Atomic Reservoirs Research Articles

Non-circular flows in HIghMass galaxies in a test of the late accretion hypothesis

ABSTRACT We present H α velocity maps for the HIghMass galaxies UGC 7899, UGC 8475, UGC 9037, and UGC 9334, obtained with the SITELLE Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer on the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, to search for kinematic signatures of late gas accretion to explain their large atomic gas reservoirs. The maps for UGC 7899, UGC 9037, and UGC 9334 are amenable to disc-wide radial flow searches with the DiskFit algorithm, and those for UGC 7899 and UGC 9037 are also amenable to inner-disc kinematic analyses. We find no evidence for outer disc radial flows down to $\bar{V}_{\mathrm r} \sim 20 \ \mathrm{km\, s}^{-1}$ in UGC 9037 and UGC 9334, but hints of such flows in UGC 7899. Conversely, we find clear signatures of inner (r ≲ 5 kpc) non-circularities in UGC 7899 and UGC 9037 that can be modelled as either bisymmetric (which could be produced by a bar) or radial flows. Comparing these models to the structure implied by photometric disc–bulge–bar decompositions, we favour inner radial flows in UGC 7899 and an inner bar in UGC 9037. With hints of outer disc radial flows and an outer disc warp, UGC 7899 is the best candidate for late accretion among the galaxies examined, but additional modelling is required to disentangle potential degeneracies between these signatures in H i and H α velocity maps. Our search provides only weak constraints on hot-mode accretion models that could explain the unusually high H i content of HIghMass galaxies.

Persistent atomic frequency comb based on Zeeman sub-levels of an erbium-doped crystal waveguide

Long-lived sub-levels of the electronic ground-state manifold of rare-earth ions in crystals can be used as atomic population reservoirs for photon echo-based quantum memories. We measure the dynamics of the Zeeman sub-levels of erbium ions that are doped into a lithium niobate waveguide, finding population lifetimes at cryogenic temperatures down to 0.7 K as long as seconds. Then, using these levels, we prepare and characterize atomic frequency combs (AFCs), which can serve as a memory for quantum light at 1532 nm wavelength. The results allow predicting a 0.1% memory efficiency, limited mainly by unwanted background absorption that we believe to be caused by excitation-induced erbium spin flips and frequency shifting due to two-level systems or non-equilibrium phonons. Hence, while it should be possible to create an AFC-based quantum memory in E r 3 + : T i 4 + : L i N b O 3 , improved crystal growth together with optimized AFC preparation will be required to make it suitable for applications in quantum communication.

Tailoring the thermalization time of a cavity field using distinct atomic reservoirs

We study how the thermalization time of a single radiation cavity-field mode changes drastically depending on the type of the atomic reservoir it interacts. Temporal evolution of the field is analyzed within the micromaser scheme, where each atomic reservoir is modeled as a beam of atoms crossing an electromagnetic cavity in which they weakly interact with the field. The cavity-field thermalizes when we consider either multi-atom or multi-level atom reservoirs. We found that each atomic reservoir generates a different scaling law in the thermalization time of the cavity-field. Such scaling laws can be used for a faster or slower heating and cooling process. We have obtained analytical expressions for the thermalization time that were verified by means of a numerical simulation of the injection of each atomic reservoir into the cavity. We also discussed how our results could boost the efficiency and power output of some quantum heat engines during a finite time operation when the radiation field mode acts as the working substance.

Accelerating Electromigration Aging: Fast Failure Detection for Nanometer ICs

For practical testing and detection of electromigration (EM) induced failures in dual damascene copper interconnects, one critical issue is creating stressing conditions to induce the chip to fail exclusively under EM in a very short period of time so that EM sign-off and validation can be carried out efficiently. Existing acceleration techniques, which rely on increasing temperature and current densities beyond the known limits, also accelerate other reliability effects making it very difficult, if not impossible, to test EM in isolation. In this paper, we propose novel EM wear-out acceleration techniques to address the aforementioned issue. First, we show that multisegment interconnects with reservoir and sink structures can be exploited to significantly speedup the EM wear-out process. Based on this observation, we propose three strategies to accelerate EM induced failure: 1) reservoir-enhanced acceleration; 2) sink-enhanced acceleration; and 3) a hybrid method that combines both reservoir and sink structures. We then propose several configurable interconnect structures that exploit atomic reservoirs and sinks for accelerated EM testing. Such configurable interconnect structures are very flexible and can be used to achieve significant lifetime reductions at the cost of some routing resources. Using the proposed technique, EM testing can be carried out at nominal current densities, and at a much lower temperature compared to traditional testing methods. This is the most significant contribution of this paper since, to our knowledge, this is the only method that allows EM testing to be performed in a controlled environment without the risk of invoking other reliability effects that are also accelerated by elevated temperature and current density. The simulation results show that using the proposed method, we can reduce the EM lifetime of a chip from ten years down to a few hours (about 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5</sup> × acceleration) under the 150 °C temperature limit, which is sufficient for practical EM testing of typical nanometer CMOS ICs.

