THE FECUNDITY, TIME OF EGG DEVELOPMENT AND JUVENILE PRODUCTION IN SPINY-CHEEK CRAYFISH (ORCONECTES LIMOSUS) UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS

We comprehensively describe the fecundity and time of embryonic development of the spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus). Linear relationships between female size and ovarian fecundity, pleopodal fecundity, and production of juveniles at the 3rd stage, were confirmed. The ovarian fecundity was evaluated for the smallest as well as largest females in the sampled population (43-93 mm of body length); the number of oocytes (eggs) ranged widely, between 46 and 505. No significant difference was found between the ovarian and pleopodal fecundity observed just after egg laying. The value of the female gonadosomatic index just before laying was 4.2 ± 1.8% (0.8-7.7%). The mean diameter of eggs on female pleopods was 1.8 ± 0.2 mm (1.45-2.15 mm). A statistically significant difference was found between the numbers of eggs carried on individual pairs of pleopods. Mean time from laying to hatching was 46 ± 3.8 days (37-56 days), i.e. 647 ± 39.9 CTU (Celsius Temperature Units = degrees Celsius × days). Mean production of juveniles at the 3rd stage was found to be 135.7 ± 67.24 (15-243) juveniles. The early sexual maturation and also high number of juveniles at the 3rd stage per female gives this species a good predisposition for quick establishment in new localities

COMPARISON OF TRAP AND BAITED STICK CATCH EFFICIENCY FOR NOBLE CRAYFISH (ASTACUS ASTACUS L.) IN THE COURSE OF THE GROWING SEASON

Noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) were caught using traps and baited sticks in Svğtlohorská reservoir in the Czech Republic, and the catch efficiency and size and sex composition in catches were compared during the growing season (May-September). One trapping period per month (1.5 hour from 6-7: 30 pm) was applied. Trap catches were significantly higher in September compared to the other months, and baited stick catches were significantly higher in May, June and September. Baited sticks were significantly more effective than traps in all months except in July. Males dominated in all catches, except in September trap catches. Females were totally absent in traps in June, July and August. Baited sticks caught females more successfully than traps, especially females with eggs. Traps did not catch any females with eggs. Males and females caught by baited sticks were of larger size range (range of body length 60-125 mm) than those caught by traps (range of body length 75-120 mm) however, there were no significant differences in mean size. Due to high catch efficiency, baited sticks may be considered as an appropriate catching gear in crayfish monitoring projects, especially when a short-time catching effort is required

Semiconductor Bloch equation analysis of optical Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts in monolayers WSe2_2 and MoS2_2

We report on the theoretical and experimental investigation of valley-selective optical Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts of exciton resonances in monolayers WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$ induced by strong circularly polarized nonresonant optical fields. We predict and observe transient shifts of both 1sA and 1sB exciton transitions in the linear interaction regime. The theoretical description is based on semiconductor Bloch equations. The solutions of the equations are obtained with a modified perturbation technique, which takes into account many-body Coulomb interaction effects. These solutions allow to explain the polarization dependence of the shifts and calculate their values analytically. We found experimentally the limits of the applicability of the theoretical description by observing the transient exciton spectra change due to many-body effects at high field amplitudes of the driving wave.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, this manuscript is related to the "Giant valley-selective Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts of exciton resonances in WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$ monolayers" manuscrip

Giant valley-selective Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts of exciton resonances in WSe2_2 and MoS2_2 monolayers

In this letter we demonstrate that the valley degeneracy of exciton states in monolayers of WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$ can be lifted by the interaction with strong circularly-polarized infrared pulses with durations of only few periods of the electric field whose photon energy is much lower than the energy of the excitonic transition. The observed valley-sensitive blue shifts of excitonic absorption lines are consequences of optical Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts acting exclusively on the opposite valleys of the monolayer. We measured the transient valley-selective changes of sample reflectivity for 1sA as well as for 1sB exciton transitions corresponding to the two most intensive resonances in the studied materials. For the studied phenomena we developed a theoretical description based on semiconductor Bloch equations, which goes beyond the simple two-level model used in previous investigations. The theoretical approach takes into account Coulomb many-body effects in the monolayer and provides a unified description of both types of shifts. The detected room-temperature excitonic energy shifts of up to 30\,meV pave the way for practical applications of these effects.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, the manuscript is related to the "Semiconductor Bloch equation analysis of optical Stark and Bloch-Siegert shifts in monolayers WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$" manuscrip

Excitation of Rydberg wave packets with chirped laser pulses

We study Rydberg wave packets produced by pairs of time separated femtosecond laser pulses. The time separation ranges from femtosecond to picosecond time scales. The wave packets consist predominantly of f states of principal quantum numbers n = 22-32 in Li. With a direct analysis of the field ionization spectra the n-level-resolved classical orbit times are displayed. By chirping the second excitation pulse we demonstrate controlled amplitude oscillations of n-level amplitudes on femtosecond time scales.Fil: Preclíková, J.. University of Bergen; NoruegaFil: Kozák, M.. Karlova Univerzita; República ChecaFil: Fregenal, Daniel Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Frette, Ø.. University of Bergen; NoruegaFil: Hamre, B.. University of Bergen; NoruegaFil: Hjertaker, B. T.. University of Bergen; NoruegaFil: Hansen, J. P.. University of Bergen; NoruegaFil: Kocbach, L.. University of Bergen; Norueg

High-temporal-resolution electron microscopy for imaging ultrafast electron dynamics

Ultrafast Electron Microscopy (UEM) has been demonstrated to be an effective table-top technique for imaging the temporally-evolving dynamics of matter with subparticle spatial resolution on the time scale of atomic motion. However, imaging the faster motion of electron dynamics in real time has remained beyond reach. Here, we demonstrate more than an order of magnitude (16 times) enhancement in the typical temporal resolution of UEM by generating isolated 30 fs electron pulses, accelerated at 200 keV, via the optical-gating approach, with sufficient intensity for efficiently probing the electronic dynamics of matter. Moreover, we investigate the feasibility of attosecond optical gating to generate isolated subfemtosecond electron pulses, attaining the desired temporal resolution in electron microscopy for establishing the Attomicroscopy to allow the imaging of electron motion in the act.Comment: 19 Pages, 4 Figure