72 research outputs found
Electric field and exciton structure in CdSe nanocrystals
Quantum Stark effect in semiconductor nanocrystals is theoretically
investigated, using the effective mass formalism within a
Baldereschi-Lipari Hamiltonian model for the hole states. General expressions
are reported for the hole eigenfunctions at zero electric field. Electron and
hole single particle energies as functions of the electric field
() are reported. Stark shift and binding energy of the
excitonic levels are obtained by full diagonalization of the correlated
electron-hole Hamiltonian in presence of the external field. Particularly, the
structure of the lower excitonic states and their symmetry properties in CdSe
nanocrystals are studied. It is found that the dependence of the exciton
binding energy upon the applied field is strongly reduced for small quantum dot
radius. Optical selection rules for absorption and luminescence are obtained.
The electric-field induced quenching of the optical spectra as a function of
is studied in terms of the exciton dipole matrix element. It
is predicted that photoluminescence spectra present anomalous field dependence
of the emission lines. These results agree in magnitude with experimental
observation and with the main features of photoluminescence experiments in
nanostructures.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Separating the Early Universe from the Late Universe: cosmological parameter estimation beyond the black box
We present a method for measuring the cosmic matter budget without
assumptions about speculative Early Universe physics, and for measuring the
primordial power spectrum P*(k) non-parametrically, either by combining CMB and
LSS information or by using CMB polarization. Our method complements currently
fashionable ``black box'' cosmological parameter analysis, constraining
cosmological models in a more physically intuitive fashion by mapping
measurements of CMB, weak lensing and cluster abundance into k-space, where
they can be directly compared with each other and with galaxy and Lyman alpha
forest clustering. Including the new CBI results, we find that CMB measurements
of P(k) overlap with those from 2dF galaxy clustering by over an order of
magnitude in scale, and even overlap with weak lensing measurements. We
describe how our approach can be used to raise the ambition level beyond
cosmological parameter fitting as data improves, testing rather than assuming
the underlying physics.Comment: Replaced to match accepted PRD version. Refs added. Combined CMB data
and window functions at http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~max/pwindows.html or from
[email protected]. 18 figs, 19 journal page
A delicate balance between antibody evasion and ACE2 affinity for Omicron BA.2.75
Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have caused successive global waves of infection. These variants, with multiple mutations in the spike protein, are thought to facilitate escape from natural and vaccine-induced immunity and often increase in affinity for ACE2. The latest variant to cause concern is BA.2.75, identified in India where it is now the dominant strain, with evidence of wider dissemination. BA.2.75 is derived from BA.2 and contains four additional mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Here, we perform an antigenic and biophysical characterization of BA.2.75, revealing an interesting balance between humoral evasion and ACE2 receptor affinity. ACE2 affinity for BA.2.75 is increased 9-fold compared with BA.2; there is also evidence of escape of BA.2.75 from immune serum, particularly that induced by Delta infection, which may explain the rapid spread in India, where where there is a high background of Delta infection. ACE2 affinity appears to be prioritized over greater escape
Rapid escape of new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants from BA.2-directed antibody responses
In November 2021, Omicron BA.1, containing a raft of new spike mutations, emerged and quickly spread globally. Intense selection pressure to escape the antibody response produced by vaccines or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection then led to a rapid succession of Omicron sub-lineages with waves of BA.2 and then BA.4/5 infection. Recently, many variants have emerged such as BQ.1 and XBB, which carry up to 8 additional receptor-binding domain (RBD) amino acid substitutions compared with BA.2. We describe a panel of 25 potent monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) generated from vaccinees suffering BA.2 breakthrough infections. Epitope mapping shows potent mAb binding shifting to 3 clusters, 2 corresponding to early-pandemic binding hotspots. The RBD mutations in recent variants map close to these binding sites and knock out or severely knock down neutralization activity of all but 1 potent mAb. This recent mAb escape corresponds with large falls in neutralization titer of vaccine or BA.1, BA.2, or BA.4/5 immune serum
A search for the decay
We search for the rare flavor-changing neutral-current decay in a data sample of 82 fb collected with the {\sl BABAR}
detector at the PEP-II B-factory. Signal events are selected by examining the
properties of the system recoiling against either a reconstructed hadronic or
semileptonic charged-B decay. Using these two independent samples we obtain a
combined limit of
at the 90% confidence level. In addition, by selecting for pions rather than
kaons, we obtain a limit of using only the hadronic B reconstruction method.Comment: 7 pages, 8 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
High-reflectivity broadband distributed Bragg reflector lattice matched to ZnTe
We report on the realization of a high quality distributed Bragg reflector
with both high and low refractive index layers lattice matched to ZnTe. Our
structure is grown by molecular beam epitaxy and is based on binary compounds
only. The high refractive index layer is made of ZnTe, while the low index
material is made of a short period triple superlattice containing MgSe, MgTe,
and ZnTe. The high refractive index step of Delta_n=0.5 in the structure
results in a broad stopband and the reflectivity coefficient exceeding 99% for
only 15 Bragg pairs.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access
Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives
Measurement of the electron energy spectrum and its moments in inclusive B -> Xe nu decays
We report a measurement of the inclusive electron energy spectrum for semileptonic decays of B mesons in a data sample of 52 million Y(4S)-->B(B) over bar decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B-meson factory at SLAC. We determine the branching fraction, first, second, and third moments of the spectrum for lower cutoffs on the electron energy between 0.6 and 1.5 GeV. We measure the partial branching fraction to be B(B-->Xenu,E-e>0.6 GeV)=[10.36+/-0.06(stat.)+/-0.23(sys.)]%
Improved measurement of CP asymmetries in B-0 ->(c(c)over-bar)K0((*)) decays
We present results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in neutral B decays to several CP eigenstates. The measurements use a data sample of about 227x10(6) Upsilon(4S)-> B (B) over bar decays collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at SLAC. The amplitude of the CPasymmetry, sin2 beta in the standard model, is derived from decay-time distributions from events in which one neutral B meson is fully reconstructed in a final state containing a charmonium meson and the other B meson is determined to be either a B-0 or (0) from its decay products. We measure sin2 beta=0.722 +/- 0.040(stat)+/- 0.023(syst) in agreement with the standard model expectation
The three dimensional structure of foot and mouth disease virus
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