An abundance of nodulation factors

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Morón et al. [1] report that Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 produces different Nod factors in response to flavonoid induction under differing environmental conditions. This unanticipated environmental dependence has implications for altering or potentially improving the host-bacteria interaction in bean nodulation.     

Modeling of dye-sensitized titanium dioxide solar cells

The system TiO₂–photo sensitive dye of a dye-sensitized TiO₂ solar cell is numerically simulated. The steady-state numerical model used is based on the continuity and transport equations for all charge species involved in the system, in connection to Poisson’s equation. The dependence of both electron diffusion coefficient and light absorbance upon TiO₂ porosity is taken into consideration. The resulting electron density after illumination is also set as a function of the illuminating beam characteristics and material properties. Furthermore, an effective dielectric constant dependent upon the porosity of TiO₂ is used in the model. Results for different values of pore size and thickness of the TiO₂ electrode are found in accordance with results reported in the literature. Paper presented at the 11th EuroConference on the Science and Technology of Ionics, Batz-sur-Mer, Sept. 9–15, 2007. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Unquenched complex dirac spectra at nonzero chemical potential: two-color QCD lattice data versus matrix model

We compare analytic predictions of non-Hermitian chiral random matrix theory with the complex Dirac operator eigenvalue spectrum of two-color lattice gauge theory with dynamical fermions at nonzero chemical potential. The Dirac eigenvalues come in complex conjugate pairs, making the action of this theory real and positive for our choice of two staggered flavors. This enables us to use standard Monte Carlo simulations in testing the influence of the chemical potential and quark mass on complex eigenvalues close to the origin. We find excellent agreement between the analytic predictions and our data for two different volumes over a range of chemical potentials below the chiral phase transition. In particular, we detect the effect of unquenching when going to very small quark masses.     

Constant time steady gradient NMR diffusometry using the secondary stimulated echo

A pulse sequence producing a second stimulated echo is suggested for the compensation of relaxation and residual dipolar interaction effects in steady gradient spin echo diffusometry. Steady field gradients of considerable strength exist in the fringe field of NMR magnets, for instance. While the absolute echo time of the second stimulated echo is kept constant throughout the experiment, the interval between the first two radiofrequency pulses is augmented leading to a modulation of the amplitude of that second stimulated echo by self-diffusion only. The unique feature of this technique is that it is of a single-scan/single-echo-signal nature. That is, no reference signals neither of the same pulse sequence nor of separate experiments are needed. The new method was tested with poly(ethylene oxide) melts and proved to provide reliable data for (time dependent) self-diffusion coefficients down to the physical limit (D approximately 10(-15)m(2)/s) when flip-flop spin diffusion starts to become effective.     

Neutral-pion photoproduction off protons in the energy range 0.3 GeV<E(gamma)<3 GeV

Single pi(0) photoproduction has been studied with the CB-ELSA experiment at Bonn using tagged photon energies between 0.3 and 3.0 GeV. The experimental setup covers a very large solid angle of approximately 98% of 4pi. Differential cross sections dsigma/dOmega have been measured. Complicated structures in the angular distributions indicate a variety of different resonances being produced in the s channel intermediate state gammap-->N(*)(Delta(*))-->ppi(0). A combined analysis including the data presented in this letter along with other data sets reveals contributions from known resonances and evidence for a new resonance N(2070)D15.     

Scalar-Particle Self-Energy Amplitudes and Confinement in Minkowski Space

We analyze the analytic structure of the Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) contribution to the self-energy amplitude for a scalar particle in a ${\phi^2\chi}$ theory. To this end we derive dispersion relations in 1+1 and in 3+1 dimensional Minkowski space. The divergent loop integrals in 3+1 dimensions are regularized using dimensional regularization. We find that the CST dispersion relations exhibit, in addition to the usual right-hand branch cut, also a left-hand cut. The origin of this “spectator” left-hand cut can be understood in the context of scattering for a scalar ${\phi^2\chi^2}$ -type theory. If the interaction kernel contains a linear confining component, its contribution to the self-energy vanishes exactly.     

Infinitesimal obstructions to weakly mixing

Let ^t be the flow (parametrized with respect to arc length) of a smooth unit vector field v on a closed Riemannian manifold M ⁿ , whose orbits are geodesics. Then the (n-1)-plane field normal to v, v, is invariant under d ^t and, for each x M, we define a smooth real function _x (t) : (1 + _i (t)), where the _i(t) are the eigenvalues of AA ^T, A being the matrix (with respect to orthonormal bases) of the non-singular linear map d^2t , restricted to v at the point _x ^-t M ⁿ.Among other things, we prove the Theorem (Theorem II, below). Assume v is also volume preserving and that _x ^' (t) 0 for all x M and real t; then, if _x ^t : M M is weakly missng for some t, it is necessary that vx 0 at all x M.     

Pinning frequencies of the collective modes in alpha-uranium

Uranium is the only known element that features a charge-density wave (CDW) and superconductivity. We report a comparison of the specific heat of single-crystal and polycrystalline alpha-uranium. In the single crystal we find excess contributions to the heat capacity at 41 K, 38 K, and 23 K, with a Debye temperature ThetaD = 265 K. In the polycrystalline sample the heat capacity curve is thermally broadened (ThetaD = 184 K), but no excess heat capacity was observed. The excess heat capacity Cphi (taken as the difference between the single-crystal and polycrystal heat capacities) is well described in terms of collective-mode excitations above their respective pinning frequencies. This attribution is represented by a modified Debye spectrum with two cutoff frequencies, a pinning frequency V0 for the pinned CDW (due to grain boundaries in the polycrystal), and a normal Debye acoustic frequency occurring in the single crystal.