2,843 research outputs found
Cross-Generational Reproductive Fitness Enforced by Microchimeric Maternal Cells
SummaryExposure to maternal tissue during in utero development imprints tolerance to immunologically foreign non-inherited maternal antigens (NIMA) that persists into adulthood. The biological advantage of this tolerance, conserved across mammalian species, remains unclear. Here, we show maternal cells that establish microchimerism in female offspring during development promote systemic accumulation of immune suppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) with NIMA specificity. NIMA-specific Tregs expand during pregnancies sired by males expressing alloantigens with overlapping NIMA specificity, thereby averting fetal wastage triggered by prenatal infection and non-infectious disruptions of fetal tolerance. Therefore, exposure to NIMA selectively enhances reproductive success in second-generation females carrying embryos with overlapping paternally inherited antigens. These findings demonstrate that genetic fitness, canonically thought to be restricted to Mendelian inheritance, is enhanced in female placental mammals through vertically transferred maternal cells that promote conservation of NIMA and enforce cross-generational reproductive benefits
Muon-spin relaxation measurements on the dimerized spin-1/2 chains NaTiSi2O6 and TiOCl
We report muon spin relaxation (muSR) and magnetic susceptibility
investigations of two Ti3+ chain compounds which each exhibit a spin gap at low
temperature, NaTiSi2O6 and TiOCl. From these we conclude that the spin gap in
NaTiSi2O6 is temperature independent, with a value of 2*Delta=660(50)K, arising
from orbital ordering at Too = 210K; the associated structural fluctuations
activate the muon spin relaxation rate up to temperatures above 270K. In TiOCl
we find thermally activated spin fluctuations corresponding to a spin gap
2*Delta=420(40)K below Tc1=67K. We also compare the methods used to extract the
spin gap and the concentration of free spins within the samples from muSR and
magnetic susceptibility data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Technique for bulk Fermiology by photoemission applied to layered ruthenates
We report the Fermi surfaces of the superconductor Sr2RuO4 and the
non-superconductor Sr1.8Ca0.2RuO4 probed by bulk-sensitive high-energy
angle-resolved photoemission. It is found that there is one square-shaped
hole-like, one square-shaped electron-like and one circle-shaped electron-like
Fermi surface in both compounds. These results provide direct evidence for
nesting instability giving rise to magnetic fluctuations. Our study clarifies
that the electron correlation effects are changed with composition depending on
the individual band.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures including 2 color figure
Momentum-resolved single-particle spectral function for TiOCl from a combination of density functional and variational cluster calculations
We present results for the momentum-resolved single-particle spectral
function of the low-dimensional system TiOCl in the insulating state, obtained
by a combination of ab initio Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Variational
Cluster (VCA) calculations. This approach allows to combine a realistic band
structure and a thorough treatment of the strong correlations. We show that it
is important to include a realistic two-dimensional band structure of TiOCl
into the effective strongly-correlated models in order to explain the spectral
weight behavior seen in angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) experiments. In
particular, we observe that the effect of the interchain couplings is a
considerable redistribution of the spectral weight around the Gamma point from
higher to lower binding energies as compared to a purely one-dimensional model
treatment. Hence, our results support a description of TiOCl as a
two-dimensional compound with strong anisotropy and also set a benchmark on the
spectral features of correlated coupled-chain systems.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Are the renormalized band widths in TTF-TCNQ of structural or electronic origin? - An angular dependent NEXAFS study
We have performed angle-dependent near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure
measurements in the Auger electron yield mode on the correlated
quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor TTF-TCNQ in order to determine the
orientation of the molecules in the topmost surface layer. We find that the
tilt angles of the molecules with respect to the one-dimensional axis are
essentially the same as in the bulk. Thus we can rule out surface relaxation as
the origin of the renormalized band widths which were inferred from the
analysis of photoemission data within the one-dimensional Hubbard model.
Thereby recent theoretical results are corroborated which invoke long-range
Coulomb repulsion as alternative explanation to understand the spectral
dispersions of TTF-TCNQ quantitatively within an extended Hubbard model.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Two-Spinon and Orbital Excitations of the Spin-Peierls System TiOCl
We combine high-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering with cluster
calculations utilizing a recently derived effective magnetic scattering
operator to analyze the polarization, excitation energy, and momentum dependent
excitation spectrum of the low-dimensional quantum magnet TiOCl in the range
expected for orbital and magnetic excitations (0 - 2.5 eV). Ti 3d orbital
excitations yield complete information on the temperature-dependent
crystal-field splitting. In the spin-Peierls phase we observe a dispersive
two-spinon excitation and estimate the inter- and intra-dimer magnetic exchange
coupling from a comparison to cluster calculations
Circular dichroism and bilayer splitting in the normal state of underdoped (Pb,Bi)Sr(CaY)CuO and overdoped (Pb,Bi)SrCaCuO
We report an ARPES investigation of the circular dichroism in the first
Brillouin zone (BZ) of under- and overdoped Pb-Bi2212 samples. We show that the
dichroism has opposite signs for bonding and antibonding components of the
bilayer-split CuO-band and is antisymmetric with respect to reflections in both
mirror planes parallel to the c-axis. Using this property of the energy and
momentum intensity distributions we prove the existence of the bilayer
splitting in the normal state of the underdoped compound and compare its value
with the splitting in overdoped sample. In agreement with previous studies the
magnitude of the interlayer coupling does not depend significantly on doping.
We also discuss possible origins of the observed dichroism.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, 4 EPS figure
Direct k-space mapping of the electronic structure in an oxide-oxide interface
The interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 hosts a two-dimensional electron
system of itinerant carriers, although both oxides are band insulators.
Interface ferromagnetism coexisting with superconductivity has been found and
attributed to local moments. Experimentally, it has been established that Ti 3d
electrons are confined to the interface. Using soft x-ray angle-resolved
resonant photoelectron spectroscopy we have directly mapped the interface
states in k-space. Our data demonstrate a charge dichotomy. A mobile fraction
contributes to Fermi surface sheets, whereas a localized portion at higher
binding energies is tentatively attributed to electrons trapped by O-vacancies
in the SrTiO3. While photovoltage effects in the polar LaAlO3 layers cannot be
excluded, the apparent absence of surface-related Fermi surface sheets could
also be fully reconciled in a recently proposed electronic reconstruction
picture where the built-in potential in the LaAlO3 is compensated by surface
O-vacancies serving also as charge reservoir.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, incl. Supplemental Informatio
- …