High Resolution Spectroscopy of Two-Dimensional Electron Systems

Spectroscopic methods involving the sudden injection or ejection of electrons in materials are a powerful probe of electronic structure and interactions. These techniques, such as photoemission and tunneling, yield measurements of the "single particle" density of states (SPDOS) spectrum of a system. The SPDOS is proportional to the probability of successfully injecting or ejecting an electron in these experiments. It is equal to the number of electronic states in the system able to accept an injected electron as a function of its energy and is among the most fundamental and directly calculable quantities in theories of highly interacting systems. However, the two-dimensional electron system (2DES), host to remarkable correlated electron states such as the fractional quantum Hall effect, has proven difficult to probe spectroscopically. Here we present an improved version of time domain capacitance spectroscopy (TDCS) that now allows us to measure the SPDOS of a 2DES with unprecedented fidelity and resolution. Using TDCS, we perform measurements of a cold 2DES, providing the first direct measurements of the single-particle exchange-enhanced spin gap and single particle lifetimes in the quantum Hall system, as well as the first observations of exchange splitting of Landau levels not at the Fermi surface. The measurements reveal the difficult to reach and beautiful structure present in this highly correlated system far from the Fermi surface.Comment: There are formatting and minor textual differences between this version and the published version in Nature (follow the DOI link below

Daptomycin as a possible new treatment option for surgical management of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery

We present a case of a 77-year old female who had undergone a coronary artery bypass grafting with an aortic valve replacement and developed three month later a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sternal wound infection which was successful treated with Daptomycin combined with vacuum-assisted closure (VAC)

Treatment of gram-positive deep sternal wound infections in cardiac surgery -experiences with daptomycin-

The reported incidence of deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery is 0.4-5% with Staphylococcus aureus being the most common pathogen isolated from infected wound sternotomies and bacteraemic blood cultures. This infection is associated with a higher morbidity and mortality than other known aetiologies. Little is reported about the optimal antibiotic management. The aim of the study is to quantify the application of daptomycin treatment of DSWI due to gram-positive organisms post cardiac surgery

The deuteron: structure and form factors

A brief review of the history of the discovery of the deuteron in provided. The current status of both experiment and theory for the elastic electron scattering is then presented.Comment: 80 pages, 33 figures, submited to Advances in Nuclear Physic

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Evidence for the decay BS0→K‾∗0μ+μ− {B}_S^0\to {\overline{K}}^{\ast 0}{\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}

International audienceA search for the decay ${B}_S^0\to {\overline{K}}^{\ast 0}{\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}$ is presented using data sets corresponding to 1.0, 2.0 and 1.6 fb$^{−1}$ of integrated luminosity collected during pp collisions with the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. An excess is found over the background-only hypothesis with a significance of 3.4 standard deviations. The branching fraction of the ${B}_S^0\to {\overline{K}}^{\ast 0}{\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}$ decay is determined to be $\mathrm{\mathcal{B}}\left({B}_s^0\to {\overline{K}}^{\ast 0}{\mu}^{+}{\mu}^{-}\right)=\left[2.9\pm 1.0\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 0.2\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\pm 0.3\left(\mathrm{norm}\right)\right]\times {10}^{-8}$ , where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The third uncertainty is due to limited knowledge of external parameters used to normalise the branching fraction measurement

Changes to the Fossil Record of Insects through Fifteen Years of Discovery

The first and last occurrences of hexapod families in the fossil record are compiled from publications up to end-2009. The major features of these data are compared with those of previous datasets (1993 and 1994). About a third of families (>400) are new to the fossil record since 1994, over half of the earlier, existing families have experienced changes in their known stratigraphic range and only about ten percent have unchanged ranges. Despite these significant additions to knowledge, the broad pattern of described richness through time remains similar, with described richness increasing steadily through geological history and a shift in dominant taxa, from Palaeoptera and Polyneoptera to Paraneoptera and Holometabola, after the Palaeozoic. However, after detrending, described richness is not well correlated with the earlier datasets, indicating significant changes in shorter-term patterns. There is reduced Palaeozoic richness, peaking at a different time, and a less pronounced Permian decline. A pronounced Triassic peak and decline is shown, and the plateau from the mid Early Cretaceous to the end of the period remains, albeit at substantially higher richness compared to earlier datasets. Origination and extinction rates are broadly similar to before, with a broad decline in both through time but episodic peaks, including end-Permian turnover. Origination more consistently exceeds extinction compared to previous datasets and exceptions are mainly in the Palaeozoic. These changes suggest that some inferences about causal mechanisms in insect macroevolution are likely to differ as well