Search

Hybrid photon-counting detectors are widely established at third-generation synchrotron facilities and the specifications of the Pilatus3 X CdTe were quickly recognized as highly promising in charge-density investigations. This is mainly attributable to the detection efficiency in the high-energy X-ray regime, in combination with a dynamic range and noise level that should overcome the perpetual problem of detecting strong and weak data simultaneously. These benefits, however, come at the expense of a persistent problem for high diffracted beam flux, which is particularly problematic in single-crystal diffraction of materials with strong scattering power and sharp diffraction peaks. Here, an in-depth examination of data collected on an inorganic material, FeSb2, and an organic semiconductor, rubrene, revealed systematic differences in strong intensities for different incoming beam fluxes, and the implemented detector intensity corrections were found to be inadequate. Only significant beam attenuation for the collection of strong reflections was able to circumvent this systematic error. All data were collected on a bending-magnet beamline at a third-generation synchrotron radiation facility, so undulator and wiggler beamlines and fourth-generation synchrotrons will be even more prone to this error. On the other hand, the low background now allows for an accurate measurement of very weak intensities, and it is shown that it is possible to extract structure factors of exceptional quality using standard crystallographic software for data processing (SAINT-Plus,SADABSandSORTAV), although special attention has to be paid to the estimation of the background. This study resulted in electron-density models of substantially higher accuracy and precision compared with a previous investigation, thus for the first time fulfilling the promise of photon-counting detectors for very accurate structure factor measurements.

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) is a planned large-scale observatory of ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic particles, with energies exceeding 10^8 GeV. Its goal is to solve the long-standing mystery of the origin of UHE cosmic rays. To do this, GRAND will detect an unprecedented number of UHE cosmic rays and search for the undiscovered UHE neutrinos and gamma rays associated to them with unmatched sensitivity. GRAND will use large arrays of antennas to detect the radio emission coming from extensive air showers initiated by UHE particles in the atmosphere. Its design is modular: 20 separate, independent sub-arrays, each of 10 000 radio antennas deployed over 10 000 km^2. A staged construction plan will validate key detection techniques while achieving important science goals early. Here we present the science goals, detection strategy, preliminary design, performance goals, and construction plans for GRAND., 45 pages, 34 figures. Matches published version

Among the possible CP-odd couplings of the axion to ordinary matter, the most relevant ones for phenomenology are the Yukawa couplings to nucleons. We analyze such non-derivative couplings within three different approaches: standard effective field theory, the Skyrme model and holographic QCD. In all the cases, the couplings can be related to the CP-odd non-derivative couplings to nucleons of the low-lying mesons and the $\eta'$. Using the effective field theory approach we discuss how to derive the expressions for the CP-odd interaction terms as functions of the parameters of the effective Lagrangian at generic number of colors $N_c$ and flavors $N_f$. Then, we compute the CP-odd couplings to nucleons of the axion, the $\eta'$ and the pseudo-Goldstone mesons in both the Skyrme and the holographic QCD model with $N_f=2,3$. We present model-independent expressions for the coefficients of the non-derivative axion-nucleon couplings. This allows us to provide quantitative estimates of these couplings., Comment: v1: 45 pages + appendices, 1 figure; v2: typos corrected, references added; v3: 38 pages + appendices, 1 figure, section 4 added containing model-independent IR relations for the couplings, sections 3,5,6 re-edited, table 1 added and discussion section improved, review material moved to the appendices, comments and references added, typos corrected

Energy conditions, especially the null energy condition (NEC), are generically imposed on solutions to retain a physically sensible classical field theory and they also play an important role in the AdS/CFT duality. Using this duality, we study non-trivially deformed strongly coupled quantum field theories at large-$N_c$. The corresponding dual classical gravity constructions entail the use of radially non-monotonic D-brane distributions. The gravity backgrounds are supersymmetric and hence perturbatively stable, and do not possess curvature singularities. There are no short-cuts through the bulk spacetime for signal propagation which assures that the field theory duals are causal. Nevertheless, some of our solutions violate the NEC in the gravity dual. In these cases the non-monotonicity of the D-brane distributions is reflected in the properties of the renormalization group flow: none of the $c$-functions proposed in the literature are monotonic. This further suggests that the non-monotonic behavior of the $c$-functions within previously known anisotropic backgrounds does not originate from the breaking of Lorentz invariance. We surmise that NEC violations induced by quantum corrections also need to be considered in holographic duals, but can be studied already at the classical level., Comment: 31 pages, 4 appendices, 9 figures

