Quadexciton cascade and fine structure splitting of the triexciton in a single quantum dot

We report the properties of emission lines associated with the cascaded recombination of a quadexciton in single GaAlAs/AlAs quantum dots, studied by means of polarization-resolved photoluminescence and single-photon correlation experiments. It is found that photons which are emitted in a double-step 4X-3X process preserve their linear polarization, similarly to the case of conserved polarization of correlated photons in the 2X-X cascade. In contrast, an emission of either co-linear or cross-linear pairs of photons is observed for the 3X-2X cascade. Each emission line associated with the quadexciton cascade shows doublet structure in the polarization-resolved photoluminescence experiment. The maximum splitting is seen when the polarization axis is chosen along and perpendicular to the [110] crystallographic direction. This effect is ascribed to the fine structure splitting of the exciton and triexciton states in the presence of an anisotropic confining potential of ae dot. We also show that the splitting in the triexciton state surpasses that in the exciton state by a factor up to eight and their ratio scales with the energy distance between the 3X and X emission lines, thus, very likely, with a lateral size and/or a composition of the dot.Comment: submitted to Physical Review

Anosognosia for hemiplegia as a tripartite disconnection syndrome

© 2019 Pacella et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.The syndrome of Anosognosia for Hemiplegia (AHP) can provide unique insights into the neurocognitive processes of motor awareness. Yet, prior studies have only explored predominately discreet lesions. Using advanced structural neuroimaging methods in 174 patients with a right-hemisphere stroke, we were able to identify three neural systems that contribute to AHP, when disconnected or directly damaged: the (i) premotor loop (ii) limbic system, and (iii) ventral attentional network. Our results suggest that human motor awareness is contingent on the joint contribution of these three systems.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

New constraints on elemental and Pb and Nd isotope compositions of South American and Southern African aerosol sources to the South Atlantic Ocean

Improving the geochemical database available for characterising potential natural and anthropogenic aerosol sources from South America and Southern Africa is a critical precondition for studies aimed at understanding trace metal controls on the marine biogeochemical cycles of the South Atlantic Ocean. We here present new elemental and isotopic data for a wide range of sample types from South America and Southern Africa that are potentially important aerosol sources. This includes road dust from Buenos Aires and lichen samples from Johannesburg, soil dust from Patagonia, volcanic ash from the Andean volcanic belt, and aerosol samples from São Paulo. All samples were investigated for major (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, K, Mn) and trace element (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, REE, Sc, Th, Y, V, Zn) concentrations and Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. We show that diagrams of 208Pb/207Pb vs. εNd, 208Pb/207Pb vs. Pb/Al, 1/[Pb], Zn/Al, Cd/Al, Cu/Al, and εNd vs. Pb/Al, and 1/[Nd] are best suited to separate South American and South African source regions as well as natural and anthropogenic sources. A subset of samples from Patagonia and the Andes was additionally subjected to separation of a fine (<5 μm) fraction and compared to the composition of the bulk sample. We show that differences in the geochemical signature of bulk samples between individual regions and source types are significantly larger than between grain sizes. Jointly, these findings present an important step forward towards a quantitative assessment of aeolian trace metal inputs to the South Atlantic Ocean

Ion Exchange Chromatography and Mass Bias Correction for Accurate and Precise Zn Isotope Ratio Measurements in Environmental Reference Materials by MC-ICP-MS

Precise and accurate d66/64Zn data for environmental reference materials (RMs) including rocks, sediments, soils and plants are presented in order to improve the metrological traceability and analytical control of Zn isotope ratio determinations in future environmental studies. Previously developed ion exchange chromatography protocols were adjusted to enable faster sample throughput and instrumental mass bias processes were investigated. The improved chromatographic protocol yielded precise and quantitative recoveries (99 ± 7%, σ, n = 16), while the mass bias correction using Cu as external dopant provided precisions better than 0.02‰, 2σ, n = 7. Investigations into spectral and non-spectral interferences identified significant formation of Cr and Ti oxides and hydroxide ionic species. Analysis of six RMs (BHVO-2 basalt (USGS), BCR-2 basalt (USGS), AGV-2 andesite (USGS), 2709 San Joaquin soil (NIST), 1646a estuarine sediment (NIST) and 1573a tomato leaves (NIST)) showed good reproducibility (< 0.01‰, 2s, 5 ≤ n ≥ 1)