Two-photon ionization spectrum of the 1Lb ← S0 transition in toluene

The multiphoton ionization (MPI) spectrum of toluene arising from the ¹B₂ (¹L_b) valence state has been investigated. The state participates as a two-photon resonance. A total of nine excited state fundamentals have been characterized, including three non-totally symmetric vibrations. The toluene MPI spectrum shows a strong resemblance to the two-photon fluorescence excitation spectrum with the strongest transitions taking place to the origin and excited state modes ν₁(a₁), ν₁₂(a₁) and ν₁₄(b)₂). The intensities of the observed fundamentals are rationalized in terms of Franck-Condon and vibronic coupling effects. A major conclusion is, that the primary mechanism for the activity of ν₁₂ is vibronic coupling.     

Global family symmetry and CP violation

CP-violation is discussed in a model with a global axial family symmetry. The family symmetry is identified with a Peccei-Quinn symmetry to solve the strong CP Problem. It is pointed out that weak CP-nonconservation is a consequence of the Higgs singlet which is needed to render the axion invisible. The model predicts reasonable masses and mixing angles for the fermions.     

Lattice fermions in euclidean space-time

A very short proof of a no-go theorem for putting fermions on a lattice is given using the Poincaré-Hopf theorem. The no-go theorem forbids the lattice formulation of theories with handed fermions without species doubling. Examples of such theories are chiral invariant QCD and the Weinberg-Salam-Glashow model. We give arguments why it could be possible to circumvent the no-go theorem by relaxing one of the assumptions, viz. bilinearity of the action in the fermion fields.     

Vibrational sidebands and the Kondo effect in molecular transistors

Electron transport through molecular quantum dots coupled to a single vibrational mode is studied in the Kondo regime. We apply a generalized Schrieffer-Wolff transformation to determine the effective low-energy spin-spin-vibron interaction. From this model we calculate the nonlinear conductance and find Kondo sidebands located at bias voltages equal to multiples of the vibron frequency. Because of selection rules, the side peaks are found to have strong gate-voltage dependences, which can be tested experimentally. In the limit of weak electron-vibron coupling, we employ a perturbative renormalization group scheme to calculate analytically the nonlinear conductance.     

Weak Coulomb blockade effect in quantum dots

We develop the general nonequilibrium theory of transport through a quantum dot, including Coulomb blockade effects via a 1/N expansion, where N is the number of scattering channels. At lowest order we recover the Landauer formula for the current plus a self-consistent equation for the dot potential. We obtain the leading corrections and compare with earlier approaches. Finally, we show that to leading and to next leading order in 1/N there is no interaction correction to the weak localization, in contrast to previous theories, but consistent with experiments by Huibers et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1917 (1998)], where N=4.     

Femtosecond holography in lithium niobate crystals

Spatial gratings are recorded holographically by two femtosecond pump pulses at 388 nm in lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals and read out by a Bragg-matched, temporally delayed probe pulse at 776 nm. We claim, to our knowledge, the first holographic pump-probe experiments with subpicosecond temporal resolution for LiNbO3. An instantaneous grating that is due mostly to the Kerr effect as well as a long-lasting grating that results mainly from the absorption caused by photoexcited carriers was observed. The Kerr coefficient of LiNbO3 for our experimental conditions, i.e., pumped and probed at different wavelengths, was approximately 1.0 x 10(-5) cm2/GW.     

Direct evidence for negative grain boundary potential in Ca-doped and undoped YBa2Cu3O7-x

Using electron holography in a transmission electron microscope, we obtained direct evidence for the reduction of negative charge at grain boundary dislocations in Ca-doped YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) when compared to undoped YBCO. Because of the finite width of the valence band in the superconducting CuO2 planes, the negative grain boundary charge can lead to a depletion of electron holes available for superconductivity. A significant reduction in the size of the perturbed region in the Ca-doped samples appears to be the principal mechanism for the improved interfacial superconductivity.     

Structural properties, conformational stability and oxygen binding properties of Penaeus monodon hemocyanin

Hemocyanin sequences allineament shows the presence of highly invariant regions especially in the active site and in the tight intersubunits interaction sites. Comparing the aminoacids in contact regions between monomers is possible to interpret the stability of hexamers.