Commensurability Effects Research Articles

Attribute commensurability and context effects in preferential choice.

Context effects in multi-alternative, multi-attribute choice are widely documented, but often elusive. We show that this elusiveness can arise in part from the way that choices are presented. To illustrate this, we use a modeling framework to predict how changes to the format of attribute values, specifically the commensurability of attribute values, influences attention allocation and consequently context effects. Guided by this framework, we show in two online choice experiments (total N = 954 adults) that manipulating the commensurability of attributes leads to different patterns of context effects. Robust attraction and compromise effects are found when attributes are incommensurable (e.g., CPU speed in GHz and RAM memory in GB, or quality ratings on different scales), and mostly null effects occur when attributes are commensurable (e.g., quality ratings on the same scale). Our findings show how the format of choice information can substantially alter the integration of that information and resulting choice patterns.

Temporal Evolution of Defects and Related Electric Properties in He-Irradiated YBa2Cu3O7-δ Thin Films.

Thin films of the superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) were modified by low-energy light-ion irradiation employing collimated or focused He+ beams, and the long-term stability of irradiation-induced defects was investigated. For films irradiated with collimated beams, the resistance was measured in situ during and after irradiation and analyzed using a phenomenological model. The formation and stability of irradiation-induced defects are highly influenced by temperature. Thermal annealing experiments conducted in an Ar atmosphere at various temperatures demonstrated a decrease in resistivity and allowed us to determine diffusion coefficients and the activation energy ΔE=(0.31±0.03) eV for diffusive oxygen rearrangement within the YBCO unit cell basal plane. Additionally, thin YBCO films, nanostructured by focused He+-beam irradiation into vortex pinning arrays, displayed significant commensurability effects in magnetic fields. Despite the strong modulation of defect densities in these pinning arrays, oxygen diffusion during room-temperature annealing over almost six years did not compromise the signatures of vortex matching, which remained precisely at their magnetic fields predicted by the pattern geometry. Moreover, the critical current increased substantially within the entire magnetic field range after long-term storage in dry air. These findings underscore the potential of ion irradiation in tailoring the superconducting properties of thin YBCO films.

Coarse-graining collective skyrmion dynamics in confined geometries

Magnetic skyrmions are magnetic quasi-particles with enhanced stability and different manipulation mechanisms using external fields and currents, making them promising candidates for future applications such as neuromorphic computing. Recently, several measurements and simulations have shown that thermally activated skyrmions in confined geometries, as they are necessary for device applications, arrange themselves predominantly based on commensurability effects. In this simulational study, based on the Thiele model, we investigate the enhanced dynamics and degenerate non-equilibrium steady state of a system in which the intrinsic skyrmion–skyrmion and skyrmion–boundary interaction compete with thermal fluctuations as well as current-induced spin–orbit torques. The investigated system is a triangular-shaped confinement geometry hosting four skyrmions, where we inject spin-polarized currents between two corners of the structure. We coarse grain the skyrmion states in the system to analyze the intricacies of arrangements of the skyrmion ensemble. In the context of neuromorphic computing, such methods address the key challenge of optimizing readout positions in confined geometries and form the basis for understanding collective skyrmion dynamics in systems with competing interactions on different scales. The findings are corroborated by experimental measurements.

Magnetic field effects and transverse ratchets in charge lattices coupled to asymmetric substrates

We examine a charge lattice coupled to a one-dimensional asymmetric potential in the presence of an applied magnetic field, which induces gyrotropic effects in the charge motion. This system could be realized for Wigner crystals in nanostructured samples, dusty plasmas, or other classical charge-ordered states where gyrotropic motion and damping can arise. For zero magnetic field, an applied external ac drive can produce a ratchet effect in which the particles move along the easy flow direction of the substrate asymmetry. The zero field ratchet effect can only occur when the ac drive is aligned with the substrate asymmetry direction; however, when a magnetic field is added, the gyrotropic forces generate a Hall effect that leads to a variety of new behaviors, including a transverse ratchet motion that occurs when the ac drive is perpendicular to the substrate asymmetry direction. We show that this system exhibits commensuration effects as well as reversals in the ratchet effect and the Hall angle of the motion. The magnetic field also produces a nonmonotonic ratchet efficiency when the particles become localized at high fields.

