Detecting Weak Signals from Interfaces by High Accuracy Phase-Resolved SFG Spectroscopy

Much work over the last 25 years has demonstrated that the interface-specific, alloptical technique, vibrational sum frequency generation (v-SFG) spectroscopy, is often uniquely capable of characterizing the structure and dynamics of interfacial species. The desired information in such a measurement is the complex second order susceptibility which gives rise to the nonlinear response from interfacial molecules. The ability to detect molecular species yielding only small contributions to the susceptibility is meanwhile limited by the precision by which the spectral phase and amplitude can be determined. In this study we describe a new spectrometer design that offers unprecedented phase and amplitude accuracy while significantly improving the sensitivity of the technique. Combining a full collinear beam geometry with a technique enabling the simultaneous measurement of the complex sample and reference spectrum, uncertainties in the reference phase and amplitude are shown to be greatly reduced. Furthermore, we show that using balanced detection, the signal to noise ratio can be increased by one order of magnitude. The capabilities of the spectrometer are demonstrated by the isolation of a small isotropic surface signal from the bulk dominated nonlinear optical response of z-cut quartz. The achieved precision of our spectrometer enables measurements not currently feasible in v-SFG spectroscopy.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

Redox reactions with empirical potentials: Atomistic battery discharge simulations

Batteries are pivotal components in overcoming some of today's greatest technological challenges. Yet to date there is no self-consistent atomistic description of a complete battery. We take first steps toward modeling of a battery as a whole microscopically. Our focus lies on phenomena occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interface which are not easily studied with other methods. We use the redox split-charge equilibration (redoxSQE) method that assigns a discrete ionization state to each atom. Along with exchanging partial charges across bonds, atoms can swap integer charges. With redoxSQE we study the discharge behavior of a nano-battery, and demonstrate that this reproduces the generic properties of a macroscopic battery qualitatively. Examples are the dependence of the battery's capacity on temperature and discharge rate, as well as performance degradation upon recharge.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

Exact solution of a model DNA-inversion genetic switch with orientational control

DNA inversion is an important mechanism by which bacteria and bacteriophage switch reversibly between phenotypic states. In such switches, the orientation of a short DNA element is flipped by a site-specific recombinase enzyme. We propose a simple model for a DNA inversion switch in which recombinase production is dependent on the switch state (orientational control). Our model is inspired by the fim switch in Escherichia coli. We present an exact analytical solution of the chemical master equation for the model switch, as well as stochastic simulations. Orientational control causes the switch to deviate from Poissonian behaviour: the distribution of times in the on state shows a peak and successive flip times are correlated.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publicatio

Late onset of Huntington's disease

Twenty-five patients with late-onset Huntington's disease were studied; motor impairment appeared at age 50 years or later. The average age at onset of chorea was 57.5 years, with an average age at diagnosis of 63.1 years. Approximately 25% of persons affected by Huntington's disease exhibit late onset. A preponderance of maternal transmission was noted in late-onset Huntington's disease. The clinical features resembled those of mid-life onset Huntington's disease but progressed more slowly. Neuropathological evaluation of two cases reveal less severe neuronal atrophy than for mid-life onset disease

Non-Abelian Tensor Multiplet Equations from Twistor Space

We establish a Penrose-Ward transform yielding a bijection between holomorphic principal 2-bundles over a twistor space and non-Abelian self-dual tensor fields on six-dimensional flat space-time. Extending the twistor space to supertwistor space, we derive sets of manifestly N=(1,0) and N=(2,0) supersymmetric non-Abelian constraint equations containing the tensor multiplet. We also demonstrate how this construction leads to constraint equations for non-Abelian supersymmetric self-dual strings.Comment: v3: 23 pages, revised version published in Commun. Math. Phy

Differentiation and adaptation of natural killer cells for anti-malarial immunity

Natural killer cells employ a diverse arsenal of effector mechanisms to target intracellular pathogens. Differentiation of natural killer (NK) cell activation pathways occurs along a continuum from reliance on innate pro-inflammatory cytokines and stress-induced host ligands through to interaction with signals derived from acquired immune responses. Importantly, the degree of functional differentiation of the NK cell lineage influences the magnitude and specificity of interactions with host cells infected with viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Individual humans possess a vast diversity of distinct NK cell clones, each with the capacity to vary along this functional differentiation pathway, which - when combined - results in unique individual responses to different infections. Here we summarize these NK cell differentiation events, review evidence for direct interaction of malaria-infected host cells with NK cells and assess how innate inflammatory signals induced by malaria parasite-associated molecular patterns influence the indirect activation and function of NK cells. Finally, we discuss evidence that anti-malarial immunity develops in parallel with advancing NK differentiation, coincident with a loss of reliance on inflammatory signals, and a refined capacity of NK cells to target malaria parasites more precisely, particularly through antibody-dependent mechanisms

HST/FOS Time-resolved spectral mapping of IP Pegasi at the end of an outburst

We report an eclipse mapping analysis of time-resolved ultraviolet spectroscopy covering three eclipses of the dwarf nova IP Pegasi on the late decline of the 1993 May outburst. The eclipse maps of the first run show evidence of one spiral arm, suggesting that spiral structures may still be present in the accretion disc 9 days after the onset of the outburst. In the spatially resolved spectra the most prominent lines appear in emission at any radius, being stronger in the inner disc regions. The spectrum of the gas stream is clearly distinct from the disc spectrum in the intermediate and outer disc regions, suggesting the occurrence of gas stream overflow. The full width half maximum of C IV is approximately constant with radius, in contrast to the expected $v\propto{R^{-1/2}}$ law for a gas in Keplerian orbits. This line probably originates in a vertically extended region (chromosphere + disc wind). The uneclipsed component contributes $\sim{4}$ % of the flux in C IV in the first run, and becomes negligible in the remaining runs. We fit stellar atmosphere models to the spatially resolved spectra. The radial run of the disc color temperature for the three runs is flatter than the expected $T\propto{R^{-3/4}}$ law for steady-state optically thick discs models, with $T\simeq{20000}$ K in the inner regions and $T\simeq{9000}$ K in the outer disc regions. The solid angles that result from the fits are smaller than expected from the parameters of the system. The radial run of the solid angle suggests that the disc is flared in outburst, and decreases in thickness toward the end of the outburst.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, in press in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Small vs large dust grains in transitional disks: do different cavity sizes indicate a planet?

Transitional disks represent a short stage of the evolution of circumstellar material. Studies of dust grains in these objects can provide pivotal information on the mechanisms of planet formation. Dissimilarities in the spatial distribution of small (micron-size) and large (millimeter-size) dust grains have recently been pointed out. Constraints on the small dust grains can be obtained by imaging the distribution of scattered light at near-infrared wavelengths. We aim at resolving structures in the surface layer of transitional disks (with particular emphasis on the inner 10 - 50 AU), thus increasing the scarce sample of high resolution images of these objects. We obtained VLT/NACO near-IR high-resolution polarimetric differential imaging observations of SAO 206462 (HD135344B). This technique allows one to image the polarized scattered light from the disk without any occulting mask and to reach an inner working angle of 0.1''. A face-on disk is detected in H and Ks bands between 0.1'' and 0.9''. No significant differences are seen between the H and Ks images. In addition to the spiral arms, these new data allow us to resolve for the first time an inner cavity for small dust grains. The cavity size (about 28 AU) is much smaller than what is inferred for large dust grains from (sub)mm observations (39 to 50 AU). The interaction between the disk and potential orbiting companion(s) can explain both the spiral arm structure and the discrepant cavity sizes for small and large dust grains. One planet may be carving out the gas (and, thus, the small grains) at 28 AU, and generating a pressure bump at larger radii (39 AU), which holds back the large grains. We analytically estimate that, in this scenario, a single giant planet (with a mass between 5 and 15 Jupiter masses) at 17 to 20 AU from the star is consistent with the observed cavity sizes.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in A&

Second harmonic generation from strongly coupled localized and propagating phonon-polariton modes

We experimentally investigate second harmonic generation from strongly coupled localized and propagative phonon polariton modes in arrays of silicon carbide nanopillars. Our results clearly demonstrate the hybrid nature of the system's eigenmodes and distinct manifestation of strong coupling in the linear and nonlinear response. While in linear reflectivity the intensity of the two strongly-coupled branches is essentially symmetric and well explained by their respective localized or propagative components, the second harmonic signal presents a strong asymmetry. Analyzing it in detail, we reveal the importance of interference effects between the nonlinear polarization terms originating in the bulk and in the phonon polariton modes, respectively.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure