The mid-infrared extinction law in the darkest cores of the Pipe Nebula

Context. The properties of dust grains, in particular their size distribution, are expected to differ from the interstellar medium to the high-density regions within molecular clouds. Aims. We measure the mid-infrared extinction law produced by dense material in molecular cloud cores. Since the extinction at these wavelengths is caused by dust, the extinction law in cores should depart from that found in low-density environments if the dust grains have different properties. Methods. We use the unbiased LINES method to measure the slope of the reddening vectors in color-color diagrams. We derive the mid-infrared extinction law toward the dense cores B59 and FeSt 1-457 in the Pipe Nebula over a range of visual extinction between 10 and 50 magnitudes, using a combination of Spitzer/IRAC, and ESO NTT/VLT data. Results. The mid-infrared extinction law in both cores departs significantly from a power-law between 3.6 and 8 micron, suggesting that these cores contain dust with a considerable fraction of large dust grains. We find no evidence for a dependence of the extinction law with column density up to 50 magnitudes of visual extinction in these cores, and no evidence for a variation between our result and those for other clouds at lower column densities reported elsewhere in the literature. This suggests that either large grains are present even in low column density regions, or that the existing dust models need to be revised at mid-infrared wavelengths. We find a small but significant difference in the extinction law of the two cores, that we tentatively associate with the onset of star formation in B59.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Accepted to A&

From Strong to Weak Coupling Regime in a Single GaN Microwire up to Room Temperature

Large bandgap semiconductor microwires constitute a very advantageous alternative to planar microcavities in the context of room temperature strong coupling regime between exciton and light. In this work we demonstrate that in a GaN microwire, the strong coupling regime is achieved up to room temperature with a large Rabi splitting of 125 meV never achieved before in a Nitride-based photonic nanostructure. The demonstration relies on a method which doesn't require any knowledge \'a priori on the photonic eigenmodes energy in the microwire, i.e. the details of the microwire cross-section shape. Moreover, using a heavily doped segment within the same microwire, we confirm experimentally that free excitons provide the oscillator strength for this strong coupling regime. The measured Rabi splitting to linewidth ratio of 15 matches state of the art planar Nitride-based microcavities, in spite of a much simpler design and a less demanding fabrication process. These results show that GaN microwires constitute a simpler and promising system to achieve electrically pumped lasing in the strong coupling regime.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Fabrication and Optical Properties of a Fully Hybrid Epitaxial ZnO-Based Microcavity in the Strong Coupling Regime

In order to achieve polariton lasing at room temperature, a new fabrication methodology for planar microcavities is proposed: a ZnO-based microcavity in which the active region is epitaxially grown on an AlGaN/AlN/Si substrate and in which two dielectric mirrors are used. This approach allows as to simultaneously obtain a high-quality active layer together with a high photonic confinement as demonstrated through macro-, and micro-photoluminescence ({\mu}-PL) and reflectivity experiments. A quality factor of 675 and a maximum PL emission at k=0 are evidenced thanks to {\mu}-PL, revealing an efficient polaritonic relaxation even at low excitation power.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Strain evolution in GaN Nanowires: from free-surface objects to coalesced templates

Top-down fabricated GaN nanowires, 250 nm in diameter and with various heights, have been used to experimentally determine the evolution of strain along the vertical direction of 1-dimensional objects. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence techniques have been used to obtain the strain profile inside the nanowires from their base to their top facet for both initial compressive and tensile strains. The relaxation behaviors derived from optical and structural characterizations perfectly match the numerical results of calculations based on a continuous media approach. By monitoring the elastic relaxation enabled by the lateral free-surfaces, the height from which the nanowires can be considered strain-free has been estimated. Based on this result, NWs sufficiently high to be strain-free have been coalesced to form a continuous GaN layer. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence clearly show that despite the initial strain-free nanowires template, the final GaN layer is strained

Preyssler Heteropolyacids in the Self-Etherification of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to 5,5′-[Oxybis(methylene)]bis-2-furfural Under Mild Reaction Conditions

The synthesis of 5,5′-[oxybis(methylene)]bis-2-furfural (OBMF) from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) was studied using bulk and alumina-supported Preyssler heteropolyacids (HPAs). The formation of OBMF was related to the amount of Brønsted acid sites, and the lowest yield of OBMF was obtained with supported HPAs. However, the Lewis acidity of the HPA supported on Al2O3 favored the formation of 2,5-dimethylfurane. The effects of solvent, catalyst loading, temperature, and reaction time on the selectivity to OBMF from 5-HMF were studied to optimize OBMF production using bulk Preyssler HPAs; a yield of 84 % to OBMF was obtained at 5 h and 343 K. These results demonstrate that bulk Preyssler HPA is a good candidate for OBMF synthesis under mild reaction conditions.Fil: Páez, Alexander. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Rojas, Hugo A.. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia;Fil: Portilla Zúñiga, Omar Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas ; ArgentinaFil: Sathicq, Angel Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas ; ArgentinaFil: Afonso, Carlos A. M.. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Romanelli, Gustavo Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas ; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, José J.. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia; Colombi

Detailed Interstellar Polarimetric Properties of the Pipe Nebula at Core Scales

We use R-band CCD linear polarimetry collected for about 12000 background field stars in 46 fields of view toward the Pipe nebula to investigate the properties of the polarization across this dark cloud. Based on archival 2MASS data we estimate that the surveyed areas present total visual extinctions in the range 0.6 < Av < 4.6. While the observed polarizations show a well ordered large scale pattern, with polarization vectors almost perpendicularly aligned to the cloud's long axis, at core scales one see details that are characteristics of each core. Although many observed stars present degree of polarization which are unusual for the common interstellar medium, our analysis suggests that the dust grains constituting the diffuse parts of the Pipe nebula seem to have the same properties as the normal Galactic interstellar medium. Estimates of the second-order structure function of the polarization angles suggest that most of the Pipe nebula is magnetically dominated and that turbulence is sub-Alvenic. The Pipe nebula is certainly an interesting region where to investigate the processes prevailing during the initial phases of low mass stellar formation.Comment: 20 pages, 23 figures, Accepted for The Astrophysical Journa

Filtered screens and augmented Teichm\"uller space

We study a new bordification of the decorated Teichm\"uller space for a multiply punctured surface F by a space of filtered screens on the surface that arises from a natural elaboration of earlier work of McShane-Penner. We identify necessary and sufficient conditions for paths in this space of filtered screens to yield short curves having vanishing length in the underlying surface F. As a result, an appropriate quotient of this space of filtered screens on F yields a decorated augmented Teichm\"uller space which is shown to admit a CW decomposition that naturally projects to the augmented Teichm\"uller space by forgetting decorations and whose strata are indexed by a new object termed partially oriented stratum graphs.Comment: Final version to appear in Geometriae Dedicat