We present a modular implementation of structured illumination microscopy (SIM) that is fast, largely self-contained and that can be added onto existing fluorescence microscopes. Our strategy, which we call HIT-SIM, can theoretically deliver well over 50 super-resolved images per second and is readily compatible with existing acquisition software packages. We provide a full technical package consisting of schematics, a list of components and an alignment scheme that provides detailed specifications and assembly instructions. We illustrate the performance of the instrument by imaging optically large samples containing sequence-specifically stained DNA fragments. ispartof: BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS vol:12 issue:7 pages:4414-4422 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are among the most widely used engineered nanomaterials and this warrants further investigation of their behaviour and fate in the environment. To support such work, we developed new techniques for efficient tracing of Ag NPs that are produced from, and hence labelled with, enriched 109 28 Ag (Ag-En). The methods encompass a one-step anion exchange separation of Ag from the sample matrix and precise determination of 109Ag/107Ag ratios and 109Ag abundances by multiple-collector ICP-MS. The sample preparation procedure has an Ag yield of 104 ± 13% (1 SD) and a procedural Ag blank of less than 7 pg, enabling analysis of samples with only trace Ag contents. Analyses of Ag solutions and realistic samples show that careful correction of memory effects is paramount for ensuring data quality. Using appropriate procedures, the 109Ag/107Ag ratios of samples containing Ag-En can be determined to a precision and trueness of better than about 0.5%, when more than 0.5 ng Ag are available for analysis. Even if Ag is only present at 50 pg or less, the Ag isotope ratios and Ag-En concentrations of samples can be measured to better than 5 to 10%. The methods are therefore able to resolve the presence of 1 pg of Ag-En in samples that contain as little as 10 pg and to up to 1 ng of natural Ag. As such, the techniques allow robust detection and quantification of Ag-En in environmental samples even when highly variable quantities of Ag-En and natural Ag are present. The new methodology thus enables the use of stable isotope tracing to investigate the fate of Ag NPs in complex environmental systems at dosing concentrations similar to the predicted environmental concentrations and for very small samples, whilst also providing high sample throughput.

International audience; In two-dimensional space there are possibilities for quantum statistics continuously interpolating between the bosonic and the fermionic one. Quasi-particles obeying such statistics can be described as ordinary bosons and fermions with magnetic interactions. We study a limit situation where the statistics/magnetic interaction is seen as a “perturbation from the fermionic end”. We vindicate a mean-field approximation, proving that the ground state of a gas of anyons is described to leading order by a semi-classical, Vlasov-like, energy functional. The ground state of the latter displays anyonic behavior in its momentum distribution. Our proof is based on coherent states, Husimi functions, the Diaconis–Freedman theorem and a quantitative version of a semi-classical Pauli pinciple.

Sustainable development, ecological modernisation, eco-efficiency and the like have reframed material limits to growth as conventional barriers. Even in arguments for degrowth limits recede to the background in favour of self-limitation. To reclaim limits as the grounds for an effective environmental politics, I reconstruct how the case for the limits to growth was reversed into a case for the growth of limits, and how foundational boundaries were increasingly blurred. Arguing that lifestyle politics is unlikely to be effective against the growth machine, I elaborate on the notion of form-of-life. If not understood as a solipsistic self-mastery but as the mutually formative encounter of living entities – provided with their own dispositions yet sharing a common destiny – this notion highlights how freedom and equality are premised on, rather than hampered by, limits. I conclude with four reasons why a radical theory and politics for the environment should make use of the notion.

International audience; In the paper, the author investigates some properties, including analyticity, limits, monotonicity, complete monotonicity, and inequalities, of several functions involving the tri-, tetra-, and penta-gamma functions and originating from computation of the sectional curvature of the beta manifold.

We develop an extension of the Gutzwiller Approximation (GA) formalism that includes the effects of Coulomb interactions of arbitrary range (including density density, exchange, pair hopping and Coulomb assisted hopping terms). This formalism reduces to the ordinary GA formalism for the multi-band Hubbard models in the presence of only local interactions. This is accomplished by combining the 1/z expansion -- where z is the coordination number and only the leading order terms contribute in the limit of infinite dimensions -- with a P^2-I expansion, where P is the Gutzwiller projector. The method is conveniently formulated in terms of a Gutzwiller Lagrange function. We apply our theory to the extended single band Hubbard model. Similarly to the usual Brinkman-Rice mechanism we find a Mott transition. A valence skipping transition is observed, where the occupation of the empty and doubly occupied states for the Gutzwiller wavefunction is enhanced with respect to the uncorrelated Slater determinant wavefunction., 13+23 pages (1+4 figures) comments welcome; v2: typos corrected, submitted to PRB; v3: Added Section II which presents our results in a simple intuitive manner

We study asymmetric zero-range processes on Z with nearest-neighbour jumps and site disorder. The jump rate of particles is an arbitrary but bounded nondecreasing function of the number of particles. We prove quenched strong local equilibrium at subcritical and critical hydrodynamic densities, and dynamic local loss of mass at supercritical hydrodynamic densities. Our results do not assume starting from local Gibbs states. As byproducts of these results, we prove convergence of the process from given initial configurations with an asymptotic density of particles to the left of the origin. In particular, we relax the weak convexity assumption of Bahadoran et al. (Braz J Probab Stat 29(2):313-335, 2015; Ann Inst Henri Poincare Probab Stat 53(2):766-801, 2017) for the escape of mass property.

