508 research outputs found
Coherent control of a surface structural phase transition
Active optical control over matter is desirable in many scientific disciplines, with prominent examples in all-optical magnetic switching1,2, light-induced metastable or exotic phases of solids3,4,5,6,7,8 and the coherent control of chemical reactions9,10. Typically, these approaches dynamically steer a system towards states or reaction products far from equilibrium. In solids, metal-to-insulator transitions are an important target for optical manipulation, offering ultrafast changes of the electronic4 and lattice11,12,13,14,15,16 properties. The impact of coherences on the efficiencies and thresholds of such transitions, however, remains a largely open subject. Here, we demonstrate coherent control over a metal–insulator structural phase transition in a quasi-one-dimensional solid-state surface system. A femtosecond double-pulse excitation scheme17,18,19,20 is used to switch the system from the insulating to a metastable metallic state, and the corresponding structural changes are monitored by ultrafast low-energy electron diffraction21,22. To govern the transition, we harness vibrational coherence in key structural modes connecting both phases, and observe delay-dependent oscillations in the double-pulse switching efficiency. Mode-selective coherent control of solids and surfaces could open new routes to switching chemical and physical functionalities, enabled by metastable and non-equilibrium states
Novel Weak Decays in Doubly Strange Systems
The strangeness-changing () weak baryon-baryon interaction is
studied through the nonmesonic weak decay of double- hypernuclei.
Besides the usual nucleon-induced decay we discuss novel
hyperon-induced decay modes and . These reactions provide unique access to the exotic
K and K vertices which place new constraints
on Chiral Pertubation Theory (PT) in the weak SU(3) sector. Within a
meson-exchange framework, we use the pseudoscalar octet for the
long-range part while parametrizing the short-range part through the vector
mesons . Realistic baryon-baryon forces for the and
-2 sectors account for the strong interaction in the initial and final states.
For He the new hyperon-induced decay modes account for up
to 4% of the total nonmesonic decay rate. Predictions are made for all possible
nonmesonic decay modes.Comment: 19 pages, 2 ps figures, 9 table
Structural constraints for the Crh protein from solid-state NMR experiments
We demonstrate that short, medium and long-range constraints can be extracted from proton mediated, rare-spin detected correlation solid-state NMR experiments for the microcrystalline 10.4 × 2 kDa dimeric model protein Crh. Magnetization build-up curves from cross signals in NHHC and CHHC spectra deliver detailed information on side chain conformers and secondary structure for interactions between spin pairs. A large number of medium and long-range correlations can be observed in the spectra, and an analysis of the resolved signals reveals that the constraints cover the entire sequence, also including inter-monomer contacts between the two molecules forming the domain-swapped Crh dimer. Dynamic behavior is shown to have an impact on cross signals intensities, as indicated for mobile residues or regions by contacts predicted from the crystal structure, but absent in the spectra. Our work validates strategies involving proton distance measurements for large and complex proteins as the Crh dimer, and confirms the magnetization transfer properties previously described for small molecules in solid protein samples
The influence of anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics on the relaxation processes in lipid membranes
In the proximity of melting transitions of artificial and biological
membranes fluctuations in enthalpy, area, volume and concentration are
enhanced. This results in domain formation, changes of the elastic constants,
changes in permeability and slowing down of relaxation processes. In this study
we used pressure perturbation calorimetry to investigate the relaxation time
scale after a jump into the melting transition regime of artificial lipid
membranes. This time corresponds to the characteristic rate of domain growth.
The studies were performed on single-component large unilamellar and
multilamellar vesicle systems with and without the addition of small molecules
such as general anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics. These drugs
interact with membranes and affect melting points and profiles. In all systems
we found that heat capacity and relaxation times are related to each other in a
simple manner. The maximum relaxation time depends on the cooperativity of the
heat capacity profile and decreases with a broadening of the transition. For
this reason the influence of a drug on the time scale of domain formation
processes can be understood on the basis of their influence on the heat
capacity profile. This allows estimations of the time scale of domain formation
processes in biological membranes.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Phase transitions in biological membranes
Native membranes of biological cells display melting transitions of their
lipids at a temperature of 10-20 degrees below body temperature. Such
transitions can be observed in various bacterial cells, in nerves, in cancer
cells, but also in lung surfactant. It seems as if the presence of transitions
slightly below physiological temperature is a generic property of most cells.
They are important because they influence many physical properties of the
membranes. At the transition temperature, membranes display a larger
permeability that is accompanied by ion-channel-like phenomena even in the
complete absence of proteins. Membranes are softer, which implies that
phenomena such as endocytosis and exocytosis are facilitated. Mechanical signal
propagation phenomena related to nerve pulses are strongly enhanced. The
position of transitions can be affected by changes in temperature, pressure, pH
and salt concentration or by the presence of anesthetics. Thus, even at
physiological temperature, these transitions are of relevance. There position
and thereby the physical properties of the membrane can be controlled by
changes in the intensive thermodynamic variables. Here, we review some of the
experimental findings and the thermodynamics that describes the control of the
membrane function.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure
ATP Analogues for Structural Investigations: Case Studies of a DnaB Helicase and an ABC Transporter.
Nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) are used as chemical energy source in a variety of cell systems. Structural snapshots along the NTP hydrolysis reaction coordinate are typically obtained by adding stable, nonhydrolyzable adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -analogues to the proteins, with the goal to arrest a state that mimics as closely as possible a physiologically relevant state, e.g., the pre-hydrolytic, transition and post-hydrolytic states. We here present the lessons learned on two distinct ATPases on the best use and unexpected pitfalls observed for different analogues. The proteins investigated are the bacterial DnaB helicase from Helicobacter pylori and the multidrug ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter BmrA from Bacillus subtilis, both belonging to the same division of P-loop fold NTPases. We review the magnetic-resonance strategies which can be of use to probe the binding of the ATP-mimics, and present carbon-13, phosphorus-31, and vanadium-51 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the proteins or the bound molecules to unravel conformational and dynamic changes upon binding of the ATP-mimics. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and in particular W-band electron-electron double resonance (ELDOR)-detected NMR, is of complementary use to assess binding of vanadate. We discuss which analogues best mimic the different hydrolysis states for the DnaB helicase and the ABC transporter BmrA. These might be relevant also to structural and functional studies of other NTPases
What is the structure of the Roper resonance?
We investigate the structure of the nucleon resonance N^*(1440) (Roper)
within a coupled-channel meson exchange model for pion-nucleon scattering. The
coupling to pipiN states is realized effectively by the coupling to the sigmaN,
piDelta and rhoN channels. The interaction within and between these channels is
derived from an effective Lagrangian based on a chirally symmetric Lagrangian,
which is supplemented by well known terms for the coupling of the Delta isobar,
the omega meson and the 'sigma', which is the name given here to the strong
correlation of two pions in the scalar-isoscalar channel. In this model the
Roper resonance can be described by meson-baryon dynamics alone; no genuine
N^*(1440) (3 quark) resonance is needed in order to fit piN phase shifts and
inelasticities.Comment: 55 pages, 14 figure
Central radio galaxies in galaxy clusters: Joint surveys by eROSITA and ASKAP
The extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA)
telescope onboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission has finished the
first eROSITA All-Sky Survey (eRASS:1), and detected 10 galaxy clusters in
the western Galactic hemisphere. In the radio band, the Australian Square
Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope finished its pilot 1 phase of the
project 'Evolutionary Map of the Universe' (EMU) with 220.000 sources in a 270
deg field overlapping with eRASS:1. These two surveys are used to study
radio-mode Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in clusters. In order to understand the
efficiency of radio-mode feedback at the centers of galaxy clusters, we relate
the radio properties of brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) to the X-ray
properties of the host clusters. We identify the central radio sources in
eRASS:1 clusters or calculate corresponding upper limits on the radio
luminosity. Then, we derive relations between the X-ray properties of the
clusters and the radio properties of the corresponding central radio source. We
also apply a mid-infrared color criterion using WISE colors to identify AGN. In
total we investigate a sample of 75 clusters. We find a statistically
significant correlation between the X-ray luminosity of the cluster and the 944
MHz radio luminosity of the corresponding central radio galaxy. There is also a
positive trend between the radio power and the largest linear size (LLS) of the
radio source. The density and the LLS do not show any correlation. We find that
in high luminosity clusters with L_X > erg s the kinetic
luminosity of the radio jets is not longer correlated with the X-ray luminosity
and discuss various reasons. We find an anti-correlation between the central
cooling time t_cool and the radio luminosity L_R indicating a need for more
powerful AGN in clusters with short central cooling times.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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