Abstract: The properties of a capacitive HF discharge with growing nanoparticles are studied with the use of kinetic PIC-MCC simulation. At the initial stage of growth, the nanoparticles are shown to be localized at the interface between the near-electrode layer and quasi-neutral plasma, where the rate of ionization by electron impact has the maximum value. At the beginning of formation of particles, plasma parameters change rapidly and a transition between the capacitive and spatial discharge burning modes is observed for a certain critical size of the particles. If the growth of the dust particles continues, their distribution over the discharge becomes more uniform and the steady-state parameters of the gas-discharge plasma hardly change.

Abstract: The effective Hamiltonian for an electron in a quasi-one-dimensional quantum ring in the presence of spin-orbit interactions is derived. We demonstrate that, when both coupling types are simultaneously present, the effective Hamiltonian derived by the lowest-radial-state approximation produces energy spectra and charge densities which deviate strongly from the exact ones. For equal Rashba and Dresselhaus coupling constants the lowest-radial-state approximation opens artifactal avoided crossings in the energy spectra and deforms the circular symmetry of the confined charge densities. In this case, there does not exist a ring thin enough to justify the restriction to the lowest radially quantized energy state. We derive the effective Hamiltonian accounting for both the lowest and the first excited radial states, and show that the inclusion of the latter restores the correct features of the exact solution. Relation of this result to the states of a quantum wire is also discussed.

Abstract: This Letter presents a generalized Ginzburg-Landau equation for the superconducting order parameter which includes the terms resulting from the confining interaction associated with the specimen boundary. While the original Ginzburg-Landau theory had been developed for a bulk superconductor, this generalization is meant for study of a meso-superconductor. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Introduction: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is a well-established treatment for acute-on-chronic respiratory failure in hypercapnic COPD patients. Less is known about the effects of a long-term treatment with NIV in hypercapnic COPD patients and about the factors that may predict response in terms of improved oxygenation and lowered CO2 retention.Methods: In this study, we randomized 15 patients to a routine pharmacological treatment (n = 5, age 66 [standard deviation ± 6] years, FEV1 30.5 [±5.1] %pred, PaO2 65 [±6] mmHg, PaCO2 52.4 [±6.0] mmHg) or to a routine treatment and NIV (using the Synchrony BiPAP device [Respironics, Inc, Murrsville, PA]) (n = 10, age 65 [±7] years, FEV1 29.5 [±9.0] %pred, PaO2 59 [±13] mmHg, PaCO2 55.4 [±7.7] mmHg) for 6 months. We looked at arterial blood gasses, lung function parameters and performed a low-dose computed tomography of the thorax, which was later used for segmentation (providing lobe and airway volumes, iVlobe and iVaw) and post-processing with computer methods (providing airway resistance, iRaw) giving overall a functional image of the separate airways and lobes.Results: In both groups there was a nonsignificant change in FEV1 (NIV group 29.5 [9.0] to 38.5 [14.6] %pred, control group 30.5 [5.1] to 36.8 [8.7] mmHg). PaCO2 dropped significantly only in the NIV group (NIV: 55.4 [7.7] → 44.5 [4.70], P = 0.0076; control: 52.4 [6.0] → 47.6 [8.2], NS). Patients actively treated with NIV developed a more inhomogeneous redistribution of mass flow than control patients. Subsequent analysis indicated that in NIV-treated patients that improve their blood gases, mass flow was also redistributed towards areas with higher vessel density and less emphysema, indicating that flow was redistributed towards areas with better perfusion. There was a highly significant correlation between the % increase in mass flow towards lobes with a blood vessel density of >9% and the increase in PaO2. Improved ventilation–perfusion match and recruitment of previously occluded small airways can explain the improvement in blood gases.Conclusion: We can conclude that in hypercapnic COPD patients treated with long-term NIV over 6 months, a mass flow redistribution occurs, providing a better ventilation–perfusion match and hence better blood gases and lung function. Control patients improve homogeneously in iVaw and iRaw, without improvement in gas exchange since there is no improved ventilation/perfusion ratio or increased alveolar ventilation. These differences in response can be detected through functional imaging, which gives a more detailed report on regional lung volumes and resistances than classical lung function tests do. Possibly only patients with localized small airway disease are good candidates for long-term NIV treatment. To confirm this and to see if better arterial blood gases also lead to better health related quality of life and longer survival, we have to study a larger population.