Quantum dynamics of a BEC interacting with a single-mode quantized field under the influence of a dissipation process: thermal and squeezed vacuum reservoirs

In this paper we consider a system consisting of a number of two-level atoms in a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) and a single-mode quantized field, which interact with each other in the presence of two different damping sources, i.e. cavity and atomic reservoirs. The reservoirs which we consider here are thermal and squeezed vacuum ones corresponding to field and atom modes. Strictly speaking, by considering both types of reservoirs for each of the atom and field modes, we investigate the quantum dynamics of the interacting bosons in the system. Then, via solving the quantum Langevin equations for such a dissipative BEC system, we obtain analytical expressions for the time dependence of atomic population inversion, mean atom as well as photon number and quadrature squeezing in the field and atom modes. Our investigations demonstrate that for modeling the real physical systems, considering the dissipation effects is essential. Also, numerical calculations which are presented show that the atomic population inversion, the mean number of atoms in the BEC and the photons in the cavity possess damped oscillatory behavior due to the presence of reservoirs. In addition, non-classical squeezing effects in the field quadrature can be observed especially when squeezed vacuum reservoirs are taken into account. As an outstanding property of this model, we may refer to the fact that one can extract the atom–field coupling constant from the frequency of oscillations in the mentioned quantities such as atomic population inversion.

Scanning Gate Microscope for Cold Atomic Gases.

We present a scanning probe microscopy technique for spatially resolving transport in cold atomic gases, in close analogy with scanning gate microscopy in semiconductor physics. The conductance of a quantum point contact connected to two atomic reservoirs is measured in the presence of a tightly focused laser beam acting as a local perturbation that can be precisely positioned in space. By scanning its position and recording the subsequent variations of conductance, we retrieve a high-resolution map of transport through a quantum point contact. We demonstrate a spatial resolution comparable to the extent of the transverse wave function of the atoms inside the channel and a position sensitivity below 10nm. Our measurements agree well with an analytical model and abinitio numerical simulations, allowing us to identify a regime in transport where tunneling dominates over thermal effects. Our technique opens new perspectives for the high-resolution observation and manipulation of cold atomic gases.

Electromigration Failure Time Model of General Circuit-Like Interconnects

The majority of interconnects in an integrated circuit is composed of via-terminated segments that are connected to atomic sinks or reservoirs. In this paper, we investigate electromigration failure of Cu/low-k conductors with active (current carrying) sinks and reservoirs, as well as configurations where currents flow into or out of a common via. We show that when steady-state stress profiles are combined with current densities, an accurate picture of electromigration failure for circuit-like interconnects emerges. Voiding locations are in general dependent on length and current ratios between active and sink/reservoir segments, leading to a rich variety of voiding behavior. A modeling methodology is developed to predict both voiding locations and failure time distributions in the presence of arbitrary configurations of active sinks, reservoirs, and common vias.

Spatially resolved star formation relation in two HI-rich galaxies with central post-starburst signature

