Photoprotected spin Hall effect on graphene with substrate induced Rashba spin-orbit coupling.

We propose an experimental realization of the spin Hall effect in graphene by illuminating a graphene sheet on top of a substrate with circularly polarized monochromatic light. The substrate induces a controllable Rashba type spin-orbit coupling which breaks the spin-degeneracy of the Dirac cones but it is gapless. The circularly polarized light induces a gap in the spectrum and turns graphene into a Floquet topological insulator with spin dependent edge states. By analyzing the high and intermediate frequency regimes, we find that in both parameter limits, the spin-Chern number can be tuned by the effective coupling strength of the charge particles to the radiation field and determine the condition for the photoinduced topological phase transition.

Surface and 3D Quantum Hall Effects from Engineering of Exceptional Points in Nodal-Line Semimetals.

We show that, under a strong magnetic field, a 3D nodal-line semimetal is driven into a topological insulating phase in which the electronic transport takes place at the surface of the material. When the magnetic field is perpendicular to the nodal ring, the surface states of the semimetal are transmuted into Landau states which correspond to exceptional points, i.e., branch points in the spectrum of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian which arise upon the extension to complex values of the momentum. The complex structure of the spectrum then allows us to express the number of zero-energy flat bands in terms of a new topological invariant counting the number of exceptional points. When the magnetic field is parallel to the nodal ring, we find that the bulk states are built from the pairing of surfacelike evanescent waves, giving rise to a 3D quantum Hall effect with a flat level of Landau states residing in parallel 2D slices of the 3D material. The Hall conductance is quantized in either case in units of e^{2}/h, leading in the 3D Hall effect to a number of channels growing linearly with the section of the surface and opening the possibility to observe a macroscopic chiral current at the surface of the material.

Dynamics of coherence, localization and excitation transfer in disordered nanorings.

Self-assembled supramolecular aggregates are excellent candidates for the design of efficient excitation transport devices. Both artificially prepared and natural photosynthetic aggregates in plants and bacteria present an important degree of disorder that is supposed to hinder excitation transport. Besides, molecular excitations couple to nuclear motion affecting excitation transport in a variety of ways. We present an exhaustive study of exciton dynamics in disordered nanorings with long-range interactions under the influence of a phonon bath taking the LH2 system of purple bacteria as a model. Nuclear motion is explicitly taken into account by employing the Davydov ansatz description of the polaron and quantum dynamics are obtained using a time-dependent variational method. We reveal an optimal exciton-phonon coupling that suppresses disorder-induced localization and facilitate excitation de-trapping. This excitation transfer enhancement, mediated by environmental phonons, is attributed to energy relaxation toward extended, low-energy excitons provided by the precise LH2 geometry with anti-parallel dipoles and long-range interactions. An analysis of localization and spectral statistics is followed by dynamic measures of coherence and localization, transfer efficiency and superradiance. Linear absorption, 2D photon-echo spectra and diffusion measures of the exciton are examined to monitor the diffusive behavior as a function of the strengths of disorder and exciton-phonon coupling.

Correlation between peak-height modulation and phase lapses in transport through quantum dots.

We show that two intriguing features of mesoscopic transport, namely, the modulation of Coulomb blockade peak heights and the transmission phase lapses occurring between subsequent peaks, are closely related. Our analytic arguments are corroborated by numerical simulations for chaotic ballistic quantum dots. The correlations between the two properties are experimentally testable. The statistical distribution of the partial-width amplitude, at the heart of the previous relationship, is determined, and its characteristic parameters are estimated from simple models.

Macroscopic Degeneracy of Zero-Mode Rotating Surface States in 3D Dirac and Weyl Semimetals under Radiation.

We investigate the development of novel surface states when 3D Dirac or Weyl semimetals are placed under circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation. We find that the hybridization between inverted Floquet bands opens, in general, a gap, which closes at so-called exceptional points found for complex values of the momentum. This corresponds to the appearance of midgap surface states in the form of evanescent waves decaying from the surface exposed to the radiation. We observe a phenomenon reminiscent of Landau quantization by which the midgap surface states get a large degeneracy proportional to the radiation flux traversing the surface of the semimetal. We show that all of these surface states carry angular current, leading to an angular modulation of their charge that rotates with the same frequency of the radiation, which should manifest in the observation of a macroscopic chiral current in the irradiated surface.

