Atomistic pseudopotential calculations of the optical properties of InAs/InP self-assembled quantum dots

We present a comprehensive study of the optical properties of InAs/InP self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) using an empirical pseudopotential method and configuration interaction treatment of the many-particle effects. The results are compared to those of InAs/GaAs QDs. The main results are: (i) The alignment of emission lines of neutral exciton, charged exciton and biexciton in InAs/InP QDs is quite different from that in InAs/GaAs QDs. (ii) The hidden correlation in InAs/InP QDs is 0.7 - 0.9 meV, smaller than that in InAs/GaAs QDs. (iii) The radiative lifetimes of neutral exciton, charged exciton and biexciton in InAs/InP QDs are about twice longer than those in InAs/GaAs QDs. (v) The phase diagrams of few electrons and holes in InAs/InP QDs differ greatly from those in InAs/GaAs QDs. The filling orders of electrons and holes are shown to obey the Hund's rule and Aufbau principle, and therefore the photoluminescence spectra of highly charged excitons are very different from those of InAs/GaAs QDs.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

The Role of Waste Glass Powder During the Hydration Process of Composite Cementitious Materials

The role of waste glass powder (GP) during the hydration process of composite cementitious materials was investigated by using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The compressive strength was also tested. The results indicate that the chemical activity of GP is low. But the pozzolanic reactivity of GP greatly improves with its fineness and the elevated curing temperature, which contributes to improving the mechanical strength. The hydration process of composite cementitious material containing GP is similar to that of pure cement. With the increase of GP content in the composite cement, the occurring time of second exothermic improves, but the value of second exothermic peak and the cumulative hydration heat reduce. The characteristic pore size of pastes containing GP decreases over curing age, which significantly improves their strength. GP does not modify the type of hydration products of composite cementitious material. The microstructure of hardened pastes containing GP is dense due to the generation of C-S-H gel with a low Ca/Si ratio. There is a reaction ring along GP with high fineness, which can enhance the interfacial transition zone to avoid ASR

Tungsten disulfide-gold nanohole hybrid metasurfaces for nonlinear metalens in the visible region

Recently, nonlinear hybrid metasurface comes into an attractive new concept in the research of nanophotonics and nanotechnology. It is composed of semiconductors with an intrinsically large nonlinear susceptibility and traditional plasmonic metasurfaces, offering opportunities for efficiently generating and manipulating nonlinear optical responses. A high second-harmonic generation (SHG) conversion efficiency has been demonstrated in the mid-infrared region by using multi-quantum-well (MQW) based plasmonic metasurfaces. However, it has yet to be demonstrated in the visible region. Here we present a new type of nonlinear hybrid metasurfaces for the visible region, which consists of a single layer of tungsten disulfide (WS2) and a phased gold nanohole array. The results indicate that a large SHG susceptibility of ~0.1 nm/V at 810 nm is achieved, which is 2~3 orders of magnitude larger than that of typical plasmonic metasurfaces. Nonlinear metalenses with the focal lengths of 30 {\mu}m, 50 {\mu}m and 100 {\mu}m are demonstrated experimentally, providing a direct evidence for both generating and manipulating SH signals based on the nonlinear hybrid metasurfaces. It shows great potential applications in designing of integrated, ultra-thin, compacted and efficient nonlinear optical devices, such as frequency converters, nonlinear holography and generation of nonlinear optical vortex beam

An integrated molecular cytogenetic map of Cucumis sativus L. chromosome 2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Integration of molecular, genetic and cytological maps is still a challenge for most plant species. Recent progress in molecular and cytogenetic studies created a basis for developing integrated maps in cucumber (<it>Cucumis sativus </it>L.).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, eleven fosmid clones and three plasmids containing 45S rDNA, the centromeric satellite repeat Type III and the pericentriomeric repeat CsRP1 sequences respectively were hybridized to cucumber metaphase chromosomes to assign their cytological location on chromosome 2. Moreover, an integrated molecular cytogenetic map of cucumber chromosomes 2 was constructed by fluorescence <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH) mapping of 11 fosmid clones together with the cucumber centromere-specific Type III sequence on meiotic pachytene chromosomes. The cytogenetic map was fully integrated with genetic linkage map since each fosmid clone was anchored by a genetically mapped simple sequence repeat marker (SSR). The relationship between the genetic and physical distances along chromosome was analyzed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Recombination was not evenly distributed along the physical length of chromosome 2. Suppression of recombination was found in centromeric and pericentromeric regions. Our results also indicated that the molecular markers composing the linkage map for chromosome 2 provided excellent coverage of the chromosome.</p

Brain imaging and forecasting::Insights from judgmental model selection

In this article, we shed light on the differences between two judgmental forecasting approaches for model selection — forecast selection and pattern identification — with regard to their forecasting performance and underlying cognitive processes. We designed a laboratory experiment using real-life time series as stimuli to record subjects' selections as well as their brain activity by means of electroencephalography (EEG). We found that their cognitive load, measured by the amplitude of parietal P300, can be effectively used as a neurological indicator of identification and forecast accuracy. As a result, judgmental forecasting based on pattern identification outperforms forecast selection. Time series with low trendiness and high noisiness have low forecasting accuracy because of the high cognitive load induced

Detection of small single-cycle signals by stochastic resonance using a bistable superconducting quantum interference device

We propose and experimentally demonstrate detecting small single-cycle and few-cycle signals by using the symmetric double-well potential of a radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device (rf-SQUID). We show that the response of this bistable system to single- and few-cycle signals has a non-monotonic dependence on the noise strength. The response, measured by the probability of transition from initial potential well to the opposite one, becomes maximum when the noise-induced transition rate between the two stable states of the rf-SQUID is comparable to the signal frequency. Comparison to numerical simulations shows that the phenomenon is a manifestation of stochastic resonance.Comment: 5 pages 3 figure