942 research outputs found
Sustainable Bus Stop: Design & Pre-Construction
The objective of this project is to design and prepare to build a sustainable bus stop for the City of San Luis Obispo (SLO). Compiled are pre-construction plans and documents for delivery of a sustainable bus stop. All pre-construction services include: project budget/estimates, construction plans and specifications including architectural and electrical plans, timeline/schedule, and materials lists. With a strong focus on sustainability, the design incorporates the use of photovoltaic panels as a form of renewable energy to power features of the sheltered bus stop. This includes a light fixture and a pump to use collected rainwater to nourish native vegetation in a planter box. The budget was to be under $10,000 and includes all labor and materials for the construction phase of the project. The schedule for the construction phase is within a two week timeline during the end of March, 2021. The risk analysis includes a Risk Register which uses the Severity Table and Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) together to evaluate the risk of specific events of the project. The RBS consists of the following four categories: Environmental, Resources, Management, and Construction. Plan documents meet all local building codes per the requirements of the City of SLO
Suppression of electron scattering resonances in graphene by quantum dots
Transmission of low-energetic electrons through two-dimensional materials
leads to unique scattering resonances. These resonances contribute to
photoemission from occupied bands where they appear as strongly dispersive
features of suppressed photoelectron intensity. Using angle-resolved
photoemission we have systematically studied scattering resonances in epitaxial
graphene grown on the chemically differing substrates Ir(111), Bi/Ir, Ni(111)
as well as in graphene/Ir(111) nanopatterned with a superlattice of uniform Ir
quantum dots. While the strength of the chemical interaction with the substrate
has almost no effect on the dispersion of the scattering resonances, their
energy can be controlled by the magnitude of charge transfer from/to graphene.
At the same time, a superlattice of small quantum dots deposited on graphene
eliminates the resonances completely. We ascribe this effect to a
nanodot-induced buckling of graphene and its local rehybridization from
sp to sp towards a three-dimensional structure. Our results suggest
nanopatterning as a prospective tool for tuning optoelectronic properties of
two-dimensional materials with graphene-like structure.Comment: The following article has been submitted to Applied Physics Letters.
If it is published, it will be found online at http://apl.aip.or
Rashba splitting of 100 meV in Au-intercalated graphene on SiC
Intercalation of Au can produce giant Rashba-type spin-orbit splittings in
graphene but this has not yet been achieved on a semiconductor substrate. For
graphene/SiC(0001), Au intercalation yields two phases with different doping.
Here, we report the preparation of an almost pure p-type graphene phase after
Au intercalation. We observe a 100 meV Rashba-type spin-orbit splitting at 0.9
eV binding energy. We show that this giant splitting is due to hybridization
and much more limited in energy and momentum space than for Au-intercalated
graphene on Ni
Laser-induced persistent photovoltage on the surface of a ternary topological insulator at room temperature
Using time- and angle-resolved photoemission, we investigate the ultrafast
response of excited electrons in the ternary topological insulator (BiSb)Te to fs-infrared pulses. We demonstrate that at the
critical concentration =0.55, where the system becomes bulk insulating, a
surface voltage can be driven at room temperature through the topological
surface state solely by optical means. We further show that such a photovoltage
persists over a time scale that exceeds 6 s, i.e, much longer than
the characteristic relaxation times of bulk states. We attribute the origin of
the photovoltage to a laser-induced band-bending effect which emerges near the
surface region on ultrafast time scales. The photovoltage is also accompanied
by a remarkable increase in the relaxation times of excited states as compared
to undoped topological insulators. Our findings are relevant in the context of
applications of topological surface states in future optical devices.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Ultrafast spin polarization control of Dirac fermions in topological insulators
Three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) are characterized by
spin-polarized Dirac-cone surface states that are protected from backscattering
by time-reversal symmetry. Control of the spin polarization of topological
surface states (TSSs) using femtosecond light pulses opens novel perspectives
for the generation and manipulation of dissipationless surface spin currents on
ultrafast timescales. Using time-, spin-, and angle-resolved spectroscopy, we
directly monitor for the first time the ultrafast response of the spin
polarization of photoexcited TSSs to circularly-polarized femtosecond pulses of
infrared light. We achieve all-optical switching of the transient out-of-plane
spin polarization, which relaxes in about 1.2 ps. Our observations establish
the feasibility of ultrafast optical control of spin-polarized Dirac fermions
in TIs and pave the way for novel optospintronic applications at ultimate
speeds.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Mn valence instability in La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 thin films
A Mn valence instability on La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 thin films, grown on LaAlO3
(001)substrates is observed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Mn L-edge
and O K-edge. As-grown samples, in situ annealed at 800 C in oxygen, exhibit a
Curie temperature well below that of the bulk material. Upon air exposure a
reduction of the saturation magnetization, MS, of the films is detected.
