80 research outputs found
Broad-band polarization-independent total absorption of electromagnetic waves by an overdense plasma
We have shown both experimentally and theoretically that
polarization-independent broad-band absorption of electromagnetic waves by an
overdense plasma, caused by surface plasmon-polaritons (SPP) excitation, can be
achieved due to combination of two factors: a non-zero angle of incidence and a
two-dimensional circular diffraction grating placed at a properly chosen
distance in front of the plasma boundary. Direct detection of SPP has been
achieved for the first time using a miniature antenna imbedded in the plasma.Comment: considerably broadened versio
Coupling and Level Repulsion in the Localized Regime: From Isolated to Quasi-Extended Modes
We study the interaction of Anderson localized states in an open 1D random
system by varying the internal structure of the sample. As the frequencies of
two states come close, they are transformed into multiply-peaked quasi-extended
modes. Level repulsion is observed experimentally and explained within a model
of coupled resonators. The spectral and spatial evolution of the coupled modes
is described in terms of the coupling coefficient and Q-factors of resonators.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Non-commutative mechanics and Exotic Galilean symmetry
In order to derive a large set of Hamiltonian dynamical systems, but with
only first order Lagrangian, we resort to the formulation in terms of
Lagrange-Souriau 2-form formalism. A wide class of systems derived in different
phenomenological contexts are covered. The non-commutativity of the particle
position coordinates are a natural consequence. Some explicit examples are
considered.Comment: 15 pages, Talk given at Nonlinear Physics. Theory and Experiment
VI,Gallipoli (Lecce), Italy, June 23 - July 3, 201
Experimental Measurement of the Berry Curvature from Anomalous Transport
Geometrical properties of energy bands underlie fascinating phenomena in a
wide-range of systems, including solid-state materials, ultracold gases and
photonics. Most famously, local geometrical characteristics like the Berry
curvature can be related to global topological invariants such as those
classifying quantum Hall states or topological insulators. Regardless of the
band topology, however, any non-zero Berry curvature can have important
consequences, such as in the semi-classical evolution of a wave packet. Here,
we experimentally demonstrate for the first time that wave packet dynamics can
be used to directly map out the Berry curvature. To this end, we use optical
pulses in two coupled fibre loops to study the discrete time-evolution of a
wave packet in a 1D geometrical "charge" pump, where the Berry curvature leads
to an anomalous displacement of the wave packet under pumping. This is both the
first direct observation of Berry curvature effects in an optical system, and,
more generally, the proof-of-principle demonstration that semi-classical
dynamics can serve as a high-resolution tool for mapping out geometrical
properties
Graphene-based modulation-doped superlattice structures
The electronic transport properties of graphene-based superlattice structures
are investigated. A graphene-based modulation-doped superlattice structure
geometry is proposed and consist of periodically arranged alternate layers:
InAs/graphene/GaAs/graphene/GaSb. Undoped graphene/GaAs/graphene structure
displays relatively high conductance and enhanced mobilities at elevated
temperatures unlike modulation-doped superlattice structure more steady and
less sensitive to temperature and robust electrical tunable control on the
screening length scale. Thermionic current density exhibits enhanced behaviour
due to presence of metallic (graphene) mono-layers in superlattice structure.
The proposed superlattice structure might become of great use for new types of
wide-band energy gap quantum devices.Comment: 5 figure
Electronic beam shifts in monolayer graphene superlattice
Electronic analogue of generalized Goos-H\"{a}nchen shifts is investigated in
the monolayer graphene superlattice with one-dimensional periodic potentials of
square barriers. It is found that the lateral shifts for the electron beam
transmitted through the monolayer graphene superlattice can be negative as well
as positive near the band edges of zero- gap, which are different from
those near the band edges of Bragg gap. These negative and positive beam shifts
have close relation to the Dirac point. When the condition () is satisfied, the beam shifts can be controlled from
negative to positive when the incident energy is above the Dirac point, and
vice versa. In addition, the beam shifts can be greatly enhanced by the defect
mode inside the zero- gap. These intriguing phenomena can be verified
in a relatively simple optical setup, and have potential applications in the
graphene-based electron wave devices.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted on Oct. 15, 201
Intrinsic Spin-Orbit Interaction in Graphene
In graphene, we report the first theoretical demonstration of how the
intrinsic spin orbit interaction can be deduced from the theory and how it can
be controlled by tuning a uniform magnetic field, and/or by changing the
strength of a long range Coulomb like impurity (adatom), as well as gap
parameter. In the impurity context, we find that intrinsic spin-orbit
interaction energy may be enhanced by increasing the strength of magnetic field
and/or by decreasing the band gap mass term. Additionally, it may be strongly
enhanced by increasing the impurity strength. Furthermore, from the proposal of
Kane and Mele [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 226801 (2005)], it was discussed that the
pristine graphene has a quantized spin Hall effect regime where the Rashba type
spin orbit interaction term is smaller than that of intrinsic one. Our analysis
suggest the nonexistence of such a regime in the ground state of flat graphene
A Polarised Population of Dynamic Microtubules Mediates Homeostatic Length Control in Animal Cells
An analysis of cells grown on micro-patterned lines, and of cells during zebrafish development, identifies a population of microtubules that align along the long axis of cells to mediate homeostatic length control
A functional variant in the Stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene promoter enhances fatty acid desaturation in pork
There is growing public concern about reducing saturated fat intake. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is the lipogenic enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of oleic acid (18:1) by desaturating stearic acid (18:0). Here we describe a total of 18 mutations in the promoter and 3′ non-coding region of the pig SCD gene and provide evidence that allele T at AY487830:g.2228T>C in the promoter region enhances fat desaturation (the ratio 18:1/18:0 in muscle increases from 3.78 to 4.43 in opposite homozygotes) without affecting fat content (18:0+18:1, intramuscular fat content, and backfat thickness). No mutations that could affect the functionality of the protein were found in the coding region. First, we proved in a purebred Duroc line that the C-T-A haplotype of the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.2108C>T; g.2228T>C; g.2281A>G) of the promoter region was additively associated to enhanced 18:1/18:0 both in muscle and subcutaneous fat, but not in liver. We show that this association was consistent over a 10-year period of overlapping generations and, in line with these results, that the C-T-A haplotype displayed greater SCD mRNA expression in muscle. The effect of this haplotype was validated both internally, by comparing opposite homozygote siblings, and externally, by using experimental Duroc-based crossbreds. Second, the g.2281A>G and the g.2108C>T SNPs were excluded as causative mutations using new and previously published data, restricting the causality to g.2228T>C SNP, the last source of genetic variation within the haplotype. This mutation is positioned in the core sequence of several putative transcription factor binding sites, so that there are several plausible mechanisms by which allele T enhances 18:1/18:0 and, consequently, the proportion of monounsaturated to saturated fat.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (AGL2009-09779 and AGL2012-33529). RRF is recipient of a PhD scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BES-2010-034607). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript
Topics in Noncommutative Geometry Inspired Physics
In this review article we discuss some of the applications of noncommutative
geometry in physics that are of recent interest, such as noncommutative
many-body systems, noncommutative extension of Special Theory of Relativity
kinematics, twisted gauge theories and noncommutative gravity.Comment: New references added, Published online in Foundations of Physic
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