Ultrahigh-Q mechanical oscillators through optical trapping

Rapid advances are being made toward optically cooling a single mode of a micro-mechanical system to its quantum ground state and observing quantum behavior at macroscopic scales. Reaching this regime in room-temperature environments requires a stringent condition on the mechanical quality factor $Q_m$ and frequency $f_m$, $Q_{m}f_{m}{\gtrsim}k_{B}T_{{bath}}/h$, which so far has been marginally satisfied only in a small number of systems. Here we propose and analyze a new class of systems that should enable unprecedented $Q_{m}f_m$ values. The technique is based upon using optical forces to "trap" and stiffen the motion of a tethered mechanical structure, thereby freeing the resultant mechanical frequencies and decoherence rates from underlying material properties.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure

Enhancement of mechanical Q-factors by optical trapping

The quality factor of a mechanical resonator is an important figure of merit for various sensing applications and for observing quantum behavior. Here, we demonstrate a technique to push the quality factor of a micro-mechanical resonator beyond conventional material and fabrication limits by using an optical field to stiffen or "trap" a particular motional mode. Optical forces increase the oscillation frequency by storing most of the mechanical energy in a lossless optical potential, thereby strongly diluting the effect of material dissipation. By using a 130 nm thick SiO$_2$ disk as a suspended pendulum, we achieve an increase in the pendulum center-of-mass frequency from 6.2 kHz to 145 kHz. The corresponding quality factor increases 50-fold from its intrinsic value to a final value of $Q=5.8(1.1)\times 10^5$, representing more than an order of magnitude improvement over the conventional limits of SiO$_2$ for this geometry. Our technique may enable new opportunities for mechanical sensing and facilitate observations of quantum behavior in this class of mechanical systems.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

The crystal structure of the Y140F mutant of ADP-l-glycero-d-manno-heptose 6-epimerase bound to ADP-β-d-mannose suggests a one base mechanism

Bacteria synthesize a wide array of unusual carbohydrate molecules, which they use in a variety of ways. The carbohydrate l-glycero-d-manno-heptose is an important component of lipopolysaccharide and is synthesized in a complex series of enzymatic steps. One step involves the epimerization at the C6″ position converting ADP-d-glycero-d-manno-heptose into ADP-l-glycero-d-manno-heptose. The enzyme responsible is a member of the short chain dehydrogenase superfamily, known as ADP-l-glycero-d-manno-heptose 6-epimerase (AGME). The structure of the enzyme was known but the arrangement of the catalytic site with respect to the substrate is unclear. We now report the structure of AGME bound to a substrate mimic, ADP-β-d-mannose, which has the same stereochemical configuration as the substrate. The complex identifies the key residues and allows mechanistic insight into this novel enzyme

Pattern Formation of the Attraction-Repulsion Keller-Segel System

In this paper, the pattern formation of the attraction-repulsion Keller-Segel (ARKS) system is studied analytically and numerically. By the Hopf bifurcation theorem as well as the local and global bifurcation theorem, we rigorously establish the existence of time-periodic patterns and steady state patterns for the ARKS model in the full parameter regimes, which are identified by a linear stability analysis. We also show that when the chemotactic attraction is strong, a spiky steady state pattern can develop. Explicit time-periodic rippling wave patterns and spiky steady state patterns are obtained numerically by carefully selecting parameter values based on our theoretical results. The study in the paper asserts that chemotactic competitive interaction between attraction and repulsion can produce periodic patterns which are impossible for the chemotaxis model with a single chemical (either chemo-attractant or chemo-repellent)

‘Don't show the play at the football ground, nobody will come’: the micro-sociality of co-produced research in an English provincial city

This article examines the idea that community is best understood through the concept of micro-sociality, as a verb, as ongoing social relations in action, rather than a thing to be possessed, lacked or lost. Such an emphasis on already-existing relations has consequences for the conduct of publicly-funded interventions including socially engaged research projects. This article tells a part of the story of one such project in Peterborough, England in the 2010s. If the project was counter-cultural in working with what was already happening in the city, rather than seeking to proselytize a culturally specific view of citizenship and the arts, it also faced its own political choices regarding whose work to accompany and how. Initiated by a group of outsider academics and artists, it involved transformations at varying scales, both fleeting and longer-lasting, often unplanned. The article takes a look at the project’s own microsociality in the choices city residents made to accompany its intentions and practices. Like other people, university researchers and artists are seen to depend on social relations, including the commitment and care of people they work with

