Full characterization and analysis of a terahertz heterodyne receiver based on a NbN hot electron bolometer

We present a complete experimental characterization of a quasioptical twin-slot antenna coupled small area (1.0×0.15 µm^2) NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer compatible with currently available solid state tunable local oscillator (LO) sources. The required LO power absorbed in the HEB is analyzed in detail and equals only 25 nW. Due to the small HEB volume and wide antenna bandwidth, an unwanted direct detection effect is observed which decreases the apparent sensitivity. Correcting for this effect results in a receiver noise temperature of 700 K at 1.46 THz. The intermediate frequency (IF) gain bandwidth is 2.3 GHz and the IF noise bandwidth is 4 GHz. The single channel receiver stability is limited to 0.2–0.3 s in a 50 MHz bandwidth

Macroscopic coherence effects in a mesoscopic system: Weak localization of thin silver films in an undergraduate lab

We present an undergraduate lab that investigates weak localization in thin silver films. The films prepared in our lab have thickness, $a$, between 60-200 \AA, a mesoscopic length scale. At low temperatures, the inelastic dephasing length for electrons, $L_{\phi}$, exceeds the thickness of the film ($L_{\phi} \gg a$), and the films are then quasi-2D in nature. In this situation, theory predicts specific corrections to the Drude conductivity due to coherent interference between conducting electrons' wavefunctions, a macroscopically observable effect known as weak localization. This correction can be destroyed with the application of a magnetic field, and the resulting magnetoresistance curve provides information about electron transport in the film. This lab is suitable for Junior or Senior level students in an advanced undergraduate lab course.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. Replaces earlier version of paper rejected by Am. J. Phys. because of too much content on vacuum systems. New version deals with the undergraduate experiment on weak localization onl

Four genes encoding MYB28, a major transcriptional regulator of the aliphatic glucosinolate pathway, are differentially expressed in the allopolypoloid Brassica juncea

Glucosinolates are Capparales-specific secondary metabolites that have immense potential in human health and agriculture. Unlike Arabidopsis thaliana, our knowledge about glucosinolate regulators in the Brassica crops is sparse. In the current study, four MYB28 homologues were identified (BjuMYB28-1,-2,-3,-4) from the polyploid Brassica juncea, and the effects of allopolyploidization on the divergence of gene sequence, structure, function, and expression were assessed. The deduced protein sequences of the four BjuMYB28 genes showed 76.1–83.1% identity with the Arabidopsis MYB28. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the four BjuMYB28 proteins have evolved via the hybridization and duplication processes forming the B. juncea genome (AABB) from B. rapa (AA) and B. nigra (BB), while retaining high levels of sequence conservation. Mutant complementation and over-expression studies in A. thaliana showed that all four BjuMYB28 genes encode functional MYB28 proteins and resulted in similar aliphatic glucosinolate composition and content. Detailed expression analysis using qRT-PCR assays and promoter-GUS lines revealed that the BjuMYB28 genes have both tissue- and cell-specific expression partitioning in B. juncea. The two B-genome origin BjuMYB28 genes had more abundant transcripts during the early stages of plant development than the A-genome origin genes. However, with the onset of the reproductive phase, expression levels of all four BjuMYB28 increased significantly, which may be necessary for producing and maintaining high amounts of aliphatic glucosinolates during the later stages of plant development. Taken together, our results suggest that the four MYB28 genes are differentially expressed and regulated in B. juncea to play discrete though overlapping roles in controlling aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis

Geometry-induced reduction of the critical current in superconducting nanowires

Reduction of the critical current in narrow superconducting NbN lines with sharp and rounded bends with respect to the critical current in straight lines was studied at different temperatures. We compare our experimental results with the reduction expected in the framework of the London model and the Ginsburg-Landau model. We have experimentally found that the reduction is significantly less than either model predicts. We also show that in our NbN lines the bends mostly contribute to the reduction of the critical current at temperatures well below the superconducting transition temperature

Magnetic anisotropy in strained manganite films and bicrystal junctions

Transport and magnetic properties of LSMO manganite thin films and bicrystal junctions were investigated. Manganite films were epitaxially grown on STO, LAO, NGO and LSAT substrates and their magnetic anisotropy were determined by two techniques of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Compare with cubic substrates a small (about 0.3 persentage), the anisotropy of the orthorhombic NGO substrate leads to a uniaxial anisotropy of the magnetic properties of the films in the plane of the substrate. Samples with different tilt of crystallographic basal planes of manganite as well as bicrystal junctions with rotation of the crystallographic axes (RB - junction) and with tilting of basal planes (TB - junction) were investigated. It was found that on vicinal NGO substrates the value of magnetic anisotropy could be varied by changing the substrate inclination angle from 0 to 25 degrees. Measurement of magnetic anisotropy of manganite bicrystal junction demonstrated the presence of two ferromagnetically ordered spin subsystems for both types of bicrystal boundaries RB and TB. The magnitude of the magnetoresistance for TB - junctions increased with decreasing temperature and with the misorientation angle even misorientation of easy axes in the parts of junction does not change. Analysis of the voltage dependencies of bicrystal junction conductivity show that the low value of the magnetoresistance for the LSMO bicrystal junctions can be caused by two scattering mechanisms with the spin- flip of spin - polarized carriers due to the strong electron - electron interactions in a disordered layer at the bicrystal boundary at low temperatures and the spin-flip by anti ferromagnetic magnons at high temperatures.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure

Trait‐mediated indirect interactions: Moose browsing increases sawfly fecundity through plant‐induced responses

1. Induced responses in plants, initiated by herbivory, create potential for trait‐mediated indirect interactions among herbivores. Responses to an initial herbivore may change a number of plant traits that subsequently alter ecological processes with additional herbivores. Although common, indirect interactions between taxonomically distant herbivores, such as mammals and insects, are less studied than between taxonomically related species (i.e., insect–insect). In terms of mammal– insect interactions, effects on insect numbers (e.g., density) are relatively well studied, whereas effects on performance (e.g., fecundity) are rarely explored. Moreover, few studies have explored mammal–insect interactions on coniferous plants. 2. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mammalian induced responses on insect performance. We specifically investigated the effect of moose (Alces alces) browsing on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and subsequent effects on sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) performance. 3. Sawfly larvae were reared on browsed, clipped, and unbrowsed control pine trees in a controlled field experiment. Afterward, cocoon weight was measured. Needle C:N ratio and di‐terpene content were measured in response to browsing. 4. Sawfly performance was enhanced on trees browsed by moose. Cocoon weight (proxy for fecundity) was 9 and 13% higher on browsed and clipped trees compared to unbrowsed trees. Cocoon weight was weakly related to needle C:N ratio, and browsed trees had lower a C:N ratio compared to unbrowsed trees. Needle di‐terpene content, known to affect sawfly performance, was neither affected by the browsing treatments nor did it correlate with sawfly weight. 5. We conclude that mammalian herbivory can affect insect herbivore performance, with potential consequences for ecological communities and with particular importance for insect population dynamics. The measured plant variables could not fully explain the effect on sawfly performance providing a starting point for the consideration of additional plant responses induced by mammalian browsing affecting insect performance