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Taxonomy Of Thermopsis (Fabaceae) In North-America
Comprehensive reevaluation of both herbarium specimens and field observations of the North American Thermopsis leads to our recognition of 10 species. Three species occur in the southern Appalachians: T. villosa, T. mollis, and T. fraxinifolia. The Rocky Mountains and intermountain regions are populated by the relatively variable and widespread species T. divaricarpa, T. montana, and T. rhombifolia. The Pacific coastal mountains of California are dominated by the variable T. californica (with three infraspecific taxa), which gives way to T. gracilis in northern California and western Oregon. Thermopsis macrophylla and T. robusta have restricted ranges in California.Integrative Biolog
Efficient, designable, and broad-bandwidth optical extinction via aspect-ratio-tailored silver nanodisks
Subwavelength resonators, ranging from single atoms to metallic
nanoparticles, typically exhibit a narrow-bandwidth response to optical
excitations. We computationally design and experimentally synthesize tailored
distributions of silver nanodisks to extinguish light over broad and varied
frequency windows. We show that metallic nanodisks are two-to-ten-times more
efficient in absorbing and scattering light than common structures, and can
approach fundamental limits to broadband scattering for subwavelength
particles. We measure broadband extinction per volume that closely approaches
theoretical predictions over three representative visible-range wavelength
windows, confirming the high efficiency of nanodisks and demonstrating the
collective power of computational design and experimental precision for
developing new photonics technologies
Stormâtime configuration of the inner magnetosphere: LyonâFedderâMobarry MHD code, Tsyganenko model, and GOES observations
[1] We compare global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation results with an empirical model and observations to understand the magnetic field configuration and plasma distribution in the inner magnetosphere, especially during geomagnetic storms. The physics-based Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) code simulates Earth\u27s magnetospheric topology and dynamics by solving the equations of ideal MHD. Quantitative comparisons of simulated events with observations reveal strengths and possible limitations and suggest ways to improve the LFM code. Here we present a case study that compares the LFM code to both a semiempirical magnetic field model and to geosynchronous measurements from GOES satellites. During a magnetic cloud event, the simulation and model predictions compare well qualitatively with observations, except during storm main phase. Quantitative statistical studies of the MHD simulation shows that MHD field lines are consistently under-stretched, especially during storm time (Dst \u3c â20 nT) on the nightside, a likely consequence of an insufficient representation of the inner magnetosphere current systems in ideal MHD. We discuss two approaches for improving the LFM result: increasing the simulation spatial resolution and coupling LFM with a ring current model based on drift physics (i.e., the Rice Convection Model (RCM)). We show that a higher spatial resolution LFM code better predicts geosynchronous magnetic fields (not only the average Bz component but also higher-frequency fluctuations driven by the solar wind). An early version of the LFM/RCM coupled code, which runs so far only for idealized events, yields a much-improved ring current, quantifiable by decreased field strengths at all local times compared to the LFM-only code
Experimental procedures for precision measurements of the Casimir force with an Atomic Force Microscope
Experimental methods and procedures required for precision measurements of
the Casimir force are presented. In particular, the best practices for
obtaining stable cantilevers, calibration of the cantilever, correction of
thermal and mechanical drift, measuring the contact separation, sphere radius
and the roughness are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
Predicting magnetopause crossings at geosynchronous orbit during the Halloween storms
[1] In late October and early November of 2003, the Sun unleashed a powerful series of events known as the Halloween storms. The coronal mass ejections launched by the Sun produced several severe compressions of the magnetosphere that moved the magnetopause inside of geosynchronous orbit. Such events are of interest to satellite operators, and the ability to predict magnetopause crossings along a given orbit is an important space weather capability. In this paper we compare geosynchronous observations of magnetopause crossings during the Halloween storms to crossings determined from the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the magnetosphere as well to predictions of several empirical models of the magnetopause position. We calculate basic statistical information about the predictions as well as several standard skill scores. We find that the current Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry simulation of the storm provides a slightly better prediction of the magnetopause position than the empirical models we examined for the extreme conditions present in this study. While this is not surprising, given that conditions during the Halloween storms were well outside the parameter space of the empirical models, it does point out the need for physics-based models that can predict the effects of the most extreme events that are of significant interest to users of space weather forecasts
Lambda-prophage induction modeled as a cooperative failure mode of lytic repression
We analyze a system-level model for lytic repression of lambda-phage in E.
coli using reliability theory, showing that the repressor circuit comprises 4
redundant components whose failure mode is prophage induction. Our model
reflects the specific biochemical mechanisms involved in regulation, including
long-range cooperative binding, and its detailed predictions for prophage
induction in E. coli under ultra-violet radiation are in good agreement with
experimental data.Comment: added referenc
Continuum Superpartners
In an exact conformal theory there is no particle. The excitations have
continuum spectra and are called "unparticles" by Georgi. We consider
supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model with approximate conformal
sectors. The conformal symmetry is softly broken in the infrared which
generates a gap. However, the spectrum can still have a continuum above the gap
if there is no confinement. Using the AdS/CFT correspondence this can be
achieved with a soft wall in the warped extra dimension. When supersymmetry is
broken the superpartners of the Standard Model particles may simply be a
continuum above gap. The collider signals can be quite different from the
standard supersymmetric scenarios and the experimental searches for the
continuum superpartners can be very challenging.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, talk at SCGT09 Workshop, Nagoya, Japan, 8-11
Dec, 200
Optically Thin Metallic Films for High-radiative-efficiency Plasmonics
Plasmonics enables deep-subwavelength concentration of light and has become
important for fundamental studies as well as real-life applications. Two major
existing platforms of plasmonics are metallic nanoparticles and metallic films.
Metallic nanoparticles allow efficient coupling to far field radiation, yet
their synthesis typically leads to poor material quality. Metallic films offer
substantially higher quality materials, but their coupling to radiation is
typically jeopardized due to the large momentum mismatch with free space. Here,
we propose and theoretically investigate optically thin metallic films as an
ideal platform for high-radiative-efficiency plasmonics. For far-field
scattering, adding a thin high-quality metallic substrate enables a higher
quality factor while maintaining the localization and tunability that the
nanoparticle provides. For near-field spontaneous emission, a thin metallic
substrate, of high quality or not, greatly improves the field overlap between
the emitter environment and propagating surface plasmons, enabling high-Purcell
(total enhancement > ), high-quantum-yield (> 50 %) spontaneous emission,
even as the gap size vanishes (35 nm). The enhancement has almost
spatially independent efficiency and does not suffer from quenching effects
that commonly exist in previous structures.Comment: Supporting Information not included but freely available from
DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b0085
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