Non-invasive vibrational mode spectroscopy of ion Coulomb crystals through resonant collective coupling to an optical cavity field

We report on a novel non-invasive method to determine the normal mode frequencies of ion Coulomb crystals in traps based on the resonance enhanced collective coupling between the electronic states of the ions and an optical cavity field at the single photon level. Excitations of the normal modes are observed through a Doppler broadening of the resonance. An excellent agreement with the predictions of a zero-temperature uniformly charged liquid plasma model is found. The technique opens up for investigations of the heating and damping of cold plasma modes, as well as the coupling between them.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

2014 Friends of The University of Montana Herbarium Newsletter

An Endowment for MONTU\u27s Future / Marilyn Marler -- Notes from the Board / Pete Husby -- 2014 Friends of the Herbarium Annual Meeting -- Herbarium Students and Volunteers / Marilyn Marler -- MONTU People: Wilhelm N. Suksdorf / Peter Lesica -- Activities -- MONTU News Brief

Anxious to see you: Neuroendocrine mechanisms of social vigilance and anxiety during adolescence.

Social vigilance is a behavioral strategy commonly used in adverse or changing social environments. In animals, a combination of avoidance and vigilance allows an individual to evade potentially dangerous confrontations while monitoring the social environment to identify favorable changes. However, prolonged use of this behavioral strategy in humans is associated with increased risk of anxiety disorders, a major burden for human health. Elucidating the mechanisms of social vigilance in animals could provide important clues for new treatment strategies for social anxiety. Importantly, during adolescence the prevalence of social anxiety increases significantly. We hypothesize that many of the actions typically characterized as anxiety behaviors begin to emerge during this time as strategies for navigating more complex social structures. Here, we consider how the social environment and the pubertal transition shape neural circuits that modulate social vigilance, focusing on the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and prefrontal cortex. The emergence of gonadal hormone secretion during adolescence has important effects on the function and structure of these circuits, and may play a role in the emergence of a notable sex difference in anxiety rates across adolescence. However, the significance of these changes in the context of anxiety is still uncertain, as not enough studies are sufficiently powered to evaluate sex as a biological variable. We conclude that greater integration between human and animal models will aid the development of more effective strategies for treating social anxiety