Potential mapping of optical tweezers

Optical tweezers are very often used for measurement of piconewton range forces. Depending on the displacement of the trapped bead, the trap may become stiffer which causes considerable underestimation of the measured force. We have shown, both by theory and experiment, that such a stiffening occurs for beads larger than 0.5 μm in radius. For the first time, we have shown that the displacement at which the stiffening starts is size dependent and that the stiffening starts at higher forces for larger beads. We have shown that for the applications, which simultaneous force measurement and position sensing are on demand (such as biopolymer stretching), mid-range sized (～1.5 μm in radius) beads could be the best choice.     

2-Dimensional polymers confined in a strip

Single two dimensional polymers confined to a strip are studied by Monte Carlo simulations. They are described by N-step self-avoiding random walks on a square lattice between two parallel hard walls with distance ( is the Flory exponent). For the simulations we employ the pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth method (PERM) with Markovian anticipation. We measure the densities of monomers and of end points as functions of the distance from the walls, the longitudinal extent of the chain, and the forces exerted on the walls. Their scaling with D and the universal ratio between force and monomer density at the wall are compared to theoretical predictions.Received: 14 August 2003, Published online: 8 December 2003PACS: 61.25.Hq Macromolecular and polymer solutions; polymer melts; swelling - 07.05.Tp Computer modeling and simulation - 61.41. + e Polymers, elastomers, and plastics     

Stress propagation through frictionless granular material

We examine the network of forces to be expected in a static assembly of hard, frictionless spherical beads of random sizes, such as a colloidal glass. Such an assembly is minimally connected: the ratio of constraint equations to contact forces approaches unity for a large assembly. However, the bead positions in a finite subregion of the assembly are underdetermined. Thus to maintain equilibrium, half of the exterior contact forces are determined by the other half. We argue that the transmission of force may be regarded as unidirectional, in contrast to the transmission of force in an elastic material. Specializing to sequentially deposited beads, we show that forces on a given buried bead can be uniquely specified in terms of forces involving more recently added beads. We derive equations for the transmission of stress averaged over scales much larger than a single bead. This derivation requires the ansatz that statistical fluctuations of the forces are independent of fluctuations of the contact geometry. Under this ansatz, the d(d+1)/2-component stress field can be expressed in terms of a d-component vector field. The procedure may be generalized to nonsequential packings. In two dimensions, the stress propagates according to a wave equation, as postulated in recent work elsewhere. We demonstrate similar wave-like propagation in higher dimensions, assuming that the packing geometry has uniaxial symmetry. In macroscopic granular materials we argue that our approach may be useful even though grains have friction and are not packed sequentially.     

Phase-transition-like properties of double-beam optical tweezers

We report on double-beam optical tweezers that undergo previously unknown phase-transition-like behavior resulting in the formation of more optical traps than the number of beams used to create them. We classify the optical force fields which produce multiple traps for a double-beam system including the critical behavior. This effect is demonstrated experimentally in orthogonally polarized (noninterfering) dual-beam optical tweezers for a silica particle of 2.32 μm diameter. Phase transitions of multiple beam trapping systems have implications for hopping rates between traps and detection of forces between biomolecules using dual-beam optical tweezers. It is an example of a novel dynamic system with multiple states where force fields undergo a series of sign inversions as a function of parameters such as size and beam separation.     

Entropic force between two horizons of dilaton black holes with a power-Maxwell field

In this paper,we consider(n+1)-dimensional topological dilaton de Sitter black holes with a powerMaxwell field as thermodynamic systems.The thermodynamic quantities corresponding to the black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon are interrelated.Therefore,the total entropy of the space-time should be the sum of the entropies of the black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon plus a correction term which is produced by the association of the two horizons.We analyze the entropic force produced by the correction term at given temperatures,which is affected by the parameters and dimensions of the space-time.It is shown that the change of entropic force with the position ratio of the two horizons in some regions is similar to that of the variation of the Lennard-Jones force with the position of particles.If the effect of entropic force is similar to that of the Lennard-Jones force,and other forces are absent,the motion of the cosmological horizon relative to the black hole horizon should have an oscillating process.The entropic force between the two horizons is probably one of the participants in driving the evolution of the universe.     

