A "Schrodinger Cat" Superposition State of an Atom

A "Schrodinger cat"-like state of matter was generated at the single atom level. A trapped 9Be+ ion was laser-cooled to the zero-point energy and then prepared in a superposition of spatially separated coherent harmonic oscillator states. This state was created by application of a sequence of laser pulses, which entangles internal (electronic) and external (motional) states of the ion. The Schrodinger cat superposition was verified by detection of the quantum mechanical interference between the localized wave packets. This mesoscopic system may provide insight into the fuzzy boundary between the classical and quantum worlds by allowing controlled studies of quantum measurement and quantum decoherence.     

Real-time observation of adsorbate atom motion above a metal surface

The dynamics of cesium atom motion above the copper(111) surface following electronic excitation with light was studied with femtosecond (10(-15) seconds) time resolution. Unusual changes in the surface electronic structure within 160 femtoseconds after excitation, observed by time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy, are attributed to atomic motion in a copper-cesium bond-breaking process. Describing the change in energy of the cesium antibonding state with a simple classical model provides information on the mechanical forces acting on cesium atoms that are "turned on" by photoexcitation. Within 160 femtoseconds, the copper-cesium bond extends by 0.35 angstrom from its equilibrium value.     

Wet electrons at the H2O/TiO2(110) surface

At interfaces of metal oxide and water, partially hydrated or "wet-electron" states represent the lowest energy pathway for electron transfer. We studied the photoinduced electron transfer at the H2O/TiO2(110) interface by means of time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy and electronic structure theory. At approximately 1-monolayer coverage of water on partially hydroxylated TiO2 surfaces, we found an unoccupied electronic state 2.4 electron volts above the Fermi level. Density functional theory shows this to be a wet-electron state analogous to that reported in water clusters and which is distinct from hydrated electrons observed on water-covered metal surfaces. The decay of electrons from the wet-electron state to the conduction band of TiO2 occurs in 相似文献   

No straight path: roaming in both ground- and excited-state photolytic channels of NO3 → NO + O2

Roaming mechanisms have recently been observed in several chemical reactions alongside trajectories that pass through a traditional transition state. Here, we demonstrate that the visible light-induced reaction NO(3) → NO + O(2) proceeds exclusively by roaming. High-level ab initio calculations predict specific NO Λ doublet propensities (orientations of the unpaired electron with respect to the molecular rotation plane) for this mechanism, which we discern experimentally by ion imaging. The data provide direct evidence for roaming pathways in two different electronic states, corresponding to both previously documented photolysis channels that produce NO + O(2). More broadly, the results raise intriguing questions about the overall prevalence of this unusual reaction mechanism.     

2009年湖北入梅首场暴雨的垂直螺旋度分析

利用湖北省自动雨量站资料和NCEP1°×1°全球再分析资料,对湖北省2009年6月28～30日发生的暴雨天气过程进行垂直螺旋度分析。结果表明,整层强的垂直上升运动稳定维持情况下,垂直螺旋度时空演变特征能很好地反映强降水出现时段及其落区范围的大小;间隔6h的700hPa垂直螺旋度梯度大值区和∑θse（500＋700＋850）水平能量锋区叠加区的的分布对6h强降水的落区有很好的指示意义;大降水中心出现的区域有低层正与高层负垂直螺旋度的配置,在低层正垂直螺旋度略高于高层负值时,更有利于大暴雨中心产生。     

A visual pigment with two physiologically active stable states

Red illumination of a Balanus amphitrite photoreceptor that has been adapted to blue light leads to prolonged depolarization in the late receptor potential. This depolarization can be switched off by further exposure to a blue stimulus. The early receptor potential in this cell is purely depolarizing or largely hyperpolarizing; the former is true if the cell has been adapted to red light, and the latter, if blue light has been used. The color-adaptation "memories" for both early and late receptor potentials appear to be permanent. The existence of two stable states for the early receptor potential directly implies a pigment with two stable states, and these apparently contribute antagonistically to the late receptor potential.     

