Measurement of air and nitrogen fluorescence light yields induced by electron beam for UHECR experiments

Most of the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) experiments and projects (HiRes, AUGER, TA, EUSO, TUS,...) use air fluorescence to detect and measure extensive air showers (EAS). The precise knowledge of the Fluorescence Light Yield (FLY) is of paramount importance for the reconstruction of UHECR. The MACFLY - Measurement of Air Cherenkov and Fluorescence Light Yield - experiment has been designed to perform such FLY measurements. In this paper we will present the results of FLY in the 290-440 nm wavelength range for dry air and pure nitrogen, both excited by electrons with energy of 1.5 MeV, 20 GeV and 50 GeV. The experiment uses a 90Sr radioactive source for low energy measurement and a CERN SPS electron beam for high energy. We find that the FLY is proportional to the deposited energy (E_d) in the gas and we show that the air fluorescence properties remain constant independently of the electron energy. At the reference point: atmospheric dry air at 1013 hPa and 23C, the ratio FLY/E_d=17.6 photon/MeV with a systematic error of 13.2%.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Integrable atomtronic interferometry

High sensitivity quantum interferometry requires more than just access to entangled states. It is achieved through deep understanding of quantum correlations in a system. Integrable models offer the framework to develop this understanding. We communicate the design of interferometric protocols for an integrable model that describes the interaction of bosons in a four-site configuration. Analytic formulae for the quantum dynamics of certain observables are computed. These expose the system's functionality as both an interferometric identifier, and producer, of NOON states. Being equivalent to a controlled-phase gate acting on two hybrid qudits, this system also highlights an equivalence between Heisenberg-limited interferometry and quantum information. These results are expected to open new avenues for integrability-enhanced atomtronic technologies.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Superresolution microscopy reveals a dynamic picture of cell polarity maintenance during directional growth

Polar (directional) cell growth, a key cellular mechanism shared among a wide range of species, relies on targeted insertion of new material at specific locations of the plasma membrane. How these cell polarity sites are stably maintained during massive membrane insertion has remained elusive. Conventional live-cell optical microscopy fails to visualize polarity site formation in the crowded cell membrane environment because of its limited resolution. We have used advanced live-cell imaging techniques to directly observe the localization, assembly, and disassembly processes of cell polarity sites with high spatiotemporal resolution in a rapidly growing filamentous fungus, Aspergillus nidulans. We show that the membrane-associated polarity site marker TeaR is transported on microtubules along with secretory vesicles and forms a protein cluster at that point of the apical membrane where the plus end of the microtubule touches. There, a small patch of membrane is added through exocytosis, and the TeaR cluster gets quickly dispersed over the membrane. There is an incessant disassembly and reassembly of polarity sites at the growth zone, and each new polarity site locus is slightly offset from preceding ones. On the basis of our imaging results and computational modeling, we propose a transient polarity model that explains how cell polarity is stably maintained during highly active directional growth

Differentiating normal and problem gambling: a grounded theory approach.

A previous study (Ricketts &amp; Macaskill, 2003) delineated a theory of problem gambling based on the experiences of treatment seeking male gamblers and allowed predictions to be made regarding the processes that differentiate between normal and problem gamblers. These predictions are the focus of the present study, which also utilised a grounded theory approach, but with a sample of male high frequency normal gamblers. The findings suggest that there are common aspects of gambling associated with arousal and a sense of achievement. The use of gambling to manage negative emotional states differentiated normal and problem gambling. Perceived self-efficacy , emotion management skills and perceived likelihood of winning money back were intervening variables differentiating problem and normal gamblers.</p

All-optical trion generation in single walled carbon nanotubes

We present evidence of all optical trion generation and emission in undoped single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Luminescence spectra, recorded on individual SWCNTs over a large CW excitation intensity range, show trion emission peaks red-shifted with respect to the bright exciton peak. Clear chirality dependence is observed for 22 separate SWCNT species, allowing for determination of electron-hole exchange interaction and trion binding energy contributions. Luminescence data together with ultrafast pump probe experiments on chirality sorted bulk samples suggest that exciton-exciton annihilation processes generate dissociated carriers that allow for trion creation upon a subsequent photon absorption event.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Wolf-Rayet and LBV Nebulae as the Result of Variable and Non-Spherical Stellar Winds

