Brillouin zone

About: Brillouin zone is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13849 publications have been published within this topic receiving 383077 citations.

Topological semimetals with triply degenerate nodal points in θ -phase tantalum nitride

Abstract: Using first-principles calculation and symmetry analysis, we propose that $\ensuremath{\theta}$-TaN is a topological semimetal having a new type of point nodes, i.e., triply degenerate nodal points. Each node is a band crossing between degenerate and nondegenerate bands along the high-symmetry line in the Brillouin zone, and is protected by crystalline symmetries. Such new type of nodes will always generate singular touching points between different Fermi surfaces and three-dimensional spin texture around them. Breaking the crystalline symmetry by external magnetic field or strain leads to various topological phases. By studying the Landau levels under a small field along the $c$ axis, we demonstrate that the system has a new quantum anomaly that we call ``helical anomaly.'

High-resolution photoemission study of the electronic structure of the noble-metal (111) surfaces.

Abstract: High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission studies of the (111) surfaces of copper, silver, and gold are reported which investigate in detail the properties of the intrinsic surface states located in the projected sp-band gaps at the center of the surface Brillouin zones. Accurate two-dimensional energy dispersion relations are reported for each surface state and are quantified in terms of effective masses at the surface Brillouin-zone center. The masses for the three metals are found to be remarkably similar when normalized to the effective mass of the lower edge of the bulk continuum. The decay length of the surface state wave function into the surface was determined for all three surfaces. These results are expressed in terms of an effective mass of the complex dispersion relation within the projected band gap. In accord with our previous results on the copper state, these effective masses are found to be anomalously large by approximately a factor of 2 relative to expectations based on effective mass theory coupled to first-principles bulk band calculations. An explanation of this anomaly involving the nonorthogonality of effective-mass-theory-derived states is explored. All experimental results are compared to the predictions of recent self-consistent surface electronic structure calculations for these surfaces.

Complete discrimination of strain and temperature using Brillouin frequency shift and birefringence in a polarization-maintaining fiber

Abstract: This paper presents a novel method that realizes simultaneous and completely discriminative measurement of strain and temperature using one piece of Panda-type polarization-maintaining fibre. Two independent optical parameters in the fiber, the Brillouin frequency shift and the birefringence, are measured by evaluating the spectrum of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and that of the dynamic acoustic grating generated in SBS to get two independent responses to strain and temperature. We found that the Brillouin frequency shift and the birefringence have the same signs for strain-dependence but opposite signs for temperature-dependence. In experiment, the birefringence in the PMF is characterized with a precision of approximately 10(-8) by detecting the diffraction spectrum of the dynamic acoustic grating. A reproducible accuracy of discriminating strain and temperature as fine as 3 micro-strains and 0.08 degrees Celsius is demonstrated.

Statistical mechanics of dense ionized matter. IV. Density and charge fluctuations in a simple molten salt

Abstract: The results of a molecular-dynamics study of a simple model of a molten salt are reported. The interionic pair potential which is used consists of the Coulombic term an an inverse-power repulsion which is assumed to be the same for all ions. The structure of the liquid is found to be dominated by charge-ordering effects and the calculated equilibrium properties are in good agreement with the predictions of the hypernetted-chain approximation. The relation between the self-diffusion coefficient and the electrical conductivity is discussed, and the observed deviations from the Nernst-Einstein relation in real molten salts are shown to have a natural explanation in terms of short-lived cross correlations. Data on the spectra of charge and particle density fluctuations are presented. At small wave numbers there is a propagating optic-type mode which shows a strong negative dispersion, but no Brillouin peak is seen even at the lowest wave number which is accessible. The data are analyzed in terms of a single-relaxation-time model incorporating the low-order spectral moments, for which we give explicit formulas. The fit achieved is fair, but the low-frequency behavior of the charge fluctuations at small wave numbers is incorrectly reproduced, and there is evidence for the necessity of introducing a second relaxation time. Comparison is made with results previously obtained for the classical one-component plasma.

Polyacene and a new class of quasi-one-dimensional conductors

Abstract: Most one-dimensional conductors are quite similar since the Fermi surface is a point and the electron energy dispersion relation near the Fermi surface is linear. It is pointed out that in polyacene the Fermi surface lies at the edge of the Brillouin zone, but that an accidental degeneracy between the valence and conduction bands makes it metallic nonetheless. The dispersion relation is therefore quadratic, and the density of states diverges at the Fermi surface. Thus, polyacene [${({\mathrm{C}}_{4}{\mathrm{H}}_{2})}_{n}$] and its possible derivatives represent a conceptually new class of quasi-one-dimensional conductors. Moreover, we find that this class of materials has the possibility of possessing interesting condensed phases including high-temperature superconductivity and ferromagnetism.