Abstract: We propose a highly efficient numerical method to describe inhomogeneous superconductivity by using the kernel polynomial method in order to calculate the Greens functions of a superconductor. Broken translational invariance of any type (impurities, surfaces, or magnetic fields) can be easily incorporated. We show that limitations due to system size can be easily circumvented and therefore this method opens the way for the study of scenarios and/or geometries that were unaccessible before. The proposed method is highly efficient and amenable to large scale parallel computation. Although we only use it in the context of superconductivity, it is applicable to other inhomogeneous mean-field theories.

Abstract: Due to the importance of hydrogenation of graphene for several applications, we present an alternative approach to hydrogenate graphene based on density functional theory calculations. We find that a negative perpendicular electric field F can act as a catalyst to reduce the energy barrier for molecular H₂ dissociative adsorption on graphene. Increasing -F above 0.02 a.u. (1 a.u.=5.14×10¹¹ V/m), this hydrogenation process occurs smoothly without any potential barrier.

Abstract: It is known that a perpendicular electric field applied to multilayers of graphene modifies the electronic structure near the K point and may induce an energy gap in the electronic spectrum which is tunable by the gate voltage. Here we consider a system of graphene multilayers in the presence of a positively charged top and a negatively charged back gate to control independently the density of electrons on the graphene layers and the Fermi energy of the system. The band structure of three- and four-layer graphene systems in the presence of the top and back gates is obtained using a tight-binding approach. A self-consistent Hartree approximation is used to calculate the induced charges on the different graphene layers. We predict that for opposite and equal charges on the top and bottom layers an energy gap is opened at the Fermi level. For an even number of layers this gap is larger than in the case of an odd number of graphene layers. We find that the circular asymmetry of the spectrum, which is a consequence of the trigonal warping, changes the size of the induced electronic gap, even when the total density of the induced electrons on the graphene layers is low.

Abstract: We study the electronic structure of diluted F atoms chemisorbed on graphene using density functional theory calculations. We show that the nature of the chemical bonding of a F atom adsorbed on top of a C atom in graphene strongly depends on carrier doping. In neutral samples the F impurities induce a sp(3)-like bonding of the C atom below, generating a local distortion of the hexagonal lattice. As the graphene is electron-doped, the C atom retracts back to the graphene plane and for high doping (10(14) cm(-2)) its electronic structure corresponds to a nearly pure sp(2) configuration. We interpret this sp(3)-sp(2) doping-induced crossover in terms of a simple tight-binding model and discuss the physical consequences of this change.

Abstract: We calculate the fluorescence of electron spins confined to a plane and driven into resonance by a magnetic field gradient and a constant magnetic field applied at right angles to each other. We solve the equation of motion of two-dimensional electrons in the magnetic field gradient to derive the dispersion curve of spin oscillators, the amplitude of electron oscillations, the effective magnetic field sensed by the electron spin, and the rate at which electrons are injected from an electrode into spin oscillators. We then switch on the interaction between the spin magnetic dipole and the electromagnetic field to find the fluorescence power radiated by the individual spin oscillators. The rate of radiative decay is first derived, followed by the probability of sequential photon emission whereby a series of spontaneous decays occurs at random times separated by intervals during which the spin performs Rabi oscillations. The quantum correlations between random radiative decays manifest as bursts of emission at regular intervals along the wire. We integrate all multiphoton processes to obtain an exact analytical expression for the radiated electromagnetic power. The present theory obtains all parameters of the problem including magnetodipole coupling, the particle dwell time in the magnetic field gradient, and the spin polarization of the incoming current. The output power contains a fine structure arising from the anharmonicity of electron oscillations and from nonlinear optical effects which both give satellite emission peaks at odd multiples of the fundamental frequency.