Measurement of the radiative and nonradiative decay rates of single CdSe nanocrystals through a controlled modification of their spontaneous emission

We present a simple method to measure the radiative and nonradiative recombination rates of individual fluorescent emitters at room temperature. By placing a single molecule successively close and far from a dielectric interface and simultaneously measuring its photoluminescence decay and its orientation, both the radiative and nonradiative recombination rates can be determined. For CdSe nanocrystals, our results demonstrate that the fluorescence quantum efficiency, determined at the single-molecule level, is 98% in average, far above the value expected from conventional ensemble experiments. The bidimensional nature of the transition dipole is also directly evidenced from a single-particle measurement.     

Kink in the dispersion of layered strontium ruthenates

We present detailed energy dispersions near the Fermi level along the high symmetry line GammaX on the monolayer and bilayer strontium ruthenates Sr2RuO4 and Sr3Ru2O7, determined by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. A kink in the dispersion is clearly shown for the both ruthenates. The energy position of the kink and the slope in the low-energy part near the Fermi level are almost identical between them, whereas the dispersion in the high-energy part varies, like the behavior of the kink for the cuprate superconductors.     

Observation of laser driven supercritical radiative shock precursors

We present a supercritical radiative shock experiment performed with the LULI nanosecond laser facility. Using targets filled with xenon gas at low pressure, the propagation of a strong shock with a radiative precursor is evidenced. The main measured shock quantities (electronic density and propagation velocity) are shown to be in good agreement with theory and numerical simulations.     

Nuclear stopping from 0.09A to 1.93A GeV and its correlation to flow

We present a complete systematics (excitation functions and system-size dependences) of global stopping and side flow for heavy ion reactions in the energy range between 0.09A and 1.93A GeV. For the heaviest system, Au+Au, we observe a plateau of maximal stopping extending from about 0.2A to 0.8A GeV with a fast drop on both sides. The degree of stopping, which is shown to remain significantly below the expectations of a full stopping scenario, is found to be highly correlated to the amount of side flow.     

Electron-electron interaction in strong electromagnetic fields: the two-electron contribution to the ground-state energy in He-like uranium

Radiative recombination transitions into the ground state of cooled bare and hydrogenlike uranium ions were measured at the storage ring ESR. By comparing the corresponding x-ray centroid energies, this technique allows for a direct measurement of the electron-electron contribution to the ionization potential in the heaviest He-like ions. For the two-electron contribution to the ionization potential of He-like uranium we obtain a value of 2248+/-9 eV. This represents the most accurate determination of two-electron effects in the domain of high-Z He-like ions, and the accuracy reaches already the size of the specific two-electron radiative QED corrections.     

Vibronic states in single molecule electron transport

A scanning tunneling microscope was used to study the electron transport through individual copper phthalocyanine molecules adsorbed on an ultrathin Al(2)O(3) film grown on a NiAl(110) surface. The differential conductance spectra display series of equally spaced features, which are attributed to vibronic states of individual molecules. The coupling of the electron current to the vibronic modes was observed to depend on the structures of the adsorbed molecules. Vibronic features were not observed for molecules adsorbed on the bare NiAl(110) surface due to spectral broadening.     

Berry phase in a composite system

The Berry phase in a composite system with one driven subsystem has been studied in this Letter. We choose two coupled spin-1 / 2 systems as the composite system; one of the subsystems is driven by a time-dependent magnetic field. We show how the Berry phases depend on the coupling between the two subsystems, and the relation between the Berry phases of the composite system and those of its subsystems.     

X-ray directional dichroism of a polar ferrimagnet

In a polar ferrimagnet GaFeO3, we have found a novel magneto-optical effect, termed x-ray nonreciprocal directional dichroism (XNDD), that the x-ray absorption at around the K edge of an Fe ion depends on whether the x-ray propagation vector is parallel or antiparallel to the outer product of the magnetization and electric-polarization vectors. The XNDD spectroscopy as demonstrated here can be a useful tool to probe the local magnetism in noncentrosymmetric systems such as magnetic interfaces and nanostructures.     

Low energy electron irradiation induced deep level defects in 6H-SiC: the implication for the microstructure of the deep levels E1/E2

N-type 6H-SiC samples irradiated with electrons having energies of E(e)=0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.7 were studied by deep level transient technique. No deep level was detected at below 0.2 MeV irradiation energy while for E(e)>/=0.3 MeV, deep levels ED1, E(1)/E(2), and E(i) appeared. By considering the minimum energy required to displace the C atom or the Si atom in the SiC lattice, it is concluded that generation of the deep levels E(1)/E(2), as well as ED1 and E(i), involves the displacement of the C atom in the SiC lattice.     

Cross sections and transverse single-spin asymmetries in forward neutral-pion production from proton collisions at sqrt[s]=200 GeV

Measurements of the production of forward high-energy pi(0) mesons from transversely polarized proton collisions at sqrt[s]=200 GeV are reported. The cross section is generally consistent with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The analyzing power is small at x(F) below about 0.3, and becomes positive and large at higher x(F), similar to the trend in data at sqrt[s]< or =20 GeV. The analyzing power is in qualitative agreement with perturbative QCD model expectations. This is the first significant spin result seen for particles produced with p(T)>1 GeV/c at a polarized proton collider.