Superradiance at the localization-delocalization crossover in tubular chlorosomes.

We study the effect of disorder on spectral properties of tubular chlorosomes in green sulfur bacteria Cf. aurantiacus. Employing a Frenkel-exciton Hamiltonian with diagonal and off-diagonal disorder consistent with spectral and structural studies, we analyze excitonic localization and spectral statistics of the chlorosomes. A size-dependent localization-delocalization crossover is found to occur as a function of the excitonic energy. The crossover energy region coincides with the more optically active states with maximized superradiance and is, consequently, more conducive for energy transfer.

Spectral statistics of molecular resonances in erbium isotopes: How chaotic are they?

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the spectral statistics of the molecular resonances in (166)Er and (168)Er observed in recent ultracold collision experiments [Frisch et al., Nature (London) 507, 475 (2014)] with the aim of determining the chaoticity of this system. We calculate different independent statistical properties to check their degree of agreement with random matrix theory (RMT), and analyze if they are consistent with the possibility of having missing resonances. The analysis of the short-range fluctuations as a function of the magnetic field points to a steady increase of chaoticity until B∼30 G. The repulsion parameter decreases for higher magnetic fields, an effect that can be interpreted as due to missing resonances. The analysis of long-range fluctuations allows us to be more quantitative and estimate a 20%-25% fraction of missing levels. Finally, a study of the distribution of resonance widths provides additional evidence supporting missing resonances of small width compared with the experimental magnetic field resolution. We conclude that further measurements with increased resolution will be necessary to give a final answer to the problem of missing resonances and the agreement with RMT.

Scattering phase of quantum dots: emergence of universal behavior.

We investigate scattering through chaotic ballistic quantum dots in the Coulomb-blockade regime. Focusing on the scattering phase, we show that large universal sequences emerge in the short wavelength limit, where phase lapses of π systematically occur between two consecutive resonances. Our results are corroborated by numerics and are in qualitative agreement with existing experiments.

EXTRUIDOS DE AlFe-PILC EN LA OXIDACIÓN CATALÍTICA DE FENOL / AlFe-PILC EXTRUDED IN THE CATALYTIC OXIDATION OF PHENOL EXTRUDADOS / AlFe-PILC NA OXIDAÇÃO CATALITICA DO FENOL

Extruidos de AlFe-PILC con forma de cilindro compacto se emplearon como catalizadores en la reacción de oxidación de fenol en medio acuoso. Debido a que el proceso de elaboración de los extruidos con fase activa AlFe-PILC afecta la actividad intrínseca del catalizador, en este trabajo se determinaron la resistencia mecánica y la estabilidad química del catalizador conformado, así como las limitaciones difusionales por efecto de la aglomeración. Los extruidos se elaboraron con la proporción másica 42/28/30 de arcilla intercalada con AlFe, aglomerante (mezcla 50/50 de bentonita sódica y cálcica) y agua, exhibiendo elevada resistencia mecánica y estabilidad química a la inmersión en agua. Los extruidos de AlFe-PILC presentaron un factor de efectividad menor a 1; por tanto, la reacción se encuentra limitada por la difusión intrapartícula.

AlFe-PILC catalyst shaped as extruded compact cylinders was used in the oxidation of phenol in an aqueous medium. As the process of manufacturing AlFe-PILC extruded, affects the intrinsic activity of the catalyst, in this work the mechanical resistance, the chemical stability and the diffusional limitations of the catalyst conformed were determined. were manufactured with mass ratio 42/28/30 of intercalated clay with AlFe, binder (50/50 mixture of sodium and calcium bentonite) and water, exhibiting high mechanical resistance and chemical stability to immersion in water. The extruded AlFe-PILC showed an effectiveness factor less than 1, therefore, the reaction is limited by intraparticle diffusion.

Catalisador AlFe-PILC extrudado em forma de cilindro compacto foi utilizada na reação de oxidação do fenol em meio aquoso. Dado que o processo de desenvolvimento da fase ativa extrudados com AlFe-PILC afeta a atividade intrínseca do catalisador, neste trabalho determinar a resistência mecânica e estabilidade química do catalisador formando, e as limitações difusionais. Os extrudados foram produzidos com a relação massa 42/28/30 de argila intercaladas com AlFe, aglutinante (50/50mistura de bentonita de sódio e cálcio) e água, exibem alta resistência mecânica e estabilidade química de imersão em água. Os extrudados AlFe-PILC mostrou um factor de eficácia menor a 1, portanto, a reação é limitada pela difusão intrapartícula.

Efecto del ultrssonido en la síntesis de arcilla pilarizada con aluminio en medio concentrado / Efects of ultrassound in the synthesis of aluminum pillared clay in concentrated media / Efeito de ulra-ssom na síntese de argila pilarizada com alumínio concentrada no miio

En este trabajo se realizó la síntesis de bentonita pilarizada con aluminio en medio concentrado, empleando ultrasonido en la etapa de intercalación. El agente pilarizante fue preparado por hidrólisis del AlCl3 con NaOH, seguido de precipitación con disolución de Na2SO4 y redisolución en Ba(NO3)2, y fue caracterizado por fluorescencia de rayos X (FRX), difracción de rayos X (DRX), microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM) y resonancia magnética nuclear de aluminio (27Al-RMN). La arcilla pilarizada fue caracterizada por FRX, DRX y fisiadsorción de N2 a 77 K, revelando propiedades estructurales y texturales comparables a la modificada siguiendo la metodología convencional: suspensiones diluidas y tiempos de intercalación elevados. El empleo de suspensiones concentradas de arcilla- agente pilarizante y la aplicación de ultrasonido en la etapa de intercalación permiten una disminución en el volumen de agua entre el 90-95% y una reducción en el tiempo de intercalación entre el 70–93%respecto almétodo convencional de pilarización.

The synthesis of pillared bentonite with aluminum in concentrated media, using ultrasound at the intercalation step was done. The pillaring agent was prepared by hydrolysis of AlCl3 with NaOH, followed by precipitation with a Na2SO4 disolution and redisolution with a Ba(NO3)2. The pillaring agent was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nuclear magnetic resonance for aluminum (27Al-NMR). The pillared clay was characterized by XRF, XRD and N2 adsorption to 77 K. The pillared bentonite with aluminum in concentrated media using ultrasound at the intercalation step, presents structural and textural properties comparable to the sample modified by the conventional method: diluted suspensions and high intercalation time. Additionally, the use of clay-pillaring agent in concentrated suspensions and ultrasound at the intercalation step allows a 90-95% decrease in the volume of water and a reduction in the intercalation times between 70-93% with respect to the conventional synthesis.

Este estudo foi realizado síntese de bentonite pilarizada com alumínio concentrada no meio, utilizando ultra-som na fase de intercalação. O agente pilarizante foi preparado por hidrólise de AlCl3 com NaOH, seguido de precipitação solução Na2SO4 e redisolución Ba(NO3)2. O agente pilarizante foi caracterizado por fluorescência de raios-X (FRX), difração de raios X(DRX), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM) e ressonância magnética nuclear de alumínio (27Al-RMN).A argila pilarizada foi caracterizado por FRX, DRX e fisiadsorción N2 a 77 K. A bentonite pilarizada com alumínio concentrada no meio e utilizando ultra-som na fase de intercalação, introduz propriedades estruturais e texturais comparável ao alterada na sequência do método convencional: suspensões e diluído intercalação tempo elevado. Adicionalmente, o uso de suspensões concentradas argila-agente pilarizante e da aplicação do ultra-som na fase de intercalação permitir uma diminuição do volume de água entre 90-95% e uma redução do tempo de intercalação entre 70-93% no que diz respeito ao método convencional de pilarización.

Commensurability effects for fermionic atoms trapped in 1D optical lattices.

Fermionic atoms in two different hyperfine states confined in optical lattices show strong commensurability effects due to the interplay between the atomic density wave ordering and the lattice potential. We show that spatially separated regions of commensurable and incommensurable phases can coexist. The commensurability between the harmonic trap and the lattice sites can be used to control the amplitude of the atomic density waves in the central region of the trap.