Simultaneously a Mn2+ spectral signature develops, in addition to the expected
Mn3+ and Mn4+ contributions, which increases with time. The similarity of the
spectral results obtained by total electron yield and fluorescence yield
spectroscopy indicates that the location of the Mn valence anomalies is not
confined to a narrow surface region of the film, but can extend throughout the
whole thickness of the sample. High temperature annealing at 1000 C in air,
immediately after growth, improves the magnetic and transport properties of
such films towards the bulk values and the Mn2+ signature in the spectra does
not appear. The Mn valence is then stable even to prolonged air exposure. We
propose a mechanism for the Mn2+ ions formation and discuss the importance of
these observations with respect to previous findings and production of thin
films devices.Comment: Double space, 21 pages, 6 figure
Band Renormalization of Blue Phosphorus on Au 111
Most recently, theoretical calculations predicted the stability of a novel two dimensional phosphorus honeycomb lattice named blue phosphorus. Here, we report on the growth of blue phosphorus on Au 111 and unravel its structural details using diffraction, microscopy and theoretical calculations. Most importantly, by utilizing angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy we identify its momentum resolved electronic structure. We find that Au 111 breaks the sublattice symmetry of blue phosphorus leading to an orbital dependent band renormalization upon the formation of a 4 4 superstructure. Notably, the semiconducting two dimensional phosphorus realizes its valence band maximum at 0.9 eV binding energy, however, shifted in momentum space due to the substrate induced band renormalizatio
Correlated Electrons Step-by-Step: Itinerant-to-Localized Transition of Fe Impurities in Free-Electron Metal Hosts
High-resolution photoemission spectroscopy and realistic ab-initio
calculations have been employed to analyze the onset and progression of d-sp
hybridization in Fe impurities deposited on alkali metal films. The interplay
between delocalization, mediated by the free-electron environment, and Coulomb
interaction among d-electrons gives rise to complex electronic configurations.
The multiplet structure of a single Fe atom evolves and gradually dissolves
into a quasiparticle peak near the Fermi level with increasing the host
electron density. The effective multi-orbital impurity problem within the exact
diagonalization scheme describes the whole range of hybridizations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Magnetism and interlayer coupling in fcc Fe/Co films
The magnetism of epitaxial fee Fe films deposited on Co(100) and sandwiched between two Co(100) films was investigated by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The dependence of the Fe magnetism on the film thickness is complex and qualitatively similar on Co(100) and in fee Co/Fe/Co(100) trilayers. The fee Fe film magnetization presents a pronounced oscillation, suggesting a partial antiferromagnetic ordering in the 5-10 monolayer thickness range. The fee Fe films mediate an oscillatory, indirect coupling in Co/Fe/Co(100) structures that alternates in correspondence with the changes of the Fe magnetization
Endothelial Lipase Concentrations Are Increased in Metabolic Syndrome and Associated with Coronary Atherosclerosis
BACKGROUND: Endothelial lipase (EL), a new member of the lipase family, has been shown to modulate high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) metabolism and atherosclerosis in mouse models. We hypothesized that EL concentrations would be associated with decreased HDL-C and increased atherosclerosis in humans. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Healthy individuals with a family history of premature coronary heart disease (n = 858) were recruited as part of the Study of the Inherited Risk of Atherosclerosis. Blood was drawn in the fasting state before and, in a subgroup (n = 510), after administration of a single dose of intravenous heparin. Plasma lipids were measured enzymatically, lipoprotein subclasses were assessed by nuclear magnetic resonance, and coronary artery calcification (CAC) was quantified by electron beam computed tomography. Plasma EL mass was measured using a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Median EL mass in pre-heparin plasma was 442 (interquartile range = 324–617) ng/ml. Median post-heparin mass was approximately 3-fold higher, 1,313 (888–1,927) ng/ml. The correlation between pre-heparin EL mass and post-heparin EL mass was 0.46 (p < 0.001). EL mass concentrations in both pre- and post-heparin plasma significantly correlated with all NCEP ATPIII-defined metabolic syndrome factors: waist circumference (r = 0.28 and 0.22, respectively, p < 0.001 for each), blood pressure (r = 0.18 and 0.24, p < 0.001 for each), triglycerides (r = 0.22, p < 0.001; and 0.13, p = 0.004), HDL cholesterol (r = –0.11, p = 0.002; and –0.18, p < 0.001), and fasting glucose (r = 0.11 and 0.16, p = 0.001 for both). EL mass in both routine (odds ratio [OR] = 1.67, p = 0.01) and post-heparin (OR = 2.42, p = 0.003) plasma was associated with CAC as determined by ordinal regression after adjustment for age, gender, waist circumference, vasoactive medications, hormone replacement therapy (women), and established cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: We report, to our knowledge for the first time, that human plasma EL concentrations, in both post-heparin and routine pre-heparin plasma, are significantly associated with metabolic syndrome features and with subclinical atherosclerosis. EL may be a pro-atherogenic factor in humans, especially in overweight individuals and those with metabolic syndrome
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