Self-consistent determination of the perpendicular strain profile of implanted Si by analysis of x-ray rocking curves

Results of a determination of strain perpendicular to the surface and of the damage in (100) Si single crystals irradiated by 250-keV Ar+ ions at 77 K are presented. Double-crystal x-ray diffraction and dynamical x-ray diffraction theory are used. Trial strain and damage distributions were guided by transmission electron microscope observations and Monte Carlo simulation of ion energy deposition. The perpendicular strain and damage profiles, determined after sequentially removing thin layers of Ar+-implanted Si, were shown to be self-consistent, proving the uniqueness of the deconvolution. Agreement between calculated and experimental rocking curves is obtained with strain and damage distributions which closely follow the shape of the trim simulations from the maximum damage to the end of the ion range but fall off more rapidly than the simulation curve near the surface. Comparison of the trim simulation and the strain profile of Ar+-implanted Si reveals the importance of annealing during and after implantation and the role of complex defects in the final residual strain distribution

Microfluidic immunomagnetic multi-target sorting – a model for controlling deflection of paramagnetic beads

We describe a microfluidic system that uses a magnetic field to sort paramagnetic beads by deflecting them in the direction normal to the flow. Our experiments systematically study the dependence of the beads’ deflection on: bead size and susceptibility, magnet strength, fluid speed and viscosity, and device geometry. We also develop a design parameter that can aid in the design of microfluidic devices for immunomagnetic multi-target sorting

Electromagnetically induced transparency on a single artificial atom

We present experimental observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) on a single macroscopic artificial "atom" (superconducting quantum system) coupled to open 1D space of a transmission line. Unlike in a optical media with many atoms, the single atom EIT in 1D space is revealed in suppression of reflection of electromagnetic waves, rather than absorption. The observed almost 100 % modulation of the reflection and transmission of propagating microwaves demonstrates full controllability of individual artificial atoms and a possibility to manipulate the atomic states. The system can be used as a switchable mirror of microwaves and opens a good perspective for its applications in photonic quantum information processing and other fields

TagF-mediated repression of bacterial type VI secretion systems involves a direct interaction with the cytoplasmic protein Fha

The bacterial type VI secretion system (T6SS) delivers effectors into eukaryotic host cells or toxins into bacterial competitor for survival and fitness. The T6SS is positively regulated by the threonine phosphorylation pathway (TPP) and negatively by the T6SS-accessory protein TagF. Here, we studied the mechanisms underlying TagF-mediated T6SS repression in two distinct bacterial pathogens, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found that in A. tumefaciens, T6SS toxin secretion and T6SS-dependent antibacterial activity are suppressed by a two-domain chimeric protein consisting of TagF and PppA, a putative phosphatase. Remarkably, this TagF domain is sufficient to post-translationally repress the T6SS, and this inhibition is independent of TPP. This repression requires interaction with a cytoplasmic protein, Fha, critical for activating T6SS assembly. In P. aeruginosa, PppA and TagF are two distinct proteins that repress T6SS in a TPP-dependent and -independent pathways, respectively. P. aeruginosa TagF interacts with Fha1, suggesting that formation of this complex represents a conserved TagF-mediated regulatory mechanism. Using TagF variants with substitutions of conserved amino acid residues at predicted protein-protein interaction interfaces, we uncovered evidence that the TagF-Fha interaction is critical for TagF-mediated T6SS repression in both bacteria. TagF inhibits T6SS without affecting T6SS protein abundance in A. tumefaciens, but TagF overexpression reduces the protein levels of all analyzed T6SS components in P. aeruginosa. Our results indicate that TagF interacts with Fha, which in turn could impact different stages of T6SS assembly in different bacteria, possibly reflecting an evolutionary divergence in T6SS control

Reply to Comment by D. Spemann et al [EPL 98 (2012) 57006, arXiv:1204.2992]

This article is a reply to the Comment by D. Spemann et al (arXiv:1204.2992) in response to our paper 'Revealing common artifacts due to ferromagnetic inclusions in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite' (EPL, 97 (2012) 47001).Comment: Reply to arXiv:1204.2992 Comment by D. Spemann et al re arXiv:1201.6374 by Sepioni et a

Ultimate on-chip quantum amplifier

We report amplification of electromagnetic waves by a single artificial atom in open 1D space. Our three-level artificial atom -- a superconducting quantum circuit -- coupled to a transmission line presents an analog of a natural atom in open space. The system is the most fundamental quantum amplifier whose gain is limited by a spontaneous emission mechanism. The noise performance is determined by the quantum noise revealed in the spectrum of spontaneous emission, also characterized in our experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures + supplemenntary materials accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

Techniques for the Synthesis of Reversible Toffoli Networks

This paper presents novel techniques for the synthesis of reversible networks of Toffoli gates, as well as improvements to previous methods. Gate count and technology oriented cost metrics are used. Our synthesis techniques are independent of the cost metrics. Two new iterative synthesis procedure employing Reed-Muller spectra are introduced and shown to complement earlier synthesis approaches. The template simplification suggested in earlier work is enhanced through introduction of a faster and more efficient template application algorithm, updated (shorter) classification of the templates, and presentation of the new templates of sizes 7 and 9. A novel ``resynthesis'' approach is introduced wherein a sequence of gates is chosen from a network, and the reversible specification it realizes is resynthesized as an independent problem in hopes of reducing the network cost. Empirical results are presented to show that the methods are effective both in terms of the realization of all 3x3 reversible functions and larger reversible benchmark specifications.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Parity effect in Al and Nb single electron transistors in a tunable environment

Two different types of Cooper pair transistors, with Al and Nb islands, have been investigated in a tunable electromagnetic environment. The device with an Al island demonstrates gate charge modulation with 2e-periodicity in a wide range of environmental impedances at bath temperatures below 340 mK. Contrary to the results of the Al sample, we were not able to detect 2e-periodicity under any conditions on similar samples with Nb island. We attribute this to the material properties of Nb.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Dynamical Properties of a Growing Surface on a Random Substrate

The dynamics of the discrete Gaussian model for the surface of a crystal deposited on a disordered substrate is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. The mobility of the growing surface was studied as a function of a small driving force $F$ and temperature $T$. A continuous transition is found from high-temperature phase characterized by linear response to a low-temperature phase with nonlinear, temperature dependent response. In the simulated regime of driving force the numerical results are in general agreement with recent dynamic renormalization group predictions.Comment: 10 pages, latex, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E (RC