Two-photon excitation (2PE) laser scanning microscopy is the imaging modality of choice when one desires to work with thick biological samples. However, its spatial resolution is poor, below confocal laser scanning microscopy. Here, we propose a straightforward implementation of 2PE image scanning microscopy (2PE-ISM) that, by leveraging our recently introduced single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array detector and a novel blind image reconstruction method, is shown to enhance the effective resolution, as well as the overall image quality of 2PE microscopy. With our adaptive pixel reassignment procedure similar to 1.6 times resolution increase is maintained deep into thick semi-transparent samples. The integration of Fourier ring correlation based semi-blind deconvolution is shown to further enhance the effective resolution by a factor of similar to 2 - and automatic background correction is shown to boost the image quality especially in noisy images. Most importantly, our 2PE-ISM implementation requires no calibration measurements or other input from the user, which is an important aspect in terms of day-to-day usability of the technique. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (AdaptiveSTED, No. 794531); FondsWetenschappelijk Onderzoek (G092915, V429717N); European Research Council (Bright Eyes, No. 818699). Vicidomini, G (corresponding author), Ist Italiano Tecnol, Mol Microscopy & Spect, Genoa, Italy giuseppe.vicidomini@iit.it

Strong lenses are extremely useful probes of the distribution of matter on galaxy and cluster scales at cosmological distances, but are rare and difficult to find. The number of currently known lenses is on the order of 1,000. We wish to use crowdsourcing to carry out a lens search targeting massive galaxies selected from over 442 square degrees of photometric data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey. We selected a sample of $\sim300,000$ galaxies with photometric redshifts in the range $0.2 < z_{phot} < 1.2$ and photometrically inferred stellar masses $\log{M_*} > 11.2$. We crowdsourced lens finding on this sample of galaxies on the Zooniverse platform, as part of the Space Warps project. The sample was complemented by a large set of simulated lenses and visually selected non-lenses, for training purposes. Nearly 6,000 citizen volunteers participated in the experiment. In parallel, we used YattaLens, an automated lens finding algorithm, to look for lenses in the same sample of galaxies. Based on a statistical analysis of classification data from the volunteers, we selected a sample of the most promising $\sim1,500$ candidates which we then visually inspected: half of them turned out to be possible (grade C) lenses or better. Including lenses found by YattaLens or serendipitously noticed in the discussion section of the Space Warps website, we were able to find 14 definite lenses, 129 probable lenses and 581 possible lenses. YattaLens found half the number of lenses discovered via crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is able to produce samples of lens candidates with high completeness and purity, compared to currently available automated algorithms. A hybrid approach, in which the visual inspection of samples of lens candidates pre-selected by discovery algorithms and/or coupled to machine learning is crowdsourced, will be a viable option for lens finding in the 2020s., Published version

Our aim is to analyse proximal tibial epiphysis and distal femoral epiphysis patterns according to the Dedouit staging method using 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with fast spin echo (FSE) for proton density images. In addition, we discuss the results in relation to the literature for forensic age estimation. In this study, images belonging to 195 female and 277 male patients ranging in age from 10 to 30 years who had a knee MRI for any reason in our Radiology Clinic between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. According to the Dedouit et al. five-stage method, they were evaluated by two radiologists. The ? value was calculated for intra-observer and inter-observer compliance. The evaluation of knee epiphysis patterns from MRI is an alternative, efficient, radiation-free and non-invasive method that is helpful in forensic age estimation. In particular, stage 5 in distal femoral epiphysis can determine the 21st year of life in both sexes, and proximal tibial epiphysis could present evidence of age 18 in males. It should be used for evaluation in addition to other methods for determining skeletal system maturity. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

We consider a two species process which evolves in a finite or infinite domain in contact with particles reservoirs at different densities, according to the superposition of a generalised contact process and a rapid-stirring dynamics in the bulk of the domain, and a creation/annihilation mechanism at its boundaries. For this process, we study the law of large numbers for densities and current. The limiting equations are given by a system of non-linear reaction-diffusion equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions., 36 pages; soumis

Recently, it has been argued that application of the weak gravity conjecture (WGC) to spin-2 fields implies a universal upper bound on the cutoff of the effective theory for a single spin-2 field. We point out here that these arguments are largely spurious, because of the absence of states carrying spin-2 Stückelberg U(1) charge, and because of incorrect scaling assumptions. Known examples such as Kaluza-Klein theory that respect the usual WGC do so because of the existence of a genuine U(1) field under which states are charged, as in the case of the Stückelberg formulation of spin-1 theories, for which there is an unambiguously defined U(1) charge. Theories of bigravity naturally satisfy a naive formulation of the WGC, MW, Physical Review D, 100 (10), ISSN:1550-7998, ISSN:0556-2821, ISSN:1550-2368

We characterize the trace of magnetic Sobolev spaces defined in a half-space or in a smooth bounded domain in which the magnetic field $A$ is differentiable and its exterior derivative corresponding to the magnetic field $dA$ is bounded. In particular, we prove that, for $d \ge 1$ and $p>1$, the trace of the magnetic Sobolev space $W^{1, p}_A(\mathbb{R}^{d+1}_+)$ is exactly $W^{1-1/p, p}_{A^{\shortparallel}}(\mathbb{R}^d)$ where $A^{\shortparallel}(x) =( A_1, \dotsc, A_d)(x, 0)$ for $x \in \mathbb{R}^d$ with the convention $A = (A_1, \dotsc, A_{d+1})$ when $A \in C^1(\overline{\mathbb{R}^{d+1}_+}, \mathbb{R}^{d+1})$. We also characterize fractional magnetic Sobolev spaces as interpolation spaces and give extension theorems from a half-space to the entire space., 24 pages

Recently, laser cooling methods have been extended from atoms to molecules. The complex rotational and vibrational energy level structure of molecules makes laser cooling difficult, but these difficulties have been overcome and molecules have now been cooled to a few microkelvin and trapped for several seconds. This opens many possibilities for applications in quantum science and technology, controlled chemistry, and tests of fundamental physics. This article explains how molecules can be decelerated, cooled and trapped using laser light, reviews the progress made in recent years, and outlines some future applications., Comment: An entry-level review article prepared for Contemporary Physics

Electron spin resonance with a scanning tunneling microscope (ESR-STM) combines the high energy resolution of spin resonance spectroscopy with the atomic scale control and spatial resolution of STM. Here we describe the upgrade of a helium-3 STM with a 2D vector-field magnet ($B_z$ = 8.0 T, $B_x$ = 0.8 T) to an ESR-STM. The system is capable of delivering RF power to the tunnel junction at frequencies up to 30 GHz. We demonstrate magnetic field sweep ESR for the model system TiH/MgO/Ag(100) and find a magnetic moment of $(1.004 \pm 0.001)$ $\mu_B$. Our upgrade enables to toggle between a DC mode, where the STM is operated with the regular control electronics, and an ultrafast-pulsed mode that uses an arbitrary waveform generator for pump-probe spectroscopy or reading of spin-states. Both modes allow for simultaneous radiofrequency excitation, which we add via a resistive pick-off tee to the bias voltage path. The RF cabling from room temperature to the 350 mK stage has an average attenuation of 18 dB between 5 and 25 GHz. The cable segment between the 350 mK stage and the STM tip presently attenuates an additional $34_{-3}^{+5}$ dB from 10 to 26 GHz and $38_{-2}^{+3}$ dB between 20 and 30 GHz. We discuss our transmission losses and indicate ways to reduce this attenuation. We finally demonstrate how to synchronize the arrival times of RF and DC pulses coming from different paths to the STM junction, a prerequisite for future pulsed ESR experiments., Comment: 7 figures

Journal of mathematical fluid mechanics 21, 6 (2019). doi:10.1007/s00021-019-0406-9, Published by Springer International Publishing AG, Cham (ZG)

Enzymes are essential to maintain organisms alive. Some of the reactions they catalyze are associated with a change in reagents chirality, hence their activity can be tracked by using optical means. However, illumination affects enzyme activity: the challenge is to operate at low-intensity regime avoiding loss in sensitivity. Here we apply quantum phase estimation to real-time measurement of invertase enzymatic activity. Control of the probe at the quantum level demonstrates the potential for reducing invasiveness with optimized sensitivity at once. This preliminary effort, bringing together methods of quantum physics and biology, constitutes an important step towards full development of quantum sensors for biological systems. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

We show that solutions of the 2D Fokker–Planck equation for bosons are defined globally in time and converge to equilibrium, and this convergence is shown to be exponential for radially symmetric solutions. The main observation is that a variant of the Hopf–Cole transformation relates the 2D equation in radial coordinates to the usual linear Fokker–Planck equation. Hence, radially symmetric solutions can be computed analytically, and our results for general (non radially symmetric) solutions follow from comparison and entropy arguments. In order to show convergence to equilibrium we also prove a version of the Csiszar–Kullback inequality for the Bose–Einstein–Fokker–Planck entropy functional.

The standard quantum limit constrains the precision of an oscillator position measurement. It arises from a balance between the imprecision and the quantum back-action of the measurement. However, a measurement of only a single quadrature of the oscillator can evade the back-action and be made with arbitrary precision. Here we demonstrate quantum back-action evading measurements of a collective quadrature of two mechanical oscillators, both coupled to a common microwave cavity. The work allows for quantum state tomography of two mechanical oscillators, and provides a foundation for macroscopic mechanical entanglement and force sensing beyond conventional quantum limits., 6 pages, 4 figures and supplement

We consider a large class of $1+1$-dimensional continuous interface growth models and we show that, in both the weakly asymmetric and the intermediate disorder regimes, these models converge to Hopf-Cole solutions to the KPZ equation., Comment: 105 pages

