NITRATE EFFECT ON Pfr-MEDIATED AND GA3-INDUCED GERMINATION IN SPORES OF Anemia phyllitidis (L.) Sw*

Spore germination in Anemia phyllitidis can be induced by red light (R) via the phytochrome system and by gibberellic acid (GA₃) in the dark. An enhancing effect of NO₃-ions on the Pfr-mediated germination could be demonstrated. This NO₃-effect was found to be pronounced during the preinduction phase and could be described by biphasic kinetics depending on the formation of Pfr by the R-irradiation. Besides NO₃, other electron accepting substances also increased germination significantly. In contrast to Pfr-mediated germination, no enhancing effect by NO₃ could be obtained for the GA₃-induced germination response. The application of an inhibitor of gibberellic acid synthesis, AMO1618, as well as the analysis of combined R and GA₃ treatment, support the hypothesis that for germination of Anemia phyllitidis spores no synergism between the factors exists. Thus, it is proposed that the gibberellic acid receptor starts a signal-transduction pathway resulting in germination which is in part independent of the Pfr-mediated signal-transduction chain. The NO₃-effect is specific for the Pfr-mediated signal-transduction chain.     

Are there sterile neutrinos at the eV scale?

New predictions for the antineutrino flux from nuclear reactors suggest that reactor experiments may have measured a deficit in this flux, which can be interpreted in terms of oscillations between the known active neutrinos and new sterile states. We perform a reanalysis of global short-baseline neutrino oscillation data in a framework with one or two sterile neutrinos. While one sterile neutrino is still not sufficient to reconcile the signals suggested by reactor experiments and by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments with null results from other searches, we find that, with the new reactor flux prediction, the global fit improves considerably when two sterile neutrinos are introduced.     

The Limiting Spectral Measure for Ensembles of Symmetric Block Circulant Matrices

Given an ensemble of N×N random matrices, a natural question to ask is whether or not the empirical spectral measures of typical matrices converge to a limiting spectral measure as N→∞. While this has been proved for many thin patterned ensembles sitting inside all real symmetric matrices, frequently there is no nice closed form expression for the limiting measure. Further, current theorems provide few pictures of transitions between ensembles. We consider the ensemble of symmetric m-block circulant matrices with entries i.i.d.r.v. These matrices have toroidal diagonals periodic of period m. We view m as a “dial” we can “turn” from the thin ensemble of symmetric circulant matrices, whose limiting eigenvalue density is a Gaussian, to all real symmetric matrices, whose limiting eigenvalue density is a semi-circle. The limiting eigenvalue densities f _m show a visually stunning convergence to the semi-circle as m→∞, which we prove. In contrast to most studies of patterned matrix ensembles, our paper gives explicit closed form expressions for the densities. We prove that f _m is the product of a Gaussian and a certain even polynomial of degree 2m?2; the formula is the same as that for the m×m Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE). The proof is by derivation of the moments from the eigenvalue trace formula. The new feature, which allows us to obtain closed form expressions, is converting the central combinatorial problem in the moment calculation into an equivalent counting problem in algebraic topology. We end with a generalization of the m-block circulant pattern, dropping the assumption that the m random variables be distinct. We prove that the limiting spectral distribution exists and is determined by the pattern of the independent elements within an m-period, depending not only on the frequency at which each element appears, but also on the way the elements are arranged.     

Interface controlled electronic charge inhomogeneities in correlated heterostructures

For heterostructures of ultrathin, strongly correlated copper-oxide films and dielectric perovskite layers, we predict inhomogeneous electronic interface states. Our study is based on an extended Hubbard model for the cuprate film. The interface is implemented by a coupling to the electron and phonon degrees of freedom of the dielectric oxide layer. We find that electronic ordering in the film is associated with a strongly inhomogeneous polaron effect. We propose to consider the interfacial tuning as a powerful mechanism to control the charge ordering in correlated electronic systems.     

Twist defect in chiral photonic structures

We demonstrate that twisting one part of a chiral photonic structure about its helical axis produces a single circularly polarized localized mode that gives rise to an anomalous crossover in propagation. Up to a crossover thickness, this defect results in a peak in transmission and exponential scaling of the linewidth for a circularly polarized wave with the same handedness as structure. Above the crossover, however, the linewidth saturates and the defect mode can be excited only by the oppositely polarized wave, resulting in a peak in reflection instead of transmission.     

Search for the decay upsilon(1S) --> gammaeta(')

We report on a search for the radiative decay Upsilon(1S)-->gammaeta(') in 61.3 pb(-1) of data taken with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring. Three decay chains were investigated, all involving eta(')-->pi(+)pi(-)eta, followed by eta-->gammagamma, eta-->pi(0)pi(0)pi(0), or eta-->pi(+)pi(-)pi(0). We find no candidate events in any of the three cases and set a combined upper limit of 1.6x10(-5) at 90% C.L., significantly smaller than the previous limit. We compare our result to other radiative Upsilon decays, to radiative J/psi decays, and to theoretical predictions.     

Band structure of cubic NaxWO3

The band structures of cubic WO₃ and NaWO₃ have been calculated, and they are shown to be nearly identical, demonstrating the validity of the rigid band model for different sodium concentrations. To elucidate the nature of the bonding, the density of states is decomposed into its s, p, and d contributions from each atomic site.