Molecular dynamics study on dynamic interlayer friction of graphene and its strain effect

Abstract This study delves into the mechanism of dynamic sliding friction between layers of graphene and its strain effect, through numerical analysis using molecular dynamics simulations. To eliminate the influence of commensurability and edge effect, a friction pair model with annular graphene as a slider is established. The research explores the quantifying effects of temperature, normal load, sliding velocity, support stiffness, and axial strain on the friction between graphene layers. The coupling effect of temperature and other influencing factors is also clarified. The results indicate that the interlayer friction increases with normal load by decreasing the interlayer spacing and increasing the atomic vibration amplitude. The ploughing phenomenon does not appear since the edge effect is eliminated by the model. Friction is initially enhanced at higher sliding velocities, but is later reduced by severe residual deformation and lattice resonance frequency. The support stiffness regulates interlayer friction by affecting the atomic vibration amplitude of the graphene lattice. Mechanism analysis shows that the number of effective contact atoms increases under axial strain, and the lattice vibration frequency is the main way to regulate the interlayer friction by strain effect. Our findings provide a fundamental understanding of the strains engineering of nanoscale friction and reveal the influence mechanism of affecting factors on the dynamic friction of graphene.

Building block copolymer particles via self‐assembly within a droplet

AbstractThe self‐assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) within emulsion droplets is a flexible strategy for the preparation of polymer particles. This strategy permits the fine‐tuning of shapes, internal structures, and surface nanostructures of the polymer particles, thus allowing many applications. Although some literature has reviewed the BCP preparation via self‐assembly within a droplet, a comprehensive summary including in‐depth understanding, controllable preparation, and application is lacked. In this review, we systematically delve into the multiple mechanisms that drive BCP self‐assembly within emulsion droplets, such as commensurability effects for minimizing total free energy, interfacial instability, organized spontaneous emulsification, phase separation of multiple components, and entropy effects between BCPs and nanoparticles. Additionally, a strategy combining selective cross‐linking and disassembly can further generate Janus particles featuring unique structures. Next, various applications across multiple disciplines are discussed, including drug delivery, display, biomedical imaging, macromolecular separation, and fuel cells. Finally, we present an overview of the current challenges and future directions for BCP emulsion self‐assembly, covering mechanism investigation, molecular design, stability control, and application exploration. We anticipate deeper understanding, more varieties, enhanced performance, and broader applications can be achieved with BCP emulsion self‐assembly after addressing the challenge.

Charge filling induced quasi-two dimensional charge/spin density wave channel in a ballistic transport device

Charge filling controlled mean field metal–insulator phase transition is examined in the context of two dimensional Fermi surface nesting and van Hove singularity induced charge density wave (CDW), spin density wave (SDW) condensates. In the framework of a coherent ballistic transport model utilizing the Non-Equilibrium Green Function approach (NEGF), a three terminal device with metallic gate, source, drain and CDW/SDW channel is simulated and studied. Within the validity of mean field approximation, we exposit the commensurability and boundary effects. The efficacy of the Hubbard model for (quasi) two dimensional Charge and Spin Density Wave materials is discussed. A two orbital generalization of the effective Hamiltonian is proposed for transport calculations in rare earth Tellurides RTe 3.

Future directions for active matter on ordered substrates

Active matter is a term encompassing particle-based assemblies with some form of self-propulsion, including certain biological systems as well as synthetic systems such as artificial colloidal swimmers, all of which can exhibit a remarkable variety of new kinds of nonequilibrium phenomena. A wealth of non-active condensed matter systems can be described in terms of a collection of particles coupled to periodic substrates, leading to the emergence of commensurate-incommensurate effects, Mott phases, tribology effects, and pattern formation. It is natural to ask how such phases are modified when the system is active. Here we provide an overview and future directions for studying individual and collectively interacting active matter particles coupled to periodic substrates, where new types of commensuration effects, directional locking, and active phases can occur. Further directions for exploration include directional locking effects, the realization of active solitons or active defects in incommensurate phases, active Mott phases, active artificial spin ice, active doping transitions, active floating phases, active surface physics, active matter time crystals, and active tribology.

Commensuration effects on skyrmion Hall angle and drag for manipulation of skyrmions on two-dimensional periodic substrates

We examine the dynamics of an individually driven skyrmion moving through a background lattice of skyrmions coupled to a 2D periodic substrate as we vary the ratio of the number of skyrmions to the number of pinning sites across commensurate and incommensurate conditions. As the skyrmion density increases, the skyrmion Hall angle is nonmonotonic, dropping to low or zero values in commensurate states and rising to an enhanced value in incommensurate states. Under commensuration, the driven skyrmion is channeled by a symmetry direction of the pinning array and exhibits an increased velocity. At fillings for which the skyrmion Hall angle is zero, the velocity has a narrow band noise signature, while for incommensurate fillings, the skyrmion motion is disordered and the velocity noise is broad band. Under commensurate conditions, multi-step depinning transitions appear and the skyrmion Hall angle is zero at low drives but becomes finite at higher drives, while at incommensurate fillings there is only a single depinning transition. As the gyrotropic component of the skyrmion dynamics, called the Magnus force, increases, peaks in the velocity that appear in commensurate regimes cross over to dips, and new types of directional locking effects can arise in which the skyrmion travels along other symmetry directions of the background lattice. At large Magnus forces, and particularly at commensurate fillings, the driven skyrmion can experience a velocity boost in which the skyrmion moves faster than the applied drive due to the alignment of the Magnus-induced velocity with the driving direction. In some cases, an increase of the Magnus force can produce regimes of enhanced pinning when the skyrmion is forced to move along a nonsymmetry direction of the periodic pinning array. This is in contrast to systems with random pinning, where increasing the Magnus force generally reduces the pinning effect. We demonstrate these dynamics for both square and triangular substrates and map out the different regimes as a function of filling fraction, pinning force, and the strength of the Magnus force in a series of dynamic phase diagrams.