Quantum phase extraction in isospectral electronic nanostructures

Quantum phase is not directly observable and is usually determined by interferometric methods. We present a method to map complete electron wave functions, including internal quantum phase information, from measured single-state probability densities. We harness the mathematical discovery of drum-like manifolds bearing different shapes but identical resonances, and construct quantum isospectral nanostructures with matching electronic structure but divergent physical structure. Quantum measurement (scanning tunneling microscopy) of these "quantum drums"-degenerate two-dimensional electron states on the copper(111) surface confined by individually positioned carbon monoxide molecules-reveals that isospectrality provides an extra topological degree of freedom enabling robust quantum state transplantation and phase extraction.     

三角帆蚌外套膜细胞培养的改进与大型有核珍珠的培育研究

为得到大颗粒优质的淡水有核珍珠,进行了游离细胞植入法在三角帆蚌(Hyriopsis cumingii)内脏团插核育珠的研究。实验采用两种培养基(培养基1、2)进行外套膜外膜细胞的培养,对不同培养时间(2、4、6、12 h)的细胞活力进行检测,同时将处理过的珠核分别置于两组细胞悬液中共培养,6 h后采用内脏团插核手术,对500只三角帆蚌进行插核,并进行为期5个月的淡水有核珍珠生产实验。实验结果表明:细胞活力随培养时间逐渐增大,培养到6、12 h时,两种培养基中的细胞活力较2、4 h时均有显著提高(P<0.05),6 h与12 h相比差异不显著(P>0.05);细胞在两种培养基中分别培养,在培养2 h时两组间细胞活力没有显著差异(P>0.05),而在培养4、6、12 h时培养基2组的细胞活力显著高于培养基1组(P<0.05);培养基2组培养的细胞孵育珠核6 h后,贴附的细胞数量明显增多且分布均匀,插核5个月后,形成了包裹完整、具有光泽、沉积0.8 mm珍珠质的大型珍珠,而采用培养基1组培养的外套膜细胞进行珠核孵育而后插核,得到的素珠较多,且没有形成完整珍珠质包被的珍珠。实验表明改进后的培养基有利于三角帆蚌外套膜细...     

Quantum spin Hall effect and topological phase transition in HgTe quantum wells

We show that the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, a state of matter with topological properties distinct from those of conventional insulators, can be realized in mercury telluride-cadmium telluride semiconductor quantum wells. When the thickness of the quantum well is varied, the electronic state changes from a normal to an "inverted" type at a critical thickness d(c). We show that this transition is a topological quantum phase transition between a conventional insulating phase and a phase exhibiting the QSH effect with a single pair of helical edge states. We also discuss methods for experimental detection of the QSH effect.     

Electron tunneling paths in proteins

One of the crucial issues in biological electron transfer is the determination of the role of spatially intermediate amino acid residues in controlling or directing the electronic tunneling interaction between redox sites. A quantum path integral Monte Carlo method is developed for the analysis of electronic tunneling pathways in a highly structured environment. This path integral method is applied to intramolecular electron transfer in a ruthenium-modified myoglobin that contains a tryptophan in the "line-of-flight." A principal result is the identification of the relevant cylindrical zone swept out by the tunneling electron.     

End states in one-dimensional atom chains

End states--the zero-dimensional analogs of the two-dimensional states that occur at a crystal surface--were observed at the ends of one-dimensional atom chains that were self-assembled by depositing gold on the vicinal Si(553) surface. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the differential conductance along the chains revealed quantized states in isolated segments with differentiated states forming over end atoms. A comparison to a tight-binding model demonstrated how the formation of electronic end states transforms the density of states and the energy levels within the chains.     

“海高斯”减弱环流引发的大暴雨天气诊断分析

2008年10月6日,福建省中南部沿海地区出现大范围强降水。利用常规气象资料和NCEP1°×1°6 h一次的分析资料进行诊断分析,以探讨此次大暴雨发生和维持的原因。结果表明,此次大暴雨天气过程主要是＂海高斯＂减弱后残留的低压系统在由500 hPa西风槽引导带来的低层弱冷空气的激发下形成的,低压东南侧的低空西南急流和西北侧的偏北风气流共同作用,使低压环流得到加强和维持。计算得出存在着有利于出现强降水的物理量场配置。风暴相对螺旋度分析表明,螺旋度分布和时间演变同强降水及其时间演变具有较好的对应关系,螺旋度的强度变化对于暴雨的演变有一定的指示意义。     

Photosynthesis

With the establishment of conditions for optimum culturing and measurement, there is now final proof that in photosynthesis at high as well as low light intensities the light energy can be almost completely converted into chemical energy. There is thus drawn to a close an investigation that was initiated many years ago in Berlin in the Imperial Institute of Physics (9). The second result is the establishment of a general physical mechanism of photosynthesis, involving an interplay between light energy and respiratory energy, and therewith the solution of the quantum problem in photosynthesis. The third result is the establishment of the function of chlorophyll as a stoichiometric, chemically reacting component in photosynthesis. There remains the special chemistry of photosynthesis. In this still-unfinished field of investigation, the latest discovery is the labile carbon dioxide of Chlorella, connected with the decomposition and resynthesis of glutamic acid in living Chlorella, and connected with the possible function of the amino acids, aspartic and glutamic, in the binding and reduction of carbonic acid. The dissociating CO(2) is bound by Chlorella only in the presence of O(2) and of cellular glutamic acid. This CO(2) is released if the oxygen pressure is lowered below 2 mm of water or if-in the presence of oxygen-the glutamic acid is split in the living Chlorella, for example, by N/10,000 benzoquinone. This is the CO(2) that is used in light and taken up in the dark (8).     

Probing quantum commutation rules by addition and subtraction of single photons to/from a light field

The possibility of arbitrarily "adding" and "subtracting" single photons to and from a light field may give access to a complete engineering of quantum states and to fundamental quantum phenomena. We experimentally implemented simple alternated sequences of photon creation and annihilation on a thermal field and used quantum tomography to verify the peculiar character of the resulting light states. In particular, as the final states depend on the order in which the two actions are performed, we directly observed the noncommutativity of the creation and annihilation operators, one of the cardinal concepts of quantum mechanics, at the basis of the quantum behavior of light. These results represent a step toward the full quantum control of a field and may provide new resources for quantum information protocols.     

Chemical cartography: finding the keys to the kinetic labyrinth

Very high resolution lasers allow spectroscopic pictures to be taken following a collision between two molecular reactants. The features of these "pictures" are the electronic, vibrational, rotational, and translational motions of the atomic particles, which relate the quantum states of the reactants to the quantum states of the products. Such state-to-state kinetic information can be used to test the shape and nature of the interaction potential that controls the collision process. The potential itself is akin to a map of the terrain through mountains and valleys where elevation is a measure of energy instead of height. Accurate mapping of this potential surface leads to an understanding of the forces which control rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions. The application of four different advanced laser techniques to the study of collisions between "hot" hydrogen(H) atoms and carbon dioxide(CO(2)) molecules has provided a wealth of information about both reactive and nonreactive collisions for this system. The availability of data for rotationally, vibrationally, and translationally inelastic excitation of CO(2) by H atoms, when compared with data for reactive events producing OH + CO, provides insights into the dynamics of collisions between H and CO(2), and illustrates the future promise of these powerful techniques for elucidating features of potential energy surfaces.     

Structural and Electronic Role of Lead in (PbBi)2Sr2CaCu2O8 Superconductors by STM

The structural and electronic effects of lead substitution in the high-temperature superconducting materials Pb(x)Bi(2-x)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) have been characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Large-area STM images of the Bi(Pb)-O layers show that lead substitution distorts and disorders the one-dimensional superlattice found in these materials. Atomic-resolution images indicate that extra oxygen atoms are present in the Bi(Pb)-O layers. STS data show that the electronic structure of the Bi(Pb)-O layers is insensitive to lead substitution within +/-0.5 electron volt of the Fermi level; however, a systematic decrease in the density of states is observed at approximately 1 electron volt above the Fermi level. Because the superconducting transition temperatures are independent of x(Pb) (x 相似文献   

Sources of quantum protection in high-T(c) superconductivity

The layer-structure cuprates with high superconducting transition temperatures T(c) exhibit a number of anomalous electronic properties in both superconducting and normal states. These anomalies are ascribed to the existence of independent spectra of excitations for charge and for spin, signaling a collective state, a "quantum protectorate."     

Stellar and 0ther high-temperature molecules

Optical spectroscopy of stellar molecules trapped at 4 degrees K is particularly valuable when the data can be used to complement the corresponding gas data. The ground state is then directly established by measurement of the absorption spectrum at the low temperature, since all transitions beginning from excited states are eliminated. Isotopic substitution establishes the (0,0) bands of transitions to excited electronic states, and when these data are combined with infrared and fluorescence measurements at 4 degrees K, most of the vibrational properties of the ground and excited states can be obtained. Of the many examples cited and discussed here, C(3) is perhaps the most outstanding. Because the various molecules trapped in matrices are usually identified through prior mass spectrometric work, the optical observations often lead to the discovery of band systems of molecules whose spectra have not previously been observed-for example, those of Si(2)C(3), TaO(2), and WO(2). In these cases the location of the spectral regions in which molecular transitions appear may also serve to encourage the gas spectroscopist to further exploration with high-dispersion spectrographs. I share Ramsay's view (4, p. 204) that further investigation of f-number determinations from matrix spectra should be encouraged, particularly because of the lack of such data for molecules in stars. The principal source of error probably lies in the estimation of the number of molecules per square centimeter in the matrix, but no real test of this has been made. The only existing f values from matrix spectra are those for the C(3) (43, 44) and C(2) (51) molecules, and these are not ideal for test purposes. Because of the anomalous nature of the matrix results discussed above, the rather good agreement between f values for the solid and gas phases of C(2) (51) cannot be considered as support for the matrix determinations. What is needed is a matrix determination of several f(v'v") values (that is, determinations for specific bands) for molecules such as CN and NO or, preferably, for a gas vaporized at high temperature, for which these f values are relatively well established in the gas phase. In this connection the possibility of determining other molecular properties in matrices comes to mind. However, it has been clearly shown that the shape of the potential energy function in the electronic states of molecules can be affected when molecules are trapped in matrices. Brewer, Brabson, and Meyer, in work on S(2) (55), and Schnepp and Dressler, in work on O(2) (56), have examined the anharmonicity in matrices over many vibrational levels. Distortion of the gas potential energy curves occurs in the heavier matrices and sometimes at high vibrational levels in the light ones. Recently work has been begun on comparing the Franck-Condon factors connecting the ground state and two excited states of ScF trapped in a neon matrix (57) with factors calculated from the gas-spectrum data of R. F. Barrow et al. (58) (Deltar(e), the change in interatomic distance upon excitation, has a relatively large value of ~ 0.1 A in these systems). As is well known, such factors are particularly sensitive to the value of Deltar(e), but differences in anharmonicity do not, however, have as significant an effect upon the Franck-Condon factors. Hence a comparison of the matrix and gas factors will lead to further information about matrix effects and will indicate whether Franck-Condon factors can be obtained from matrix spectra. One of the important problems in the study of stellar molecules is the determination of the low-lying electronically excited states, similar to the (1)Delta <--> X(3)Delta difference (~ 580 cm(-1)) in TiO measured by Phillips. Most of the transition-metal oxides have such low-lying levels, and they must be taken into consideration in any calculation of thermodynamic effects at high temperature. It appears that the study of emission spectra in the infrared at 4 degrees K may be one approach to this problem, and an attempt is now being made to confirm the TiO value in order to test the method. Perhaps the greatest advantage of matrix-isolation is the fact that it allows study of these molecules-or of any molecules difficult to produce in a microwave cavity-by electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy. Study of molecules by this means can provide information about ground state wave functions that is not obtainable by optical spectroscopy, as illustrated by the investigation of ScO, YO, and LaO. Also, it seems likely that the preferential orientation of molecules in matrices, which is probably achievable in most cases, will be a valuable asset in the study of the magnetic properties of molecules by electron-paramagneticresonance spectroscopy, regardless of whether the molecules are "hot" or "cold" (60).     

Visualization and spectroscopy of a metal-molecule-metal bridge

Artificial nanostructures, each composed of a copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecule bonded to two gold atomic chains with a controlled gap, were assembled on a NiAl(110) surface by manipulation of individual gold atoms and CuPc molecules with a scanning tunneling microscope. The electronic densities of states of these hybrid structures were measured by spatially resolved electronic spectroscopy and systematically tuned by varying the number of gold atoms in the chains one by one. The present approach provides structural images and electronic characterization of the metal-molecule-metal junction, thereby elucidating the nature of the contacts between the molecule and metal in this junction.