52 research outputs found
Turning light into a liquid via atomic coherence
We study a four level atomic system with electromagnetically induced
transparency with giant and susceptibilities of
opposite signs. This system would allow to obtain multidimensional solitons and
light condensates with surface tension properties analogous to those of usual
liquids
Controlling pulse propagation in optical fibers through nonlinearity and dispersion management
In case of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with designed group velocity
dispersion, variable nonlinearity and gain/loss; we analytically demonstrate
the phenomenon of chirp reversal crucial for pulse reproduction. Two different
scenarios are exhibited, where the pulses experience identical dispersion
profiles, but show entirely different propagation behavior. Exact expressions
for dynamical quasi-solitons and soliton bound-states relevant for fiber
communication are also exhibited.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figure
Radially symmetric and azimuthally modulated vortex solitons supported by localized gain
We discover that a spatially localized gain supports stable vortex solitons
in media with cubic nonlinearity and two-photon absorption. The interplay
between nonlinear losses and gain in amplifying rings results in suppression of
otherwise ubiquitous azimuthal modulation instabilities of radially symmetric
vortex solitons. We uncover that the topology of the gain profile imposes
restrictions on the maximal possible charge of vortex solitons. Symmetry
breaking occurs at high gain levels resulting in the formation of necklace
vortex solitons composed of asymmetric bright spots.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Optics Letter
Vortex twins and anti-twins supported by multi-ring gain landscapes
We address the properties of multi-vortex soliton complexes supported by
multi-ring gain landscapes in focusing Kerr nonlinear media with strong
two-photon absorption. Stable complexes incorporating two, three, or four
vortices featuring opposite or identical topological charges are shown to
exist. In the simplest geometries with two amplifying rings vortex twins with
equal topological charges exhibit asymmetric intensity distributions, while
vortex anti-twins may be symmetric or asymmetric, depending on the gain level
and separation between rings. Different arrangements of amplifying rings allow
generation of stable multi-vortex soliton complexes with various topologies,
with twins and anti-twins as building blocks.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Optics Letter
Nonlinear vortex light beams supported and stabilized by dissipation
We describe nonlinear Bessel vortex beams as localized and stationary
solutions with embedded vorticity to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with
a dissipative term that accounts for the multi-photon absorption processes
taking place at high enough powers in common optical media. In these beams,
power and orbital angular momentum are permanently transferred to matter in the
inner, nonlinear rings, at the same time that they are refueled by spiral
inward currents of energy and angular momentum coming from the outer linear
rings, acting as an intrinsic reservoir. Unlike vortex solitons and dissipative
vortex solitons, the existence of these vortex beams does not critically depend
on the precise form of the dispersive nonlinearities, as Kerr self-focusing or
self-defocusing, and do not require a balancing gain. They have been shown to
play a prominent role in "tubular" filamentation experiments with powerful,
vortex-carrying Bessel beams, where they act as attractors in the beam
propagation dynamics. Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams provide indeed a new
solution to the problem of the stable propagation of ring-shaped vortex light
beams in homogeneous self-focusing Kerr media. A stability analysis
demonstrates that there exist nonlinear Bessel vortex beams with single or
multiple vorticity that are stable against azimuthal breakup and collapse, and
that the mechanism that renders these vortexes stable is dissipation. The
stability properties of nonlinear Bessel vortex beams explain the experimental
observations in the tubular filamentation experiments.Comment: Chapter of boo
Ultrashort filaments of light in weakly-ionized, optically-transparent media
Modern laser sources nowadays deliver ultrashort light pulses reaching few
cycles in duration, high energies beyond the Joule level and peak powers
exceeding several terawatt (TW). When such pulses propagate through
optically-transparent media, they first self-focus in space and grow in
intensity, until they generate a tenuous plasma by photo-ionization. For free
electron densities and beam intensities below their breakdown limits, these
pulses evolve as self-guided objects, resulting from successive equilibria
between the Kerr focusing process, the chromatic dispersion of the medium, and
