray emission (> 20 MeV) from GRBs is particularly important because they shed some lights on the radiation mechanisms and can help us to constrain the physical processes giving rise to the early afterglows. In this work, we review observational and theoretical studies of the high-energy emission from GRBs. Special attention is given to the expected high-energy emission signatures accompanying the canonical early-time X-ray afterglow that was observed by the Swift X-ray Telescope. We also discuss the detection prospect of the upcoming GLAST satellite and the current ground-based Cerenkov detectors.
  • Epidemic spreading in complex networks
    ZHOU Jie, LIU Zong-hua
    2008, 3(3): 331-348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0027-x
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    The study of epidemic spreading in complex networks is currently a hot topic and a large body of results have been achieved. In this paper, we briefly review our contributions to this field, which includes the underlying mechanism of rumor propagation, the epidemic spreading in community networks, the influence of varying topology, and the influence of mobility of agents. Also, some future directions are pointed out.
  • Itinerant electron model and conductance of DNA
    QU Zhen, KANG Da-wei, GAO Xu-tuan, XIE Shi-jie
    2008, 3(3): 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0029-8
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    DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) has recently caught the attention of chemists and physicists. A major reason for this interest is DNA’s potential use in nanoelectronic devices, both as a template for assembling nanocircuits and as an element of such circuits. However, the electronic properties of the DNA molecule remain very controversial. Charge-transfer reactions and conductivity measurements show a large variety of possible electronic behavior, ranging from Anderson and bandgap insulators to effective molecular wires and induced superconductors. In this review article, we summarize the wide-ranging experimental and theoretical results of charge transport in DNA. An itinerant electron model is suggested and the effect of the density of itinerant electrons on the conductivity of DNA is studied. Calculations show that a DNA molecule may show conductivity from insulating to metallic, which explains the controversial and profuse electric characteristics of DNA to some extent.
  • Recent advances on thermoelectric materials
    ZHENG Jin-cheng
    2008, 3(3): 269-279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-008-0028-9
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    By converting waste heat into electricity through the thermoelectric power of solids without producing greenhouse gas emissions, thermoelectric generators could be an important part of the solution to today’s energy challenge. There has been a resurgence in the search for new materials for advanced thermoelectric energy conversion applications. In this paper, we will review recent efforts on improving thermoelectric efficiency. Particularly, several novel proof-of-principle approaches such as phonon disorder in phonon-glasselectron crystals, low dimensionality in nanostructured materials and charge-spin-orbital degeneracy in strongly correlated systems on thermoelectric performance will be discussed.