578 research outputs found
A nanometer-scale optical electrometer
Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots show remarkable optical and spin
coherence properties, which have lead to a concerted research effort examining
their potential as a quantum bit for quantum information science1-6. Here, we
present an alternative application for such devices, exploiting recent
achievements of charge occupation control and the spectral tunability of the
optical emission of quantum dots by electric fields7 to demonstrate
high-sensitivity electric field measurement. In contrast to existing
nanometer-scale electric field sensors, such as single electron transistors8-11
and mechanical resonators12,13, our approach relies on homodyning light
resonantly Rayleigh scattered from a quantum dot transition with the excitation
laser and phase sensitive lock-in detection. This offers both static and
transient field detection ability with high bandwidth operation and near unity
quantum efficiency. Our theoretical estimation of the static field sensitivity
for typical parameters, 0.5 V/m/ \surd Hz, compares favorably to the
theoretical limit for single electron transistor-based electrometers. The
sensitivity level of 5 V/m/ \surd Hz we report in this work, which corresponds
to 6.4 * 10-6 e/ \surd Hz at a distance of 12 nm, is worse than this
theoretical estimate, yet higher than any other result attained at 4.2 K or
higher operation temperature
Nonequilibrium nuclear-electron spin dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots
We study the spin dynamics in charged quantum dots in the situation where the
resident electron is coupled to only about 200 nuclear spins and where the
electron spin splitting induced by the Overhauser field does not exceed
markedly the spectral broadening. The formation of a dynamical nuclear
polarization as well as its subsequent decay by the dipole-dipole interaction
is directly resolved in time. Because not limited by intrinsic nonlinearities,
almost complete nuclear polarization is achieved, even at elevated
temperatures. The data suggest a nonequilibrium mode of nuclear polarization,
distinctly different from the spin temperature concept exploited on bulk
semiconductorsComment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Analog modulation of mossy fiber transmission is uncoupled from changes in presynaptic Ca2+
Subthreshold somatic depolarization has been shown recently to modulate presynaptic neurotransmitter release in cortical neurons. To understand the mechanisms underlying this mode of signaling in the axons of dentate granule cells (hippocampal mossy fibers), we have combined two- photon Ca2+ imaging with dual-patch recordings from somata and giant boutons forming synapses on CA3 pyramidal cells. In intact axons, subthreshold depolarization propagates both orthodromically and antidromically, with an estimated length constant of 200-600 mu m depending on the signal waveform. Surprisingly, presynaptic depolarization sufficient to enhance glutamate release at mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses has no detectable effect on either basal Ca2+-dependent fluorescence or action-potential-evoked fluorescence transients in giant boutons. We further estimate that neurotransmitter release varies with presynaptic Ca2+ entry with a 2.5-power relationship and that depolarization-induced synaptic facilitation remains intact in the presence of high-affinity presynaptic Ca2+ buffers or after blockade of local Ca2+ stores. We conclude that depolarization-dependent modulation of transmission at these boutons does not rely on changes in presynaptic Ca2+
Persistent Current of Free Electrons in the Plane
Predictions of Akkermans et al. are essentially changed when the Krein
spectral displacement operator is regularized by means of zeta function.
Instead of piecewise constant persistent current of free electrons on the plane
one has a current which varies linearly with the flux and is antisymmetric with
regard to all time preserving values of including . Different
self-adjoint extensions of the problem and role of the resonance are discussed.Comment: (Comment on "Relation between Persistent Currents and the Scattering
Matrix", Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 66}, 76 (1991)) plain latex, 4pp., IPNO/TH
94-2
Coherently tunable third-order nonlinearity in a nanojunction
A possibility of tuning the phase of the third-order Kerr-type nonlinear
susceptibility in a system consisting of two interacting metal nanospheres and
a nonlinearly polarizable molecule is investigated theoretically and
numerically. It is shown that by varying the relative inter-sphere separation,
it is possible to tune the phase of the effective nonlinear susceptibility
\chi^{(3)}(\omega;\omega,\omega,-\omega)2\pi$.Comment: 10 pages 5 figure
Dopamine elevates and lowers astroglial Ca(2+) through distinct pathways depending on local synaptic circuitry
Whilst astrocytes in culture invariably respond to dopamine with cytosolic Ca(2+) rises, the dopamine sensitivity of astroglia in situ and its physiological roles remain unknown. To minimize effects of experimental manipulations on astroglial physiology, here we monitored Ca(2+) in cells connected via gap junctions to astrocytes loaded whole-cell with cytosolic indicators in area CA1 of acute hippocampal slices. Aiming at high sensitivity of [Ca(2+) ] measurements, we also employed life-time imaging of the Ca(2+) indicator Oregon Green BAPTA-1. We found that dopamine triggered a dose-dependent, bidirectional Ca(2+) response in stratum radiatum astroglia, a jagged elevation accompanied and followed by below-baseline decreases. The elevation depended on D1/D2 receptors and engaged intracellular Ca(2+) storage and removal whereas the dopamine-induced [Ca(2+) ] decrease involved D2 receptors only and was sensitive to Ca(2+) channel blockade. In contrast, the stratum lacunosum moleculare astroglia generated higher-threshold dopamine-induced Ca(2+) responses which did not depend on dopamine receptors and were uncoupled from the prominent inhibitory action of dopamine on local perforant path synapses. Our findings thus suggest that a single neurotransmitter-dopamine-could either elevate or decrease astrocyte [Ca(2+) ] depending on the receptors involved, that such actions are specific to the regional neural circuitry and that they may be causally uncoupled from dopamine actions on local synapses. The results also indicate that [Ca(2+) ] elevations commonly detected in astroglia can represent the variety of distinct mechanisms acting on the microscopic scale. GLIA 2016
Impact of heavy hole-light hole coupling on optical selection rules in GaAs quantum dots
We report strong heavy hole-light mixing in GaAs quantum dots grown by
droplet epitaxy. Using the neutral and charged exciton emission as a monitor we
observe the direct consequence of quantum dot symmetry reduction in this strain
free system. By fitting the polar diagram of the emission with simple
analytical expressions obtained from kp theory we are able to extract
the mixing that arises from the heavy-light hole coupling due to the
geometrical asymmetry of the quantum dot.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Recommended from our members
Ancestral mitogenome capture of the Southeast Asian banded linsang
Utilising a reconstructed ancestral mitochondrial genome of a clade to design hybridisation capture baits can provide the opportunity for recovering mitochondrial sequences from all its descendent and even sister lineages. This approach is useful for taxa with no extant close relatives, as is often the case for rare or extinct species, and is a viable approach for the analysis of historical museum specimens. Asiatic linsangs (genus Prionodon) exemplify this situation, being rare Southeast Asian carnivores for which little molecular data is available. Using ancestral capture we recover partial mitochondrial genome sequences for seven banded linsangs (P. linsang) from historical specimens, representing the first intraspecific genetic dataset for this species. We additionally assemble a high quality mitogenome for the banded linsang using shotgun sequencing for time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis. This reveals a deep divergence between the two Asiatic linsang species (P. linsang, P. pardicolor), with an estimated divergence of ~12 million years (Ma). Although our sample size precludes any robust interpretation of the population structure of the banded linsang, we recover two distinct matrilines with an estimated tMRCA of ~1 Ma. Our results can be used as a basis for further investigation of the Asiatic linsangs, and further demonstrate the utility of ancestral capture for studying divergent taxa without close relatives
- …