the defocusing action of the electron plasma. Discovered one decade ago, this
self-channeling mechanism reveals a new physics, widely extending the frontiers
of nonlinear optics. Implications include long-distance propagation of TW beams
in the atmosphere, supercontinuum emission, pulse shortening as well as
high-order harmonic generation. This review presents the landmarks of the
10-odd-year progress in this field. Particular emphasis is laid to the
theoretical modeling of the propagation equations, whose physical ingredients
are discussed from numerical simulations. Differences between femtosecond
pulses propagating in gaseous or condensed materials are underlined. Attention
is also paid to the multifilamentation instability of broad, powerful beams,
breaking up the energy distribution into small-scale cells along the optical
path. The robustness of the resulting filaments in adverse weathers, their
large conical emission exploited for multipollutant remote sensing, nonlinear
spectroscopy, and the possibility to guide electric discharges in air are
finally addressed on the basis of experimental results.Comment: 50 pages, 38 figure
Stable spinning optical solitons in three dimensions
We introduce spatiotemporal spinning solitons (vortex tori) of the
three-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation with focusing cubic and
defocusing quintic nonlinearities. The first ever found completely stable
spatiotemporal vortex solitons are demonstrated. A general conclusion is that
stable spinning solitons are possible as a result of competition between
focusing and defocusing nonlinearities.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Epitope Density Influences CD8+ Memory T Cell Differentiation
The generation of long-lived memory T cells is critical for successful vaccination but the factors controlling their differentiation are still poorly defined. We tested the hypothesis that the strength of T cell receptor (TCR) signaling contributed to memory CD8(+) T cell generation.We manipulated the density of antigenic epitope presented by dendritic cells to mouse naĂŻve CD8(+) T cells, without varying TCR affinity. Our results show that a two-fold decrease in antigen dose selectively affects memory CD8(+) T cell generation without influencing T cell expansion and acquisition of effector functions. Moreover, we show that low antigen dose alters the duration of the interaction between T cells and dendritic cells and finely tunes the expression level of the transcription factors Eomes and Bcl6. Furthermore, we demonstrate that priming with higher epitope density results in a 2-fold decrease in the expression of Neuron-derived orphan nuclear receptor 1 (Nor-1) and this correlates with a lower level of conversion of Bcl-2 into a pro-apoptotic molecule and an increased number of memory T cells.Our results show that the amount of antigen encountered by naĂŻve CD8(+) T cells following immunization with dendritic cells does not influence the generation of functional effector CD8(+) T cells but rather the number of CD8(+) memory T cells that persist in the host. Our data support a model where antigenic epitope density sensed by CD8(+) T cells at priming influences memory generation by modulating Bcl6, Eomes and Nor-1 expression
Potencialidade agrĂcola das terras da AmazĂ´nia Ocidental.
Amazônia. Descrição geral da área. Geomorfologia. Hidrologia. Clima. Vegetação. Agricultura. Pecuária. Extrativismo vegetal. Extrativismo mineral. Vias de transporte. Descrição das unidades de solo. Relação dos perfis de solos. Possibilidades dos solos para uso agropecuário. Recomendações sobre a utilização agropecuária dos solos
Thymic selection threshold defined by compartmentalization of Ras/MAPK signalling.
A healthy individual can mount an immune response to exogenous pathogens while avoiding an autoimmune attack on normal tissues. The ability to distinguish between self and non-self is called 'immunological tolerance' and, for T lymphocytes, involves the generation of a diverse pool of functional T cells through positive selection and the removal of overtly self-reactive thymocytes by negative selection during T-cell ontogeny. To elucidate how thymocytes arrive at these cell fate decisions, here we have identified ligands that define an extremely narrow gap spanning the threshold that distinguishes positive from negative selection. We show that, at the selection threshold, a small increase in ligand affinity for the T-cell antigen receptor leads to a marked change in the activation and subcellular localization of Ras and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling intermediates and the induction of negative selection. The ability to compartmentalize signalling molecules differentially in the cell endows the thymocyte with the ability to convert a small change in analogue input (affinity) into a digital output (positive versus negative selection) and provides the basis for establishing central tolerance
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