On the Road Map of Vogel’s Plane

We define “population” of Vogel’s plane as points for which universal character of adjoint representation is regular in the finite plane of its argument. It is shown that they are given exactly by all solutions of seven Diophantine equations of third order on three variables. We find all their solutions: classical series of simple Lie algebras (including an “odd symplectic” one), \({D_{2,1,\lambda}}\) superalgebra, the line of sl(2) algebras, and a number of isolated solutions, including exceptional simple Lie algebras. One of these Diophantine equations, namely \({knm=4k+4n+2m+12,}\) contains all simple Lie algebras, except so\({(2N+1).}\) Among isolated solutions are, besides exceptional simple Lie algebras, so called \({\mathfrak{e}_{7\frac{1}{2}}}\) algebra and also two other similar unidentified objects with positive dimensions. In addition, there are 47 isolated solutions in “unphysical semiplane” with negative dimensions. Isolated solutions mainly belong to the few lines in Vogel plane, including some rows of Freudenthal magic square. Universal dimension formulae have an integer values on all these solutions at least for first three symmetric powers of adjoint representation.     

近距离牛顿反平方定律实验检验进展

为了统一描述自然界的四种基本相互作用,科学家提出了很多理论模型,其中很多理论认为牛顿反平方定律在近距离下会发生偏离,或存在其他的非牛顿引力作用,而理论的正确与否需要高精度的实验检验.国际上很多研究组在不同间距下采用不同的技术对反平方定律进行了高精度的实验检验,本文重点介绍华中科技大学引力中心采用密度调制法分别在亚毫米与微米范围进行的实验研究进展.在亚毫米范围采用精密扭秤技术,在对牛顿引力进行双补偿、抑制电磁干扰后,结合零实验与非零实验结果,在作用程为70—300μm区间对Yukawa形式的破缺给出国际上精度最高的限制.在微米范围采用悬臂梁作为弱力传感器,通过测量金球和密度调制吸引质量间水平力的变化来检验非牛顿引力是否存在,实验结果不需进行Casimir力和静电力背景扣除,是此间距下不依赖于Casimir力和静电力理论计算模型的两个结果之一.     

Three-dimensional magneto-optic trap for micro-object manipulation

A magneto-optic trap for micro-objects is described. Magnetic beads were trapped by optical tweezers while being rotated by a new integrated magnetic manipulator. Rotation was achieved with eight electromagnets with tip-pole geometry. The time orbital potential technique was used to achieve rotation of magnetic beads. Trapping in three dimensions and rotation of magnetic beads on three axes are demonstrated with forces up to 230 pN and force momenta of up to 10(-16)N m . A position-detection apparatus based on an interferometric scheme provides nanometer sensitivities in a few milliseconds.     

Increased imaging speed and force sensitivity for bio-applications with small cantilevers using a conventional AFM setup

In this study, we demonstrate the increased performance in speed and sensitivity achieved by the use of small AFM cantilevers on a standard AFM system. For this, small rectangular silicon oxynitride cantilevers were utilized to arrive at faster atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging times and more sensitive molecular recognition force spectroscopy (MRFS) experiments. The cantilevers we used had lengths between 13 and 46μm, a width of about 11μm, and a thickness between 150 and 600nm. They were coated with chromium and gold on the backside for a better laser reflection. We characterized these small cantilevers through their frequency spectrum and with electron microscopy. Due to their small size and high resonance frequency we were able to increase the imaging speed by a factor of 10 without any loss in resolution for images from several μm scansize down to the nanometer scale. This was shown on bacterial surface layers (s-layer) with tapping mode under aqueous, near physiological conditions and on nuclear membranes in contact mode in ambient environment. In addition, we showed that single molecular forces can be measured with an up to 5 times higher force sensitivity in comparison to conventional cantilevers with similar spring constants.     

Improved constraints on an axion-mediated force

Low mass pseudoscalars, such as the axion, can mediate macroscopic parity and time-reversal symmetry-violating forces. We searched for such a force between polarized electrons and unpolarized atoms using a novel, magnetically unshielded torsion pendulum. We improved the laboratory bounds on this force by more than 10 orders of magnitude for pseudoscalars heavier than 1 meV and have constrained this force over a broad range of astrophysically interesting masses (10 μeV to 10 meV).     

Temperature-dependent scaling of pinning force data in Bi-based high-Tc superconductors

The scaling of the normalized volume pinning forces, Fp/Fp,max, versus a reduced field h=Ha/Hscale has proven to be a very informative tool to study the origin of the flux pinning in superconductors. Remarkably, on Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+ (Bi-2223) and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ (Bi-2212) data were mostly analyzed only in a narrow temperature range around 77 K. Here, we present a study of the pinning forces in various Bi-2223 samples at temperatures between 18 K and 80 K. The measurements clearly reveal that there is an apparent non-scaling of the pinning force data; instead, two clearly different temperature regimes for the scaling can be recognized, which are found to be in direct relation to a second step observed in the m(T) curves obtained upon field-cooling and -warming.     

A single-longitudinal-mode continuous-wave Ho~(3+):YVO_4 laser at 2.05 μm pumped by a Tm-fibre laser

We present a single-longitudinal-mode continuous-wave Ho~(3+):YVO_4 laser at 2.05 μm pumped by a Tm-doped fibre laser. Use of a cavity etalon enables spectral selectivity for single-mode operation. The highest power achieved in the single longitudinal mode at 2052.5 nm is 282 mW at a slope efficiency of 6.9%, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 3.0%. These features demonstrate that this single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YVO_4 laser is suitable for use as a seed laser in some Lidar systems(e.g., coherent Lidar or differential absorption Lidar). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on such a single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YVO_4 laser at 2.05 μm.     

Optical velocity measurements of electrolytic boundary layer flows influenced by magnetic fields

Magnetic fields are applied to electrically conducting fluids in order to influence electrochemical processes through the magnetohydrodynamic effect. Various phenomena, e.g. on electrodeposited metal layers, which can be attributed to forced convections were observed. To provide information about acting forces, the laser Doppler velocity profile sensor was applied to measure the transition layer of a Lorentz force influenced flow over a backward-facing step and the velocity boundary layer during copper deposition. With this sensor, the electrolyte convection within < 500 μm of the front of an electrode is measured with a spatial resolution down to 15 μm. The interaction of buoyancy, Lorentz and magnetic field gradient forces is studied by measuring the velocities down to 10 μm in front of the cathode. Inside the concentration boundary layer, complex electrolyte convection is induced, which varies not only in time but also in its structure, depending on the forces present and their influence over time. In inhomogeneous magnetic field configurations, the magnetic field gradient force dominates the velocity boundary layer at steady state and transports electrolyte toward regions of high magnetic gradients, where maximum deposit thicknesses are found. In this way, the measurements confirm the predicted influence of the magnetic field gradient force on the structuring of copper deposits.     

Direct measurement of contraction force in human cardiac tissue model using piezoelectric cantilever sensor technique

A proof-of-concept method for measuring cardiac tissue contraction force using an in-house-developed piezoelectric cantilever sensor system is demonstrated. Contracting forces of 7.2–16.6 μN (n = 5) were measured from a human cardiac tissue construct. Beating cardiac tissue constructs were monitored in-situ under a microscope during the contraction force measurements. Development of the measurement method allows very low forces such as the ones that appear in biological small scale systems to be determined.     

Atomistic wear in a single asperity sliding contact

Abrasive wear of sharp silicon tips sliding distances of up to 750 m on a polymeric surface is studied using atomic force microscopy. The data cannot be explained by conventional macroscopic wear models. We present a new model in which the barrier for breaking an atomic bond is lowered by the frictional stress acting on the contact. Quantitative agreement is obtained between the model and wear data for all load forces and sliding distances studied.     

Adhesion of small spheres

Bradley 1 Bradley, RS. 1931. Phil. Mag., 11: 846[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] calculated the adhesive force between rigid spheres to be 2πRΔγ, where Δγ is the surface energy of the spheres. Johnson et al. (JKR) [2] calculated the adhesive force between elastic spheres to be (3/2) πRΔγ and independent of the elastic modulus. Derjaguin et al. [3] published an alternative theory for elastic spheres (DMT theory), and concluded that Bradley's value for the pull-off force was the correct one. Tabor [4] explained the discrepancy in terms of the range of action of the surface forces, z ₀, and introduced a parameter μ≡(RΔγ²/E²z ₀³)^1/3, determining which result is applicable. Subsequently, detailed calculations by Derjaguin and his colleagues [5] and others, assuming a surface force law based on the Lennard-Jones 6–12 potential law, covered the full range of the Tabor parameter. Greenwood and Johnson [6] presented a map delineating the regions of applicability of the different theories. Yao et al. [7] repeated the numerical calculations but using an exact sphere shape instead of the usual paraboloidal approximation. They found that the pull-off force could be less than one-tenth of the JKR value, depending on the value of a ‘strength limit’ σ₀/E, and modified the Johnson and Greenwood map correspondingly. Yao et al.'s numerical calculations for contact between an exact sphere and an elastic half-space are repeated and their values confirmed: but it is shown that the drastic reductions found occur only for spheres that are smaller than atomic dimensions. The limitations imposed by large strain elasticity and by the ‘Derjaguin approximation’ are discussed.     

Black Hole Hair in Higher Dimensions

We study the property of matter in equilibrium with a static, spherically symmetric black hole in D- dimensional spacetime. It requires that this kind of matter has an equation of state ω≡pr/ρ = -n/（n ＋ 2k）, k, n ∈ N （where n 〉 1 corresponds to a mixture of vacuum matter and ＂hair＂ matter）, which seems to be independent of D. However, when we associate this result with specific models, we find that these hairy black holes can live only in some special dimensional spacetime： （i） D = 2 ＋ 2k/n while the black hole is surrounded by cosmic strings, which requires D is even or D ∈ N, depending on the value of n, this is consistent with some important results in superstring theory, it might reveal the relation between cosmic string and superstring in another aspect; （ii） the black hole can be surrounded by linear dilaton field only in 4-dimensional spacetime. In both cases, D = 4 is special. We also present some examples of such hairy black holes in higher dimensions, including a toy model with negative energy density.     

Superlubricity of graphite

Using a home-built frictional force microscope that is able to detect forces in three dimensions with a lateral force resolution down to 15 pN, we have studied the energy dissipation between a tungsten tip sliding over a graphite surface in dry contact. By measuring atomic-scale friction as a function of the rotational angle between two contacting bodies, we show that the origin of the ultralow friction of graphite lies in the incommensurability between rotated graphite layers, an effect proposed under the name of "superlubricity" [Phys. Rev. B 41, 11 837 (1990)]].     

磷酸盐钕玻璃的荧光寿命和损耗对激光增益特性的影响小能量0.35 μm激光-X射线转换研究

实验研究了目前使用的N2122和N3122掺钕磷酸盐玻璃中不同的OH基浓度对玻璃荧光寿命的影响,同时从实验和理论上研究了荧光寿命和损耗对激光增益特性的影响,结果表明:增加玻璃的荧光寿命是提高增益性能的一个重要方法,当玻璃的荧光寿命增加10%时小信号增益系数提高5%左右。提高钕玻璃的荧光寿命,可适当降低对损耗的要求,也能够保持它的增益性能不变。以小能量0.35 μm激光(<100J)辐照盘靶(5600 μm×4 μm),用软X射线平响应探测器测量X射线角分布(dE/dΩ)和X射线转换效率(ηx)。dE/dΩ=a+bcosθ,与φ角无关。ηx随激光入射角增加而下降。按金盘、多层膜(0.11 μm)金盘和CH膜(0.4 μm)金盘顺序,ηx依次下降。     

溶胶-凝胶法制备SiO2基片Er3+∶Al2O3光学薄膜

用溶胶凝胶法在SiO2 基片上提拉制备了掺Er3 + ∶Al2 O3 光学薄膜。采用扫描电子显微镜、原子力显微镜、差热热重分析仪、X射线衍射仪研究了掺Er3 + ∶Al2 O3 光学薄膜的形貌和结构特性。在 90 0℃烧结后 ,SiO2 基片上提拉 15次形成厚度 8μm掺摩尔比 0 .0 1Er3 + 的面心立方结构γ Al2 O3 薄膜具有明显 (110 )择优取向 ,掺摩尔比 0 .0 1Er3 + 对γ Al2 O3 的晶体结构和结晶生长过程未产生显著影响。薄膜具有均匀多孔结构 ,平均粒径为 30～ 10 0nm ,平均孔径为 5 0～ 10 0nm ,表面起伏度为 10～ 2 0nm。掺摩尔比 0 .0 1Er3 + ∶γ Al2 O3 薄膜 ,获得了中心波长为1.5 34μm(半峰全宽为 36nm)的光致发光谱。