The physical basis for interpreting observations of nebular morphology around massive stars in terms of the evolution of the central stars is reviewed, and examples are discussed, including NGC 6888, OMC-1, and eta Carinae.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 169 on Variable and Non-Spherical Stellar Winds in Luminous Hot Stars, ed. B. Wolf (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg). 7 pages, including 5 figures. A full-resolution version of fig 4 is available in the version at http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de/theory/preprints.html#maclo

Gr1+IL-4-producing innate cells are induced in response to Th2 stimuli and suppress Th1-dependent antibody responses

Alum is used as a vaccine adjuvant and induces T&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;2 responses and T&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;2-driven antibody isotype production against co-injected antigens. Alum also promotes the appearance in the spleen of Gr1+IL-4+ innate cells that, via IL-4 production, induce MHC II-mediated signaling in B cells. To investigate whether these Gr1+ cells accumulate in the spleen in response to other T&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;2-inducing stimuli and to understand some of their functions, the effects of injection of alum and eggs from the helminth, Schistosoma mansoni, were compared. Like alum, schistosome eggs induced the appearance of Gr1+IL-4+ cells in spleen and promoted MHC II-mediated signaling in B cells. Unlike alum, however, schistosome eggs did not promote CD4 T cell responses against co-injected antigens, suggesting that the effects of alum or schistosome eggs on splenic B cells cannot by themselves explain the T cell adjuvant properties of alum. Accordingly, depletion of IL-4 or Gr1+ cells in alum-injected mice had no effect on the ability of alum to improve expansion of primary CD4 T cells. However, Gr1+ cells and IL-4 played some role in the effects of alum, since depletion of either resulted in antibody responses to antigen that included not only the normal T&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;2-driven isotypes, like IgG1, but also a T&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;1-driven isotype, IgG2c. These data suggest that alum affects the immune response in at least two ways: one, independent of Gr1+ cells and IL-4, that promotes CD4 T cell proliferation and another, via Gr1+IL-4+ cells, that participates in the polarization of the response

Free induction signal from biexcitons and bound excitons

A theory of the free induction signal from biexcitons and bound excitons is presented. The simultaneous existence of the exciton continuum and a bound state is shown to result in a new type of time dependence of the free induction. The optically detected signal increases in time and oscillates with increasing amplitude until damped by radiative or dephasing processes. Radiative decay is anomalously fast and can result in strong picosecond pulses. The expanding area of a coherent exciton polarization (inflating antenna), produced by the exciting pulse, is the underlying physical mechanism. The developed formalism can be applied to different biexciton transients.Comment: RevTeX, 20 p. + 2 ps fig. To appear in Phys. Rev. B1

A diverse Pleistocene marsupial trackway assemblage from the Victorian Volcanic Plains, Australia

A diverse assemblage of late Pleistocene marsupial trackways on a lake bed in south-western Victoria provides the first information relating to the gaits and morphology of several megafaunal species, and represents the most speciose and best preserved megafaunal footprint site in Australia. The 60-110 ka volcaniclastic lacustrine sedimentary rocks preserve trackways of the diprotodontid Diprotodon optatum, a macropodid (probably Protemnodon sp.) and a large vombatid (perhaps Ramsayia magna or '. Phascolomys' medius) and possible prints of the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex. The footprints were imprinted within a short time period, demonstrating the association of the taxa present, rather than the time-averaged accumulations usually observed in skeletal fossil deposits. Individual manus and pes prints are distinguishable in some trackways, and in many cases some digital pad morphology is also present. Several parameters traditionally used to differentiate ichnotaxa, including trackway gauge and the degree of print in-turning relative to the midline, are shown to be subject to significant intraspecific variation in marsupials. Sexual dimorphism in the trackway proportions of Diprotodon, and its potential for occurrence in all large bodied, quadrupedal marsupials, is identified here for the first time