E+A galaxies are post-starburst systems that are identified from their optical spectra. These galaxies contain a substantial young A-type stellar component, but have only little ongoing star formation (SF). HI 21-cm line emission is found in approximately half of the nearby E+A galaxies, indicating that they contain a reservoir of gas that could fuel active SF. Here, we study two HI-rich galaxies, which show a typical E+A spectrum at the centre and SF at larger radii. We present new high spatial resolution radio interferometric observations of the HI 21-cm emission line using the VLA and of the CO(1-0) emission line using ALMA. We combine these data sets to predict the SFR and show that it does not correlate well with the SFR derived from H alpha on sub-kpc scales. We apply a recently developed statistical model for the small scale behaviour of the SF relation to predict and interpret the observed scatter. We find smoothly distributed, regularly rotating HI gas. The CO(1-0) emission line is not detected for both galaxies. The derived upper limit on the CO mass implies a molecular gas depletion time shorter than 20 Myr. However, due to the low metallicity, the CO-to-H2 conversion factor is highly uncertain. In the relations between the H alpha-based SFR and the HI mass, we observe a substantial scatter we demonstrate results from small-number statistics of independent star-forming regions on sub-kpc scales. This finding adds to the existing literature reporting a scale dependence of the molecular SF relation, showing that the atomic and molecular phases are both susceptible to the evolutionary 'cycling' of individual regions. This suggests that the atomic gas reservoirs host substantial substructure, which should be observable with future high-resolution observations. (abridged)

Violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law for one-dimensional ultracold atomic gases

We study energy and particle transport for one-dimensional strongly interacting bosons through a ballistic single channel connecting two atomic reservoirs. We show the emergence of particle- and energy-current separation, leading to the violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law. As a consequence, we predict different time scales for the equilibration of temperature and particle imbalances between the reservoirs. Going beyond the linear spectrum approximation, we show the emergence of thermoelectric effects, which could be controlled by either tuning interactions or the temperature. Our results describe, in a unified picture, fermions in condensed-matter devices and bosons in ultracold atom setups. We conclude by discussing the effects of a controllable disorder.

Massive stars formed in atomic hydrogen reservoirs: H I observations of gamma-ray burst host galaxies

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), among the most energetic events in the Universe, are explosions of massive and short-lived stars, so they pinpoint locations of recent star formation. However, several GRB host galaxies have recently been found to be deficient in molecular gas (H2), believed to be the fuel of star formation. Moreover, optical spectroscopy of GRB afterglows implies that the molecular phase constitutes only a small fraction of the gas along the GRB line-of-sight. Here we report the first ever 21 cm line observations of GRB host galaxies, using the Australia Telescope Compact Array, implying high levels of atomic hydrogen (HI), which suggests that the connection between atomic gas and star formation is stronger than previously thought, with star formation being potentially directly fuelled by atomic gas (or with very efficient HI-to-H2 conversion and rapid exhaustion of molecular gas), as has been theoretically shown to be possible. This can happen in low metallicity gas near the onset of star formation, because cooling of gas (necessary for star formation) is faster than the HI-to-H2 conversion. Indeed, large atomic gas reservoirs, together with low molecular gas masses, stellar and dust masses are consistent with GRB hosts being preferentially galaxies which have very recently started a star formation episode after accreting metal-poor gas from the intergalactic medium. This provides a natural route for forming GRBs in low-metallicity environments. The gas inflow scenario is also consistent with the existence of the companion HI object with no optical counterpart ~19 kpc from the GRB 060505 host, and with the fact that the HI centroids of the GRB 980425 and 060505 hosts do not coincide with optical centres of these galaxies, but are located close to the GRB positions.

Inflow of atomic gas fuelling star formation

AbstractGamma-ray burst host galaxies are deficient in molecular gas, and show anomalous metal-poor regions close to GRB positions. Using recent Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) Hi observations we show that they have substantial atomic gas reservoirs. This suggests that star formation in these galaxies may be fuelled by recent inflow of metal-poor atomic gas. While this process is debated, it can happen in low-metallicity gas near the onset of star formation because gas cooling (necessary for star formation) is faster than the Hi-to-H2 conversion.

First-principles investigation of boron defects in nickel ferrite spinel

The accumulation of boron within the porous nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4, NFO) deposited on nuclear reactor fuel rods is a major technological problem with important safety and economical implications. In this work, the electronic structure of nickel ferrite spinel has been investigated using first-principles methods, and the theoretical results have been combined with experimental data to analyze B incorporation into the spinel structure of NFO. Under thermodynamic solid–solid equilibrium between NFO and atomic reservoirs of Ni and Fe, our calculations predict that the incorporation of B into the NFO structure is unfavorable. The main factors that limit B incorporation are the narrow stability domain of NFO and the precipitation of B2O3, Fe3BO5, and Ni3B2O6 compounds as secondary phases. The B incorporation energies depend sensitively on the electron chemical potential (EF) and the charge state of the defect. In n-type NFO, the most stable defect is the Ni vacancy VNi2- while in p-type material lowest the formation energy belongs to the interstitial B occupying a tetrahedrally coordinated site BT2+. Because of these limiting conditions it is more thermodynamically favorable for B to form secondary phases with Fe, Ni and O (e.g. B2O3, Fe3BO5, and Ni3B2O6) than it is to form point defects in NFO.

