175 research outputs found
Ramifications of Optical Pumping on the Interpretation of Time-Resolved Photoemission Experiments on Graphene
In pump-probe time and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES)
experiments the presence of the pump pulse adds a new level of complexity to
the photoemission process in comparison to conventional ARPES. This is
evidenced by pump-induced vacuum space-charge effects and surface
photovoltages, as well as multiple pump excitations due to internal reflections
in the sample-substrate system. These processes can severely affect a correct
interpretation of the data by masking the out-of-equilibrium electron dynamics
intrinsic to the sample. In this study, we show that such effects indeed
influence TR-ARPES data of graphene on a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate. In
particular, we find a time- and laser fluence-dependent spectral shift and
broadening of the acquired spectra, and unambiguously show the presence of a
double pump excitation. The dynamics of these effects is slower than the
electron dynamics in the graphene sample, thereby permitting us to deconvolve
the signals in the time domain. Our results demonstrate that complex
pump-related processes should always be considered in the experimental setup
and data analysis.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
rEHR: An R package for manipulating and analysing Electronic Health Record data
Research with structured Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is expanding as data becomes more accessible; analytic methods advance; and the scientific validity of such studies is increasingly accepted. However, data science methodology to enable the rapid searching/extraction, cleaning and analysis of these large, often complex, datasets is less well developed. In addition, commonly used software is inadequate, resulting in bottlenecks in research workflows and in obstacles to increased transparency and reproducibility of the research. Preparing a research-ready dataset from EHRs is a complex and time consuming task requiring substantial data science skills, even for simple designs. In addition, certain aspects of the workflow are computationally intensive, for example extraction of longitudinal data and matching controls to a large cohort, which may take days or even weeks to run using standard software. The rEHR package simplifies and accelerates the process of extracting ready-for-analysis datasets from EHR databases. It has a simple import function to a database backend that greatly accelerates data access times. A set of generic query functions allow users to extract data efficiently without needing detailed knowledge of SQL queries. Longitudinal data extractions can also be made in a single command, making use of parallel processing. The package also contains functions for cutting data by time-varying covariates, matching controls to cases, unit conversion and construction of clinical code lists. There are also functions to synthesise dummy EHR. The package has been tested with one for the largest primary care EHRs, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), but allows for a common interface to other EHRs. This simplified and accelerated work flow for EHR data extraction results in simpler, cleaner scripts that are more easily debugged, shared and reproduced
Ultrafast Dynamics of Massive Dirac Fermions in Bilayer Graphene
Bilayer graphene is a highly promising material for electronic and
optoelectronic applications since it is supporting massive Dirac fermions with
a tuneable band gap. However, no consistent picture of the gap's effect on the
optical and transport behavior has emerged so far, and it has been proposed
that the insulating nature of the gap could be compromised by unavoidable
structural defects, by topological in-gap states, or that the electronic
structure could be altogether changed by many-body effects. Here we directly
follow the excited carriers in bilayer graphene on a femtosecond time scale,
using ultrafast time- and angle-resolved photoemission. We find a behavior
consistent with a single-particle band gap. Compared to monolayer graphene, the
existence of this band gap leads to an increased carrier lifetime in the
minimum of the lowest conduction band. This is in sharp contrast to the second
sub-state of the conduction band, in which the excited electrons decay through
fast, phonon-assisted inter-band transitions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Possible observation of parametrically amplified coherent phasons in K0.3MoO3 using time-resolved extreme-ultraviolet ARPES
We use time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-ARPES) in the
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) to measure the time- and momentum-dependent
electronic structure of photo-excited K0.3MoO3. Prompt depletion of the Charge
Density Wave (CDW) condensate launches coherent oscillations of the amplitude
mode, observed as a 1.7-THz-frequency modulation of the bonding band position.
In contrast, the anti-bonding band oscillates at about half this frequency. We
attribute these oscillations to coherent excitation of phasons via parametric
amplification of phase fluctuations.Comment: 4 figure
Asymmetric emission of high energy electrons in the two-dimensional hydrodynamic expansion of large xenon clusters irradiated by intense laser fields
Energy spectra and angular distributions have been measured of electrons that
are emitted upon disassembly of following irradiation by intense
(10 W cm) laser pulses whose durations are varied over
the 100-2200 fs range. The cluster explosion dynamics occur in the hydrodynamic
regime. Electron emission is found to be unexpectedly asymmetric and exhibits a
resonance when the laser pulse duration is 1 ps. These results are
rationalized by extending the hydrodynamic model to also take into account the
force that the light field exerts on the polarization charge that is induced on
surface of the cluster. We show that the magnitude of this electrostrictive
force is comparable to those of Coulombic and the hydrodynamic forces, and it
exhibits resonance behavior. Contrary to earlier understanding, we find that
low-energy electrons are connected to the resonance in energy absorption by the
cluster. The high-energy electrons seem to be produced by a mechanism that is
not so strongly influenced by the resonance.Comment: 1 Revtex file, 8 figs. in eps forma
Evolution of Ultracold, Neutral Plasmas
We present the first large-scale simulations of an ultracold, neutral plasma,
produced by photoionization of laser-cooled xenon atoms, from creation to
initial expansion, using classical molecular dynamics methods with open
boundary conditions. We reproduce many of the experimental findings such as the
trapping efficiency of electrons with increased ion number, a minimum electron
temperature achieved on approach to the photoionization threshold, and
recombination into Rydberg states of anomalously-low principal quantum number.
In addition, many of these effects establish themselves very early in the
plasma evolution ( ns) before present experimental observations begin.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Modelling Conditions and Health Care Processes in Electronic Health Records : An Application to Severe Mental Illness with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink
BACKGROUND: The use of Electronic Health Records databases for medical research has become mainstream. In the UK, increasing use of Primary Care Databases is largely driven by almost complete computerisation and uniform standards within the National Health Service. Electronic Health Records research often begins with the development of a list of clinical codes with which to identify cases with a specific condition. We present a methodology and accompanying Stata and R commands (pcdsearch/Rpcdsearch) to help researchers in this task. We present severe mental illness as an example. METHODS: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK Primary Care Database in which clinical information is largely organised using Read codes, a hierarchical clinical coding system. Pcdsearch is used to identify potentially relevant clinical codes and/or product codes from word-stubs and code-stubs suggested by clinicians. The returned code-lists are reviewed and codes relevant to the condition of interest are selected. The final code-list is then used to identify patients. RESULTS: We identified 270 Read codes linked to SMI and used them to identify cases in the database. We observed that our approach identified cases that would have been missed with a simpler approach using SMI registers defined within the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework. CONCLUSION: We described a framework for researchers of Electronic Health Records databases, for identifying patients with a particular condition or matching certain clinical criteria. The method is invariant to coding system or database and can be used with SNOMED CT, ICD or other medical classification code-lists
Mapping the Complete Reaction Path of a Complex Photochemical Reaction
We probe the dynamics of dissociating CS2 molecules across the entire reaction pathway upon excitation. Photoelectron spectroscopy measurements using laboratory-generated femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses monitor the competing dissociation, internal conversion, and intersystem crossing dynamics. Dissociation occurs either in the initially excited singlet manifold or, via intersystem crossing, in the triplet manifold. Both product channels are monitored and show that despite being more rapid, the singlet dissociation is the minor product and that triplet state products dominate the final yield. We explain this by consideration of accurate potential energy curves for both the singlet and triplet states. We propose that rapid internal conversion stabilises the singlet population dynamically, allowing for singlet-triplet relaxation via intersystem crossing and efficient formation of spin-forbidden dissociation products on longer timescales. The study demonstrates the importance of measuring the full reaction pathway for defining accurate reaction mechanisms
Enhanced ionization in small rare gas clusters
A detailed theoretical investigation of rare gas atom clusters under intense
short laser pulses reveals that the mechanism of energy absorption is akin to
{\it enhanced ionization} first discovered for diatomic molecules. The
phenomenon is robust under changes of the atomic element (neon, argon, krypton,
xenon), the number of atoms in the cluster (16 to 30 atoms have been studied)
and the fluency of the laser pulse. In contrast to molecules it does not
dissappear for circular polarization. We develop an analytical model relating
the pulse length for maximum ionization to characteristic parameters of the
cluster
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