Model Counting for Formulas of Bounded Clique-Width

We show that #SAT is polynomial-time tractable for classes of CNF formulas whose incidence graphs have bounded symmetric clique-width (or bounded clique-width, or bounded rank-width). This result strictly generalizes polynomial-time tractability results for classes of formulas with signed incidence graphs of bounded clique-width and classes of formulas with incidence graphs of bounded modular treewidth, which were the most general results of this kind known so far.Comment: Extended version of a paper published at ISAAC 201

Dependence of Spiral Galaxy Distribution on Viewing Angle in RC3

The normalized inclination distributions are presented for the spiral galaxies in RC3. The results show that, except for the bin of $81^{\circ}$-$90^{\circ}$, in which the apparent minor isophotal diameters that are used to obtain the inclinations, are affected by the central bulges, the distributions for Sa, Sab, Scd and Sd are well consistent with the Monte-Carlo simulation of random inclinations within 3-$\sigma$, and Sb and Sbc almost, but Sc is different. One reason for the difference between the real distribution and the Monte-Carlo simulation of Sc may be that some quite inclined spirals, the arms of which are inherently loosely wound on the galactic plane and should be classified to Sc galaxies, have been incorrectly classified to the earlier ones, because the tightness of spiral arms which is one of the criteria of the Hubble classification in RC3 is different between on the galactic plane and on the tangent plane of the celestial sphere. Our result also implies that there might exist biases in the luminosity functions of individual Hubble types if spiral galaxies are only classified visually.Comment: 5 pages + 8 figures, LaTe

Sequencing of folding events in Go-like proteins

We have studied folding mechanisms of three small globular proteins: crambin (CRN), chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) and the fyn Src Homology 3 domain (SH3) which are modelled by a Go-like Hamiltonian with the Lennard-Jones interactions. It is shown that folding is dominated by a well-defined sequencing of events as determined by establishment of particular contacts. The order of events depends primarily on the geometry of the native state. Variations in temperature, coupling strengths and viscosity affect the sequencing scenarios to a rather small extent. The sequencing is strongly correlated with the distance of the contacting aminoacids along the sequence. Thus $\alpha$-helices get established first. Crambin is found to behave like a single-route folder, whereas in CI2 and SH3 the folding trajectories are more diversified. The folding scenarios for CI2 and SH3 are consistent with experimental studies of their transition states.Comment: REVTeX, 12 pages, 11 EPS figures, J. Chem. Phys (in press

Effects of Ru Substitution on Dimensionality and Electron Correlations in Ba(Fe_{1-x}Ru_x)_2As_2

We report a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study on Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ for a wide range of Ru concentrations (0.15 $\leq$ \emph{x} $\leq$ 0.74). We observed a crossover from two-dimension to three-dimension for some of the hole-like Fermi surfaces with Ru substitution and a large reduction in the mass renormalization close to optimal doping. These results suggest that isovalent Ru substitution has remarkable effects on the low-energy electron excitations, which are important for the evolution of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in this system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Theory of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Tunnelling in Cuprate Superconductors

A theory capable of explaining intrinsic and extrinsic tunnelling conductance in underdoped cuprates has been devised that accounts for the existence of two energy scales, their temperature and doping dependencies. The asymmetry and inhomogeneity seen in extrinsic (normal metal - superconductor (NS)) tunnelling and the normal-state gapped intrinsic (SS) conductance is explained, as well as the superconducting gap and normal state pseudogap and the temperature dependence of the full gap.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, misprints correcte

Mapping the Electromagnetic Near-Field Enhancements of Gold Nanocubes

International audienceWe imaged and quantitatively characterized electromagnetic hot spots near the surfaces of plasmon resonant gold nanocubes. The strongest fields are localized at the nanocube corners as compared to those on the sides. The near-field enhancement on the surface of the cube was imaged as a function of incident polarization, leading to information on the localization of fields on specific regions on the surface. We found that the field intensity drops dramatically when the nanocube corner is slightly tilted with respect to the incident laser polarization. This dramatic dependence on angle was verified by electrodynamics simulations. These results will enable the use of gold nanocubes in field enhancement applications and refractive-index sensing

Tunnel barrier enhanced voltage signals generated by magnetization precession of a single ferromagnetic layer

We report the electrical detection of magnetization dynamics in an Al/AlOx/Ni80Fe20/Cu tunnel junction, where a Ni80Fe20 ferromagnetic layer is brought into precession under the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) conditions. The dc voltage generated across the junction by the precessing ferromagnet is enhanced about an order of magnitude compared to the voltage signal observed when the contacts in this type of multilayered structure are ohmic. We discuss the relation of this phenomenon to magnetic spin pumping and speculate on other possible underlying mechanisms responsible for the enhanced electrical signal

Utilizing active single-mode fiber injection for speckle nulling in exoplanet characterization

Despite recent advances in high-contrast imaging techniques, high resolution spectroscopy for characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is still limited by our ability to suppress residual starlight speckles at the planet’s location. We have demonstrated a new concept for speckle nulling by injecting directly imaged planet light into a single-mode fiber, linking a high-contrast adaptively-corrected coronagraph to a high-resolution spectrograph (diffraction-limited or not). The restrictions on the incident electric field that will couple into the single-mode fiber give the adaptive optics system additional degrees of freedom to suppress the speckle noise on top of destructive interference. We are able to achieve a starlight suppression gains that are an order of magnitude better than conventional techniques in broadband light with minimal planet throughput losses

Label-Free Biomedical Imaging with High Sensitivity by Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Label-free chemical contrast is highly desirable in biomedical imaging. Spontaneous Raman microscopy provides specific vibrational signatures of chemical bonds, but is often hindered by low sensitivity. Here we report a three-dimensional multiphoton vibrational imaging technique based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). The sensitivity of SRS imaging is significantly greater than that of spontaneous Raman microscopy, which is achieved by implementing high-frequency (megahertz) phase-sensitive detection. SRS microscopy has a major advantage over previous coherent Raman techniques in that it offers background-free and readily interpretable chemical contrast. We show a variety of biomedical applications, such as differentiating distributions of omega-3 fatty acids and saturated lipids in living cells, imaging of brain and skin tissues based on intrinsic lipid contrast, and monitoring drug delivery through the epidermis.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog