654 research outputs found
Imaging Gold Nanoparticles in Living Cells Environments using Heterodyne Digital Holographic Microscopy
This paper describes an imaging microscopic technique based on heterodyne
digital holography where subwavelength-sized gold colloids can be imaged in
cell environment. Surface cellular receptors of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts are
labeled with 40 nm gold nanoparticles, and the biological specimen is imaged in
a total internal reflection configuration with holographic microscopy. Due to a
higher scattering efficiency of the gold nanoparticles versus that of cellular
structures, accurate localization of a gold marker is obtained within a 3D
mapping of the entire sample's scattered field, with a lateral precision of 5
nm and 100 nm in the x,y and in the z directions respectively, demonstrating
the ability of holographic microscopy to locate nanoparticles in living cells
environments
Tuning a Schottky barrier in a photoexcited topological insulator with transient Dirac cone electron-hole asymmetry
The advent of Dirac materials has made it possible to realize two dimensional
gases of relativistic fermions with unprecedented transport properties in
condensed matter. Their photoconductive control with ultrafast light pulses is
opening new perspectives for the transmission of current and information. Here
we show that the interplay of surface and bulk transient carrier dynamics in a
photoexcited topological insulator can control an essential parameter for
photoconductivity - the balance between excess electrons and holes in the Dirac
cone. This can result in a strongly out of equilibrium gas of hot relativistic
fermions, characterized by a surprisingly long lifetime of more than 50 ps, and
a simultaneous transient shift of chemical potential by as much as 100 meV. The
unique properties of this transient Dirac cone make it possible to tune with
ultrafast light pulses a relativistic nanoscale Schottky barrier, in a way that
is impossible with conventional optoelectronic materials.Comment: Nature Communications, in press (12 pages, 6 figures
The prominent role of the heaviest fragment in multifragmentation and phase transition for hot nuclei
The role played by the heaviest fragment in partitions of multifragmenting
hot nuclei is emphasized. Its size/charge distribution (mean value,
fluctuations and shape) gives information on properties of fragmenting nuclei
and on the associated phase transition.Comment: 11 pages, Proceedings of IWND09, August 23-25, Shanghai (China
Scaling migrations to communities: An empirical case of migration network in the Arctic
Seasonal migrants transport energy, nutrients, contaminants, parasites and diseases, while also connecting distant food webs between communities and ecosystems, which contributes to structuring meta-communities and meta-ecosystems. However, we currently lack a framework to characterize the structure of the spatial connections maintained by all migratory species reproducing or wintering in a given community. Here, we use a network approach to represent and characterize migratory pathways at the community level and provide an empirical description of this pattern from a High-Arctic terrestrial community. We define community migration networks as multipartite networks representing different biogeographic regions connected with a focal community through the seasonal movements of its migratory species. We focus on the Bylot Island High-Arctic terrestrial community, a summer breeding ground for several migratory species. We define the non-breeding range of each species using tracking devices, or range maps refined by flyways and habitat types. We show that the migratory species breeding on Bylot Island are found across hundreds of ecoregions on several continents during the non-breeding period and present a low spatial overlap. The migratory species are divided into groups associated with different sets of ecoregions. The non-random structure observed in our empirical community migration network suggests evolutionary and geographic constraints as well as ecological factors act to shape migrations at the community level. Overall, our study provides a simple and generalizable framework as a starting point to better integrate migrations at the community level. Our framework is a far-reaching tool that could be adapted to address the seasonal transport of energy, contaminants, parasites and diseases in ecosystems, as well as trophic interactions in communities with migratory species
Ultrafast surface carrier dynamics in the topological insulator Bi2Te3
We discuss the ultrafast evolution of the surface electronic structure of the
topological insulator BiTe following a femtosecond laser excitation.
Using time and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we provide a direct
real-time visualisation of the transient carrier population of both the surface
states and the bulk conduction band. We find that the thermalization of the
surface states is initially determined by interband scattering from the bulk
conduction band, lasting for about 0.5 ps; subsequently, few ps are necessary
for the Dirac cone non-equilibrium electrons to recover a Fermi-Dirac
distribution, while their relaxation extends over more than 10 ps. The surface
sensitivity of our measurements makes it possible to estimate the range of the
bulk-surface interband scattering channel, indicating that the process is
effective over a distance of 5 nm or less. This establishes a correlation
between the nanoscale thickness of the bulk charge reservoir and the evolution
of the ultrafast carrier dynamics in the surface Dirac cone
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Integration and Diversity
We study a setting where individuals prefer to coordinate with others but they differ on their preferred action. Our interest is understanding the role of linking in shaping behavior. So we consider the situation in which interactions are exogenous and a situation where individuals choose links that determine the interactions. Theory is permissive in both settings: conformism (on either of the actions) and diversity (with different groups choosing their preferred actions) are both sustainable in equilibrium. Our experiments reveal that, in an exogenous complete network, subjects choose to conform to the majority's preferred action. By contrast, when linking is free and endogenous, subjects form dense networks (biased in favour of linking within same preferences type) but choose diverse actions. The convergence to diverse actions is faster under endogenous linking as compared to the convergence to conformity on the majority's preferred action under the exogenous complete network. Thus our experiments suggest that individuals use links to resolve the coordination problem
Influence of Neutron Enrichment on Disintegration Modes of Compound Nuclei
Cross sections, kinetic energy and angular distributions of fragments with
charge 6Z28 emitted in 78,82Kr+40C at 5.5 MeV/A reactions were
measured at the GANIL facility using the INDRA apparatus. This experiment aims
to investigate the influence of the neutron enrichment on the decay mechanism
of excited nuclei. Data are discussed in comparison with predictions of
transition state and Hauser-Feshbach models.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, paper presented at the First Workshop on "State of
the Art in Nuclear Cluster Physics" 13-16 May, 2008, at Strasbourg, France
(SOTANCP2008) and accepted for publication at International Journal of Modern
Physics E (Special Issue), Proceedings of SOTANCP2008 (to be published
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Integration and Segregation
Individuals prefer to coordinate with others, but they differ on the preferred action. In theory, this can give rise to an integrated society with everyone conforming to the same action or a segregated society with members of different groups choosing diverse actions. Social welfare is maximum when society is integrated and everyone conforms on the majority's action. In laboratory experiments, subjects with different preferences segregate into distinct groups and choose diverse actions. To understand the role of partner choice, we then consider an exogenous network of partners. Subjects in the experiment now choose to conform on the action preferred by the majority. Thus, there exists a tension between two deeply held values: social cohesion and freedom of association
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