5,085 research outputs found
Seismic wide-angle study of accreted Proterozoic crust in southeastern Wyoming
A seismic wide-angle xperiment was conducted in southeastern Wyoming, USA to investigate the seismic character of a postulated Proterozoic magmatic arc south of the suture (Cheyenne Belt) to the Archean Wyoming Province. Recordings from vibrator and dynamite sources with offsets between 34 and 126 km reveal no evidence for Moho reflections. The large-offset recordings contain multicyclic bands of reflective phases from the middle to lower crust. The data were transformed into the intercept ime-ray parameter (~--p) domain to estimate local depth bounds. A subsequent 1D inversion using high-amplitude ~'-p arrivals shows that the reflective part of the crust ranges from the depths of 25 to 40 km. This part of the crust exhibits velocities increasing from about 6.5 to 7.5 km/s. Reflectivity modeling shows that the lower crust might consist of a zone of alternating low- and high-velocity layers with average velocity increasing. The average lower crustal velocity of about 6.9 km/s suggests a predomi-nantly mafic composition with interlayered intermediate to felsic components generating impedance contrasts that cause observable amplitudes from reflections at large offsets but not at clearly pre-critical and near-vertical distances. Our model is consistent with observations of interlayered sequences of gabbroic to ultramafic rocks with more felsic anorthositic and charnockitic rocks in the exposed lower crust of magmatic arc complexes. The lack of wide-angle Moho reflections might be explained by a gradational compositional boundary, or a transitional phase change from granulite to eclogite facies. 1
Nectria galligena as the cause of a collar rot disease in organically grown Topaz apple trees
Symptoms resembling collar rot were detected in organically managed Topaz trees aged 3-10 years, occur-ring one to several years after planting of the orchard. Trees were killed within the same growing season in which symptoms were first observed. The disease commonly progressed as a complete covered canker at the base of the tree trunk. Isolation attempts were negative for Phytophthora and other Oomycetes, but con-sistently yielded Nectria galligena. The possibility of latent (endophytic) infections of N. galligena as the cause of delayed collar rot symptoms is briefly discussed
Spin-Orbit Mediated Control of Spin Qubits
We propose to use the spin-orbit interaction as a means to control electron
spins in quantum dots, enabling both single qubit and two qubit operations.
Very fast single qubit operations may be achieved by temporarily displacing the
electrons. For two qubit operations the coupling mechanism is based on a
combination of the spin-orbit coupling and the mutual long-ranged Coulomb
interaction. Compared to existing schemes using the exchange coupling, the
spin-orbit induced coupling is less sensitive to random electrical fluctuations
in the electrodes defining the quantum dots.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; minor changes - final version as published in
Phys. Rev. Let
Spin-orbit induced spin-qubit control in nanowires
We elaborate on a number of issues concerning our recent proposal for
spin-qubit manipulation in nanowires using the spin-orbit coupling. We discuss
the experimental status and describe in further detail the scheme for
single-qubit rotations. We present a derivation of the effective two-qubit
coupling which can be extended to higher orders in the Coulomb interaction. The
analytic expression for the coupling strength is shown to agree with numerics.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Contribution to ICN+T2006, Basel, Switzerland,
July-August, 200
Spatially resolved quantum plasmon modes in metallic nano-films from first principles
Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) can be used to probe plasmon
excitations in nanostructured materials with atomic-scale spatial resolution.
For structures smaller than a few nanometers quantum effects are expected to be
important, limiting the validity of widely used semi-classical response models.
Here we present a method to identify and compute spatially resolved plasmon
modes from first principles based on a spectral analysis of the dynamical
dielectric function. As an example we calculate the plasmon modes of 0.5-4 nm
thick Na films and find that they can be classified as (conventional) surface
modes, sub-surface modes, and a discrete set of bulk modes resembling standing
waves across the film. We find clear effects of both quantum confinement and
non-local response. The quantum plasmon modes provide an intuitive picture of
collective excitations of confined electron systems and offer a clear
interpretation of spatially resolved EELS spectra.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Plasmons on the edge of MoS2 nanostructures
Using ab initio calculations we predict the existence of one-dimensional
(1D), atomically confined plasmons at the edges of a zigzag MoS2 nanoribbon.
The strongest plasmon originates from a metallic edge state localized on the
sulfur dimers decorating the Mo edge of the ribbon. A detailed analysis of the
dielectric function reveals that the observed deviations from the ideal 1D
plasmon behavior result from single-particle transitions between the metallic
edge state and the valence and conduction bands of the MoS2 sheet. The Mo and S
edges of the ribbon are clearly distinguishable in calculated spatially
resolved electron energy loss spectrum owing to the different plasmonic
properties of the two edges. The edge plasmons could potentially be utilized
for tuning the photocatalytic activity of MoS2 nanoparticles
Nonlocal Damping of Helimagnets in One-Dimensional Interacting Electron Systems
We investigate the magnetization relaxation of a one-dimensional helimagnetic
system coupled to interacting itinerant electrons. The relaxation is assumed to
result from the emission of plasmons, the elementary excitations of the
one-dimensional interacting electron system, caused by slow changes of the
magnetization profile. This dissipation mechanism leads to a highly nonlocal
form of magnetization damping that is strongly dependent on the
electron-electron interaction. Forward scattering processes lead to a spatially
constant damping kernel, while backscattering processes produce a spatially
oscillating contribution. Due to the nonlocal damping, the thermal fluctuations
become spatially correlated over the entire system. We estimate the
characteristic magnetization relaxation times for magnetic quantum wires and
nuclear helimagnets.Comment: Final version accepted by Physical Review
Temperature and light requirements for growth of two diatom species (Bacillariophyceae) isolated from an Arctic macroalga
In the present study, two abundant epiphyticdiatom taxa were isolated from the assimilation hairs ofthe brown macroalga Chordaria flagelliformis collected inthe Arctic Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen, Norway), establishedas unialgal cultures and their growth rates determinedunder controlled photon fluence rate andtemperature conditions. Using morphological (light andscanning electron microscopy) and SSU rRNA gene databoth isolates (ROS D99 and ROS D125) were identifiedas members of a FragilariaSynedropsis clade. Themolecular data of ROS D99 and ROS D125 were notidentical to any other published sequence. While ROSD99 has been identified as Fragilaria barbararum mainlydue to the SEM characteristics, ROS D125 could not bedefinitely identified although morphological data speakfor Fragilaria striatula. Both diatom species showedsimilar growth rates at all temperatures and photon fluencerates tested. They grew well between 0 and 15Cwithoptimum temperatures of 1214C, but did not survive20C. Therefore, compared to Antarctic diatoms bothtaxa from Kongsfjorden can be characterised as eurythermalorganisms. Increasing photon fluence rates between2 and 15 lmol m2 s1 were accompanied with analmost twofold increase in growth rates, but photon fluencerates >15 lmol m2 s1 did not further enhancegrowth pointing to low light requirements. From thesedata optimum, minimum and maximum photon fluencerates and temperatures for growth can be assessed indicatingthat both diatoms are well acclimated to the fluctuatingenvironmental conditions in the Arctic habitat
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