Searching for Earth-mass planets around α\alpha Centauri: precise radial velocities from contaminated spectra

This work is part of an ongoing project which aims to detect terrestrial planets in our neighbouring star system $\alpha$ Centauri using the Doppler method. Owing to the small angular separation between the two components of the $\alpha$ Cen AB binary system, the observations will to some extent be contaminated with light coming from the other star. We are accurately determining the amount of contamination for every observation by measuring the relative strengths of the H-$\alpha$ and NaD lines. Furthermore, we have developed a modified version of a well established Doppler code that is modelling the observations using two stellar templates simultaneously. With this method we can significantly reduce the scatter of the radial velocity measurements due to spectral cross-contamination and hence increase our chances of detecting the tiny signature caused by potential Earth-mass planets. After correcting for the contamination we achieve radial velocity precision of $\sim 2.5\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ for a given night of observations. We have also applied this new Doppler code to four southern double-lined spectroscopic binary systems (HR159, HR913, HR7578, HD181958) and have successfully recovered radial velocities for both components simultaneously.Comment: accepted for publication in the International Journal of Astrobiology (published by Cambridge University Press); will appear in a revised form, subsequent to editorial input by Cambridge University Pres

Short-Timescale monitoring of the X-ray, UV and broad double-peak emission line of the nucleus of NGC 1097

Recent studies have suggested that the short-timescale ($\lesssim7$ days) variability of the broad ($\sim$10,000 km s$^{-1}$) double-peaked H$\alpha$ profile of the LINER nucleus of NGC1097 could be driven by a variable X-ray emission from a central radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF). To test this scenario, we have monitored the NGC1097 nucleus in X-ray and UV continuum with Swift and the H$\alpha$ flux and profile in the optical spectrum using SOAR and Gemini-South from 2012 August to 2013 February. During the monitoring campaign, the H$\alpha$ flux remained at a very low level --- 3 times lower than the maximum flux observed in previous campaigns and showing only limited ($\sim 20\%$) variability. The X-ray variations were small, only $\sim 13\%$ throughout the campaign, while the UV did not show significant variations. We concluded that the timescale of the H$\alpha$ profile variation is close to the sampling interval of the optical observations, which results in only marginal correlation between the X-ray and H$\alpha$ fluxes. We have caught the AGN in NGC1097 in a very low activity state, in which the ionizing source was very weak and capable of ionizing just the innermost part of the gas in the disk. Nonetheless, the data presented here still support the picture in which the gas that emits the broad double-peaked Balmer lines is illuminated/ionized by a source of high-energy photons which is located interior to the inner radius of the line-emitting part of the disk.Comment: The paper contains 14 pages, 7 figures and is accepted for publication at the Astrophysical Journa

Enhanced protein immobilization on polymers - a plasma surface activation study

Over the last years, polymers have gained great attention as substrate material, because of the possibility to produce low-cost sensors in a high-throughput manner or for rapid prototyping and the wide variety of polymeric materials available with different features (like transparency, flexibility, stretchability, etc.). For almost all biosensing applications, the interaction between biomolecules (for example, antibodies, proteins or enzymes) and the employed substrate surface is highly important. In order to realize an effective biomolecule immobilization on polymers, different surface activation techniques, including chemical and physical methods, exist. Among them, plasma treatment offers an easy, fast and effective activation of the surfaces by micro/nanotexturing and generating functional groups (including carboxylic acids, amines, esters, aldehydes or hydroxyl groups). Hence, here we present a systematic and comprehensive plasma activation study of various polymeric surfaces by optimizing different parameters, including power, time, substrate temperature and gas composition. Thereby, the highest immobilization efficiency along with a homogenous biomolecule distribution is achieved with a 5-min plasma treatment under a gas composition of 50% oxygen and nitrogen, at a power of 1000 W and a substrate temperature of 80 C. These results are also confirmed by different surface characterization methods, including SEM, XPS and contact angle measurements

Two-photon linewidth of light "stopping" via electromagnetically induced transparency

