Atom chips on direct bonded copper substrates

We present the use of direct bonded copper (DBC) for the straightforward fabrication of high power atom chips. Atom chips using DBC have several benefits: excellent copper/substrate adhesion, high purity, thick (> 100 microns) copper layers, high substrate thermal conductivity, high aspect ratio wires, the potential for rapid (< 8 hr) fabrication, and three dimensional atom chip structures. Two mask options for DBC atom chip fabrication are presented, as well as two methods for etching wire patterns into the copper layer. The wire aspect ratio that optimizes the magnetic field gradient as a function of power dissipation is determined to be 0.84:1 (height:width). The optimal wire thickness as a function of magnetic trapping height is also determined. A test chip, able to support 100 A of current for 2 s without failing, is used to determine the thermal impedance of the DBC. An assembly using two DBC atom chips to provide magnetic confinement is also shown.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Algorithms and literate programs for weighted low-rank approximation with missing data

Linear models identification from data with missing values is posed as a weighted low-rank approximation problem with weights related to the missing values equal to zero. Alternating projections and variable projections methods for solving the resulting problem are outlined and implemented in a literate programming style, using Matlab/Octave's scripting language. The methods are evaluated on synthetic data and real data from the MovieLens data sets

Infinite-dimensional diffusions as limits of random walks on partitions

The present paper originated from our previous study of the problem of harmonic analysis on the infinite symmetric group. This problem leads to a family {P_z} of probability measures, the z-measures, which depend on the complex parameter z. The z-measures live on the Thoma simplex, an infinite-dimensional compact space which is a kind of dual object to the infinite symmetric group. The aim of the paper is to introduce stochastic dynamics related to the z-measures. Namely, we construct a family of diffusion processes in the Toma simplex indexed by the same parameter z. Our diffusions are obtained from certain Markov chains on partitions of natural numbers n in a scaling limit as n goes to infinity. These Markov chains arise in a natural way, due to the approximation of the infinite symmetric group by the increasing chain of the finite symmetric groups. Each z-measure P_z serves as a unique invariant distribution for the corresponding diffusion process, and the process is ergodic with respect to P_z. Moreover, P_z is a symmetrizing measure, so that the process is reversible. We describe the spectrum of its generator and compute the associated (pre)Dirichlet form.Comment: AMSTex, 33 pages. Version 2: minor changes, typos corrected, to appear in Prob. Theor. Rel. Field

Nucleation and condensational growth to CCN sizes during a sustained pristine biogenic SOA event in a forested mountain valley

The Whistler Aerosol and Cloud Study (WACS 2010), included intensive measurements of trace gases and particles at two sites on Whistler Mountain. Between 6–11 July 2010 there was a sustained high-pressure system over the region with cloud-free conditions and the highest temperatures of the study. During this period, the organic aerosol concentrations rose from &lt;1 μg m&lt;sup&gt;−3&lt;/sup&gt; to &amp;sim;6 μg m&lt;sup&gt;−3&lt;/sup&gt;. Precursor gas and aerosol composition measurements show that these organics were almost entirely of secondary biogenic nature. Throughout 6–11 July, the anthropogenic influence was minimal with sulfate concentrations &lt;0.2 μg m&lt;sup&gt;−3&lt;/sup&gt; and SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; mixing ratios &amp;approx; 0.05–0.1 ppbv. Thus, this case provides excellent conditions to probe the role of biogenic secondary organic aerosol in aerosol microphysics. Although SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; mixing ratios were relatively low, box-model simulations show that nucleation and growth may be modeled accurately if &lt;i&gt;J&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;nuc&lt;/sub&gt; = 3 × 10&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;7&lt;/sup&gt;[H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;SO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;] and the organics are treated as effectively non-volatile. Due to the low condensation sink and the fast condensation rate of organics, the nucleated particles grew rapidly (2–5 nm h&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;1&lt;/sup&gt;) with a 10–25% probability of growing to CCN sizes (100 nm) in the first two days as opposed to being scavenged by coagulation with larger particles. The nucleated particles were observed to grow to &amp;sim;200 nm after three days. Comparisons of size-distribution with CCN data show that particle hygroscopicity (&amp;kappa;) was &amp;sim;0.1 for particles larger 150 nm, but for smaller particles near 100 nm the κ value decreased near midway through the period from 0.17 to less than 0.06. In this environment of little anthropogenic influence and low SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, the rapid growth rates of the regionally nucleated particles – due to condensation of biogenic SOA – results in an unusually high efficiency of conversion of the nucleated particles to CCN. Consequently, despite the low SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, nucleation/growth appear to be the dominant source of particle number

