On the Photorefractive Gunn Effect

We present and numerically solve a model of the photorefractive Gunn effect. We find that high field domains can be triggered by phase-locked interference fringes, as it has been recently predicted on the basis of linear stability considerations. Since the Gunn effect is intrinsically nonlinear, we find that such considerations give at best order-of-magnitude estimations of the parameters critical to the photorefractive Gunn effect. The response of the system is much more complex including multiple wave shedding from the injecting contact, wave suppression and chaos with spatial structure.Comment: Revtex, 8 pag., 4 fig. (jpg), submit to Physical Review

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.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, published as M3AS 15, 1253 (2005) with correction

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.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures, to appear in SIAM J. Appl. Mat

Theory of defect dynamics in graphene: defect groupings and their stability

We use our theory of periodized discrete elasticity to characterize defects in graphene as the cores of dislocations or groups of dislocations. Earlier numerical implementations of the theory predicted some of the simpler defect groupings observed in subsequent Transmission Electron Microscope experiments. Here we derive the more complicated defect groupings of three or four defect pairs from our theory, show that they correspond to the cores of two pairs of dislocation dipoles and ascertain their stability.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures; replaced figure

Chaos in resonant-tunneling superlattices

Spatio-temporal chaos is predicted to occur in n-doped semiconductor superlattices with sequential resonant tunneling as their main charge transport mechanism. Under dc voltage bias, undamped time-dependent oscillations of the current (due to the motion and recycling of electric field domain walls) have been observed in recent experiments. Chaos is the result of forcing this natural oscillation by means of an appropriate external microwave signal.Comment: 3 pages, LaTex, RevTex, 3 uuencoded figures (1.2M) are available upon request from [email protected], to appear in Phys.Rev.

Ripples in a string coupled to Glauber spins

Each oscillator in a linear chain (a string) interacts with a local Ising spin in contact with a thermal bath. These spins evolve according to Glauber dynamics. Below a critical temperature, a rippled state in the string is accompanied by a nonzero spin polarization. The system is shown to form ripples in the string which, for slow spin relaxation, vibrates rapidly about quasi-stationary states described as snapshots of a coarse-grained stroboscopic map. For moderate observation times, ripples are observed irrespective of the final thermodynamically stable state (rippled or not).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Spin-oscillator model for DNA/RNA unzipping by mechanical force

We model unzipping of DNA/RNA molecules subject to an external force by a spin-oscillator system. The system comprises a macroscopic degree of freedom, represented by a one-dimensional oscillator, and internal degrees of freedom, represented by Glauber spins with nearest-neighbor interaction and a coupling constant proportional to the oscillator position. At a critical value $F_c$ of an applied external force $F$, the oscillator rest position (order parameter) changes abruptly and the system undergoes a first-order phase transition. When the external force is cycled at different rates, the extension given by the oscillator position exhibits a hysteresis cycle at high loading rates whereas it moves reversibly over the equilibrium force-extension curve at very low loading rates. Under constant force, the logarithm of the residence time at the stable and metastable oscillator rest position is proportional to $(F-F_c)$ as in an Arrhenius law.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

Self-sustained current oscillations in the kinetic theory of semiconductor superlattices

We present the first numerical solutions of a kinetic theory description of self-sustained current oscillations in n-doped semiconductor superlattices. The governing equation is a single-miniband Boltzmann-Poisson transport equation with a BGK (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision term. Appropriate boundary conditions for the distribution function describe electron injection in the contact regions. These conditions seamlessly become Ohm's law at the injecting contact and the zero charge boundary condition at the receiving contact when integrated over the wave vector. The time-dependent model is numerically solved for the distribution function by using the deterministic Weighted Particle Method. Numerical simulations are used to ascertain the convergence of the method. The numerical results confirm the validity of the Chapman-Enskog perturbation method used previously to derive generalized drift-diffusion equations for high electric fields because they agree very well with numerical solutions thereof.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, to appear in J. Comput. Phy

Statics and dynamics of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a one-dimensional Ising system

We investigate an oscillator linearly coupled with a one-dimensional Ising system. The coupling gives rise to drastic changes both in the oscillator statics and dynamics. Firstly, there appears a second order phase transition, with the oscillator stable rest position as its order parameter. Secondly, for fast spins, the oscillator dynamics is described by an effective equation with a nonlinear friction term that drives the oscillator towards the stable equilibrium state.Comment: Proceedings of the 2010 Granada Semina

Chaotic motion of space charge wavefronts in semiconductors under time-independent voltage bias

A standard drift-diffusion model of space charge wave propagation in semiconductors has been studied numerically and analytically under dc voltage bias. For sufficiently long samples, appropriate contact resistivity and applied voltage - such that the sample is biased in a regime of negative differential resistance - we find chaos in the propagation of nonlinear fronts (charge monopoles of alternating sign) of electric field. The chaos is always low-dimensional, but has a complex spatial structure; this behavior can be interpreted using a finite dimensional asymptotic model in which the front (charge monopole) positions and the electrical current are the only dynamical variables.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure