2,281 research outputs found
Enhanced photoluminescence emission from two-dimensional silicon photonic crystal nanocavities
We present a temperature dependent photoluminescence study of silicon optical
nanocavities formed by introducing point defects into two-dimensional photonic
crystals. In addition to the prominent TO phonon assisted transition from
crystalline silicon at ~1.10 eV we observe a broad defect band luminescence
from ~1.05-1.09 eV. Spatially resolved spectroscopy demonstrates that this
defect band is present only in the region where air-holes have been etched
during the fabrication process. Detectable emission from the cavity mode
persists up to room-temperature, in strong contrast the background emission
vanishes for T > 150 K. An Ahrrenius type analysis of the temperature
dependence of the luminescence signal recorded either in-resonance with the
cavity mode, or weakly detuned, suggests that the higher temperature stability
may arise from an enhanced internal quantum efficiency due to the
Purcell-effect
Dephasing of quantum dot exciton polaritons in electrically tunable nanocavities
We experimentally and theoretically investigate dephasing of zero dimensional
microcavity polaritons in electrically tunable single dot photonic crystal
nanocavities. Such devices allow us to alter the dot-cavity detuning in-situ
and to directly probe the influence on the emission spectrum of varying the
incoherent excitation level and the lattice temperature. By comparing our
results with theory we obtain the polariton dephasing rate and clarify its
dependence on optical excitation power and lattice temperature. For low
excitation levels we observe a linear temperature dependence, indicative of
phonon mediated polariton dephasing. At higher excitation levels, excitation
induced dephasing is observed due to coupling to the solid-state environment.
The results provide new information on coherence properties of quantum dot
microcavity polaritons.Comment: Figure 2, panel (b) changed to logarithmic + linear scal
Attraction effect in risky choice can be explained by subjective distance between choice alternatives
Individuals make decisions under risk throughout daily life. Standard models of economic decision making typically assume that people evaluate choice options independently. There is, however, substantial evidence showing that this independence assumption is frequently violated in decision making without risk. The present study extends these findings to the domain of decision making under risk. To explain the independence violations, we adapted a sequential sampling model, namely Multialternative Decision Field Theory (MDFT), to decision making under risk and showed how this model can account for the observed preference shifts. MDFT not only better predicts choices compared with the standard Expected Utility Theory, but it also explains individual differences in the size of the observed context effect. Evidence in favor of the chosen option, as predicted by MDFT, was positively correlated with brain activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and negatively correlated with brain activity in the anterior insula (aINS). From a neuroscience perspective, the results of the present study show that specific brain regions, such as the mOFC and aINS, not only code the value or risk of a single choice option but also code the evidence in favor of the best option compared with other available choice options
A Correlation between the Emission Intensity of Self-Assembled Germanium Islands and the Quality Factor of Silicon Photonic Crystal Nanocavities
We present a comparative micro-photoluminescence study of the emission
intensity of self-assembled germanium islands coupled to the resonator mode of
two-dimensional silicon photonic crystal defect nanocavities. The emission
intensity is investigated for cavity modes of L3 and Hexapole cavities with
different cavity quality factors. For each of these cavities many nominally
identical samples are probed to obtain reliable statistics. As the quality
factor increases we observe a clear decrease in the average mode emission
intensity recorded under comparable optical pumping conditions. This clear
experimentally observed trend is compared with simulations based on a
dissipative master equation approach that describes a cavity weakly coupled to
an ensemble of emitters. We obtain evidence that reabsorption of photons
emitted into the cavity mode is responsible for the observed trend. In
combination with the observation of cavity linewidth broadening in power
dependent measurements, we conclude that free carrier absorption is the
limiting effect for the cavity mediated light enhancement under conditions of
strong pumping.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
In Silico Approaches and the Role of Ontologies in Aging Research
The 2013 Rostock Symposium on Systems Biology and Bioinformatics in Aging Research was again dedicated to dissecting the aging process using in silico means. A particular focus was on ontologies, as these are a key technology to systematically integrate heterogeneous information about the aging process. Related topics were databases and data integration. Other talks tackled modeling issues and applications, the latter including talks focussed on marker development and cellular stress as well as on diseases, in particular on diseases of kidney and skin
Unravelling lactate-acetate and sugar conversion into butyrate by intestinal Anaerobutyricum and Anaerostipes species by comparative proteogenomics
Thed- andl-forms of lactate are important fermentation metabolites produced by intestinal bacteria but are found to negatively affect mucosal barrier function and human health. Both enantiomers of lactate can be converted with acetate into the presumed beneficial butyrate by a phylogenetically related group of anaerobes, includingAnaerobutyricumandAnaerostipesspp. This is a low energy yielding process with a partially unknown pathway inAnaerobutyricumandAnaerostipesspp. and hence, we sought to address this via a comparative genomics, proteomics and physiology approach. We compared growth ofAnaerobutyricum soehngeniion lactate with that on sucrose and sorbitol. Comparative proteomics revealed complete pathway of butyrate formation from sucrose, sorbitol and lactate. Notably, a gene cluster,lctABCDEFwas abundantly expressed when grown on lactate. This gene cluster encodes a lactate dehydrogenase (lctD), electron transport proteins A and B (lctCB), nickel-dependent racemase (lctE), lactate permease (lctF) and short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (lctG). Investigation of available genomes of intestinal bacteria revealed this new gene cluster to be highly conserved in onlyAnaerobutyricumandAnaerostipesspp. Present study demonstrates thatA. soehngeniiand several relatedAnaerobutyricumandAnaerostipesspp. are highly adapted for a lifestyle involving lactate plus acetate utilization in the human intestinal tract.Peer reviewe
Spatio-temporal patterns in the coral reef communities of the Spermonde Archipelago, 2012–2014, II: Fish assemblages display structured variation related to benthic condition
The Spermonde Archipelago is a complex of ~70 mostly populated islands off Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the center of the Coral Triangle. The reefs in this area are exposed to a high level of anthropogenic disturbances. Previous studies have shown that variation in the benthos is strongly linked to water quality and distance from the mainland. However, little is known about the fish assemblages of the region and if their community structure also follows a relationship with benthic structure and distance from shore. In this study, we used eight islands of the archipelago, varying in distance from 1 to 55 km relative to the mainland, and 3 years of surveys, to describe benthic and fish assemblages and to examine the spatial and temporal influence of benthic composition on the structure of the fish assemblages. Cluster analysis indicated that distinct groups of fish were associated with distance, while few species were present across the entire range of sites. Relating fish communities to benthic composition using a multivariate generalized linear model confirmed that fish groups relate to structural complexity (rugosity) or differing benthic groups; either algae, reef builders (coral and crustose coralline algae) or invertebrates and rubble. From these relationships we can identify sets of fish species that may be lost given continued degradation of the Spermonde reefs. Lastly, the incorporation of water quality, benthic and fish indices indicates that local coral reefs responded positively after an acute disturbance in 2013 with increases in reef builders and fish diversity over relatively short (1 year) time frames. This study contributes an important, missing component (fish community structure) to the growing literature on the Spermonde Archipelago, a system that features environmental pressures common in the greater Southeast Asian region
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