329 research outputs found
Time-dependent photoionization of azulene: Competition between ionization and relaxation in highly excited states
Pump-probe photoionization has been used to map the relaxation processes taking place from highly vibrationally excited levels of the S2 state of azulene, populated directly or via internal conversion from the S4 state. Photoelectron spectra obtained by 1+2â two-color time-resolved photoelectron imaging are invariant (apart from in intensity) to the pump-probe time delay and to pump wavelength. This reveals a photoionization process which is driven by an unstable electronic state (e.g. doubly excited state) lying below the ionization potential. This state is postulated to be populated by a probe transition from S2 and to rapidly relax via an Auger like process onto highly
vibrationally excited Rydberg states. This accounts for the time invariance of the photoelectron spectrum. The intensity of the photoelectron spectrum is proportional to the population in S2. An exponential energy gap law is used to describe the internal conversion rate from S2 to S0. The
vibronic coupling strength is found to be larger than 60±5 ΌeV
Laser-induced electron emission from a tungsten nanotip: identifying above threshold photoemission using energy-resolved laser power dependencies
We present an experiment studying the interaction of a strongly focused 25 fs
laser pulse with a tungsten nanotip, investigating the different regimes of
laser-induced electron emission. We study the dependence of the electron yield
with respect to the static electric field applied to the tip. Photoelectron
spectra are recorded using a retarding field spectrometer and peaks separated
by the photon energy are observed with a 45 % contrast. They are a clear
signature of above threshold photoemission (ATP), and are confirmed by
extensive spectrally resolved studies of the laser power dependence.
Understanding these mechanisms opens the route to control experiment in the
strong-field regime on nanoscale objects.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
The Non--Ergodicity Threshold: Time Scale for Magnetic Reversal
We prove the existence of a non-ergodicity threshold for an anisotropic
classical Heisenberg model with all-to-all couplings. Below the threshold, the
energy surface is disconnected in two components with positive and negative
magnetizations respectively. Above, in a fully chaotic regime, magnetization
changes sign in a stochastic way and its behavior can be fully characterized by
an average magnetization reversal time. We show that statistical mechanics
predicts a phase--transition at an energy higher than the non-ergodicity
threshold. We assess the dynamical relevance of the latter for finite systems
through numerical simulations and analytical calculations. In particular, the
time scale for magnetic reversal diverges as a power law at the ergodicity
threshold with a size-dependent exponent, which could be a signature of the
phenomenon.Comment: 4 pages 4 figure
One-step facial feminization surgery: The importance of a custom-made preoperative planning and patient satisfaction assessment
Background: The availability of more accurate techniques used for transgender surgery has resulted in an increased number of patients requesting facial feminization surgery (FFS). The aim of this study was to present the FFS pre-operative planning of the authorsâ male-to-female transsexual patients using photo-editing software, computer-aided design (CAD), modeling, and three-dimensional (3D) printing. Material and Methods: Twenty-five patients underwent FFS between November 2015 and May 2018. They were retrospectively included in this study, and their records were analyzed. Patientsâ 3D facial models were printed and used for an accurate preoperative planning and shown to the patients. To assess patient satisfaction, the preoperative, six-month, and one-year postoperative scores obtained using Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) were compared. The scores following a normal distribution obtained for each patient were compared using a paired t-test. Results: The 3D model preparation mean time was 145±13.2 min. A total of 114 surgical procedures were carried out. The mean operative time was 420±23 min. Patients experienced no postoperative complication. All patients were very satisfied after surgery, with a significant difference between pre- and postoperative scores (p = 0.002; p = 0.03). Conclusion: With use of 3D modeling, surgeons are nearing a custom-made surgery era, especially required for complex procedures such as FFS. We suggest using 3D technology for a more accurate preoperative planning
Unbiasing the density of TTV-characterised sub-Neptunes: Update of the mass-radius relationship of 34 Kepler planets
Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) can provide useful information on compact
