877 research outputs found
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of heavy-metal transport and fate in an artificial biofilm
Unlike planktonic systems, reaction rates in biofilms are often limited by mass transport, which controls the rate of supply of contaminants into the biofilm matrix. To help understand this phenomenon, we investigated the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to spatially quantify copper transport and fate in biofilms. For this initial study we utilized an artificial biofilm composed of a 50:50 mix of bacteria and agar. MRI successfully mapped Cu2+ uptake into the artificial biofilm by mapping T2 relaxation rates. A calibration protocol was used to convert T2 values into actual copper concentrations. Immobilization rates in the artificial biofilm were slow compared to the rapid equilibration of planktonic systems. Even after 36 h, the copper front had migrated only 3 mm into the artificial biofilm and at this distance from the copper source, concentrations were very low. This slow equilibration is a result of (1) the time it takes copper to diffuse over such distances and (2) the adsorption of copper onto cell surfaces, which further impedes copper diffusion. The success of this trial run indicates MRI could be used to quantitatively map heavy metal transport and immobilization in natural biofilms
Quantum theory of light and noise polarization in nonlinear optics
We present a consistent quantum theory of the electromagnetic field in
nonlinearly responding causal media, with special emphasis on
media. Starting from QED in linearly responding causal media, we develop a
method to construct the nonlinear Hamiltonian expressed in terms of the complex
nonlinear susceptibility in a quantum mechanically consistent way. In
particular we show that the method yields the nonlinear noise polarization,
which together with the linear one is responsible for intrinsic quantum
decoherence.Comment: 4 pages, no figure
Nonlinear optical response in doped conjugated polymers
Exciton effects on conjugated polymers are investigated in soliton lattice
states. We use the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with long-range Coulomb
interactions. The Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation and the single-excitation
configuration- interaction (single-CI) method are used to obtain optical
absorption spectra. The third-harmonic generation (THG) at off-resonant
frequencies is calculated as functions of the soliton concentration and the
chain length of the polymer. The magnitude of the THG at the 10 percent doping
increases by the factor about 10^2 from that of the neutral system. This is
owing to the accumulation of the oscillator strengths at the lowest exciton
with increasing the soliton concentration. The increase by the order two is
common for several choices of Coulomb interaction strengths.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
Tunneling of magnetization versus spin-phonon and spin-spin transitions in LiY_0.998Ho_0.002F_4
Strong hyperfine coupling in a 0.2% Holmium doped LiYF_4 single crystal
induces staircaselike hysteresis loops of the magnetization at very low
temperatures. The field sweep rate dependence of hysteresis loops allows the
study of two different regimes in the magnetic relaxation of these weakly
coupled magnetic moments. At slow field sweep rates, quantum tunneling of the
magnetization occurs at avoided level crossings in the low-energy scheme of a
single ion Ho^3+. At faster sweep rates, nonequilibrated spin-phonon and
spin-spin transitions, mediated by weak dipolar interactions, lead to
magnetization oscillations and additional steps.Comment: 4 figures, Conference proceeding: 1st Joint European Magnetic
Symposia (JEMS01'), Grenoble (France), 28th August - 1st September, 200
Nonlinear spectroscopic studies using sum- and difference-frequency generation
A detailed study is presented of resonant sum- and difference-frequency generation for the mixed-crystal system azulene in naphthalene. The S0 -> S1, S0 -> S2 and S1 -> S2 transitions of azulene provide the 3 needed dipoles for the existence of c(2), and a relatively small static elec. field was used to break the interference between the waves generated in the 2 crystal sublattices. Second-order nonlinear processes can occur sep. in each sublattice. All the theor. predicted resonances, except the DICE effect, were obsd. The generated field intensity satd. at higher fields, and in certain circumstances exhibited hysteresis as a function of the d.c. field strength. The line-narrowing capabilities of these new forms of spectroscopy were explored
Effective Hamiltonians in quantum optics: a systematic approach
We discuss a general and systematic method for obtaining effective
Hamiltonians that describe different nonlinear optical processes. The method
exploits the existence of a nonlinear deformation of the usual su(2) algebra
that arises as the dynamical symmetry of the original model. When some physical
parameter, dictated by the process under consideration, becomes small, we
immediately get a diagonal effective Hamiltonian that correctly represents the
dynamics for arbitrary states and long times. We extend the technique to su(3)
and su(N), finding the corresponding effective Hamiltonians when some resonance
conditions are fulfilled.Comment: 13 Pages, no figures, submitted for publicatio
Statistical Theory of Spin Relaxation and Diffusion in Solids
A comprehensive theoretical description is given for the spin relaxation and
diffusion in solids. The formulation is made in a general
statistical-mechanical way. The method of the nonequilibrium statistical
operator (NSO) developed by D. N. Zubarev is employed to analyze a relaxation
dynamics of a spin subsystem. Perturbation of this subsystem in solids may
produce a nonequilibrium state which is then relaxed to an equilibrium state
due to the interaction between the particles or with a thermal bath (lattice).
The generalized kinetic equations were derived previously for a system weakly
coupled to a thermal bath to elucidate the nature of transport and relaxation
processes. In this paper, these results are used to describe the relaxation and
diffusion of nuclear spins in solids. The aim is to formulate a successive and
coherent microscopic description of the nuclear magnetic relaxation and
diffusion in solids. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation is considered and the
Gorter relation is derived. As an example, a theory of spin diffusion of the
nuclear magnetic moment in dilute alloys (like Cu-Mn) is developed. It is shown
that due to the dipolar interaction between host nuclear spins and impurity
spins, a nonuniform distribution in the host nuclear spin system will occur and
consequently the macroscopic relaxation time will be strongly determined by the
spin diffusion. The explicit expressions for the relaxation time in certain
physically relevant cases are given.Comment: 41 pages, 119 Refs. Corrected typos, added reference
New Mechanism for Electronic Energy Relaxation in Nanocrystals
The low-frequency vibrational spectrum of an isolated nanometer-scale solid
differs dramatically from that of a bulk crystal, causing the decay of a
localized electronic state by phonon emission to be inhibited. We show,
however, that an electron can also interact with the rigid translational motion
of a nanocrystal. The form of the coupling is dictated by the equivalence
principle and is independent of the ordinary electron-phonon interaction. We
calculate the rate of nonradiative energy relaxation provided by this mechanism
and establish its experimental observability.Comment: 4 pages, Submitted to Physical Review
Spin Dynamics in the LTT Phase of ~1/8 Doped Single Crystal La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4
We present La and Cu NMR relaxation measurements in single crystal
La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4. A strong peak in the La spin-lattice
relaxation rate observed in the spin ordered state is well-described by the BPP
mechanism[1] and arises from continuous slowing of electronic spin fluctuations
with decreasing temperature; these spin fluctuations exhibit XY-like anisotropy
in the ordered state. The spin pseudogap is enhanced by the static
charge-stripe order in the LTT phase.Comment: Four pages, three figure
Inhomogeneous Low Frequency Spin Dynamics in La_{1.65}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4
We report Cu and La nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements in the
title compound that reveal an inhomogeneous glassy behavior of the spin
dynamics. A low temperature peak in the La spin lattice relaxation rate and the
``wipeout'' of Cu intensity both arise from these slow electronic spin
fluctuations that reveal a distribution of activation energies. Inhomogeneous
slowing of spin fluctuations appears to be a general feature of doped lanthanum
cuprate.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Very slight modifications to figure
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