45,898 research outputs found
Strong electron correlations in cobalt valence tautomers
We have examined cobalt based valence tautomer molecules such as
Co(SQ)(phen) using density functional theory (DFT) and variational
configuration interaction (VCI) approaches based upon a model Hamiltonian. Our
DFT results extend earlier work by finding a reduced total energy gap (order
0.6 eV) between high temperature and low temperature states when we fully relax
the coordinates (relative to experimental ones). Futhermore we demonstrate that
the charge transfer picture based upon formal valence arguments succeeds
qualitatively while failing quantitatively due to strong covalency between the
Co 3 orbitals and ligand orbitals. With the VCI approach, we argue that
the high temperature, high spin phase is strongly mixed valent, with about 30 %
admixture of Co(III) into the predominantly Co(II) ground state. We confirm
this mixed valence through a fit to the XANES spectra. Moreover, the strong
electron correlations of the mixed valent phase provide an energy lowering of
about 0.2-0.3 eV of the high temperature phase relative to the low temperature
one. Finally, we use the domain model to account for the extraordinarily large
entropy and enthalpy values associated with the transition.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy
Three undescribed pathogenic Phytophthora taxa from the south-west of Western Australia
The Phytophthora culture collection of the Vegetation Health Service of the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia (WA) has been re-evaluated using DNA sequencing (Burgess et al., 2009). This has revealed many undescribed taxa previously classified as known morpho-species, one of which has recently been described as P. multivora (Scott et al., 2009).
The aim of this study was to describe three of these taxa, all of which occur in WA native ecosystems. They were compared with both the morphological species to which they are most similar and their closest phylogenetic relatives. In addition, the pathogenicity of these taxa was assessed in glasshouse trials
Measurements of a Quantum Dot with an Impedance-Matching On-Chip LC Resonator at GHz Frequencies
We report the realization of a bonded-bridge on-chip superconducting coil and
its use in impedance-matching a highly ohmic quantum dot (QD) to a
measurement setup. The coil, modeled as a lumped-element resonator, is
more compact and has a wider bandwidth than resonators based on coplanar
transmission lines (e.g. impedance transformers and stub tuners) at
potentially better signal-to-noise ratios. In particular for measurements of
radiation emitted by the device, such as shot noise, the 50 larger
bandwidth reduces the time to acquire the spectral density. The resonance
frequency, close to 3.25 GHz, is three times higher than that of the one
previously reported wire-bonded coil. As a proof of principle, we fabricated an
circuit that achieves impedance-matching to a load
and validate it with a load defined by a carbon nanotube QD of which we measure
the shot noise in the Coulomb blockade regime.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Comparison of electric dipole moments and the Large Hadron Collider for probing CP violation in triple boson vertices
CP violation from physics beyond the Standard Model may reside in triple
boson vertices of the electroweak theory. We review the effective theory
description and discuss how CP violating contributions to these vertices might
be discerned by electric dipole moments (EDM) or diboson production at the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Despite triple boson CP violating interactions
entering EDMs only at the two-loop level, we find that EDM experiments are
generally more powerful than the diboson processes. To give example to these
general considerations we perform the comparison between EDMs and collider
observables within supersymmetric theories that have heavy sfermions, such that
substantive EDMs at the one-loop level are disallowed. EDMs generally remain
more powerful probes, and next-generation EDM experiments may surpass even the
most optimistic assumptions for LHC sensitivities.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures, published version with more argument
Three-dimensional metamaterials with an ultra-high effective refractive index over broad bandwidth
The authors introduce a general mechanism, based on electrostatic and
magnetostatic considerations, for designing three-dimensional isotopic
metamaterials that possess an enhanced refractive index over an extremely large
frequency range. The mechanism allows nearly independent control of effective
electric permittivity and magnetic permeability without the use of resonant
elements
Lifetime of dynamic heterogeneity in strong and fragile kinetically constrained spin models
Kinetically constrained spin models are schematic coarse-grained models for
the glass transition which represent an efficient theoretical tool to study
detailed spatio-temporal aspects of dynamic heterogeneity in supercooled
liquids. Here, we study how spatially correlated dynamic domains evolve with
time and compare our results to various experimental and numerical
investigations. We find that strong and fragile models yield different results.
In particular, the lifetime of dynamic heterogeneity remains constant and
roughly equal to the alpha relaxation time in strong models, while it increases
more rapidly in fragile models when the glass transition is approached.Comment: Submitted to the proceedings of the 6th EPS Liquid Matter Conference,
Utrecht 2-6 July 200
An autocrine role for pituitary GABA: Activation of GABA-B receptors and regulation of growth hormone levels
There is increasing evidence suggesting that the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a local factor involved in the regulation of endocrine organs. Examples of such functions are documented in the pancreas, but recent results suggest that GABA may act in a similar way in the pituitary, in which GABA receptors are expressed and pituitary growth hormone (GH) cells provide a source of GABA. We hypothesised that GABA secreted in somatotropes may act as an autoregulatory signaling molecule. To test this hypothesis we first examined the nature of GABA receptors expressed by GH cells. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that GABA-B receptor subunits R1 and R2 are present in the whole rat pituitary. Laser microdissection of immunostained GH cells, followed by RT-PCR as well as immunoelectron microscopy, showed that GABA-B receptors are expressed on somatotropes. To investigate GABA-B receptor function in somatotropes, we used rat GH3 adenoma cells, which, like pituitary GH cells, express GABA-B R1 and R2 (as assessed by RT-PCR and immunoelectron microscopy) and produce GABA (checked by high performance liquid chromatography). After inhibition of endogenous GABA synthesis, GH production was stimulated by baclofen, a chromatography). After inhibition of endogenous GABA synthesis, GH production was stimulated by bactofen, a GABA-B receptor agonist. By contrast, blocking GABA-B receptors by an antagonist, phaclofen, decreased GH levels. We conclude that in GH-producing cells, GABA acts as an autocrine factor via GABA-B receptors to control GH levels. Copyright (C) 2002 S. KargerAG, Basel
Ferromagnetic Domain Structure of La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 Single Crystals
The magneto-optical technique has been employed to observe spontaneous
ferromagnetic domain structures in La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 single crystals. The
magnetic domain topology was found to be correlated with the intrinsic twin
structure of the investigated crystals. With decreasing temperature the regular
network of ferromagnetic domains undergoes significant changes resulting in
apparent rotation of the domain walls in the temperature range of 70-150 K. The
apparent rotation of the domain walls can be understood in terms of the
Jahn-Teller deformation of the orthorhombic unit cell, accompanied by
additional twinning.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to be published in PR
Dynamical Exchanges in Facilitated Models of Supercooled liquids
We investigate statistics of dynamical exchange events in coarse--grained
models of supercooled liquids in spatial dimensions , 2, and 3. The
models, based upon the concept of dynamical facilitation, capture generic
features of statistics of exchange times and persistence times. Here,
distributions for both times are related, and calculated for cases of strong
and fragile glass formers over a range of temperatures. Exchange time
distributions are shown to be particularly sensitive to the model parameters
and dimensions, and exhibit more structured and richer behavior than
persistence time distributions. Mean exchange times are shown to be Arrhenius,
regardless of models and spatial dimensions. Specifically, , with being the excitation concentration. Different dynamical
exchange processes are identified and characterized from the underlying
trajectories. We discuss experimental possibilities to test some of our
theoretical findings.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, minor corrections made, paper published in
Journal of Chemical Physic
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