1,305 research outputs found
Towards a practical approach for self-consistent large amplitude collective motion
We investigate the use of an operatorial basis in a self-consistent theory of
large amplitude collective motion. For the example of the
pairing-plus-quadrupole model, which has been studied previously at
equilibrium, we show that a small set of carefully chosen state-dependent basis
operators is sufficient to approximate the exact solution of the problem
accuratly. This approximation is used to study the interplay of quadrupole and
pairing degrees of freedom along the collective path for realistic examples of
nuclei. We show how this leads to a viable calculational scheme for studying
nuclear structure, and discuss the surprising role of pairing collapse.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures Revised version To be published in Phys. Rev.
BILIPROTEINS FROM THE BUTTERFLY Pieris brassicae STUDIED BY TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE AND COHERENT ANTI-STOKES RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY
The fluorescence decay time of the biliverdin IX7 chromophore present in biliproteins isolated from Pieris brassicae is determined to be 44 ± 3 ps. This value suggests a cyclic helical chromophore structure. The vibrational frequencies determined by CARS-spectroscopy are compared with those of model compounds. The data confirm that the chromophore in the protein-bound state adopts a cyclic-helical, flexible conformation
Precision spectroscopy of the 3s-3p fine structure doublet in Mg+
We apply a recently demonstrated method for precision spectroscopy on strong
transitions in trapped ions to measure both fine structure components of the
3s-3p transition in 24-Mg+ and 26-Mg+. We deduce absolute frequency reference
data for transition frequencies, isotope shifts and fine structure splittings
that are in particular useful for comparison with quasar absorption spectra,
which test possible space-time variations of the fine structure constant. The
measurement accuracy improves previous literature values, when existing, by
more than two orders of magnitude
FÖRSTER TRANSFER CALCULATIONS BASED ON CRYSTAL STRUCTURE DATA FROM Agmenellum quadruplicatum C-PHYCOCYANIN
Excitation energy transfer in C-phycocyanin is modeled using the Forster inductive resonance mechanism. Detailed calculations are carried out using coordinates and orientations of the chromophores derived from X-ray crystallographic studies of C-phycocyanin from two different species (Schirmer et al, J. Mol. Biol. 184, 257–277 (1985) and ibid., 188, 651-677 (1986)). Spectral overlap integrals are estimated from absorption and fluorescence spectra of C-phycocyanin of Mastigocladus laminosus and its separated subunits. Calculations are carried out for the β-subunit, αβ-monomer, (αβ)3-trimer and (αβ)0-hexamer species with the following chromophore assignments: β155 = 's’(sensitizer), β84 =‘f (fluorescer) and α84 =‘m’(intermediate):]:. The calculations show that excitation transfer relaxation occurs to 3=98% within 200 ps in nearly every case; however, the rates increase as much as 10-fold for the higher aggregates. Comparison with experimental data on fluorescence decay and depolarization kinetics from the literature shows qualitative agreement with these calculations. We conclude that Forster transfer is sufficient to account for all of the observed fluorescence properties of C-phycocyanin in aggregation states up to the hexamer and in the absence of linker polypeptides
Cool Stars and Space Weather
Stellar flares, winds and coronal mass ejections form the space weather. They
are signatures of the magnetic activity of cool stars and, since activity
varies with age, mass and rotation, the space weather that extra-solar planets
experience can be very different from the one encountered by the solar system
planets. How do stellar activity and magnetism influence the space weather of
exoplanets orbiting main-sequence stars? How do the environments surrounding
exoplanets differ from those around the planets in our own solar system? How
can the detailed knowledge acquired by the solar system community be applied in
exoplanetary systems? How does space weather affect habitability? These were
questions that were addressed in the splinter session "Cool stars and Space
Weather", that took place on 9 Jun 2014, during the Cool Stars 18 meeting. In
this paper, we present a summary of the contributions made to this session.Comment: Proceedings of the 18th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar
Systems, and the Sun, Eds G. van Belle & H. Harris, 13 pages, 1 figur
The Chiral Phase Transition in Dissipative Dynamics
Numerical simulations of the chiral phase transition in the (3+1)dimensional
O(4)-model are presented. The evolutions of the chiral field follow purely
dissipative dynamics, starting from random chirally symmetric initial
configurations down to the true vacuum with spontaneously broken symmetry. The
model stabilizes topological textures which are formed together with domains of
disoriented chiral condensate (DCC) during the roll-down phase. The classically
evolving field acts as source for the emission of pions and mesons.
The exponents of power laws for the growth of angular correlations and for
emission rates are extracted. Fluctuations in the abundance ratios for neutral
and charged pions are compared with those for uncorrelated sources as potential
signature for the chiral phase transition after heavy-ion collisions. It is
found that the presence of stabilizing textures (baryons and antibaryons)
prevents sufficiently rapid growth of DCC-domain size, so observability of
anomalous tails in the abundance ratios is unlikely. However, the transient
formation of growing DCC domains causes sizable broadening of the distributions
as compared to the statistical widths of generic sources.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure
Deer as a potential wildlife reservoir for Parachlamydia species.
Wildlife populations represent an important reservoir for emerging pathogens and trans-boundary livestock diseases. However, detailed information relating to the occurrence of endemic pathogens such as those of the order Chlamydiales in such populations is lacking. During the hunting season of 2008, 863 samples (including blood, conjunctival swabs, internal organs and faeces) were collected in the Eastern Swiss Alps from 99 free-living red deer (Cervus elaphus) and 64 free-living roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and tested using ELISA, PCR and immunohistochemistry for members of the family Chlamydiaceae and the genus Parachlamydia. Parachlamydia spp. were detected in the conjunctival swabs, faeces and internal organs of both species of deer (2.4% positive, with a further 29.5% inconclusive). The very low occurrence of Chlamydiaceae (2.5%) was in line with serological data (0.7% seroprevalence for Chlamydia abortus). Further investigations are required to elucidate the zoonotic potential, pathogenicity, and distribution of Parachlamydia spp. in wild ruminants
Transverse and longitudinal characterization of electron beams using interaction with optical near-fields
We demonstrate an experimental technique for both transverse and longitudinal
characterization of bunched femtosecond free electron beams. The operation
principle is based on monitoring of the current of electrons that obtained an
energy gain during the interaction with the synchronized optical near-field
wave excited by femtosecond laser pulses. The synchronous
accelerating/decelerating fields confined to the surface of a silicon
nanostructure are characterized using a highly focused sub-relativistic
electron beam. Here the transverse spatial resolution of 450 nm and femtosecond
temporal resolution achievable by this technique are demonstrated
Laser frequency combs for astronomical observations
A direct measurement of the universe's expansion history could be made by
observing in real time the evolution of the cosmological redshift of distant
objects. However, this would require measurements of Doppler velocity drifts of
about 1 centimeter per second per year, and astronomical spectrographs have not
yet been calibrated to this tolerance. We demonstrate the first use of a laser
frequency comb for wavelength calibration of an astronomical telescope. Even
with a simple analysis, absolute calibration is achieved with an equivalent
Doppler precision of approximately 9 meters per second at about 1.5 micrometers
- beyond state-of-the-art accuracy. We show that tracking complex, time-varying
systematic effects in the spectrograph and detector system is a particular
advantage of laser frequency comb calibration. This technique promises an
effective means for modeling and removal of such systematic effects to the
accuracy required by future experiments to see direct evidence of the
universe's putative acceleration.Comment: Science, 5th September 2008. 18 pages, 7 figures (7 JPG files),
including Supporting Online Material. Version with higher resolution figures
available at http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~mmurphy/pub.htm
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