Mesino - Antimesino Oscillations

The phenomenological implications of supersymmetric theories with low scale supersymmetry breaking and a squark as the lightest standard model superpartner are investigated. Such squarks hadronize with light quarks, forming sbaryons and mesinos before decaying. Production of these supersymmetric bound states at a high energy collider can lead to displaced jets with large negative impact parameter. Neutral mesino - antimesino oscillations are not forbidden by any symmetry and can occur at observable rates with distinctive signatures. Stop mesino - antimesino oscillations would give a sensitive probe of up-type sflavor violation in the squark sector, and can provide a discovery channel for supersymmetry through events with a same-sign top-top topology.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, LaTe

Energy transfer between a biological labelling dye and gold nanorods

We have demonstrated energy transfer between a biological labelling dye (Alexa Fluor 405) and gold nanorods experimentally and theoretically. The fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and density matrix method are used to study a hybrid system of dye and nanorods under one- and two-photon excitations. Energy transfer between dye and nanorods via the dipole–dipole interaction is found to cause a decrease in the fluorescence lifetime change. Enhanced energy transfer from dye to nanorods is measured in the presence of an increased density of nanorods. This study has potential applications in fluorescence lifetime-based intra-cellular sensing of bio-analytes as well as nuclear targeting cancer therap

Controlling the quality factor of a tuning-fork resonance between 9 K and 300 K for scanning-probe microscopy

We study the dynamic response of a mechanical quartz tuning fork in the temperature range from 9 K to 300 K. Since the quality factor Q of the resonance strongly depends on temperature, we implement a procedure to control the quality factor of the resonance. We show that we are able to dynamically change the quality factor and keep it constant over the whole temperature range. This procedure is suitable for applications in scanning probe microscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Nanoscale piezoelectric response across a single antiparallel ferroelectric domain wall

Surprising asymmetry in the local electromechanical response across a single antiparallel ferroelectric domain wall is reported. Piezoelectric force microscopy is used to investigate both the in-plane and out-of- plane electromechanical signals around domain walls in congruent and near-stoichiometric lithium niobate. The observed asymmetry is shown to have a strong correlation to crystal stoichiometry, suggesting defect-domain wall interactions. A defect-dipole model is proposed. Finite element method is used to simulate the electromechanical processes at the wall and reconstruct the images. For the near-stoichiometric composition, good agreement is found in both form and magnitude. Some discrepancy remains between the experimental and modeling widths of the imaged effects across a wall. This is analyzed from the perspective of possible electrostatic contributions to the imaging process, as well as local changes in the material properties in the vicinity of the wall

Gravitational Smearing of Minimal Supersymmetric Unification Predictions

A short and mean paper.Comment: 10 pages total + 1 postscript figure (included), revised: all lines are TRULY < 70 characters long (try it!); LBL-32905, UCB-PTH-92/3