Vortex core near planar defects in a clean layered superconductor

We investigate the structure of quasiparticle states localized in a core of an Abrikosov vortex in a clean layered superconductor in the presence of planar defects. It is shown that even a highly transparent defect opens a minigap at the Fermi energy. Its magnitude, $E_g\sim\Delta\sqrt{R}$, exceeds the mean level spacing for the chiral branch, $\omega_0\sim\Delta^2/E_F$, already for very small values of the reflection coefficient off the defect, $R\ll1$ ($\Delta$ is the bulk gap). For $R\gtrsim\sqrt{\Delta/E_F}$, formation of the minigap is accompanied by the appearance of subgap states localized along the defect, in accordance with [A. V. Samokhvalov \emph{et al.}, Phys.\ Rev.\ B \textbf{102}, 174501 (2020)]. The minigap takes its maximal value for the vortex located right at the defect, decreases with increasing the distance $b$ from the defect, and closes when $k_Fb\sim (\Delta/\omega_0)\sqrt{R}$. We also study various configurations of several planar defects (few crossing planes, stars, periodic structures). Although the minigap remains, a strong commensurability effect is observed. For two crossing planar defects, the magnitude of the minigap strongly depends on how close the intersection angle is to a rational fraction of $\pi$.

Active rheology and anticommensuration effects for driven probe particles on two-dimensional periodic pinning substrates

For an assembly of particles interacting with a two-dimensional periodic substrate, a series of commensuration effects can arise when the number of particles is an integer multiple of the number of substrate minima. Such commensuration effects can appear for vortices in type-II superconductors with periodic pinning or for colloidal particles on optical landscapes. Under bulk external driving, the pinning or drag on the particles is strongly enhanced at commensuration. Here we consider the active rheology of a single particle driven through an assembly of particles coupled to a periodic substrate at different commensurate conditions. For increasing density at fixed driving force, we observe nonmonotonic drag along with what we call an anticommensuration effect where the drag or pinning effectiveness is reduced in commensurate states, opposite from the behavior typically observed under bulk driving. The velocity enhancement or drag reduction appears when the background particles form a crystalline state that is coupled more strongly to the substrate than to the driven particle, while under incommensurate conditions, the background particles are disordered and produce enhanced drag on the probe particle. The velocity noise of the driven particle has a narrow band signature at commensuration and a broad band signature away from commensuration. We map out the regions in which viscous flow, periodic flow, and a pinned phase appear. We show that the effects we observe are robust on both square and triangular substrate arrays and for both vortices in type-II superconductors and colloidal particles on optical landscapes.

Fermi Surface Structure and Isotropic Stability of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Phase in Layered Organic Superconductor β″-(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3

The Fermi surface structure of a layered organic superconductor β″-(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3 was determined by angular-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations measurements and band-structure calculations. This salt was found to have two small pockets with the same area: a deformed square hole pocket and an elliptic electron pocket. Characteristic corrugations in the field dependence of the interlayer resistance in the superconducting phase were observed at any in-plane field directions. The features were ascribed to the commensurability (CM) effect between the Josephson vortex lattice and the periodic nodal structure of the superconducting gap in the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase. The CM effect was observed in a similar field region for various in-plane field directions, in spite of the anisotropic nature of the Fermi surface. The results clearly showed that the FFLO phase stability is insensitive to the in-plane field directions.

Specific Heat Capacity of Confined Water in Extremely Narrow Graphene Nanochannels

Specific heat capacity of extremely confined water determines its performance in the heat transfer as the sizes of devices decrease to nanoscales. Here, we report the basic data of the specific heat capacity of water confined in narrow graphene nanochannels below 5 nm in height using molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that the specific heat capacity of confined water is size-dependent, and the commensurability effect of the specific heat capacity presents as the confinement decreases to 1.7 nm. The deviation of specific heat capacity of confined water with that of bulk water is attributed to the variation of configuration features, including density distribution and hydrogen bonds, and vibration features, including velocity auto-correlation function and vibrational density of states. This work unveils the confinement effects and their physical mechanisms of the specific heat capacity of nanoconfined water, and the data provided here have wide prospects for energy applications at nanoscales.