multi-planetary systems observed by transits, by putting constraints on the
masses and eccentricities of the observed planets. This is especially helpful
when the host star is not bright enough for radial velocity follow-up. However,
in the past decades, numerous works have shown that TTV-characterised planets
tend to have a lower densities than RV-characterised planets. Re-analysing 34
Kepler planets in the super-Earth to sub-Neptunes range using the RIVERS
approach, we show that at least part of these discrepancies was due to the way
transit timings were extracted from the light curve, which had a tendency to
under-estimate the TTV amplitudes. We recover robust mass estimates (i.e. low
prior dependency) for 23 of the planets. We compare these planets the
RV-characterised population. A large fraction of these previously had a
surprisingly low density now occupy a place of the mass-radius diagram much
closer to the bulk of the known planets, although a slight shift toward lower
densities remains, which could indicate that the compact multi-planetary
systems characterised by TTVs are indeed composed of planets which are
different from the bulk of the RV-characterised population. These results are
especially important for obtaining an unbiased view of the compact
multi-planetary systems detected by Kepler, TESS, and the upcoming PLATO
mission
Doubly resonant ultrachirped pulses
Ultrachirped pulses for which the frequency chirp is of the order of the
transition frequency of a two-level atom are examined. When the chirp is large
enough, the resonance may be crossed twice, for positive and negative
quadrature frequencies. In this scenario the analytic signal and quadrature
decompositions of the field into amplitude and phase factors turn out to be
quite different. The corresponding interaction pictures are strictly
equivalent, but only as long as approximations are not applied. The domain of
validity of the formal rotating wave approximation is dramatically enhanced
using the analytic signal representation
Novel insights into host-fungal pathogen interactions derived from live-cell imaging
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge funding from the Wellcome Trust (080088, 086827, 075470 and 099215) including a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377 and FP7-2007â2013 grant agreement HEALTH-F2-2010-260338âALLFUN to NARG.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Formation and interactions of cold and ultracold molecules: new challenges for interdisciplinary physics
Progress on researches in the field of molecules at cold and ultracold
temperatures is reported in this review. It covers extensively the experimental
methods to produce, detect and characterize cold and ultracold molecules
including association of ultracold atoms, deceleration by external fields and
kinematic cooling. Confinement of molecules in different kinds of traps is also
discussed. The basic theoretical issues related to the knowledge of the
molecular structure, the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule mutual
interactions, and to their possible manipulation and control with external
fields, are reviewed. A short discussion on the broad area of applications
completes the review.Comment: to appear in Reports on Progress in Physic
Force Sensitivity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Flocculins
Many fungal adhesins have short, -aggregation-prone sequences that play important functional roles, and in the Candida albicans adhesin Als5p, these sequences cluster the adhesins after exposure to shear force. Here, we report that Saccharomyces cerevisiae flocculins Flo11p and Flo1p have similar -aggregation-prone sequences and are similarly stimulated by shear force, despite being nonhomologous. Shear from vortex mixing induced the formation of small flocs in cells expressing either adhesin. After the addition of Ca2, yeast cells from vortex-sheared populations showed greatly enhanced flocculation and displayed more pronounced thioflavin-bright surface nanodomains. At high concentrations, amyloidophilic dyes inhibited Flo1p- and Flo11p-mediated agar invasion and the shear-induced increase in flocculation. Consistent with these results, atomic force microscopy of Flo11p showed successive force-distance peaks characteristic of sequentially unfolding tandem repeat domains, like Flo1p and Als5p. Flo11p-expressing cells bound together through homophilic interactions with adhesion forces of up to 700 pN and rupture lengths of up to 600 nm. These results are consistent with the potentiation of yeast flocculation by shear-induced formation of high-avidity domains of clustered adhesins at the cell surface, similar to the activation of Candida albicans adhesin Als5p. Thus, yeast adhesins from three independent gene families use similar force dependent interactions to drive cell adhesion
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