6,420 research outputs found
Coexistence of bulk and surface states probed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in BiSe with high charge-carrier density
Topological insulators are ideally represented as having an insulating bulk
with topologically protected, spin-textured surface states. However, it is
increasingly becoming clear that these surface transport channels can be
accompanied by a finite conducting bulk, as well as additional topologically
trivial surface states. To investigate these parallel conduction transport
channels, we studied Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in BiSe thin films,
in high magnetic fields up to 30 T so as to access channels with a lower
mobility. We identify a clear Zeeman-split bulk contribution to the
oscillations from a comparison between the charge-carrier densities extracted
from the magnetoresistance and the oscillations. Furthermore, our analyses
indicate the presence of a two-dimensional state and signatures of additional
states the origin of which cannot be conclusively determined. Our findings
underpin the necessity of theoretical studies on the origin of and the
interplay between these parallel conduction channels for a careful analysis of
the material's performance.Comment: Manuscript including supplemental materia
Laser radiation pressure slowing of a molecular beam
There is substantial interest in producing samples of ultracold molecules for
possible applications in quantum computation, quantum simulation of condensed
matter systems, precision measurements, controlled chemistry, and high
precision spectroscopy. A crucial step to obtaining large samples of ultracold,
trapped molecules is developing a means to bridge the gap between typical
molecular source velocities (~150-600 m/s) and velocities for which trap
loading or confinement is possible (~5-20 m/s). Here we show deceleration of a
beam of neutral strontium monofluoride (SrF) molecules using radiative force.
Under certain conditions, the deceleration results in a substantial flux of
molecules with velocities <50 m/s. The observed slowing, from ~140 m/s,
corresponds to scattering ~10000 photons. We also observe longitudinal velocity
compression under different conditions. Combined with molecular laser cooling
techniques, this lays the groundwork to create slow and cold molecular beams
suitable for trap loading.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Supplementary material updated
Anisotropic and strong negative magneto-resistance in the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3
We report on high-field angle-dependent magneto-transport measurements on
epitaxial thin films of Bi2Se3, a three-dimensional topological insulator. At
low temperature, we observe quantum oscillations that demonstrate the
simultaneous presence of bulk and surface carriers. The magneto- resistance of
Bi2Se3 is found to be highly anisotropic. In the presence of a parallel
electric and magnetic field, we observe a strong negative longitudinal
magneto-resistance that has been consid- ered as a smoking-gun for the presence
of chiral fermions in a certain class of semi-metals due to the so-called axial
anomaly. Its observation in a three-dimensional topological insulator implies
that the axial anomaly may be in fact a far more generic phenomenon than
originally thought.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Local structure of liquid carbon controls diamond nucleation
Diamonds melt at temperatures above 4000 K. There are no measurements of the
steady-state rate of the reverse process: diamond nucleation from the melt,
because experiments are difficult at these extreme temperatures and pressures.
Using numerical simulations, we estimate the diamond nucleation rate and find
that it increases by many orders of magnitude when the pressure is increased at
constant supersaturation. The reason is that an increase in pressure changes
the local coordination of carbon atoms from three-fold to four-fold. It turns
out to be much easier to nucleate diamond in a four-fold coordinated liquid
than in a liquid with three-fold coordination, because in the latter case the
free-energy cost to create a diamond-liquid interface is higher. We speculate
that this mechanism for nucleation control is relevant for crystallization in
many network-forming liquids. On the basis of our calculations, we conclude
that homogeneous diamond nucleation is likely in carbon-rich stars and unlikely
in gaseous planets
Can Polymer Coils be modeled as "Soft Colloids"?