Registry-Dependent Peeling of Layered Material Interfaces: The Case of Graphene Nanoribbons on Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Peeling of layered materials from supporting substrates, which is central for exfoliation and transfer processes, is found to be dominated by lattice commensurability effects in both low and high velocity limits. For a graphene nanoribbon atop a hexagonal boron nitride surface, the microscopic peeling behavior ranges from stick-slip, through smooth-sliding, to pure peeling regimes, depending on the relative orientation of the contacting surfaces and the peeling angle. The underlying mechanisms stem from the intimate relation between interfacial registry, interlayer interactions, and friction. This, in turn, allows for devising simple models for extracting the interfacial adhesion energy from the peeling force traces.

Locally commensurate charge-density wave with three-unit-cell periodicity in YBa2Cu3Oy

In order to identify the mechanism responsible for the formation of charge-density waves (CDW) in cuprate superconductors, it is important to understand which aspects of the CDW’s microscopic structure are generic and which are material-dependent. Here, we show that, at the local scale probed by NMR, long-range CDW order in YBa2Cu3Oy is unidirectional with a commensurate period of three unit cells (λ = 3b), implying that the incommensurability found in X-ray scattering is ensured by phase slips (discommensurations). Furthermore, NMR spectra reveal a predominant oxygen character of the CDW with an out-of-phase relationship between certain lattice sites but no specific signature of a secondary CDW with λ = 6b associated with a putative pair-density wave. These results shed light on universal aspects of the cuprate CDW. In particular, its spatial profile appears to generically result from the interplay between an incommensurate tendency at long length scales, possibly related to properties of the Fermi surface, and local commensuration effects, due to electron-electron interactions or lock-in to the lattice.

Active matter commensuration and frustration effects on periodic substrates.

We show that self-driven particles coupled to a periodic obstacle array exhibit active matter commensuration effects that are absent in the Brownian limit. As the obstacle size is varied for sufficiently large activity, a series of commensuration effects appear in which the motility induced phase separation produces commensurate crystalline states, while for other obstacle sizes we find frustrated or amorphous states. The commensuration effects are associated with peaks in the amount of sixfold ordering and the maximum cluster size. When a drift force is added to the system, the mobility contains peaks and dips similar to those found in transport studies for commensuration effects in superconducting vortices and colloidal particles.

Effects of A Magnetic Field on the Transport and Noise Properties of a Graphene Ribbon with Antidots.

We perform a numerical simulation of the effects of an orthogonal magnetic field on charge transport and shot noise in an armchair graphene ribbon with a lattice of antidots. This study relies on our envelope-function based code, in which the presence of antidots is simulated through a nonzero mass term and the magnetic field is introduced with a proper choice of gauge for the vector potential. We observe that by increasing the magnetic field, the energy gap present with no magnetic field progressively disappears, together with features related to commensurability and quantum effects. In particular, we focus on the behavior for high values of the magnetic field: we notice that when it is sufficiently large, the effect of the antidots vanishes and shot noise disappears, as a consequence of the formation of edge states crawling along the boundaries of the structure without experiencing any interaction with the antidots.

Out-of-plane permittivity of confined water.

The dielectric properties of confined water is of fundamental interest and is still controversial. For water confined in channels with height smaller than h=8Å, we found a commensurability effect and an extraordinary decrease in the out-of-plane dielectric constant down to the limit of the dielectric constant of optical water. Spatial resolved polarization density data obtained from molecular dynamics simulations are found to be antisymmetric across the channel and are used as input in a mean-field model for the dielectric constant as a function of the height of the channel for h>15Å. Our results are in excellent agreement with a recent experiment [L. Fumagalli et al., Science 360, 1339 (2018)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.aat4191].

Condensation of indirect excitons

Abstract

Angular magnetic-field dependence of vortex matching in pinning lattices fabricated by focused or masked helium ion beam irradiation of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

The angular dependence of magnetic-field commensurability effects in thin films of the cuprate high-critical-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) with an artificial pinning landscape is investigated. Columns of point defects are fabricated by two different methods of ion irradiation — scanning the focused 30 keV ion beam in a helium ion microscope or employing the wide-field 75 keV He+ beam of an ion implanter through a stencil mask. Simulations of the ion-target interactions and the resulting collision cascades reveal that with both methods square arrays of defect columns with sub-μm spacings can be created. They consist of dense point-defect clusters, which act as pinning centers for Abrikosov vortices. This is verified by the measurement of commensurable peaks of the critical current and related minima of the flux-flow resistance vs magnetic field at the matching fields. In oblique magnetic fields, the matching features are exclusively governed by the component of the magnetic field parallel to the axes of the columnar defects, which confirms that the magnetic flux is penetrated along the defect columns. We demonstrate that the latter dominate the pinning landscape despite of the strong intrinsic pinning in thin YBCO films.