Elucidating real-world vehicle emission factors from mobile measurements over a large metropolitan region: a focus on isocyanic acid, hydrogen cyanide, and black carbon

A mobile laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art gaseous and particulate instrumentation was deployed across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during two seasons. A high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-CIMS) measured isocyanic acid (HNCO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and a high-sensitivity laser-induced incandescence (HS-LII) instrument measured black carbon (BC). Results indicate that on-road vehicles are a clear source of HNCO and HCN and that their impact is more pronounced in the winter, when influences from biomass burning (BB) and secondary photochemistry are weakest. Plume-based and time-based algorithms were developed to calculate fleet-average vehicle emission factors (EFs); the algorithms were found to yield comparable results, depending on the pollutant identity. With respect to literature EFs for benzene, toluene, C2 benzene (sum of m-, p-, and o-xylenes and ethylbenzene), nitrogen oxides, particle number concentration (PN), and black carbon, the calculated EFs were characteristic of a relatively clean vehicle fleet dominated by light-duty vehicles (LDV). Our fleet-average EF for BC (median: 25&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1; interquartile range, IQR: 10–76&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1) suggests that overall vehicular emissions of BC have decreased over time. However, the distribution of EFs indicates that a small proportion of high-emitters continue to contribute disproportionately to total BC emissions. We report the first fleet-average EF for HNCO (median: 2.3&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1, IQR: 1.4–4.2&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1) and HCN (median: 0.52&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1, IQR: 0.32–0.88&thinsp;mg&thinsp;kgfuel-1). The distribution of the estimated EFs provides insight into the real-world variability of HNCO and HCN emissions and constrains the wide range of literature EFs obtained from prior dynamometer studies. The impact of vehicle emissions on urban HNCO levels can be expected to be further enhanced if secondary HNCO formation from vehicle exhaust is considered.</p

Ice-nucleating ability of aerosol particles and possible sources at three coastal marine sites

Despite the importance of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) for climate and precipitation, our understanding of these particles is far from complete. Here, we investigated INPs at three coastal marine sites in Canada, two at mid-latitude (Amphitrite Point and Labrador Sea) and one in the Arctic (Lancaster Sound). For Amphitrite Point, 23 sets of samples were analyzed, and for Labrador Sea and Lancaster Sound, one set of samples was analyzed for each location. At all three sites, the ice-nucleating ability on a per number basis (expressed as the fraction of aerosol particles acting as an INP) was strongly dependent on the particle size. For example, at diameters of around 0.2µm, approximately 1 in 106 particles acted as an INP at −25°C, while at diameters of around 8µm, approximately 1 in 10 particles acted as an INP at −25°C. The ice-nucleating ability on a per surface-area basis (expressed as the surface active site density, ns) was also dependent on the particle size, with larger particles being more efficient at nucleating ice. The ns values of supermicron particles at Amphitrite Point and Labrador Sea were larger than previously measured ns values of sea spray aerosols, suggesting that sea spray aerosols were not a major contributor to the supermicron INP population at these two sites. Consistent with this observation, a global model of INP concentrations under-predicted the INP concentrations when assuming only marine organics as INPs. On the other hand, assuming only K-feldspar as INPs, the same model was able to reproduce the measurements at a freezing temperature of −25°C, but under-predicted INP concentrations at −15°C, suggesting that the model is missing a source of INPs active at a freezing temperature of −15°C

Temperature-dependent accumulation mode particle and cloud nuclei concentrations from biogenic sources during WACS 2010

Submicron aerosol particles collected simultaneously at the mountain peak (2182 m a.s.l.) and at a forested mid-mountain site (1300 m a.s.l.) on Whistler Mountain, British Columbia, Canada, during June and July 2010 were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for quantification of organic functional groups. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the FTIR spectra. Three PMF factors associated with (1) combustion, (2) biogenics, and (3) vegetative detritus were identified at both sites. The biogenic factor was correlated with both temperature and several volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The combustion factor dominated the submicron particle mass during the beginning of the campaign, when the temperature was lower and advection was from the Vancouver area, but as the temperature started to rise in early July, the biogenic factor came to dominate as a result of increased emissions of biogenic VOCs, and thereby increased formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). On average, the biogenic factor represented 69% and 49% of the submicron organic particle mass at Whistler Peak and at the mid-mountain site, respectively. The lower fraction at the mid-mountain site was a result of more vegetative detritus there, and also higher influence from local combustion sources. The biogenic factor was strongly correlated (r~0.9) to number concentration of particles with diameter (Dp)> 100 nm, whereas the combustion factor was better correlated to number concentration of particles with Dpr~0.4). The number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) was correlated (r~0.7) to the biogenic factor for supersaturations (S) of 0.2% or higher, which indicates that particle condensational growth from biogenic vapors was an important factor in controlling the CCN concentration for clouds where S&ge;0.2%. Both the number concentration of particles with Dp>100 nm and numbers of CCN for S&ge;0.2% were correlated to temperature. Considering the biogenic influence, these results indicate that temperature was a primary factor controlling these CCN concentrations at 0.2% supersaturation

Ice nucleating particles in the marine boundary layer in the Canadian Arctic during summer 2014

Ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic can influence climate and precipitation in the region; yet our understanding of the concentrations and sources of INPs in this region remain uncertain. In the following, we (1) measured concentrations of INPs in the immersion mode in the Canadian Arctic marine boundary layer during summer 2014 on board the CCGS Amundsen, (2) determined ratios of surface areas of mineral dust aerosol to sea spray aerosol, and (3) investigated the source region of the INPs using particle dispersion modelling. Average concentrations of INPs at −15, −20, and −25&thinsp;∘C were 0.005, 0.044, and 0.154&thinsp;L−1, respectively. These concentrations fall within the range of INP concentrations measured in other marine environments. For the samples investigated the ratio of mineral dust surface area to sea spray surface area ranged from 0.03 to 0.09. Based on these ratios and the ice active surface site densities of mineral dust and sea spray aerosol determined in previous laboratory studies, our results suggest that mineral dust is a more important contributor to the INP population than sea spray aerosol for the samples analysed. Based on particle dispersion modelling, the highest concentrations of INPs were often associated with lower-latitude source regions such as the Hudson Bay area, eastern Greenland, or north-western continental Canada. On the other hand, the lowest concentrations were often associated with regions further north of the sampling sites and over Baffin Bay. A weak correlation was observed between INP concentrations and the time the air mass spent over bare land, and a weak negative correlation was observed between INP concentrations and the time the air mass spent over ice and open water. These combined results suggest that mineral dust from local sources is an important contributor to the INP population in the Canadian Arctic marine boundary layer during summer 2014.</p

Stitching together Multiple Data Dimensions Reveals Interacting Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Networks That Modulate Cell Regulation

DNA variation can be used as a systematic source of perturbation in segregating populations as a way to infer regulatory networks via the integration of large-scale, high-dimensional molecular profiling data

Genetic Networks Controlling Structural Outcome of Glucosinolate Activation across Development

Most phenotypic variation present in natural populations is under polygenic control, largely determined by genetic variation at quantitative trait loci (QTLs). These genetic loci frequently interact with the environment, development, and each other, yet the importance of these interactions on the underlying genetic architecture of quantitative traits is not well characterized. To better study how epistasis and development may influence quantitative traits, we studied genetic variation in Arabidopsis glucosinolate activation using the moderately sized Bayreuth×Shahdara recombinant inbred population, in terms of number of lines. We identified QTLs for glucosinolate activation at three different developmental stages. Numerous QTLs showed developmental dependency, as well as a large epistatic network, centered on the previously cloned large-effect glucosinolate activation QTL, ESP. Analysis of Heterogeneous Inbred Families validated seven loci and all of the QTL×DPG (days post-germination) interactions tested, but was complicated by the extensive epistasis. A comparison of transcript accumulation data within 211 of these RILs showed an extensive overlap of gene expression QTLs for structural specifiers and their homologs with the identified glucosinolate activation loci. Finally, we were able to show that two of the QTLs are the result of whole-genome duplications of a glucosinolate activation gene cluster. These data reveal complex age-dependent regulation of structural outcomes and suggest that transcriptional regulation is associated with a significant portion of the underlying ontogenic variation and epistatic interactions in glucosinolate activation