We analyze the two-photon linewidth of the recently proposed adiabatic transfer technique for ``stopping'' of light using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We shown that a successful and reliable transfer of excitation from light to atoms and back can be achieved if the spectrum of the input probe pulse lies within the initial transparency window of EIT, and if the two-photon detuning $\delta$ is less than the collective coupling strength (collective vacuum Rabi-frequency) $g\sqrt{N}$ divided by $\sqrt{\gamma T}$, with $\gamma$ being the radiative decay rate, $N$ the effective number of atoms in the sample, and $T$ the pulse duration. Hence in an optically thick medium light ``storage'' and retrieval is possible with high fidelity even for systems with rather large two-photon detuning or inhomogeneous broadening.Comment: 2 figure

Zooming into local active galactic nuclei: The power of combining SDSS-IV MaNGA with higher resolution integral field unit observations

Ionised gas outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are ubiquitous in high luminosity AGN with outflow speeds apparently correlated with the total bolometric luminosity of the AGN. This empirical relation and theoretical work suggest that in the range L_bol ~ 10^43-45 erg/s there must exist a threshold luminosity above which the AGN becomes powerful enough to launch winds that will be able to escape the galaxy potential. In this paper, we present pilot observations of two AGN in this transitional range that were taken with the Gemini North Multi-Object Spectrograph Integral Field Unit (IFU). Both sources have also previously been observed within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV (SDSS) Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey. While the MaNGA IFU maps probe the gas fields on galaxy-wide scales and show that some regions are dominated by AGN ionization, the new Gemini IFU data zoom into the centre with four times better spatial resolution. In the object with the lower L_bol we find evidence of a young or stalled biconical AGN-driven outflow where none was obvious at the MaNGA resolution. In the object with the higher L_bol we trace the large-scale biconical outflow into the nuclear region and connect the outflow from small to large scales. These observations suggest that AGN luminosity and galaxy potential are crucial in shaping wind launching and propagation in low-luminosity AGN. The transition from small and young outflows to galaxy-wide feedback can only be understood by combining large-scale IFU data that trace the galaxy velocity field with higher resolution, small scale IFU maps.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA

Electrochemical etching of AlGaN for the realization of thin-film devices

Heterogeneously integrated AlGaN epitaxial layers will be essential for future optical and electrical devices like thin-film flip-chip ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes, UV vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, and high-electron mobility transistors on efficient heat sinks. Such AlGaN-membranes will also enable flexible and micromechanical devices. However, to develop a method to separate the AlGaN-device membranes from the substrate has proven to be challenging, in particular, for high-quality device materials, which require the use of a lattice-matched AlGaN sacrificial layer. We demonstrate an electrochemical etching method by which it is possible to achieve complete lateral etching of an AlGaN sacrificial layer with up to 50% Al-content. The influence of etching voltage and the Al-content of the sacrificial layer on the etching process is investigated. The etched N-polar surface shows the same macroscopic topography as that of the as-grown epitaxial structure, and the root-mean square roughness is 3.5 nm for 1 \ub5m x 1 \ub5m scan areas. Separated device layers have a well-defined thickness and smooth etched surfaces. Transferred multi-quantum-well structures were fabricated and investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. The quantum wells showed no sign of degradation caused by the thin-film process

Physical Conditions in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 2992

This paper presents long slit spectral maps of the bi-cone shaped extended narrow line region (ENLR) in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. We investigate the physical properties of the ENLR via emission line diagnostics, and compare the observations to shock and photoionization models for the excitation mechanism of the gas. The line ratios vary as a function of position in the ENLR, and the loci of the observed points on line ratio diagrams are shown to be most consistent with shock+precursor model grids. We consider the energetics of a nuclear ionizing source for the ENLR, and perform the q-test in which the rate of ionizing photons from the nucleus is inferred from measurements of the density and ionization parameter. The q-test is shown to be invalid in the case of NGC 2992 because of the limitations of the [S II]6717/6731 density diagnostic. The excitation of the gas is shown to be broadly consistent with the kinematics, with higher [N II]6583/H-alpha present in the more dynamically active region. We also show that the pressure associated with the X-ray emitting plasma may provide a large fraction of the pressure required to power the ENLR via shocks.Comment: 55 pages, 49 figures, ApJ accepted September 9, 1998. Figures 1a-f are provided in jpeg forma