We map dilute or semi-dilute solutions of non-intersecting polymer chains
onto a fluid of ``soft'' particles interacting via a concentration dependent
effective pair potential, by inverting the pair distribution function of the
centers of mass of the initial polymer chains. A similar inversion is used to
derive an effective wall-polymer potential; these potentials are combined to
successfully reproduce the calculated exact depletion interaction induced by
non-intersecting polymers between two walls. The mapping opens up the
possibility of large-scale simulations of polymer solutions in complex
geometries.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures ReVTeX[epsfig,multicol,amssymb] references update
Remote participation during glycosylation reactions of galactose building blocks: Direct evidence from cryogenic vibrational spectroscopy
The stereoselective formation of 1,2‐cis‐glycosidic bonds is challenging. However, 1,2‐cis‐selectivity can be induced by remote participation of C4 or C6 ester groups. Reactions involving remote participation are believed to proceed via a key ionic intermediate, the glycosyl cation. Although mechanistic pathways were postulated many years ago, the structure of the reaction intermediates remained elusive owing to their short‐lived nature. Herein, we unravel the structure of glycosyl cations involved in remote participation reactions via cryogenic vibrational spectroscopy and first principles theory. Acetyl groups at C4 ensure α‐selective galactosylations by forming a covalent bond to the anomeric carbon in dioxolenium‐type ions. Unexpectedly, also benzyl ether protecting groups can engage in remote participation and promote the stereoselective formation of 1,2‐cis‐glycosidic bonds
Imaging-documented repeated intratumoral hemorrhage in vestibular schwannoma: a case report
Intratumoral hemorrhage in vestibular schwannomas is rare. Symptoms often have an acute onset and include headache, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and depressed consciousness. Intratumoral hemorrhage is probably caused by vascular fragility associated with tumor characteristics and growth. With hemorrhage in VS being rare, repeated hemorrhage has only been reported twice, and on clinical grounds only. The present report details the case of acute neurological deterioration in a patient with repeated intratumoral hemorrhage inside a vestibular schwannoma with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging confirmation. To our knowledge, repeated hemorrhage in vestibular schwannoma with radiological confirmation has not been reported before
Phase behavior and structure of model colloid-polymer mixtures confined between two parallel planar walls
Using Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations and density functional theory we
investigate the fluid-fluid demixing transition in inhomogeneous
colloid-polymer mixtures confined between two parallel plates with separation
distances between one and ten colloid diameters covering the complete range
from quasi two-dimensional to bulk-like behavior. We use the
Asakura-Oosawa-Vrij model in which colloid-colloid and colloid-polymer
interactions are hard-sphere like, whilst the pair potential between polymers
vanishes. Two different types of confinement induced by a pair of parallel
walls are considered, namely either through two hard walls or through two
semi-permeable walls that repel colloids but allow polymers to freely
penetrate. For hard (semi-permeable) walls we find that the capillary binodal
is shifted towards higher (lower) polymer fugacities and lower (higher) colloid
fugacities as compared to the bulk binodal; this implies capillary condensation
(evaporation) of the colloidal liquid phase in the slit. A macroscopic
treatment is provided by a novel symmetric Kelvin equation for general binary
mixtures, based on the proximity in chemical potentials of statepoints at
capillary coexistence and the reference bulk coexistence. Results for capillary
binodals compare well with those obtained from the classic version of the
Kelvin equation due to Evans and Marini Bettolo Marconi [J. Chem. Phys. 86,
7138 (1987)], and are quantitatively accurate away from the fluid-fluid
critical point, even at small wall separations. For hard walls the density
profiles of polymers and colloids inside the slit display oscillations due to
packing effects for all statepoints. For semi-permeable walls either similar
structuring or flat profiles are found, depending on the statepoint considered.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure
Single-photon-emitting optical centers in diamond fabricated upon Sn implantation
The fabrication of luminescent defects in single-crystal diamond upon Sn
implantation and annealing is reported. The relevant spectral features of the
optical centers (emission peaks at 593.5 nm, 620.3 nm, 630.7 nm and 646.7 nm)
are attributed to Sn-related defects through the correlation of their
photoluminescence (PL) intensity with the implantation fluence. Single
Sn-related defects were identified and characterized through the acquisition of
their second-order auto-correlation emission functions, by means of
Hanbury-Brown-Twiss interferometry. The investigation of their single-photon
emission regime as a function of excitation laser power revealed that
Sn-related defects are based on three-level systems with a 6 ns radiative decay
lifetime. In a fraction of the studied centers, the observation of a blinking
PL emission is indicative of the existence of a dark state. Furthermore,
absorption dependence from the polarization of the excitation radiation with
about 45 percent contrast was measured. This work shed light on the existence
of a new optical center associated with a group-IV impurity in diamond, with
similar photo-physical properties to the already well-known Si-V and Ge-V
emitters, thus providing results of interest from both the fundamental and
applicative points of view.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
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