Entanglement-enhanced atom interferometry has the potential of surpassing the standard quantum limit and eventually reaching the ultimate Heisenberg bound. The experimental progress is, however, hindered by various technical noise sources, including the noise in the detection of the output quantum state. The influence of detection noise can be largely overcome by exploiting echo schemes, where the entanglement-generating interaction is repeated after the interferometer sequence. Here, we propose an echo protocol that uses two-axis counter-twisting as the main nonlinear interaction. We demonstrate that the scheme is robust to detection noise and its performance is superior compared to the already demonstrated one-axis twisting echo scheme. In particular, the sensitivity maintains the Heisenberg scaling in the limit of a large particle number. Finally, we show that the protocol can be implemented with spinor Bose-Einstein condensates. Our results thus outline a realistic approach to mitigate the detection noise in quantum-enhanced interferometry., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures

Lovejoy and Schertzer (1990a) presented a statistical analysis of blotting paper observations of the (two-dimensional) spatial distribution of raindrop stains. They found empirical evidence for the fractal scaling behavior of raindrops in space, with potentially far-reaching implications for rainfall microphysics and radar meteorology. In particular, the fractal correlation dimensions determined from their blotting paper observations led them to conclude that "drops are (hierarchically) clustered" and that "inhomogeneity in rain is likely to extend down to millimeter scales". Confirming previously reported Monte Carlo simulations, we demonstrate analytically that the claims based on this analysis need to be reconsidered, as fractal correlation dimensions similar to the ones reported (i.e. smaller than the value of two expected for uniformly distributed raindrops) can result from instrumental artifacts (edge effects) in otherwise homogeneous Poissonian rainfall. Hence, the results of the blotting paper experiment are not statistically significant enough to reject the Poisson homogeneity hypothesis in favor of a fractal description of the discrete nature of rainfall. Our analysis is based on an analytical expression for the expected overlap area between a circle and a square, when the circle center is randomly (uniformly) distributed inside the square. The derived expression (πr2−8r3/3+r4/2, where r denotes the ratio between the circle radius and the side of the square) can be used as a reference curve against which to test the statistical significance of fractal correlation dimensions determined from spatial point patterns, such as those of raindrops and rainfall cells.

We study quantum entanglement loss due to environmental interaction in a condensed matter system with a complex geometry relevant to recent proposals for computing with single electrons at the nanoscale. We consider a system consisting of two qubits, each realized by an electron in a double quantum dot, which are initially in an entangled Bell state. The qubits are widely separated and each interacts with its own environment. The environment for each is modeled by surrounding double quantum dots placed at random positions with random orientations. We calculate the unitary evolution of the joint system and environment. The global state remains pure throughout. We examine the time dependence of the expectation value of the bipartite Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) and Brukner-Paunkovi\'c-Rudolph-Vedral (BPRV) Bell operators and explore the emergence of correlations consistent with local realism. Though the details of this transition depend on the specific environmental geometry, we show how the results can be mapped on to a universal behavior with appropriate scaling. We determine the relevant disentanglement times based on realistic physical parameters for molecular double-dots., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures

Myxobacteria are social bacteria, that can glide in two dimensions and form counter-propagating, interacting waves. Here, we present a novel age-structured, continuous macroscopic model for the movement of myxobacteria. The derivation is based on microscopic interaction rules that can be formulated as a particle-based model and set within the Self-Organized Hydrodynamics (SOH) framework. The strength of this combined approach is that microscopic knowledge or data can be incorporated easily into the particle model, whilst the continuous model allows for easy numerical analysis of the different effects. However, we found that the derived macroscopic model lacks a diffusion term in the density equations, which is necessary to control the number of waves, indicating that a higher order approximation during the derivation is crucial. Upon ad hoc addition of the diffusion term, we found very good agreement between the age-structured model and the biology. In particular, we analyzed the influence of a refractory (insensitivity) period following a reversal of movement. Our analysis reveals that the refractory period is not necessary for wave formation, but essential to wave synchronization, indicating separate molecular mechanisms.

We study a general family of space-time discretizations of the KPZ equation and show that they converge to its solution. The approach we follow makes use of basic elements of the theory of regularity structures [M. Hairer, A theory of regularity structures, Invent. Math. 2014] as well as its discrete counterpart [M. Hairer, K. Matetski, Discretizations of rough stochastic PDEs, 2015]. Since the discretization is in both space and time and we allow non-standard discretization for the product, the methods mentioned above have to be suitably modified in order to accommodate the structure of the models under study.

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems could be very attractive for energy efficiency, as they allow the harvesting of radiative waste heat as electricity. The authors describe an efficient TPV generator whose spectrum of radiative thermal power is frequency-selective and exceeds the Planckian limit. Their device does not require a vacuum gap between the hot and cold parts of the system, and can be handily realized with existing nanofabrication methods. Thus this work shows the way to efficient TPV generators that are quite practical for application.

Nanostructures of platinum-carbon nanocomposite material have been formed by electron-beam induced deposition. These consist of nanodots and nanowires with a minimum size ∼20 nm, integrated within ∼100 nm nanogap n-type silicon-on-insulator transistor structures. The nanodot transistors use ∼20 nm Pt/C nanodots, tunnel-coupled to Pt/C nanowire electrodes, bridging the Si nanogaps. Roomerature single-electron transistor operation has been measured, and single-electron current oscillations and 'Coulomb diamonds' observed. In nanowire transistors, the temperature dependence from 290 to 8 K suggests that the current is a combination of thermally activated and tunnelling transport of carriers across potential barriers along the current path, and that the Pt/C is p-type at low temperature.

The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the absolute neutrino mass by measuring the endpoint region of the tritium $\beta$ spectrum. As a large-scale experiment with a sharp energy resolution, high source luminosity and low background it may also be capable of testing certain theories of neutrino interactions beyond the standard model (SM). An example of a non-SM interaction are right-handed currents mediated by right-handed W bosons in the left-right symmetric model (LRSM). In this extension of the SM, an additional SU(2)$_\mathrm R$ symmetry in the high-energy limit is introduced, which naturally includes sterile neutrinos and predicts the seesaw mechanism. In tritium $\beta$ decay, this leads to an additional term from interference between left- and right-handed interactions, which enhances or suppresses certain regions near the endpoint of the beta spectrum. In this work, the sensitivity of KATRIN to right-handed currents is estimated for the scenario of a light sterile neutrino with a mass of some eV. This has been performed with a Bayesian analysis using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). The simulations show that in principle KATRIN is able to set sterile neutrino mass-dependent limits on the interference strength. Thereby, the sensitivity is significantly increased if the $Q$ value of the $\beta$ decay can be sufficiently constrained. However, the sensitivity is not high enough to improve current upper limits from right-handed W boson searches at the LHC., Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, minor revision

Can collective quantum effects make a difference in a meaningful thermodynamic operation? Focusing on energy storage and batteries, we demonstrate that quantum mechanics can lead to an enhancement in the amount of work deposited per unit time, i.e., the charging power, when $N$ batteries are charged collectively. We first derive analytic upper bounds for the collective \emph{quantum advantage} in charging power for two choices of constraints on the charging Hamiltonian. We then highlight the importance of entanglement by proving that the quantum advantage vanishes when the collective state of the batteries is restricted to be in the separable ball. Finally, we provide an upper bound to the achievable quantum advantage when the interaction order is restricted, i.e., at most $k$ batteries are interacting. Our result is a fundamental limit on the advantage offered by quantum technologies over their classical counterparts as far as energy deposition is concerned., In this new updated version Theorem 1 has been changed with Proposition 1. The paper has been published on PRL, and DOI included accordingly

Aluminium doped zinc oxide is considered an interesting, earth abundant alternative to the transparent conductor indium tin oxide. In this respect, we synthesized Al-ZnO (AZO) thin films by a chemical solution deposition approach. Using water-based inks, the AZO thin films were printed in one single step on glass substrates in non-vacuum conditions. The drying process and the humidity of the atmosphere proved to be crucial during the thermal processing of the wet deposited thin films. To improve the understanding of the phenomena involved, the influence of these processing parameters on the final properties of the AZO thin films are investigated by FTIR, XRD, SEM, 1H and 27Al NMR and resistivity measurements. Optimal conditions were obtained by drying the wet thin film at 120 °C, followed by heating in a tube furnace until 500 °C under a 200 ppm O2/N2 atmosphere with a humidity controlled by bubbling the gas flow through 2 glass bottles containing water at 20 °C. AZO thin films with an resistivity of 2.54 × 10−2 Ω cm were obtained.

We consider two distant spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ particles (or qubits) and a number of interacting objects, all with the same value $S\gg1$ of their respective spin, distributed on a one-dimensional lattice (or large-$S$ spin chain). The quantum states of the chain are constructed by linearly combining tensor products of single-spin coherent states, whose evolution is determined accordingly, i.e., via classical-like equations of motions. We show that the quantum superposition of the above product states resulting from a local interaction between the first qubit and one spin of the chain evolves so that the second qubit, after having itself interacted with another spin of the chain, can be entangled with the first qubit. Obtaining such outcome does not imply imposing constraints on the length of the chain or the distance between the qubits, which demonstrates the possibility of generating quantum correlations at a distance by means of a macroscopic system, as far as local interactions with just a few of its components are feasible., 11 pages, 9 figures

Suppose that a finitely generated group $G$ is hyperbolic relative to a collection of subgroups $\mathbb{P}=\{P_1,\dots,P_m\}$. Let $H_1,H_2$ be subgroups of $G$ such that $H_1$ is relatively quasiconvex with respect to $\mathbb{P}$ and $H_2$ is not parabolic. Suppose that $H_2$ is elementwise conjugate into $H_1$. Then there exists a finite index subgroup of $H_2$ which is conjugate into $H_1$. The minimal length of the conjugator can be estimated. In the case where $G$ is a limit group, it is sufficient to assume only that $H_1$ is a finitely generated and $H_2$ is an arbitrary subgroup of $G$., Comment: 14 pages, 1 Figure. The proof in this version is shorter