Quantum beats and wave mixing interactions in Raman systems: multimode squeezed and entangled states

We describe the effects of Raman interactions on the quantum correlations of multimode optical fields. It is shown that both quantum beats and four-wave mixing processes exist in the Raman interactions of multimode fields with atomic reservoirs. These two mechanisms combine to lead to emission in pairs into multiple cavity modes. For four fields taken as examples, we find that the four-mode squeezed state can be created at steady state. From this we can obtain the Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger entangled state, and the linear and square cluster entangled states. This scheme does not need the preparation of the initial states of atoms and cavity modes, and is robust against atomic spontaneous decay.

Observing the drop of resistance in the flow of a superfluid Fermi gas

The ability of particles to flow with very low resistance is characteristic of superfluid and superconducting states, leading to their discovery in the past century. Although measuring the particle flow in liquid helium or superconducting materials is essential to identify superfluidity or superconductivity, no analogous measurement has been performed for superfluids based on ultracold Fermi gases. Here we report direct measurements of the conduction properties of strongly interacting fermions, observing the well-known drop in resistance that is associated with the onset of superfluidity. By varying the depth of the trapping potential in a narrow channel connecting two atomic reservoirs, we observed variations of the atomic current over several orders of magnitude. We related the intrinsic conduction properties to the thermodynamic functions in a model-independent way, by making use of high-resolution in situ imaging in combination with current measurements. Our results show that, as in solid-state systems, current and resistance measurements in quantum gases provide a sensitive probe with which to explore many-body physics. Our method is closely analogous to the operation of a solid-state field-effect transistor and could be applied as a probe for optical lattices and disordered systems, paving the way for modelling complex superconducting devices.

Mesoscopic transport of fermions through an engineered optical lattice connecting two reservoirs

We study transport of fermions in a system composed of a short optical lattice connecting two finite atomic reservoirs at different filling levels. The average equilibration current through the optical lattice, for strong lattice-reservoir coupling and finite temperatures, is calculated within the Landauer formalism using a nonequilibrium Green's functions approach. We moreover determine quantum and thermal fluctuations in the transport and find significant shot-to-shot deviations from the average equilibration current. We show how to control the atomic current by engineering specific optical lattice potentials without requiring site-by-site manipulations and suggest the realization of a single level model. Based on this model we discuss the blocking effect on the atomic current resulting from weak interactions between the fermions.

Charged vacancies in ferroelectric PbTiO3: Formation energies, optimal Fermi region, and influence on local polarization

First-principles density-functional calculations are used to study the charged vacancies in ferroelectric perovskite PbTiO${}_{3}$. We systematically determine the vacancy formation energies of ${\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Pb}}$, ${\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Ti}}$, ${\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{O}1}$, and ${\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{O}2}$ as a function of the Fermi energy ${E}_{F}$ of the electron reservoir and as a function of the chemical potentials of the atomic reservoirs. The study reveals (i) the stability of different charged states for each type of vacancy and the vacancy specie that is most likely to exist at a given Fermi energy, and (ii) the optimal Fermi energy that may simultaneously minimize the concentrations of all four types of vacancies and is thus good for the growth of PbTiO${}_{3}$ crystal. Our calculations further reveal two hidden rules in the defect physics of ferroelectric PbTiO${}_{3}$, namely, (iii) it is possible to grow high-quality PbTiO${}_{3}$ crystal even in an oxygen-poor environment, provided that the Fermi energy is wisely chosen, and (iv) the formation energies of two key vacancies (${{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Pb}}}^{2\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{O}}}^{2+}$) in the optimal Fermi-energy region are nearly independently of the choice of the oxygen chemical potential and are constrained to $\ensuremath{\sim}$1.3 eV. Furthermore, we reveal, as well as provide microscopic insight on, how the presence of different vacancies may affect the local polarization in PbTiO${}_{3}$. We find that ${{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Pb}}}^{2\ensuremath{-}}$ is benign, but ${{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{O}1}}^{2+}$ and ${{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{O}2}}^{2+}$ are detrimental, to ferroelectricity.

