Suris tetrons: possible spectroscopic evidence for four-particle optical excitations of the 2D electron gas

The excitations of a two-dimensional electron gas in quantum wells with intermediate carrier density (~10^{11} cm^{-2}), i.e., between the exciton-trion- and the Fermi-Sea range, are so far poorly understood. We report on an approach to bridge this gap by a magneto-photoluminescence study of modulation-doped (Cd,Mn)Te quantum well structures. Employing their enhanced spin splitting, we analyzed the characteristic magnetic-field behavior of the individual photoluminescence features. Based on these results and earlier findings by other authors, we present a new approach for understanding the optical transitions at intermediate densities in terms of four-particle excitations, the Suris tetrons, which were up to now only predicted theoretically. All characteristic photoluminescence features are attributed to emission from these quasi-particles when attaining different final states.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Discovery of a flux-related change of the cyclotron line energy in Her X-1

We present the results of ten years of repeated measurements of the Cyclotron Resonance Scattering Feature (CRSF) in the spectrum of the binary X-ray pulsar Her X-1 and report the discovery of a positive correlation of the centroid energy of this absorption feature in pulse phase averaged spectra with source luminosity.Our results are based on a uniform analysis of observations bythe RXTE satellite from 1996 to 2005, using sufficiently long observations of 12 individual 35-day Main-On states of the source. The mean centroid energy E_c of the CRSF in pulse phase averaged spectra of Her X-1 during this time is around 40 keV, with significant variations from one Main-On state to the next. We find that the centroid energy of the CRSF in Her X-1 changes by ~5% in energy for a factor of 2 in luminosity. The correlation is positive, contrary to what is observed in some high luminosity transient pulsars. Our finding is the first significant measurement of a positive correlation between E_c and luminosity in any X-ray pulsar. We suggest that this behaviour is expected in the case of sub-Eddington accretion and present a calculation of a quantitative estimate, which is very consistent with the effect observed in Her X-1.We urge that Her X-1 is regularly monitored further and that other X-ray pulsars are investigated for a similar behaviour.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A&A Letter

Tight-binding g-Factor Calculations of CdSe Nanostructures

The Lande g-factors for CdSe quantum dots and rods are investigated within the framework of the semiempirical tight-binding method. We describe methods for treating both the n-doped and neutral nanostructures, and then apply these to a selection of nanocrystals of variable size and shape, focusing on approximately spherical dots and rods of differing aspect ratio. For the negatively charged n-doped systems, we observe that the g-factors for near-spherical CdSe dots are approximately independent of size, but show strong shape dependence as one axis of the quantum dot is extended to form rod-like structures. In particular, there is a discontinuity in the magnitude of g-factor and a transition from anisotropic to isotropic g-factor tensor at aspect ratio ~1.3. For the neutral systems, we analyze the electron g-factor of both the conduction and valence band electrons. We find that the behavior of the electron g-factor in the neutral nanocrystals is generally similar to that in the n-doped case, showing the same strong shape dependence and discontinuity in magnitude and anisotropy. In smaller systems the g-factor value is dependent on the details of the surface model. Comparison with recent measurements of g-factors for CdSe nanocrystals suggests that the shape dependent transition may be responsible for the observations of anomalous numbers of g-factors at certain nanocrystal sizes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Fixed typos to match published versio

Molecular spintronics: Coherent spin transfer in coupled quantum dots

Time-resolved Faraday rotation has recently demonstrated coherent transfer of electron spin between quantum dots coupled by conjugated molecules. Using a transfer Hamiltonian ansatz for the coupled quantum dots, we calculate the Faraday rotation signal as a function of the probe frequency in a pump-probe setup using neutral quantum dots. Additionally, we study the signal of one spin-polarized excess electron in the coupled dots. We show that, in both cases, the Faraday rotation angle is determined by the spin transfer probabilities and the Heisenberg spin exchange energy. By comparison of our results with experimental data, we find that the transfer matrix element for electrons in the conduction band is of order 0.08 eV and the spin transfer probabilities are of order 10%.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; minor change

Dynamics of Intraband and Interband Auger Processes in Colloidal Core-Shell Quantum Dots.

Conventional colloidal quantum dots (QDs) suffer from rapid energy losses by nonradiative (Auger) processes, leading to sub-ns lifetimes in all excited states but the lowest-energy single exciton. Suppression of interband Auger decay, such as biexciton Auger recombination, has been achieved with the design of heterostructured core-shell QDs. Auger-like processes are also believed to be responsible for rapid intraband hot-electron cooling in QDs. However, the simultaneous effect of shell growth on interband Auger recombination and intraband hot-electron cooling has not been addressed. Here we investigate how the growth of a CdS shell affects these two relaxation processes in CdSe/CdS core-shell QDs. Using a combination of ultrafast pump-push-probe spectroscopy on the QD ensemble and analysis of the photon statistics from single QDs, we find that Auger losses in the biexciton state are suppressed with increasing shell thickness, while hot-electron cooling remains unaffected. Calculations conducted within an eight-band k·p model confirm the experimental dependence of the biexciton Auger decay on the shell thickness, and provide insights into the factors determining the cooling rate of hot carriers.This work is part of the research program of the ”Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM)”, which is financially supported by the ”Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)”. A.L.E. acknowledges the financial support of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the Naval Research Laboratory Basic Research Program.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b0449

Select pyrimidinones inhibit the propagation of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum, the Apicomplexan parasite that is responsible for the most lethal forms of human malaria, is exposed to radically different environments and stress factors during its complex lifecycle. In any organism, Hsp70 chaperones are typically associated with tolerance to stress. We therefore reasoned that inhibition of P. falciparum Hsp70 chaperones would adversely affect parasite homeostasis. To test this hypothesis, we measured whether pyrimidinone-amides, a new class of Hsp70 modulators, could inhibit the replication of the pathogenic P. falciparum stages in human red blood cells. Nine compounds with IC50 values from 30 nM to 1.6 μM were identified. Each compound also altered the ATPase activity of purified P. falciparum Hsp70 in single-turnover assays, although higher concentrations of agents were required than was necessary to inhibit P. falciparum replication. Varying effects of these compounds on Hsp70s from other organisms were also observed. Together, our data indicate that pyrimidinone-amides constitute a novel class of anti-malarial agents. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Theoretical issues of language contacts, borrowings and interference

The article is devoted to the theoretical problem of language contacts in modern linguistics. The problem of the relationship between language and consciousness has been comprehensively discussed: various studies of the language picture of the world are carried out by the speakers of a particular language, associative dictionaries of different languages are created, this gives rich material for studying the real perception within a particular cultur