Ring-resonator-based frequency-domain optical activity measurements of a chiral liquid

Chiral liquids rotate the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light and are therefore optically active. Here we show that optical rotation can be observed in the frequency domain. A chiral liquid introduced in a fiber-loop ring resonator that supports left and right circularly polarized modes gives rise to relative frequency shifts that are a direct measure of the liquid's circular birefringence and hence of its optical activity. The effect is in principle not diminished if the circumference of the ring is reduced. The technique is similarly applicable to refractive index and linear birefringence measurements.     

Fermi acceleration and its suppression in a time-dependent Lorentz gas

Some dynamical properties for a Lorentz gas were studied considering both static and time-dependent boundaries. For the static case, it was confirmed that the system has a chaotic component characterized with a positive Lyapunov exponent. For the time-dependent perturbation, the model was described using a four-dimensional nonlinear map. The behaviour of the average velocity is considered in two different situations: (i) non-dissipative and (ii) dissipative dynamics. Our results confirm that unlimited energy growth is observed for the non-dissipative case. However, and totally new for this model, when dissipation via inelastic collisions is introduced, the scenario changes and the unlimited energy growth is suppressed, thus leading to a phase transition from unlimited to limited energy growth. The behaviour of the average velocity is described using scaling arguments.     

Synthese und Kristallstruktur von Tetraphenylphosphonium-Aquabis(tetrasulfido)thionitrosyl-Osmat,PPh4[Os(NS)(S4)2(H2O)]

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Tetraphenylphosphonium Aqua-bis(tetrasulfido)thionitrosyl Osmate, PPh₄[Os(NS)(S₄)₂(H₂O)] PPh₄[Os(NS)(S₄)₂(H₂O)] has been prepared as redbrown crystals by reacting PPh₄[OsNCl₄] with a solution of excess disodium tetrasulfide in dimethylformamide/H₂O and characterized by IR spectroscopy and by a crystal structure determination. Space group P2₁/n, Z = 4, structure solution with 4162 independent reflections, R = 0.059 for reflections with I > 2σ(I). Lattice dimensions at ?40°C: a = 1138.9(5), b = 1301.4(4), c = 2092.7(7) pm, β = 104.74(3)º. Os? N, Os? O, and Os? S distances are 175.2(12), 219.8(12), and 237.5(4)?239.1(4) pm, respectively. The Os?N?S moiety is approximately linear, with an OsNS angle of 171.2(7)º.     

Assessing a novel microfluidic interface for shotgun proteome analyses

Microfluidic interfaces coupled to ESI mass spectrometers hold great potential for proteomics as they have been shown to augment the overall sensitivity of measurements and require only a minimum of operator manipulations as compared to conventional nano-LC interfaces. Here, we evaluated a new type of HPLC-Chips holding larger enrichment columns (thus an increased sample loading capacity) for gel-free proteome studies. A tryptic digest of a human T-cell proteome was fractionated by strong cation exchange chromatography and selected fractions were analyzed by MS/MS on an IT mass spectrometer using both the new HPLC-Chip as well as a conventional nano-LC-MS/MS interface. Our results indicate that the HPLC-Chip is capable of handling very complex peptide mixtures and, in fact, leads to the identification of more peptides and proteins as compared to when a conventional interface was used. The HPLC-Chip preferentially produced doubly charged tryptic peptides. We further show that MS/MS spectra of doubly charged tryptic peptide ions are more readily identified by MASCOT as compared to those from triply charged precursors and thus argue that besides the improved chromatographic conditions provided by the HPLC-Chip, its peptide charging profile might be a secondary factor leading to an increased proteome coverage.     

On the application of truncated generalized Fokker-Planck equations

The Pawula theorem states that the generalized Fokker-Planck equation with finite derivatives greater than two leads to a contradiction to the positivity of the distribution function. Though negative values are inconsistent from a logical point of view, we show that such distribution functions with negative values can be very useful from a practical point of view. For a Poisson-process, where the exact solution is known, we compare the solution of the second order Fokker-Planck equation to the solutions of Fokker-Planck equations of finite order. It turns out that for certain parameters the approximations of the distribution function and the moments are much better for some higher order and that the magnitude of negative values may be very small in the relevant region of variables.     

Investigation of surface plasma resonances in small sodium clusters

Photoabsorption cross sections of small neutral sodium clusters are measured at wavelengths from 452 to 604 nm. We find that surface plasma oscillations of the valence electrons dominate the photoabsorption spectra. The experimental results are consistent with predictions based on an extended Clemenger-Nilsson model, general sum rules, and the experimental static electric polarizabilities. For Na₈ a single broad resonance is observed, the peak wavelength is in excellent agreement with the model. The data for Na₉ and Na₁₀ support the prediction of double resonances.