GAS MASS FRACTIONS AND STAR FORMATION IN BLUE-SEQUENCE E/S0 GALAXIES

Recent work has identified a population of low-redshift E/S0 galaxies that lie on the blue sequence in color vs. stellar mass parameter space, where spiral galaxies typically reside. While high-mass blue-sequence E/S0s often resemble young merger or interaction remnants likely to fade to the red sequence, we focus on blue-sequence E/S0s with lower stellar masses (< a few 10^10 M_sun), which are characterized by fairly regular morphologies and low-density field environments where fresh gas infall is possible. This population may provide an evolutionary link between early-type galaxies and spirals through disk regrowth. Focusing on atomic gas reservoirs, we present new GBT HI data for 27 E/S0s on both sequences as well as a complete tabulation of archival HI data for other galaxies in the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey. Normalized to stellar mass, the atomic gas masses for 12 of the 14 blue-sequence E/S0s range from 0.1 to >1.0. These gas-to-stellar mass ratios are comparable to those of spiral and irregular galaxies and have a similar dependence on stellar mass. Assuming that the HI is accessible for star formation, we find that many of our blue-sequence E/S0s can increase in stellar mass by 10-60% in 3 Gyr in both of two limiting scenarios, exponentially declining star formation and constant star formation. In a constant star formation scenario, about half of the blue-sequence E/S0s require fresh gas infall on a timescale of <3 Gyr to avoid exhausting their atomic gas reservoirs and evolving to the red sequence. We present evidence that star formation in these galaxies is bursty and likely involves externally triggered gas inflows. Our analysis suggests that most blue-sequence E/S0s are indeed capable of substantial stellar disk growth on relatively short timescales. (abridged)

Effects of active atomic sinks and reservoirs on the reliability of Cu∕low-k interconnects

Electromigration experiments using Cu∕low-k interconnect tree structures were carried out in order to study the effects of active atomic sinks and reservoirs on interconnect reliability. In all cases, failures occurred after a long period of void growth. Kinetic parameters were extracted from resistance versus time data, giving (Dz*)0,eff=3.9×10−10m2∕s and z*=0.40±0.12. By using these values, the evolution of stress in each of the interconnect tree segments could be calculated and correlated with the rate of void growth and failure times for all test configurations. It is demonstrated that segments that serve as atomic sinks and reservoirs for the failing segments affect the lifetime by modifying the conditions for stress induced migration. Reservoirs can lead to increased lifetimes, while sinks can lead to reduced lifetimes. Quantitative predictions of the times required for failure for Cu∕low-k interconnect trees as a function of the effective bulk elastic modulus of the interconnect system, B, are made. As Young’s modulus of the interlevel dielectric films decreases, B decreases, and the positive effects of reservoirs are diminished and the negative effects of sinks are amplified.

First-principles determination of chemical potentials and vacancy formation energies inPbTiO3andBaTiO3

Formation energies of different neutral vacancies (${V}_{\mathrm{Pb}}$, ${V}_{\mathrm{Ti}}$, ${V}_{\mathrm{O}}$, and ${V}_{\mathrm{Ba}}$) in tetragonal $\mathrm{Pb}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ and tetragonal $\mathrm{Ba}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ are studied by means of first-principles pseudopotential calculations. Using thermodynamic laws, we also analytically determine the constraints that yield valid chemical potentials for atomic reservoirs in equilibrium with ferroelectric solids, and examine how the energies of vacancy formation may be modified by varying reservoir conditions. We further contrast the defect energetics in $\mathrm{Ba}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ with those in $\mathrm{Pb}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$, revealing notable differences. Detailed findings of this study are rather lengthy and are summarized in Sec. IV.

Quantum dynamics and statistics of a Bose condensate generated by an atomic laser

A self-consistent quantum theory is developed for an atomic laser utilizing cooling of atoms in a trap by the method of stimulated evaporation. The model describes the pumping and extraction of the atomic field from a trap upon its interaction with independent atomic reservoirs. The stimulated collisions between atoms in the trap, which produce a Bose condensate in the lower state of the trap, are considered. The interaction of atoms with a phonon field causes spontaneous transitions between the discrete states of the trap. Calculations performed for the three-and four-level models of the trap showed the possibility of generation of a strongly squeezed sub-Poisson Bose condensate.