Optical bistability in a heterodimer composed of a quantum dot and a metallic nanoshell.

We theoretically explore the conditions for generating optical bistability (OB) in a heterodimer comprised of a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) and a metallic nanoshell (MNS). The MNS is made of a metallic nanosphere as a core and a dielectric material as a shell. For the specific hybrid system considered, the bistable effect appears only if the frequency of the pump field is equal to (or slightly less than) the exciton frequency for a proper shell thickness. Bistability phase diagrams, when plotted, show that the dipole-induced bistable region can be greatly broadened by changing the shell thickness of the MNS in a strong exciton-plasmon coupling regime. In particular, we demonstrate that the multipole polarization not only narrows the bistable zone but also enlarges the corresponding thresholds for a given intermediate scaled pumping intensity. On the other hand, when the SQD couples strongly with the MNS, the multipole polarization can also significantly broaden the bistable region and induce a great suppression of the FWM (four-wave mixing) signal for a fixed shell thickness. These interesting findings offer a fresh understanding of the bistability conditions in an SQD/MNS heterodimer, and may be useful in the fabrication of high-performance and low-threshold optical bistable nanodevices.

Four-wave mixing signal enhancement and optical bistability of a hybrid metal nanoparticle-quantum dot molecule in a nanomechanical resonator.

We investigate theoretically four-wave mixing (FWM) response and optical bistability (OB) in a hybrid nanosystem composed of a metal nanoparticle (MNP) and a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) coupled to a nanomechanical resonator (NR). It is shown that the FWM signal is enhanced by more than three orders of magnitude as compared to that of the system without exciton-phonon interaction, and the FWM signal can also be suppressed significantly and broadened due to the exciton-plasmon interaction. As the MNP couples strongly with the SQD, the bistable FWM response can be achieved by adjusting the SQD-MNP distance and the pumping intensity. For a given pumping constant and a fixed SQD-MNP distance, the enhanced exciton-phonon interaction can promote the occurrence of bistability. Our findings not only present a feasible way to detect the spacing between two nanoparticles, but also hold promise for developing quantum switches and nanoscale rulers.

VCP maintains nuclear size by regulating the DNA damage-associated MDC1-p53-autophagy axis in Drosophila.

The maintenance of constant karyoplasmic ratios suggests that nuclear size has physiological significance. Nuclear size anomalies have been linked to malignant transformation, although the mechanism remains unclear. By expressing dominant-negative TER94 mutants in Drosophila photoreceptors, here we show disruption of VCP (valosin-containing protein, human TER94 ortholog), a ubiquitin-dependent segregase, causes progressive nuclear size increase. Loss of VCP function leads to accumulations of MDC1 (mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1), connecting DNA damage or associated responses to enlarged nuclei. TER94 can interact with MDC1 and decreases MDC1 levels, suggesting that MDC1 is a VCP substrate. Our evidence indicates that MDC1 accumulation stabilizes p53A, leading to TER94K2A-associated nuclear size increase. Together with a previous report that p53A disrupts autophagic flux, we propose that the stabilization of p53A in TER94K2A-expressing cells likely hinders the removal of nuclear content, resulting in aberrant nuclear size increase.