Road blocks on paleogenomes - polymerase extension profiling reveals the frequency of blocking lesions in ancient DNA

Although the last few years have seen great progress in DNA sequence retrieval from fossil specimens, some of the characteristics of ancient DNA remain poorly understood. This is particularly true for blocking lesions, i.e. chemical alterations that cannot be bypassed by DNA polymerases and thus prevent amplification and subsequent sequencing of affected molecules. Some studies have concluded that the vast majority of ancient DNA molecules carry blocking lesions, suggesting that the removal, repair or bypass of blocking lesions might dramatically increase both the time depth and geographical range of specimens available for ancient DNA analysis. However, previous studies used very indirect detection methods that did not provide conclusive estimates on the frequency of blocking lesions in endogenous ancient DNA. We developed a new method, polymerase extension profiling (PEP), that directly reveals occurrences of polymerase stalling on DNA templates. By sequencing thousands of single primer extension products using PEP methodology, we have for the first time directly identified blocking lesions in ancient DNA on a single molecule level. Although we found clear evidence for blocking lesions in three out of four ancient samples, no more than 40% of the molecules were affected in any of the samples, indicating that such modifications are far less frequent in ancient DNA than previously thought

Single-dot Spectroscopy of GaAs Quantum Dots Fabricated by Filling of Self-assembled Nanoholes

We study the optical emission of single GaAs quantum dots (QDs). The QDs are fabricated by filling of nanoholes in AlGaAs and AlAs which are generated in a self-assembled fashion by local droplet etching with Al droplets. Using suitable process parameters, we create either uniform QDs in partially filled deep holes or QDs with very broad size distribution in completely filled shallow holes. Micro photoluminescence measurements of single QDs of both types establish sharp excitonic peaks. We measure a fine-structure splitting in the range of 22–40μeV and no dependence on QD size. Furthermore, we find a decrease in exciton–biexciton splitting with increasing QD size

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Time-Resolved Studies of a Rolled-Up Semiconductor Microtube Laser

We report on lasing in rolled-up microtube resonators. Time-resolved studies on these semiconductor lasers containing GaAs quantum wells as optical gain material reveal particularly fast turn-on-times and short pulse emissions above the threshold. We observe a strong red-shift of the laser mode during the pulse emission which is compared to the time evolution of the charge-carrier density calculated by rate equations

Charged Excitons in the Quantum Hall Regime

We review our recent optical experiments on two-dimensional electron systems at temperatures below 1 K and under high magnetic fields. The two-dimensional electron systems are realized in modulation-doped GaAs-AlGaAs single quantum wells. Via gate electrodes the carrier density of the two-dimensional electron systems can be tuned in a quite broad range between about 1×10^{10} cm^{-2} and 2×10^{11} cm^{-2}. In dilute two-dimensional electron systems, at very low electron densities, we observe the formation of negatively charged excitons in photoluminescence experiments. In this contribution we report about the observation of a dark triplet exciton, which is observable at temperatures below 1 K and for electron filling factors <1/3, i.e., in the fractional quantum Hall regime only. In experiments where we have increased the density of the two-dimensional electron systems so that a uniform two-dimensional electron system starts to form, we have found a strong energy anomaly of the charged excitons in the vicinity of filling factor 1/3. This anomaly was found to exist in a very narrow parameter range of the density and temperature, only. We propose a model where we assume that localized charged excitons and a uniform Laughlin liquid coexist. The localized charged exciton in close proximity to the Laughlin liquid leads to the creation of a fractionally-charged quasihole in the liquid, which can account for the experimentally observed anomaly

Local scale-invariance in ageing phenomena

Many materials quenched into their ordered phase undergo ageing and there show dynamical scaling. For any given dynamical exponent z, this can be extended to a new form of local scale-invariance which acts as a dynamical symmetry. The scaling functions of the two-time correlation and response functions of ferromagnets with a non-conserved order parameter are determined. These results are in agreement with analytical and numerical studies of various models, especially the kinetic Glauber-Ising model in 2 and 3 dimensions.Comment: Invited talk; spring meeting of the german physical society, Regensburg the 8th of March 2004, 12 pages, style file

Three-Dimensionally Confined Optical Modes in Quantum Well Microtube Ring Resonators

We report on microtube ring resonators with quantum wells embedded as an optically active material. Optical modes are observed over a broad energy range. Their properties strongly depend on the exact geometry of the microtube along its axis. In particular we observe (i) preferential emission of light on the inside edge of the microtube and (ii) confinement of light also in direction of the tube axis by an axially varying geometry which is explained in an expanded waveguide model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure