Physical drivers of the summer 2019 North Pacific marine heatwave.

Summer 2019 observations show a rapid resurgence of the Blob-like warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies that produced devastating marine impacts in the Northeast Pacific during winter 2013/2014. Unlike the original Blob, Blob 2.0 peaked in the summer, a season when little is known about the physical drivers of such events. We show that Blob 2.0 primarily results from a prolonged weakening of the North Pacific High-Pressure System. This reduces surface winds and decreases evaporative cooling and wind-driven upper ocean mixing. Warmer ocean conditions then reduce low-cloud fraction, reinforcing the marine heatwave through a positive low-cloud feedback. Using an atmospheric model forced with observed SSTs, we also find that remote SST forcing from the central equatorial and, surprisingly, the subtropical North Pacific Ocean contribute to the weakened North Pacific High. Our multi-faceted analysis sheds light on the physical drivers governing the intensity and longevity of summertime North Pacific marine heatwaves

Low-temperature synthesis of oriented CoPtCu-MgO and CoFePt-Ag-SiO₂ nanocomposite thin films by rf-magnetron sputtering

Nanocomposite thin films composed of oriented Co₅₀Pt₄₄Cu₆ nanoparticles embedded in a MgO matrix has been synthesized by rf-magnetron co-sputtering onto NaCl(001) substrates kept at 620 K. As the sputtering power increases, (001) orientation is improved and atomic ordering is also promoted. However, superlattice reflections are quite weak and the ordered region is limited in local area of the nanoparticles, indicating low degree of order. Electron diffraction and elemental mapping revealed that additive Cu is alloyed with CoPt. We have also fabricated (Co₂₆Fe₂₀)Pt₄₄Ag₁₀SiO₂ nanocomposite thin films at 675K for comparison. Atomic ordering is promoted by Fe and Ag addition as well as higher substrate temperature; however, it was found that ternary element (Cu, Ag, Fe) addition into CoPt alloy is not so effective to promote atomic ordering. Origin of the slow ordering kinetics is discussed using thermodynamical parameters. © 2014 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.Kazuhisa SATO, Tamotsu KOSAKA, Toyohiko J. KONNO, Low-temperature synthesis of oriented CoPtCu–MgO and CoFePt–Ag–SiO₂ nanocomposite thin films by rf-magnetron sputtering, Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, 2014, 122, 1425, p. 317-321

Tec kinase Itk in gammadeltaT cells is pivotal for controlling IgE production in vivo

In conventional alphabeta T cells, the Tec family tyrosine kinase Itk is required for signaling downstream of the T cell receptor (TCR). Itk also regulates alphabeta T cell development, lineage commitment, and effector function. A well established feature of Itk(-/-) mice is their inability to generate T helper type 2 (Th2) responses that produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13; yet these mice have spontaneously elevated levels of serum IgE and increased numbers of germinal center B cells. Here we show that the source of this phenotype is gammadelta T cells, as normal IgE levels are observed in Itk(-/-)Tcrd(-/-) mice. When stimulated through the gammadelta TCR, Itk(-/-) gammadelta T cells produce high levels of Th2 cytokines, but diminished IFNgamma. In addition, activated Itk(-/-) gammadelta T cells up-regulate costimulatory molecules important for B cell help, suggesting that they may directly promote B cell activation and Ig class switching. Furthermore, we find that gammadelta T cells numbers are increased in Itk(-/-) mice, most notably the Vgamma1.1(+)Vdelta6.3(+) subset that represents the dominant population of gammadelta NKT cells. Itk(-/-) gammadelta NKT cells also have increased expression of PLZF, a transcription factor required for alphabeta NKT cells, indicating a common molecular program between alphabeta and gammadelta NKT cell lineages. Together, these data indicate that Itk signaling regulates gammadelta T cell lineage development and effector function and is required to control IgE production in vivo

Accessing the purity of a single photon by the width of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference

We demonstrate a method to determine the spectral purity of single photons. The technique is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between a single photon state and a suitably prepared coherent field. We show that the temporal width of the HOM dip is not only related to reciprocal of the spectral width but also to the underlying quantum coherence. Therefore, by measuring the width of both the HOM dip and the spectrum one can directly quantify the degree of spectral purity. The distinct advantage of our proposal is that it obviates the need for perfect mode matching, since it does not rely on the visibility of the interference. Our method is particularly useful for characterizing the purity of heralded single photon states.Comment: Extended version, 16 pages, 9 figure

Absolute negative refraction and imaging of unpolarized electromagnetic waves by two-dimensional photonic crystals

Absolute negative refraction regions for both polarizations of electromagnetic wave in two-dimensional photonic crystal have been found through both the analysis and the exact numerical simulation. Especially, absolute all-angle negative refraction for both polarizations has also been demonstrated. Thus, the focusing and image of unpolarized light can be realized by a microsuperlens consisting of the two-dimensional photonic crystals. The absorption and compensation for the losses by introducing optical gain in these systems have also been discussed

Determination of Effective Permittivity and Permeability of Metamaterials from Reflection and Transmission Coefficients

We analyze the reflection and transmission coefficients calculated from transfer matrix simulations on finite lenghts of electromagnetic metamaterials, to determine the effective permittivity and permeability. We perform this analysis on structures composed of periodic arrangements of wires, split ring resonators (SRRs) and both wires and SRRs. We find the recovered frequency-dependent permittivity and permeability are entirely consistent with analytic expressions predicted by effective medium arguments. Of particular relevance are that a wire medium exhibits a frequency region in which the real part of permittivity is negative, and SRRs produce a frequency region in which the real part of permeability is negative. In the combination structure, at frequencies where both the recovered real part of permittivity and permeability are simultaneously negative, the real part of the index-of-refraction is found also to be unambigously negative.Comment: *.pdf file, 5 figure

Immittance Matching for Multi-dimensional Open-system Photonic Crystals

An electromagnetic (EM) Bloch wave propagating in a photonic crystal (PC) is characterized by the immittance (impedance and admittance) of the wave. The immittance is used to investigate transmission and reflection at a surface or an interface of the PC. In particular, the general properties of immittance are useful for clarifying the wave propagation characteristics. We give a general proof that the immittance of EM Bloch waves on a plane in infinite one- and two-dimensional (2D) PCs is real when the plane is a reflection plane of the PC and the Bloch wavevector is perpendicular to the plane. We also show that the pure-real feature of immittance on a reflection plane for an infinite three-dimensional PC is good approximation based on the numerical calculations. The analytical proof indicates that the method used for immittance matching is extremely simplified since only the real part of the immittance function is needed for analysis without numerical verification. As an application of the proof, we describe a method based on immittance matching for qualitatively evaluating the reflection at the surface of a semi-infinite 2D PC, at the interface between a semi-infinite slab waveguide (WG) and a semi-infinite 2D PC line-defect WG, and at the interface between a semi-infinite channel WG and a semi-infinite 2D PC slab line-defect WG.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure