Optical switching and image storage by means of azobenzene liquid-crystal films

Liquid crystals are promising materials for optical switching and image storage because of their high resolution and sensitivity. Azobenzene liquid crystals (LCs) have been developed, in which azobenzene moieties play roles as both mesogens and photosensitive chromophores. Azobenzene LC films showed a nematic phase in trans isomers and no LC phase in cis isomers. Trans-cis photoisomerization of azobenzene with a laser pulse resulted in a nematic-to-isotropic phase transition with a rapid optical response of 200 microseconds.     

Electron coherence in a melting lead monolayer

We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to measure the electronic dispersion and single-particle spectral function in a liquid metal. A lead monolayer supported on a copper (111) surface was investigated as the temperature was raised through the melting transition of the film. Electron spectra and momentum distribution maps of the liquid film revealed three key features of the electronic structure of liquids: the persistence of a Fermi surface, the filling of band gaps, and the localization of the wave functions upon melting. Distinct coherence lengths for different sheets of the Fermi surface were found, indicating a strong dependence of the localization lengths on the character of the constituent atomic wave functions.     

Metal-insulator transition in disordered two-dimensional electron systems

We present a theory of the metal-insulator transition in a disordered two-dimensional electron gas. A quantum critical point, separating the metallic phase, which is stabilized by electronic interactions, from the insulating phase, where disorder prevails over the electronic interactions, has been identified. The existence of the quantum critical point leads to a divergence in the density of states of the underlying collective modes at the transition, causing the thermodynamic properties to behave critically as the transition is approached. We show that the interplay of electron-electron interactions and disorder can explain the observed transport properties and the anomalous enhancement of the spin susceptibility near the metal-insulator transition.     

High-Tc superconductors in the two-dimensional limit:

The free modulation of interlayer distance in a layered high-transition temperature (high-Tc) superconductor is of crucial importance not only for the study of the superconducting mechanism but also for the practical application of high-Tc superconducting materials. Two-dimensional (2D) superconductors were achieved by intercalating a long-chain organic compound into bismuth-based high-Tc cuprates. Although the intercalation of the organic chain increased the interlayer distance remarkably, to tens of angstroms, the superconducting transition temperature of the intercalate was nearly the same as that of the pristine material, suggesting the 2D nature of the high-Tc superconductivity.     

Thermomolecular pressure in surface melting: motivation for frost heave

A thermomolecular pressure is associated with surface melting, and it can drive mass flow along an interface under a lateral temperature gradient. The pressure is a universal thermodynamic function in the limit of thick films. It may be responsible for frost heave in frozen ground.     

Compatibility of rhenium in garnet during mantle melting and magma genesis

Measurements of the partitioning of rhenium (Re) between garnet and silicate liquid from 1.5 to 2.0 gigapascals and 1250 degrees to 1350 degreesC show that Re is compatible in garnet. Oceanic island basalts (OIBs) have lower Re contents than mid-ocean ridge basalt, because garnet-bearing residues of deeper OIB melting will retain Re. Deep-mantle garnetite or eclogite may harbor the missing Re identified in crust-mantle mass balance calculations. Oceanic crust recycled into the upper mantle at subduction zones will retain high Re/Os (osmium) ratios and become enriched in radiogenic 187Os. Recycled eclogite in a mantle source should be easily traced using Re abundances and Os isotopes.     

Ferroelectricity in ultrathin perovskite films

Understanding the suppression of ferroelectricity in perovskite thin films is a fundamental issue that has remained unresolved for decades. We report a synchrotron x-ray study of lead titanate as a function of temperature and film thickness for films as thin as a single unit cell. At room temperature, the ferroelectric phase is stable for thicknesses down to 3 unit cells (1.2 nanometers). Our results imply that no thickness limit is imposed on practical devices by an intrinsic ferroelectric size effect.     

Quantum impurities in the two-dimensional spin one-half Heisenberg antiferromagnet

The study of randomness in low-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets is at the forefront of research in the field of strongly correlated electron systems, yet there have been relatively few experimental model systems. Complementary neutron scattering and numerical experiments demonstrate that the spin-diluted Heisenberg antiferromagnet La2Cu1-z(Zn,Mg)(z)O4 is an excellent model material for square-lattice site percolation in the extreme quantum limit of spin one-half. Measurements of the ordered moment and spin correlations provide important quantitative information for tests of theories for this complex quantum-impurity problem.     

Thermal conductivity of lunar and terrestrial igneous rocks in their melting range

The thermal conductivity of a synthetic lunar rock in its melting range is about half that of a terrestrial basalt. The low conductivity and increased efficiency of insulating crusts on lunar lavas will enable flows to cover great distances without being quenched by high radiant heat losses from the surface. For a given rate of heat production, the thermal gradient of the moon would be significantly steeper than that of the earth.     

Very large capacitance enhancement in a two-dimensional electron system

Increases in the gate capacitance of field-effect transistor structures allow the production of lower-power devices that are compatible with higher clock rates, driving the race for developing high-κ dielectrics. However, many-body effects in an electronic system can also enhance capacitance. Onto the electron system that forms at the LaAlO(3)/SrTiO(3) interface, we fabricated top-gate electrodes that can fully deplete the interface of all mobile electrons. Near depletion, we found a greater than 40% enhancement of the gate capacitance. Using an electric-field penetration measurement method, we show that this capacitance originates from a negative compressibility of the interface electron system. Capacitance enhancement exists at room temperature and arises at low electron densities, in which disorder is strong and the in-plane conductance is much smaller than the quantum conductance.     