Density matrix embedding theory (DMET) is a relatively new technique for the calculation of strongly correlated systems. Recently, block product DMET (BPDMET) was introduced for the study of spin systems such as the antiferromagnetic $J_1 - J_2$ model on the square lattice. In this paper, we extend the variational Ansatz of BPDMET using spin-state optimization, yielding improved results. We apply the same techniques to the Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice, comparing the results when using several types of clusters. Energy profiles and correlation functions are investigated. A diagonalization in the tangent space of the variational approach yields information on the excited states and the corresponding spectral functions., 12 pages, 12 figures

Two-dimensional materials are known to harbour properties very different from those of their bulk counterparts. Recent years have seen the rise of atomically thin superconductors, with a caveat that superconductivity is strongly depleted unless enhanced by specific substrates, intercalants or adatoms. Surprisingly, the role in superconductivity of electronic states originating from simple free surfaces of two-dimensional materials has remained elusive to date. Here, based on first-principles calculations, anisotropic Eliashberg theory, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that surface states in few-monolayer MgB2 make a major contribution to the superconducting gap spectrum and density of states, clearly distinct from the widely known, bulk-like σ- and π-gaps. As a proof of principle, we predict and measure the gap opening on the magnesium-based surface band up to a critical temperature as high as ~30 K for merely six monolayers thick MgB2. These findings establish free surfaces as an unavoidable ingredient in understanding and further tailoring of superconductivity in atomically thin materials.

Recent experiments have demonstrated the generation of entanglement by quasi-adiabatically driving through quantum phase transitions of a ferromagnetic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of a tunable quadratic Zeeman shift. We analyze, in terms of the Fisher information, the interferometric value of the entanglement accessible by this approach. In addition to the Twin-Fock phase studied experimentally, we unveil a second regime, in the broken axisymmetry phase, which provides Heisenberg scaling of the quantum Fisher information and can be reached on shorter time scales. We identify optimal unitary transformations and an experimentally feasible optimal measurement prescription that maximize the interferometric sensitivity. We further ascertain that the Fisher information is robust with respect to non-adiabaticity and measurement noise. Finally, we show that the quasi-adiabatic entanglement preparation schemes admit higher sensitivities than dynamical methods based on fast quenches., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures

peer-reviewed We have experimentally investigated the enhancement in spatial resolution by image subtraction in mid-infrared central solid-immersion lens (c-SIL) microscopy. The subtraction exploits a first image measured with the c-SIL point-spread function (PSF) realized with a Gaussian beam and a second image measured with the beam optically patterned by a silicon it-step phase plate, to realize a centrally hollow PSF. The intense sides lobes in both PSFs that are intrinsic to the SIL make the conventional weighted subtraction methods inadequate. A spatial-domain filter with a kernel optimized to match both experimental PSFs in their periphery was thus developed to modify the first image prior to subtraction, and this resulted in greatly improved performance, with polystyrene beads 1.4 0.1 mu m apart optically resolved with a mid-1R wavelength of 3.4 mu m in water. Spatial-domain filtering is applicable to other PSF pairs, and simulations show that it also outperforms conventional subtraction methods for the Gaussian and doughnut beams widely used in visible and near-1R microscopy. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America PUBLISHED peer-reviewed

We present the properties and advantages of a new magneto-optical trap (MOT) where blue-detuned light drives "type-II" transitions that have dark ground states. Using ^{87}Rb, we reach a radiation-pressure-limited density exceeding 10^{11} cm^{-3} and a temperature below 30 μK. The phase-space density is higher than in normal atomic MOTs and a million times higher than comparable red-detuned type-II MOTs, making the blue-detuned MOT particularly attractive for molecular MOTs, which rely on type-II transitions. The loss of atoms from the trap is dominated by ultracold collisions between Rb atoms. For typical trapping conditions, we measure a loss rate of 1.8(4)×10^{-10} cm^{3} s^{-1}.

International audience; Fungal plant parasites represent a growing concern for biodiversity and food security. Most ascomycete species are capable of producing different types of infectious spores both asexually and sexually. Yet the contributions of both types of spores to epidemiological dynamics have still to been fully researched. Here we studied the effect of mate limitation in parasites which perform both sexual and asexual reproduction in the same host. Since mate limitation implies positive density dependence at low population density, we modeled the dynamics of such species with both density-dependent (sexual) and density-independent (asexual) transmission rates. A first simple SIR model incorporating these two types of transmission from the infected compartment, suggested that combining sexual and asexual spore production can generate persistently cyclic epidemics in a significant part of the parameter space. It was then confirmed that cyclic persistence could occur in realistic situations by pa-rameterizing a more detailed model fitting the biology of the Black Sigatoka disease of banana, for which literature data is available. We discuss the implications of these results for research on and management of Sigatoka diseases of banana.

