Scanning a photonic crystal slab nanocavity by condensation of xenon

Allowing xenon or nitrogen gas to condense onto a photonic crystal slab nanocavity maintained at 10–20 K results in shifts of the nanocavity mode wavelength by as much as 5 nm (~=4 meV). This occurs in spite of the fact that the mode defect is achieved by omitting three holes to form the spacer. This technique should be useful in changing the detuning between a single quantum dot transition and the nanocavity mode for cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments, such as mapping out a strong coupling anticrossing curve. Compared with temperature scanning, it has a much larger scan range and avoids phonon broadening

The relevance of ERTS-1 data to the state of Ohio

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Magnetic Reconnection with Radiative Cooling. I. Optically-Thin Regime

Magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma process associated with a rapid dissipation of magnetic energy, is believed to power many disruptive phenomena in laboratory plasma devices, the Earth magnetosphere, and the solar corona. Traditional reconnection research, geared towards these rather tenuous environments, has justifiably ignored the effects of radiation on the reconnection process. However, in many reconnecting systems in high-energy astrophysics (e.g., accretion-disk coronae, relativistic jets, magnetar flares) and, potentially, in powerful laser plasma and z-pinch experiments, the energy density is so high that radiation, in particular radiative cooling, may start to play an important role. This observation motivates the development of a theory of high-energy-density radiative magnetic reconnection. As a first step towards this goal, we present in this paper a simple Sweet--Parker-like theory of non-relativistic resistive-MHD reconnection with strong radiative cooling. First, we show how, in the absence of a guide magnetic field, intense cooling leads to a strong compression of the plasma in the reconnection layer, resulting in a higher reconnection rate. The compression ratio and the layer temperature are determined by the balance between ohmic heating and radiative cooling. The lower temperature in the radiatively-cooled layer leads to a higher Spitzer resistivity and hence to an extra enhancement of the reconnection rate. We then apply our general theory to several specific astrophysically important radiative processes (bremsstrahlung, cyclotron, and inverse-Compton) in the optically thin regime, for both the zero- and strong-guide-field cases. We derive specific expressions for key reconnection parameters, including the reconnection rate. We also discuss the limitations and conditions for applicability of our theory.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur

Steady Hall Magnetohydrodynamics Near a X-type Magnetic Neutral Line

Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) properties near a two-dimensional (2D) X-type magnetic neutral line in the steady state are considered via heuristic and rigorous developments. Upon considering the steady-state as the asymptotic limit of the corresponding \textit{time-dependent} problem and using a rigorous development, Hall effects are shown to be able to sustain the hyperbolicity of the magnetic field (and hence a more open X-point configuration) near the neutral line in the steady state. The heuristic development misses this subtle connection of the steady state with the corresponding \textit{time-dependent} problem and predicts only an elongated current-sheet configuration (as in resistive MHD). However, the heuristic development turns out to be useful in providing insight into the lack of dependence of the reconnection rate on the mechanism breaking the frozen-in condition of the magnetic field lines. The latter result can be understood in terms of the ability of the ions and electrons to transport equal amounts of magnetic flux per unit time out of the reconnection region.Comment: 1-10 page

Editorial: Advances and Challenges of RNAi Based Technologies for Plants—Volume 2

Editorial on the Research Topic: Advances and Challenges of RNAi Based Technologies for Plants—Volume

X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection

We study the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode in slab geometry in two dimensions. We show that, in the strongly driven regime (large Delta'), a collapse of the X-point occurs once the island width exceeds a certain critical value ~1/Delta'. A current sheet is formed and the reconnection is exponential in time with a growth rate ~eta^1/2, where eta is the resistivity. If the aspect ratio of the current sheet is sufficiently large, the sheet can itself become tearing-mode unstable, giving rise to secondary islands, which then coalesce with the original island. The saturated state depends on the value of Delta'. For small Delta', the saturation amplitude is ~Delta' and quantitatively agrees with the theoretical prediction. If Delta' is large enough for the X-point collapse to have occured, the saturation amplitude increases noticeably and becomes independent of Delta'.Comment: revtex4, 4 pages, 18 figure

Role of UME6 in transcriptional regulation of a DNA repair gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae UV radiation and a variety of chemical DNA-damaging agents induce the transcription of specific genes, including several involved in DNA repair. One of the best characterized of these genes is PHR1, which encodes the apoenzyme for DNA photolyase. Basal-level and damage-induced expression of PHR1 require an upstream activation sequence, UAS(PHR1), which has homology with DRC elements found upstream of at least 19 other DNA repair and DNA metabolism genes in yeast. Here we report the identification of the UME6 gene of S. cerevisiae as a regulator of UAS(PHR1) activity. Multiple copies of UME6 stimulate expression from UAS(PHR1) and the intact PHR1 gene. Surprisingly, the effect of deletion of UME6 is growth phase dependent. In wild-type cells PHR1 is induced in late exponential phase, concomitant with the initiation of glycogen accumulation that precedes the diauxic shift. Deletion of UME6 abolishes this induction, decreases the steady-state concentration of photolyase molecules and PHR1 mRNA, and increases the UV sensitivity of a rad2 mutant. Despite the fact that UAS(PHR1) does not contain the URS1 sequence, which has been previously implicated in UME6-mediated transcriptional regulation, we find that Ume6p binds to UAS(PHR1) with an affinity and a specificity similar to those seen for a URS1 site. Similar binding is also seen for DRC elements from RAD2, RAD7, and RAD53, suggesting that UME6 contributes to the regulated expression of a subset of damage-responsive genes in yeast

Quantum dot photonic crystal nanocavities: Transition from weak to strong coupling and nonlinear emissions

Photonic crystal slab nanocavities containing one layer of quantum dots have exhibited: strong coupling to a single quantum dot; tuning by condensation of xenon gas; linewidth broadening due to ensemble dot absorption; gain and lasing