Karyotype, Sex Determination, and Meiotic Chromosome Behavior in Two Pholcid (Araneomorphae, Pholcidae) Spiders: Implications for Karyotype Evolution

There are 1,111 species of pholcid spiders, of which less than 2% have published karyotypes. Our aim in this study was to determine the karyotypes and sex determination mechanisms of two species of pholcids: Physocyclus mexicanus (Banks, 1898) and Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763), and to observe sex chromosome behavior during meiosis. We constructed karyotypes for P. mexicanus and H. pluchei using information from both living and fixed cells. We found that P. mexicanus has a chromosome number of 2n = 15 in males and 2n = 16 in females with X0-XX sex determination, like other members of the genus Physocyclus. H. pluchei has a chromosome number of 2n = 28 in males and 2n = 28 in females with XY-XX sex determination, which is substantially different from its closest relatives. These data contribute to our knowledge of the evolution of this large and geographically ubiquitous family, and are the first evidence of XY-XX sex determination in pholcids

Advances in small lasers

M.T.H was supported by an Australian Research council Future Fellowship research grant for this work. M.C.G. is grateful to the Scottish Funding Council (via SUPA) for financial support.Small lasers have dimensions or modes sizes close to or smaller than the wavelength of emitted light. In recent years there has been significant progress towards reducing the size and improving the characteristics of these devices. This work has been led primarily by the innovative use of new materials and cavity designs. This Review summarizes some of the latest developments, particularly in metallic and plasmonic lasers, improvements in small dielectric lasers, and the emerging area of small bio-compatible or bio-derived lasers. We examine the different approaches employed to reduce size and how they result in significant differences in the final device, particularly between metal- and dielectric-cavity lasers. We also present potential applications for the various forms of small lasers, and indicate where further developments are required.PostprintPeer reviewe

Changes in the coding/non-coding transcriptome and DNA methylome that define the Schwann cell repair phenotype after nerve injury

Repair Schwann cells play a critical role in orchestrating nerve repair after injury, but the cellular and molecular processes that generate them are poorly understood. Here, we perform a combined whole-genome, coding and non-coding RNA and CpG methylation study following nerve injury. We show that genes involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition are enriched in repair cells, and we identify several long non-coding RNAs in Schwann cells. We demonstrate that the AP-1 transcription factor C-JUN regulates the expression of certain micro RNAs in repair Schwann cells, in particular miR-21 and miR-34. Surprisingly, unlike during development, changes in CpG methylation are limited in injury, restricted to specific locations, such as enhancer regions of Schwann cell-specific genes (e.g., Nedd4l), and close to local enrichment of AP-1 motifs. These genetic and epigenomic changes broaden our mechanistic understanding of the formation of repair Schwann cell during peripheral nervous system tissue repair

Label-Free Optical Single-Molecule Micro- and Nanosensors

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordLabel-free optical sensor systems have emerged that exhibit extraordinary sensitivity for detecting physical, chemical, and biological entities at the micro/nanoscale. Particularly exciting is the detection and analysis of molecules, on miniature optical devices that have many possible applications in health, environment, and security. These micro- and nanosensors have now reached a sensitivity level that allows for the detection and analysis of even single molecules. Their small size enables an exceedingly high sensitivity, and the application of quantum optical measurement techniques can allow the classical limits of detection to be approached or surpassed. The new class of label-free micro- and nanosensors allows dynamic processes at the single-molecule level to be observed directly with light. By virtue of their small interaction length, these micro- and nanosensors probe light–matter interactions over a dynamic range often inaccessible by other optical techniques. For researchers entering this rapidly advancing field of single-molecule micro- and nanosensors, there is an urgent need for a timely review that covers the most recent developments and that identifies the most exciting opportunities. The focus here is to provide a summary of the recent techniques that have either demonstrated label-free single-molecule detection or claim single-molecule sensitivity.Living Systems Institute, University of Exete