410 research outputs found
What is the Brillouin Zone of an Anisotropic Photonic Crystal?
The concept of the Brillouin zone (BZ) in relation to a photonic crystal
fabricated in an optically anisotropic material is explored both experimentally
and theoretically. In experiment, we used femtosecond laser pulses to excite
THz polaritons and image their propagation in lithium niobate and lithium
tantalate photonic crystal (PhC) slabs. We directly measured the dispersion
relation inside PhCs and observed that the lowest bandgap expected to form at
the BZ boundary forms inside the BZ in the anisotropic lithium niobate PhC. Our
analysis shows that in an anisotropic material the BZ - defined as the
Wigner-Seitz cell in the reciprocal lattice - is no longer bounded by Bragg
planes and thus does not conform to the original definition of the BZ by
Brillouin. We construct an alternative Brillouin zone defined by Bragg planes
and show its utility in identifying features of the dispersion bands. We show
that for an anisotropic 2D PhC without dispersion, the Bragg plane BZ can be
constructed by applying the Wigner-Seitz method to a stretched or compressed
reciprocal lattice. We also show that in the presence of the dispersion in the
underlying material or in a slab waveguide, the Bragg planes are generally
represented by curved surfaces rather than planes. The concept of constructing
a BZ with Bragg planes should prove useful in understanding the formation of
dispersion bands in anisotropic PhCs and in selectively tailoring their optical
properties.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Terahertz generation by beamlet superposition
We analytically show how a superposition of beamlets produces terahertz
radiation with greater spatial homogeneity and efficiency compared to
tilted-pulse-fronts generated by diffraction gratings. The advantages are
particularly notable for large pump bandwiths and beam sizes, alluding to
better performance in the presence of cascading effects and higher energy
pumping. A theory of terahertz generation using a superposition of beamlets is
developed. It is shown how such an arrangement produces a distortion free
tilted-pulse-front. Closed form expressions for terahertz spectra and
transients in three spatial dimensions are derived. Conditions for obtaining
performance parity and bounds for optimal parameters are furnished
THz generation using a reflective stair-step echelon
We present a novel method for THz generation in lithium niobate using a
reflective stair-step echelon structure. The echelon produces a discretely
tilted pulse front with less angular dispersion compared to a high
groove-density grating. The THz output was characterized using both a 1-lens
and 3-lens imaging system to set the tilt angle at room and cryogenic
temperatures. Using broadband 800 nm pulses with a pulse energy of 0.95 mJ and
a pulse duration of 70 fs (24 nm FWHM bandwidth, 39 fs transform limited
width), we produced THz pulses with field strengths as high as 500 kV/cm and
pulse energies as high as 3.1 J. The highest conversion efficiency we
obtained was 0.33%. In addition, we find that the echelon is easily implemented
into an experimental setup for quick alignment and optimization.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Rab14 regulates the maturation of macrophage phagosomes containing the fungal pathogen Candida albicans and the outcome of the host-pathogen interaction
Date of Acceptance: 02/02/2015 Copyright Ā© 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Nonlinear two-dimensional terahertz photon echo and rotational spectroscopy in the gas phase
Ultrafast two-dimensional spectroscopy utilizes correlated multiple
light-matter interactions for retrieving dynamic features that may otherwise be
hidden under the linear spectrum. Its extension to the terahertz regime of the
electromagnetic spectrum, where a rich variety of material degrees of freedom
reside, remains an experimental challenge. Here we report ultrafast
two-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy of gas-phase molecular rotors at room
temperature. Using time-delayed terahertz pulse pairs, we observe photon echoes
and other nonlinear signals resulting from molecular dipole orientation induced
by three terahertz field-dipole interactions. The nonlinear time-domain
orientation signals are mapped into the frequency domain in two-dimensional
rotational spectra which reveal J-state-resolved nonlinear rotational dynamics.
The approach enables direct observation of correlated rotational transitions
and may reveal rotational coupling and relaxation pathways in the ground
electronic and vibrational state.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure
High speed end-to-end connection management in a bridged IEEE 1394 network of professional audio devices
A number of companies have developed a variety of network approaches to the transfer of audio and MIDI data. By doing this, they have addressed the configuration complications that were present when using direct patching for analogue audio, digital audio, word clock, and control connections. Along with their approaches, controlling software, usually running on a PC, is used to set up and manage audio routings from the outputs to the inputs of devices. However one of the advantages of direct patching is the conceptual simplicity it provides for a user in connecting plugs of devices, the ability to connect from the host plug of one device to the host plug of another. The connection management or routing applications of the current audio networks do not allow for such a capability, and instead employ what is referred to as a two-step approach to connection management. This two-step approach requires that devices be first configured at the transport layer of the network for input and output routings, after which the transmit and receive plugs of devices are manually configured to transmit or receive data. From a userās point of view, it is desirable for the connection management or audio routing applications of the current audio networks to be able to establish routings directly between the host plugs of devices, and not the audio channels exposed by a networkās transport, as is currently the case. The main goal of this work has been to retain the conceptual simplicity of point-to-point connection management within digital audio networks, while gaining all the benefits that digital audio networking can offer
Rapid and Precise Determination of Zero-Field Splittings by Terahertz Time-Domain Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters are fundamentally tied to the
geometries of metal ion complexes. Despite their critical importance for
understanding the magnetism and spectroscopy of metal complexes, they are not
routinely available through general laboratory-based techniques, and are often
inferred from magnetism data. Here we demonstrate a simple tabletop
experimental approach that enables direct and reliable determination of ZFS
parameters in the terahertz (THz) regime. We report time-domain measurements of
electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals associated with THz-frequency
ZFSs in molecular complexes containing high-spin transition-metal ions. We
measure the temporal profiles of the free-induction decays of spin resonances
in the complexes at zero and nonzero external magnetic fields, and we derive
the EPR spectra via numerical Fourier transformation of the time-domain
signals. In most cases, absolute values of the ZFS parameters are extracted
from the measured zero-field EPR frequencies, and the signs can be determined
by zero-field measurements at two different temperatures. Field-dependent EPR
measurements further allow refined determination of the ZFS parameters and
access to the g-factor. The results show good agreement with those obtained by
other methods. The simplicity of the method portends wide applicability in
chemistry, biology and material science.Comment: 36 pages, 30 figures, 1 tabl
Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of Ī²-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation
Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
- ā¦