Modificación y aaracterización de una vermiculia Colombiana con especies de tiitanio, zirconio y sulfato / Modifiction and characterization of a Colombian vermiclite with titannium, zirconium and sulfat / Modificção e carracterização do vermiculite Colombian com titânio, zirconiõ e sulfato

El presente trabajo reporta los resultados de la caracterización química, estructural y textural de una vermiculita de origen colombiano modificada con especies simples de Zr y Ti, y el sistema mixto Ti-Zr en relaciones atómicas nominales Zr/(Ti + Zr) = 0,1 y 0,5. Adicionalmente, se evaluó la incidencia de la presencia de sulfato sobre los sistemas mencionados bajo las relaciones nominales sulfato/metal 0; 0,25 y 0,35, incorporando el sulfato ya sea en la solución intercalante, o por impregnación vía húmeda sobre los sólidos modificados y calcinados. Los resultados indican que cuando la sulfatación se lleva a cabo por intercalación, la naturaleza química de la solución intercalante afecta notoriamente la cantidad de metal incorporado, dependiendo de la relación sulfato/metal empleada. De otro lado se estableció que, cuando se lleva a cabo la sulfatación por impregnación, las propiedades texturales, estructurales y morfológicas de los sólidos obtenidos se ven fuertemente afectadas y estan acompañadas de una fijación de azufre significativamente mayor que para los sólidos sulfatados por intercalación.

The present work reports the results of chemical, structural and textural characterization of a Colombian vermiculite modified with simple species of Zr and Ti, and the mixed system of Ti-Zr in nominal atomic relations Zr/(Ti + Zr) = 0,1 and 0,5. Additionally, the incidence of sulfate presence was evaluated under the nominal relations sulfate/metal 0; 0,25 and 0,35, incorporating sulfate either in the intercalation solution, or by impregnation on modified and calcined solids. The results indicate that when the sulfation is carried out by intercalation, the chemical nature of the intercalation solution affects the amount of incorporated metal, depending on the relation used sulfate/metal. When the sulfation by impregnating is carried out, the textural, structural and morphologic properties of the obtained solids are strongly affected and are accompanied of a sulfur fixation significantly greater than for solids sulfated by intercalation.

O trabalho atual relata os resultados do produto químico, caracterização estrutural e textural de um vermiculite Colombian modificado com espécie simples do Zr e o Ti, e o sistema misturado do Ti-Zr no Zr/atômico nominal das relações (Ti + Zr) = 0.1 e 0.5. Adicionalmente, a incidência da presença do sulfato foi avaliada sobre o sulfato das relações/metal nominais 0; 0.25 e 0.35, incorporando sulfato já seja na solução ou do intercalação, ou pelo impregnação em sólidos modificados e calcinados. Os resultados indicam que quando o sulfatação é realizado pelo intercalação, a natureza química da solução do intercalação afeta a quantidade de metal incorporado, dependendo do sulfato/metal usados na relação. Quando o sulfação impregnando é realizado, as propriedades texturaes, as estruturais e as morfologicas de sólidos obtidos fortemente estão afetadas e acompanhadas de uma fixation de enxôfre significativamente mais grande do que para os sólidos sulfatados pelo intercalação.

CRA-026440: a potent, broad-spectrum, hydroxamic histone deacetylase inhibitor with antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activity in vitro and in vivo.

CRA-026440 is a novel, broad-spectrum, hydroxamic acid-based inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC) that shows antitumor and antiangiogenic activities in vitro and in vivo preclinically. CRA-026440 inhibited pure recombinant isozymes HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3/SMRT, HDAC6, HDAC8, and HDAC10 in the nanomolar range. Treatment of cultured tumor cell lines grown in vitro with CRA-026440 resulted in the accumulation of acetylated histone and acetylated tubulin, leading to an inhibition of tumor cell growth and the induction of apoptosis. CRA-026440 inhibited ex vivo angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. CRA-026440 parenterally given to mice harboring HCT116 or U937 human tumor xenografts resulted in a statistically significant reduction in tumor growth. CRA-026440, when used in combination with Avastin, achieved greater preclinical efficacy in HCT 116 colorectal tumor model. Inhibition of tumor growth was accompanied by an increase in the acetylation of alpha-tubulin in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and an alteration in the expression of many genes in the tumors, including several involved in angiogenesis, apoptosis, and cell growth. These results reveal CRA-026440 to be a novel HDAC inhibitor with potent antitumor activity.