Extended half-life target module for sustainable UniCAR T-cell treatment of STn-expressing cancers

Background: Adapter chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) approaches have emerged has promising strategies to increase clinical safety of CAR T-cell therapy. In the UniCAR system, the safety switch is controlled via a target module (TM) which is characterized by a small-size and short half-life. The rapid clearance of these TMs from the blood allows a quick steering and self-limiting safety switch of UniCAR T-cells by TM dosing. This is mainly important during onset of therapy when tumor burden and the risk for severe side effects are high. For long-term UniCAR therapy, the continuous infusion of TMs may not be an optimal setting for the patients. Thus, in later stages of treatment, single infusions of TMs with an increased half-life might play an important role in long-term surveillance and eradication of residual tumor cells. Given this, we aimed to develop and characterize a novel TM with extended half-life targeting the tumor-associated carbohydrate sialyl-Tn (STn). Methods: The extended half-life TM is composed of the STn-specific single-chain variable fragment (scFv) and the UniCAR epitope, fused to the hinge region and Fc domain of a human immunoglobulin 4 (IgG4) antibody. Specific binding and functionality of the αSTn-IgG4 TM as well as pharmacokinetic features were assessed using in vitro and in vivo assays and compared to the already established small-sized αSTn TM. Results: The novel αSTn-IgG4 TM efficiently activates and redirects UniCAR T-cells to STn-expressing tumors in a target-specific and TM-dependent manner, thereby promoting the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and tumor cell lysis in vitro and in experimental mice. Moreover, PET-imaging results demonstrate the specific enrichment of the αSTn-IgG4 TM at the tumor site, while presenting a prolonged serum half-life compared to the short-lived αSTn TM. Conclusion: In a clinical setting, the combination of TMs with different formats and pharmacokinetics may represent a promising strategy for retargeting of UniCAR T-cells in a flexible, individualized and safe manner at particular stages of therapy. Furthermore, as these molecules can be used for in vivo imaging, they pose as attractive candidates for theranostic approaches.publishersversionpublishe

New physics searches at near detectors of neutrino oscillation experiments

We systematically investigate the prospects of testing new physics with tau sensitive near detectors at neutrino oscillation facilities. For neutrino beams from pion decay, from the decay of radiative ions, as well as from the decays of muons in a storage ring at a neutrino factory, we discuss which effective operators can lead to new physics effects. Furthermore, we discuss the present bounds on such operators set by other experimental data currently available. For operators with two leptons and two quarks we present the first complete analysis including all relevant operators simultaneously and performing a Markov Chain Monte Carlo fit to the data. We find that these effects can induce tau neutrino appearance probabilities as large as O(10^{-4}), which are within reach of forthcoming experiments. We highlight to which kind of new physics a tau sensitive near detector would be most sensitive.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX

Entanglement generation by adiabatic navigation in the space of symmetric multi-particle states

We propose a technique for robust and efficient navigation in the Hilbert space of entangled symmetric states of a multiparticle system with externally controllable linear and nonlinear collective interactions. A linearly changing external field applied along the quantization axis creates a network of well separated level crossings in the energy diagram of the collective states. One or more transverse pulsed fields applied at the times of specific level crossings induce adiabatic passage between these states. By choosing the timing of the pulsed field appropriately, one can transfer an initial product state of all N spins into (i) any symmetric state with n spin excitations and (ii) the N-particle analog of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state. This technique, unlike techniques using pulses of specific area, does not require precise knowledge of the number of particles and is robust against variations in the interaction parameters. We discuss potential applications in two-component Bose condensates and ion-trap systems.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure