Ohmic and step noise from a single trapping center hybridized with a Fermi sea

We show that single electron tunneling devices such as the Cooper-pair box or double quantum dot can be sensitive to the zero-point fluctuation of a single trapping center hybridized with a Fermi sea. If the trap energy level is close to the Fermi sea and has linewidth gamma > k(B)T, its noise spectrum has an Ohmic Johnson-Nyquist form, whereas for gamma < k(B)T the noise has a Lorentzian form expected from the semiclassical limit. Trap levels above the Fermi level are shown to lead to steps in the noise spectrum that can be used to probe their energetics, allowing the identification of individual trapping centers coupled to the device.     

Clock shift in a strongly interacting two-dimensional Fermi gas

We derive universal relations for the rf spectroscopy of a two-dimensional Fermi gas consisting of two spin states interacting through an S-wave scattering length. The rf transition rate has a high-frequency tail that is proportional to the contact and displays logarithmic scaling violations, decreasing asymptotically like 1/(ω2ln2ω). Its coefficient is proportional to ln2'(a'(2D)/a(2D)), where a(2D) and a'(2D) are the two-dimensional scattering lengths associated with initial-state and final-state interactions. The clock shift is proportional to the contact and to ln(a'(2D)/a(2D)). If |ln(a'(2D)/a(2D))| > 1, the clock shift arises as a cancellation between much larger contributions proportional to ln2(a'(2D)/a(2D)) from bound-bound and bound-free rf transitions.     

X‐ray excited optical luminescence from crystalline silicon

Synchrotron based X‐ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) has been measured with many direct bandgap semiconductors. We present XEOL measurements on crystalline silicon (Si), obtained despite of its indirect bandgap and the consequently low luminescence efficiency. Spectra of monocrystalline and multicrystalline (mc) Si at room temperature are compared to theoretical spectra. A possible application in the synchrotron‐based research on mc‐Si is exemplified by combining XEOL, X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and microscope images of grain boundaries. This approach can be utilized to investigate the recombination activity of metal precipitates, to analyze areas of different lifetimes on mc‐Si samples and to correlate additional material parameters to XRF measurements. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fragmentation trees for the structural characterisation of metabolites

Metabolite identification plays a crucial role in the interpretation of metabolomics research results. Due to its sensitivity and widespread implementation, a favourite analytical method used in metabolomics is electrospray mass spectrometry. In this paper, we demonstrate our results in attempting to incorporate the potentials of multistage mass spectrometry into the metabolite identification routine. New software tools were developed and implemented which facilitate the analysis of multistage mass spectra and allow for efficient removal of spectral artefacts. The pre-processed fragmentation patterns are saved as fragmentation trees. Fragmentation trees are characteristic of molecular structure. We demonstrate the reproducibility and robustness of the acquisition of such trees on a model compound. The specificity of fragmentation trees allows for distinguishing structural isomers, as shown on a pair of isomeric prostaglandins. This approach to the analysis of the multistage mass spectral characterisation of compounds is an important step towards formulating a generic metabolite identification method. Copyright ? 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sentence recognition in noise promoting or suppressing masking release by normal-hearing and cochlear-implant listeners

Normal-hearing (NH) listeners maintain robust speech understanding in modulated noise by "glimpsing" portions of speech from a partially masked waveform--a phenomenon known as masking release (MR). Cochlear implant (CI) users, however, generally lack such resiliency. In previous studies, temporal masking of speech by noise occurred randomly, obscuring to what degree MR is attributable to the temporal overlap of speech and masker. In the present study, masker conditions were constructed to either promote (+MR) or suppress (-MR) masking release by controlling the degree of temporal overlap. Sentence recognition was measured in 14 CI subjects and 22 young-adult NH subjects. Normal-hearing subjects showed large amounts of masking release in the +MR condition and a marked difference between +MR and -MR conditions. In contrast, CI subjects demonstrated less effect of MR overall, and some displayed modulation interference as reflected by poorer performance in modulated maskers. These results suggest that the poor performance of typical CI users in noise might be accounted for by factors that extend beyond peripheral masking, such as reduced segmental boundaries between syllables or words. Encouragingly, the best CI users tested here could take advantage of masker fluctuations to better segregate the speech from the background.     

Absence of intrinsic ferromagnetic interactions of isolated and paired Co dopant atoms in Zn1-xCoxO with high structural perfection

We report element specific structural and magnetic investigations on Zn(1-x)Co(x)O epitaxial films using synchrotron radiation. Co dopants exclusively occupy Zn sites as revealed by x-ray linear dichroism having an unprecedented degree of structural perfection. Comparative magnetic field dependent measurements by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and conventional magnetometry consistently show purely paramagnetic behavior for isolated Co dopant atoms with a magnetic moment of 4.8 (mu B). However, the total magnetization is reduced by approximately 30%, demonstrating that Co-O-Co pairs are antiferromagnetically coupled. We find no sign of intrinsic ferromagnetic interactions for isolated or paired Co dopant atoms in Co:ZnO films.     

In vivo 31P echo-planar spectroscopic imaging of human calf muscle

Localized phosphorus-31 NMR spectra of human calf muscle in vivo were obtained by means of echo-planar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) with a 1.5-T whole-body scanner. The technique permits the measurement of two-dimensional 31P SI data at a minimum acquisition time of 2.4 s (8x8 voxels, TR=300 ms). With 9.4 min measurement time (TR=1100 ms, 64 averages) and 25x25x40 mm spatial resolution in vivo the 31P NMR signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the phosphocreatine (PCr) resonance was about 45; the multiplets of nucleoside 5'-triphosphates were resolved. Spectral quality permits quantitative assessment of the PCr signal in a measurement time that is shorter by a factor of 2 or more than the minimum measurement time feasible with chemical-shift imaging. In a functional EPSI study with a time resolution of 20.5 s on the calf muscle of volunteers, spectra showed a 40% decrease of the PCr signal intensity (at rest: S/N congruent with12) upon exertion of the muscle.     

Measuring non-Gaussian fluctuations through incoherent cooper-pair current

We study a Josephson junction (JJ) in the regime of incoherent Cooper-pair tunneling, capacitively coupled to a nonequilibrium noise source. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the JJ are sensitive to the excess voltage fluctuations in the source, and can thus be used for wideband noise detection. Under weak driving, the odd part of the I-V can be related to the second cumulant of noise, whereas the even part is due to the third cumulant. After calibration, one can measure the Fano factors for the noise source, and get information about the frequency dependence of the noise.