Transient electronic structure and melting of a charge density wave in TbTe3

Obtaining insight into microscopic cooperative effects is a fascinating topic in condensed matter research because, through self-coordination and collectivity, they can lead to instabilities with macroscopic impacts like phase transitions. We used femtosecond time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (trARPES) to optically pump and probe TbTe3, an excellent model system with which to study these effects. We drove a transient charge density wave melting, excited collective vibrations in TbTe3, and observed them through their time-, frequency-, and momentum-dependent influence on the electronic structure. We were able to identify the role of the observed collective vibration in the transition and to document the transition in real time. The information that we demonstrate as being accessible with trARPES will greatly enhance the understanding of all materials exhibiting collective phenomena.     

Chiral amplification of oligopeptides in two-dimensional crystalline self-assemblies on water

Differences in the two-dimensional packing arrangements of racemic and enantiomeric crystalline self-assemblies on the water surface of amphiphilic activated analogs of lysine and glutamic acid have been used to prepare oligopeptides of homochiral sequence and oligopeptides of single handedness from chiral nonracemic mixtures. The crystalline structures on the water surface were determined by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and the diastereomeric composition of the oligopeptides by matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry with enantio-labeling. These results suggest that reactivity of ordered clusters at interfaces might have played a role in the generation of early homochiral biopolymers.     

Masking in visual recognition: effects of two-dimensional filtered noise

It is difficult to recognize portraits that have been coarsely sampled and quantized. Blurring such images improves recognition. A simple, straightforward explanation is that high-frequency noise introduced by the sampling and quantizing must be removed by low-pass filtering to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and hence signal detectability or recognition. Experiments reported here, suggested on the basis of a different model, show instead that noise bands that are spectrally adjacent to the picture's spectrum are considerably more effective in suppressing recognition.     

苔藓植物双向凝胶电泳蛋白样品制备的优化

比较了苔藓植物小立碗藓3种蛋白样品制备方法,结果分析表明,直接研磨法和三氯乙酸（TCA）/丙酮（acetone）沉淀法检测的蛋白点的数量相差不明显;直接研磨法提取蛋白所得到的2-DE图谱蛋白点模糊,分辨率低,横竖条纹干扰严重;三氯乙酸（TCA）/丙酮（acetone）沉淀法分离效果较好,分辨率有所提高.改良的酚抽提/乙酸铵沉淀法检测的蛋白点远远多于前两种方法,所得到的图谱质量最高,分辨率大大提升,蛋白点分布均匀清晰,横竖条纹干扰也很少,凝胶背景干净,是最佳的小立碗藓蛋白样品制备的方法.     

论中国电影的书法审美

书法是中国最为独特的艺术形式之一,在中国电影尤其是古装影片中是必不可少的组成部分。书法在电影中一般有两种审美表现形式:一种是作为背景镜头,另一种是作为特写镜头。书法作品不仅是一种道具,它还是时代、文化、修养、人格的标志。     

Detection of molecular alignment in confined films

Optical second harmonic generation was used to study the in-plane alignment of self-assembled silane monolayers attached to a glass surface under mechanical loading. The measurements allow correlation of the macroscopic forces acting on the monolayer with the average orientation and the azimuthal molecular alignment of the terminal molecular entity. Compression and shear forces lead to an alignment of the initially randomly oriented molecules on a macroscopic length scale. The change in azimuthal alignment of molecules under mechanical stress was found to be irreversible on the time scale of 12 hours, whereas changes of the molecular tilt angle were reversible.     

Order-disorder transition in polycrystalline c60 films

High-resolution Raman spectroscopy of polycrystalline films of C(60) deposited under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions show that the spectrum below 244 +/- 3 kelvin consists of a superposition of two components whose relative contributions are temperature-dependent. The spectrum of the more intense of the two components is similar to that obtained for air- or oxygen-exposed samples of C(60) at room temperature, whereas the spectrum above 244 +/- 3 kelvin corresponds to one previously reported for oxygen-free samples of C(60). The results may indicate an order-disorder phase transition involving the percolation of a cluster of C(60) molecules engaged in coherent Raman scattering.     

Thousandfold change in resistivity in magnetoresistive la-ca-mn-o films

A negative isotropic magnetoresistance effect more than three orders of magnitude larger than the typical giant magnetoresistance of some superlattice films has been observed in thin oxide films of perovskite-like La(0.67)Ca(0.33)MnOx. Epitaxial films that are grown on LaAIO(3) substrates by laser ablation and suitably heat treated exhibit magnetoresistance values as high as 127,000 percent near 77 kelvin and approximately 1300 percent near room temperature. Such a phenomenon could be useful for various magnetic and electric device applications if the observed effects of material processing are optimized. Possible mechanisms for the observed effect are discussed.     

Cell guidance by alterations in monomolecular films

Monolayers of stearic and behenic acids were transferred to quartz slides by the Blodgett technique. Troughs of different depths were cut into these multilayers (substrata), and additional monolayers were superimposed. When cultured and fresh embryonic cells were grown on these substrata, the cells were entrapped within troughs whose depths were as small as 60 angstroms. The results demonstrate cellular responses to molecular changes in contact surfaces.     

小麦籽粒蛋白质双向电泳体系的优化

为建立一套适合于小麦籽粒蛋白质双向电泳的技术体系,以青海省农林科学院自育春小麦品种青春38籽粒为材料,对比了2种在植物组织中常用的蛋白质提取方法,对双向电泳过程中胶条p H值、蛋白质上样量和分离胶浓度等方面进行了优化。结果表明:与用酚提取法相比采用TCA/丙酮沉淀法提取的蛋白质所得的双向电泳图谱质量较好,蛋白质经裂解后在17 cm、p H 5~8的IPG胶条、上样量380μg和分离胶浓度12%的条件下得到了清晰、蛋白质点丰富的双向电泳图谱。