Ultrafast transition between exciton phases in van der Waals heterostructures.

Heterostructures of atomically thin van der Waals bonded monolayers have opened a unique platform to engineer Coulomb correlations, shaping excitonic1-3, Mott insulating4 or superconducting phases5,6. In transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures7, electrons and holes residing in different monolayers can bind into spatially indirect excitons1,3,8-11 with a strong potential for optoelectronics11,12, valleytronics1,3,13, Bose condensation14, superfluidity14,15 and moiré-induced nanodot lattices16. Yet these ideas require a microscopic understanding of the formation, dissociation and thermalization dynamics of correlations including ultrafast phase transitions. Here we introduce a direct ultrafast access to Coulomb correlations between monolayers, where phase-locked mid-infrared pulses allow us to measure the binding energy of interlayer excitons in WSe2/WS2 hetero-bilayers by revealing a novel 1s-2p resonance, explained by a fully quantum mechanical model. Furthermore, we trace, with subcycle time resolution, the transformation of an exciton gas photogenerated in the WSe2 layer directly into interlayer excitons. Depending on the stacking angle, intra- and interlayer species coexist on picosecond scales and the 1s-2p resonance becomes renormalized. Our work provides a direct measurement of the binding energy of interlayer excitons and opens the possibility to trace and control correlations in novel artificial materials.

Penetration depth of irrigants into root dentine after sonic, ultrasonic and photoacoustic activation.

AIM: To compare penetration depths of endodontic irrigants into the dentinal tubules of extracted teeth when using several activation methods. METHODOLOGY: The root canals of 90 extracted human teeth were prepared to size 40, .06 taper. The straight and round-shaped root canals were distributed randomly into six groups, and final irrigation was performed with EDTA and sodium hypochlorite as follows: (I) manual dynamic activation, (II) Ultrasonic, (III) Sonic, (IV) PIPS (photon-induced photoacoustic streaming, (V) SWEEPS (shock-wave enhanced emission photoacoustic streaming) and (0) control without final irrigation or activation. Subsequently, methylene blue was inserted into the canals and activated according to the groups (I-V). Teeth were sectioned horizontally, imaged under a light microscope, and dye penetration depths were measured in six sections per tooth and 24 points on a virtual clock-face per section. Data were analysed statistically by nonparametric tests for whole teeth and separately for coronal, middle and apical thirds. RESULTS: Penetration of dye into the dentinal tubules was lowest for the controls. Median penetration depths amounted to 700-900 µm for groups I-V with differences in the apical thirds between group I and the other test groups. Minimum penetration depths were significantly greater for PIPS in the apical thirds (P ≤ 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Greater penetration depths occurred in the apical thirds for ultrasonic, sonic and laser-induced activation compared to manual dynamic activation. PIPS was associated with deeper penetration of irrigants. The novel SWEEPS mode did not increase irrigant penetration.

Lightwave valleytronics in a monolayer of tungsten diselenide.

As conventional electronics approaches its limits 1 , nanoscience has urgently sought methods of fast control of electrons at the fundamental quantum level 2 . Lightwave electronics 3 -the foundation of attosecond science 4 -uses the oscillating carrier wave of intense light pulses to control the translational motion of the electron's charge faster than a single cycle of light5-15. Despite being particularly promising information carriers, the internal quantum attributes of spin 16 and valley pseudospin17-21 have not been switchable on the subcycle scale. Here we demonstrate lightwave-driven changes of the valley pseudospin and introduce distinct signatures in the optical readout. Photogenerated electron-hole pairs in a monolayer of tungsten diselenide are accelerated and collided by a strong lightwave. The emergence of high-odd-order sidebands and anomalous changes in their polarization direction directly attest to the ultrafast pseudospin dynamics. Quantitative computations combining density functional theory with a non-perturbative quantum many-body approach assign the polarization of the sidebands to a lightwave-induced change of the valley pseudospin and confirm that the process is coherent and adiabatic. Our work opens the door to systematic valleytronic logic at optical clock rates.

Lightwave-driven quasiparticle collisions on a subcycle timescale.

Ever since Ernest Rutherford scattered α-particles from gold foils, collision experiments have revealed insights into atoms, nuclei and elementary particles. In solids, many-body correlations lead to characteristic resonances--called quasiparticles--such as excitons, dropletons, polarons and Cooper pairs. The structure and dynamics of quasiparticles are important because they define macroscopic phenomena such as Mott insulating states, spontaneous spin- and charge-order, and high-temperature superconductivity. However, the extremely short lifetimes of these entities make practical implementations of a suitable collider challenging. Here we exploit lightwave-driven charge transport, the foundation of attosecond science, to explore ultrafast quasiparticle collisions directly in the time domain: a femtosecond optical pulse creates excitonic electron-hole pairs in the layered dichalcogenide tungsten diselenide while a strong terahertz field accelerates and collides the electrons with the holes. The underlying dynamics of the wave packets, including collision, pair annihilation, quantum interference and dephasing, are detected as light emission in high-order spectral sidebands of the optical excitation. A full quantum theory explains our observations microscopically. This approach enables collision experiments with various complex quasiparticles and suggests a promising new way of generating sub-femtosecond pulses.

