Two-dimensional hole precession in an all-semiconductor spin field effect transistor

We present a theoretical study of a spin field-effect transistor realized in a quantum well formed in a p--doped ferromagnetic-semiconductor- nonmagnetic-semiconductor-ferromagnetic-semiconductor hybrid structure. Based on an envelope-function approach for the hole bands in the various regions of the transistor, we derive the complete theory of coherent transport through the device, which includes both heavy- and light-hole subbands, proper modeling of the mode matching at interfaces, integration over injection angles, Rashba spin precession, interference effects due to multiple reflections, and gate-voltage dependences. Numerical results for the device current as a function of externally tunable parameters are in excellent agreement with approximate analytical formulae.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure

The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks

We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks" observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book "Astrophysics in the Next Decade

Search for a massive resonance decaying into a Higgs boson and a W or Z boson in hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Truncating variant burden in high functioning autism and pleiotropic effects of lrp1 across psychiatric phenotypes

Background: Previous research has implicated de novo and inherited truncating mutations in autism-spectrum disorder. We aim to investigate whether the load of inherited truncating mutations contributes similarly to high-functioning autism, and to characterize genes that harbour de novo variants in high-functioning autism. Methods: We performed whole-exome sequencing in 20 high-functioning autism families (average IQ = 100). Results: We observed no difference in the number of transmitted versus nontransmitted truncating alleles for high-functioning autism (117 v. 130, p = 0.78). Transmitted truncating and de novo variants in high-functioning autism were not enriched in gene ontology (GO) or Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) categories, or in autism-related gene sets. However, in a patient with high-functioning autism we identified a de novo variant in a canonical splice site of LRP1, a postsynaptic density gene that is a target for fragile X mental retardation protein (FRMP). This de novo variant leads to in-frame skipping of exon 29, removing 2 of 6 blades of the β-propeller domain 4 of LRP1, with putative functional consequences. Large data sets implicate LRP1 across a number of psychiatric disorders: de novo variants are associated with autism-spectrum disorder (p = 0.039) and schizophrenia (p = 0.008) from combined sequencing projects; common variants using genome-wide association study data sets from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium show gene-based association in schizophrenia (p = 6.6 × E−07) and in a meta-analysis across 7 psychiatric disorders (p = 2.3 × E−03); and the burden of ultra-rare pathogenic variants has been shown to be higher in autism-spectrum disorder (p = 1.2 × E−05), using whole-exome sequencing from 6135 patients with schizophrenia, 1778 patients with autism-spectrum disorder and 7875 controls. Limitations: We had a limited sample of patients with high-functioning autism, related to difficulty in recruiting probands with high cognitive performance and no family history of psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: Previous studies and ours suggest an effect of truncating mutations restricted to severe autism-spectrum disorder phenotypes that are associated with intellectual disability. We provide evidence for pleiotropic effects of common and rare variants in the LRP1 gene across psychiatric phenotypes

Exploration of the Potential of the Radio-Detection Technique for the Detection of High-Energy Gamma Rays

International audienceThe radio detection of atmospheric particle showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays is today a proven technique that allows to reconstruct their properties (direction of arrival, energy, nature). Among the precursors of this method, the CODALEMA experiment installed at the Nançay radio-astronomy Observatory has contributed to several major technological innovations relevant for the radio detection technique (autonomous triggering, hybrid reconstruction, very wide frequency bands) and its high-performance antennas are also used on the NenuFAR radio telescope in Nançay. We propose to exploit the unique environment of the Nan\c cay Observatory through the CODALEMA experiment and the NenuFAR radio-telescope to explore the possibilities of radio-detection of atmospheric showers initiated by very high energy photons. The central idea is to phase a large set of antennas (several tens) in the direction of known sources emitting gamma (catalogs H.E.S.S., MAGIC, VERITAS, Fermi-LAT ...) to significantly increase the sensitivity of detection and to use the triggering capabilities on ultra fast transients controlled within the framework of CODALEMA. This would make it possible to observe the sources with a useful cycle close to 100 %. We present here the intended instrumental scheme as well as the expected signal level and some first results obtained on the observation of cosmic ray air showers with NenuFAR

The Physical oceanography of Singapore coastal waters and its implications for oil spills

10.1007/1-4020-3655-8_23tThe Environment in Asia Pacific Harbours393-41