Let $G_n$ be the genus of a two-dimensional surface obtained by gluing, uniformly at random, the sides of an $n$-gon. Recently Linial and Nowik proved, via an enumerational formula due to Harer and Zagier, that the expected value of $G_n$ is asymptotic to $(n - \ln n)/2$ for $n\to\infty$. We prove a local limit theorem for the distribution of $G_n$, which implies that $G_n$ is asymptotically Gaussian, with mean $(n-\ln n)/2$ and variance $(\ln n)/4$., Comment: 13 pages

This work discusses regular particle arrays as nanostructured front layers for possible application in photovoltaic devices yielding strongly increased forward scattering. I used a rigorous plane-wave method to investigate multi-type particle layers combining different radii and configurations. The absorbance was enhanced compared to the bare Si wafer and I demonstrated on mixing particles a broadband boost in the absorbance within the homogeneous wafer region, excluding parasitic absorption in the particle layer. I studied the efficiency enhancement for varying geometries. Multi-type layers made of Si disks with two different radii achieved up to 33% (24%) and with four different radii up to 40% (30%) improvement in the short circuit current and integrated absorbance, respectively, without yet standard anti-reflection coatings. Broadband efficiency enhancement for metal multi-type layers was not observed because they show strong parasitic absorption and boost the absorbance only in narrow wavelength regions. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America

We consider a two-parameter averaging-homogenization type elliptic problem together with the stochastic representation of the solution. A limit theorem is derived for the corresponding diffusion process and a precise description of the two-parameter limit behavior for the solution of the PDE is obtained.

We study coagulation-fragmentation equations inspired by a simple model proposed in fisheries science to explain data for the size distribution of schools of pelagic fish. Although the equations lack detailed balance and admit no $H$-theorem, we are able to develop a rather complete description of equilibrium profiles and large-time behavior, based on recent developments in complex function theory for Bernstein and Pick functions. In the large-population continuum limit, a scaling-invariant regime is reached in which all equilibria are determined by a single scaling profile. This universal profile exhibits power-law behavior crossing over from exponent $-\frac23$ for small size to $-\frac32$ for large size, with an exponential cut-off., Comment: 51 pages, 2 figures

In no other living species does technology (or more precisely the need for technological development) play such an important role as it does in the human species. Almost every animal species is able to implement “techniques” in order to improve its living conditions, that is to produce tools or structures capable of enhancing its ability to procure food and defend itself. No animal, however, to the same extent as the human being, seems unable to do without the constant innovation of its own capacities and their outcomes. This is a constant factor, which unequivocally connotes our being human. It is a constant that we can say is expression of an essentially dual nature: fear of inadequacy, on the one hand, anxiety for perfection, on the other. This rationale remains surely a matter of fact regarding the “traditional” or “common” condition of the man, understood as a being living on the Earth with a specific biological structure. However, any possible understanding of the same issue requires new efforts if and as far we try to maintain it open in a totally different context: “the space”, namely, a not-specific place outside Earth in which the man is trying to give shape to a new path of its own surviving (§ 1). Here rises what we would like to call the "anthropology of limit". In order to grasp a provisional content for such expression, we must proceed “analytically”, first, by reconsidering briefly the two conceptual sides implied in that expression, namely “What is a man?” and “What do we mean with limit?” (§ 2). Secondly, we should try to reconsider the twofold results under a “synthetical” or comprehensive point of view, trying to gather a common area of questioning that opens up if and as far we shift and reconsider both conceptual sides of that expression within the “space-context” (§ 3).

We prepare number stabilized ultracold clouds through the real-time analysis of non-destructive images and the application of feedback. In our experiments, the atom number ${N\sim10^6}$ is determined by high precision Faraday imaging with uncertainty $\Delta_N$ below the shot noise level, i.e., $\Delta_N, Comment: Main text: 4 Figures, 4 pages. Supplemental Information: 4 figures, 5 pages

In this short note, we come back to the recent proposal put forward by Kharzeev and Levin [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 242001 (2015)], in which they phenomenologically couple the nonperturbative Veneziano ghost to the perturbative gluon, leading to a modified gluon propagator (the "glost") of the Gribov type, with complex poles. As such, a possible link was made between the QCD topological theta-vacuum (Veneziano ghost) and color confinement (no physically observable gluons). We discuss some subtleties concerning gauge (Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tuytin) invariance of this proposal, related to the choice of Feynman gauge. We draw particular attention to the incompatibility in the longitudinal sector with available nonperturbative results for the linear covariant gauge. We furthermore provide an example in the Landau gauge of a similar phenomenological vertex that also describes the necessary Veneziano ghost but does not affect the Landau gauge gluon propagator.

Employing the technique of vanishing viscosity and time rescaling, we show the existence of quasistatic evolutions for elastoplastic materials with incomplete damage affecting both the elastic tensor and the plastic yield surface, in a softening framework and in small strain assumptions.