Ultrafast Mid-Infrared Nanoscopy of Strained Vanadium Dioxide Nanobeams.

Long regarded as a model system for studying insulator-to-metal phase transitions, the correlated electron material vanadium dioxide (VO2) is now finding novel uses in device applications. Two of its most appealing aspects are its accessible transition temperature (∼341 K) and its rich phase diagram. Strain can be used to selectively stabilize different VO2 insulating phases by tuning the competition between electron and lattice degrees of freedom. It can even break the mesoscopic spatial symmetry of the transition, leading to a quasiperiodic ordering of insulating and metallic nanodomains. Nanostructuring of strained VO2 could potentially yield unique components for future devices. However, the most spectacular property of VO2--its ultrafast transition--has not yet been studied on the length scale of its phase heterogeneity. Here, we use ultrafast near-field microscopy in the mid-infrared to study individual, strained VO2 nanobeams on the 10 nm scale. We reveal a previously unseen correlation between the local steady-state switching susceptibility and the local ultrafast response to below-threshold photoexcitation. These results suggest that it may be possible to tailor the local photoresponse of VO2 using strain and thereby realize new types of ultrafast nano-optical devices.

Resonant internal quantum transitions and femtosecond radiative decay of excitons in monolayer WSe2.

Atomically thin two-dimensional crystals have revolutionized materials science. In particular, monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides promise novel optoelectronic applications, owing to their direct energy gaps in the optical range. Their electronic and optical properties are dominated by Coulomb-bound electron-hole pairs called excitons, whose unusual internal structure, symmetry, many-body effects and dynamics have been vividly discussed. Here we report the first direct experimental access to all 1s A excitons, regardless of momentum--inside and outside the radiative cone--in single-layer WSe2. Phase-locked mid-infrared pulses reveal the internal orbital 1s-2p resonance, which is highly sensitive to the shape of the excitonic envelope functions and provides accurate transition energies, oscillator strengths, densities and linewidths. Remarkably, the observed decay dynamics indicates an ultrafast radiative annihilation of small-momentum excitons within 150 fs, whereas Auger recombination prevails for optically dark states. The results provide a comprehensive view of excitons and introduce a new degree of freedom for quantum control, optoelectronics and valleytronics of dichalcogenide monolayers.

Fingerprints of the anisotropic spin-split hole dispersion in resonant inelastic light scattering in two-dimensional hole systems.

In resonant inelastic light scattering experiments on two-dimensional hole systems in GaAs-Al(x)Ga(1-x)As single quantum wells we find evidence for the strongly anisotropic spin-split hole dispersion at finite in-plane momenta. In all our samples we detect a low-energy spin-density excitation of a few meV, stemming from excitation of holes of the spin-split ground state. The detailed spectral shape of the excitation depends sensitively on the orientations of the linear light polarizations with respect to the in-plane crystal axes. In particular, we observe a doublet structure, which is most pronounced if the polarization of the incident light is parallel to the [110] in-plane direction. Theoretical calculations of the Raman spectra based on a multiband k · p approach confirm that the observed doublet structure is due to the anisotropic spin-split hole dispersion.

Symmetry and spin dephasing in (110)-grown quantum wells.

Symmetry and spin dephasing in (110)-grown GaAs quantum wells (QWs) are investigated applying magnetic field induced photogalvanic effect and time-resolved Kerr rotation. We show that magnetic field induced photogalvanic effect provides a tool to probe the symmetry of (110)-grown quantum wells. The photocurrent is only observed for asymmetric structures but vanishes for symmetric QWs. Applying Kerr rotation we prove that in the latter case the spin relaxation time is maximal; therefore, these structures set the upper limit of spin dephasing in GaAs QWs. We also demonstrate that structure inversion asymmetry can be controllably tuned to zero by variation of delta-doping layer positions.

Acclimation to low [CO(2)] by an inorganic carbon-concentrating mechanism in Cyanophora paradoxa.

The glaucocystophyte Cyanophora paradoxa contains cyanelles, plastids with prokaroytic features such as a peptidoglycan wall and a central proteinaceous inclusion body. While this central body includes the majority of the enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxgenase Rubisco), the presence of a carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM) in C. paradoxa has only been hypothesized. Here, we present physiological data in support of a CCM: CO(2) exchange activity as well as apparent affinity against inorganic carbon were found to increase under CO(2)-limiting stress. Further, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of C. paradoxa were obtained from two cDNA libraries, one from cells grown in high [CO(2)] conditions and one from cells grown under low [CO(2)] conditions. A cDNA microarray platform assembled from 2378 cDNA sequences revealed that 142 genes significantly responded to a shift from high to low [CO(2)]. Trends in gene expression were comparable to those reported for Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803, both possessing a CCM. Among genes regulated by [CO(2)], transcripts were identified encoding carbonic anhydrases (CAs), Rubisco activase and a putative bicarbonate transporter in C. paradoxa, likely functionally involved in the CCM. These results and the polyhedric appearance of the central body further support the hypothesis of a unique 'eukaryotic carboxysome' in Cyanophora.

Telomere length of cord blood-derived CD34(+) progenitors predicts erythroid proliferative potential.

Excessive telomere shortening has been demonstrated in inherited and acquired blood disorders, including aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. It is possible that replicative exhaustion, owing to critical telomere shortening in hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs), contributes to the development of cytopenias in these disorders. However to date, a direct link between the telomere length (TL) of human HPCs and their proliferative potential has not been demonstrated. In the present investigation, the TL and level of telomerase enzyme activity (TA) detected in cord blood (CB)-derived HPCs was found to predict erythroid expansion (P<0.01 and P=0.01 respectively). These results were corroborated by a correlation between proliferation of erythroid cells and telomere loss (P=0.01). In contrast, no correlations were found between initial TL, telomere loss or TA and the expansion of other myeloid lineage-committed cells. There was also no correlation between TL or TA and the number of clonogenic progenitors, including primitive progenitors derived from long-term culture. Our investigations revealed upregulation of telomerase to tumor cell levels in CD34- cells undergoing erythroid differentiation. Together, these results provide new insight into the regulation of TL and TA during myeloid cell expansion and demonstrate that TL is an important determinant of CB-derived erythroid cell proliferation.

[Value of different measurements of the preoperative visual acuity and perception of Purkinje's vessel shadows for prediction of the postoperative visual acuity after vitrectomy in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage]. / Wertigkeit unterschiedlicher Verfahren der präoperativen Sehschärfeerfassung und der Aderfigurwahrnehmung zur Vorhersage des postoperativen Visus nach Vitrektomien bei diabetischer Glaskörperblutung.

BACKGROUND: In cases of strong vitreous hemorrhage due to diabetic vitreo-retinopathy there is an uncertainty for the prediction of postoperative visual acuity after vitrectomy. This study compares the value of different preoperative measurements for the prognosis of postoperative visual acuity. METHOD AND PATIENTS: We evaluated retrospectively the reports of all patients who have been operated by vitrectomy due to diabetic vitreous hemorrhage at our hospital in 2004 (first vitreoretinal surgery). The following measurements were evaluated: preoperative distance and reading VA, last known VA before hemorrhage, laser interference VA, Purkinje's vessel shadow and postoperative distance VA. RESULTS: 42 patients had entire documentation of all evaluated parameters. The preoperative distance VA was 20/1000 (light perception to 20/60), only 3 patients had a reading VA. Laser interference VA was better than red light perception in 13 patients (7 without red light perception). Purkinje's vessel shadows were positive in 22 patients, negative in 17 patients, but 3 patients did not understand the procedure. Prehemorrhage VA was known in 19 patients. Laser interference VA and last known VA prior to hemorrhage (in mean 20 months old) had the best correlation to postoperative VA (p > 0.05). Purkinje's vessel shadow predicts -- if positive -- a postoperative VA of 20/300 or better. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative VA after vitrectomy due to diabetic vitreous hemorrhage is best predicted by prehemorrhage VA or laser interference VA, especially if no prehemorrhage VA is known. Positive Purkinje's vessel shadow predicts a postoperative VA of 20/300 or better.

Optical probing of a fractionally charged quasihole in an incompressible liquid.

In photoluminescence spectroscopy of a low-mobility two-dimensional electron gas subjected to a quantizing magnetic field, we observe an anomaly around nu=1 / 3 at a very low temperature (0.1 K) and an intermediate electron density (0.9 x 10(11) cm(-2)). The anomaly is explained as due to perturbation of the incompressible liquid at the Laughlin state due to close proximity of a localized charged exciton which creates a fractionally charged quasihole in the liquid. The anomaly of approximately 2 meV can be destroyed by applying a small thermal energy of approximately 0.2 meV that is enough to close the quasihole energy gap.

Spectroscopy of few-electron collective excitations in charge-tunable artificial atoms.

We report the investigation of electronic excitations in InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots using resonant inelastic light scattering. The dots can be charged via a gate by N=1, em leader,6 electrons. We observe excitations, which are identified as transitions of electrons, predominantly from the s to the p shell (s-p transitions) of the quasiatoms. We find that the s-p transition energy decreases and the observed band broadens, when the p shell is filled with 1 to 4 electrons. By a theoretical model, which takes into account the full Coulomb interaction in the few-electron artificial atom, we can confirm the experimental results to be an effect of the Coulomb interaction in the quantum dot.

Reactive oxygen species as second messengers? Induction of the expression of yeast catalase T gene by heat and hyperosmotic stress does not require oxygen.

It is shown that oxygen is not absolutely needed for stress-induced synthesis of catalase T in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast cells develop heat resistance after exposure to elevated temperatures in anoxia. The levels of catalase activity and thermotolerance are comparable to those in aerobically stressed cells. While these results obviously do not exclude a stress signaling role of reactive oxygen species in some systems, as postulated by other authors, they suggest that the question of the obligatory requirement for reactive oxygen species in other stress signaling systems should be rigorously re-investigated.

The influence of oxygen toxicity on yeast mother cell-specific aging.

The effect of deleting both catalase genes and of increased oxygen as well as paraquat (a pro-oxidant) on the replicative life span of yeast mother cells has been investigated to test the so-called oxygen theory of aging. This is well established in higher organisms, but has not been extensively tested in the unicellular yeast model system. Life span determinations were performed in ambient air or in a controlled atmosphere (55% oxygen) and an isogenic series of strains deleted for one or both yeast catalases was used and compared with wild type. In the absence of cellular catalase, increased oxygen caused a marked decrease in life span that could be completely reversed by adding 1 mM GSH, a physiological antioxidant, to the yeast growth medium. In a second unrelated strain, the effects were similar although even the wild type showed a decrease in life span when oxygen was increased. The effect could again be compensated by addition of extracellular GSH. Our results show that manipulating the detoxification of reactive oxygen species has a profound effect on yeast aging. These findings are discussed in the light of recent results relating to oxygen toxicity in the aging process of higher organisms.

Arabidopsis genome analysis as exemplified by analysis of chromosome 4.

During the last decade the small cruciferous plant Arabidopsis thaliana has become a model organism for flowering plants. Sequencing and analysis of the Arabidopsis genome is nearing completion. Beside an overview on methods and strategies for Arabidopsis genome analysis, a summary of the results from the first analysis is presented. This includes an overview on chromosomal organisation and topological features as well as a first comparison with other genomes.

MIPS: a database for genomes and protein sequences.

The Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences (MIPS-GSF), Martinsried, near Munich, Germany, continues its longstanding tradition to develop and maintain high quality curated genome databases. In addition, efforts have been intensified to cover the wealth of complete genome sequences in a systematic, comprehensive form. Bioinformatics, supporting national as well as European sequencing and functional analysis projects, has resulted in several up-to-date genome-oriented databases. This report describes growing databases reflecting the progress of sequencing the Arabidopsis thaliana (MATDB) and Neurospora crassa genomes (MNCDB), the yeast genome database (MYGD) extended by functional analysis data, the database of annotated human EST-clusters (HIB) and the database of the complete cDNA sequences from the DHGP (German Human Genome Project). It also contains information on the up-to-date database of complete genomes (PEDANT), the classification of protein sequences (ProtFam) and the collection of protein sequence data within the framework of the PIR-International Protein Sequence Database. These databases can be accessed through the MIPS WWW server (http://www. mips.biochem.mpg.de).

Being at the right place at the right time: the role of nuclear transport in dynamic transcriptional regulation in yeast.

As a consequence of compartmentalization in eukaryotic cells, the transcriptional response to extracellular stimuli requires signals to be transmitted from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Thus, nuclear import and export of signal transduction and transcription factors provide an important level of transcriptional control in eukaryotes. Recent investigations have illustrated the importance of this control for dynamic gene expression, as will be discussed on transcriptional activators and repressors (Mac1p, Mig1p, Msn2p/4p, Swi5p) and protein kinases (Hog1p, Sty1/Spc1, protein kinase A).

Sequence and analysis of chromosome 4 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

The higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) is an important model for identifying plant genes and determining their function. To assist biological investigations and to define chromosome structure, a coordinated effort to sequence the Arabidopsis genome was initiated in late 1996. Here we report one of the first milestones of this project, the sequence of chromosome 4. Analysis of 17.38 megabases of unique sequence, representing about 17% of the genome, reveals 3,744 protein coding genes, 81 transfer RNAs and numerous repeat elements. Heterochromatic regions surrounding the putative centromere, which has not yet been completely sequenced, are characterized by an increased frequency of a variety of repeats, new repeats, reduced recombination, lowered gene density and lowered gene expression. Roughly 60% of the predicted protein-coding genes have been functionally characterized on the basis of their homology to known genes. Many genes encode predicted proteins that are homologous to human and Caenorhabditis elegans proteins.