Indistinguishable photons from a single-photon device

Single-photon sources have recently been demonstrated using a variety of devices, including molecules, mesoscopic quantum wells, colour centres, trapped ions and semiconductor quantum dots. Compared with a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity, these sources rarely emit two or more photons in the same pulse. Numerous applications for single-photon sources have been proposed in the field of quantum information, but most--including linear-optical quantum computation--also require consecutive photons to have identical wave packets. For a source based on a single quantum emitter, the emitter must therefore be excited in a rapid or deterministic way, and interact little with its surrounding environment. Here we test the indistinguishability of photons emitted by a semiconductor quantum dot in a microcavity through a Hong-Ou-Mandel-type two-photon interference experiment. We find that consecutive photons are largely indistinguishable, with a mean wave-packet overlap as large as 0.81, making this source useful in a variety of experiments in quantum optics and quantum information.     

Erzeugung von Rigor der Rattenxtremitäten durch Hemmung der Glyzin-Synthese

Summary Inhibition of glycine synthesis by aminopterine, an antagonist of pteroilglutaminic acid, causes rigidity of hind limbs in rats. This rigidity can be abolished by the injection of glycine.     

The action of anticholinergic drugs on the oxidation of indole activated by acetylcholine chloride

Zusammenfassung Mittels Fluoreszenzmessung wurde die durch Acetylcholin aktivierte Indoloxydation verfolgt. Es wurde festgestellt, dass alle im Versuch verwendeten anticholinergischen Substanzen diese Reaktion konzentrationsabhängig abschwächen. Ist kein Aktivator vorhanden, verläuft die Indoloxydation äusserst langsam. Es wird angenommen, dass die anticholinergischen Substanzen die aktivierende Wirkung des Acetylcholins aufheben.     

The investigation of the action of ultrasound on some proteid substances. Part II. The action of ultrasound on diastase

Zusammenfassung Die Ultraschallwirkung auf Diastase wurde an deren Aktivitäts- und pH-Änderung untersucht. Verschieden lang beschallte, 0.5% ige wässerige Diastaselösungen ergaben stufenweises und regelmässiges Absinken der Aktivitäten und pH-Werte.

---

---

Part I: Bull. Soc. chim. Belgrade (in press).     

Three's a Crowd: On Causes, Entropy and Physical Eschatology

Recent discussions of theorigins of the thermodynamical temporal asymmetry (thearrow of time) by Huw Price and others arecritically assessed. This serves as amotivation for consideration of relationshipbetween thermodynamical and cosmologicalcauses. Although the project of clarificationof the thermodynamical explanandum is certainlywelcome, Price excludes another interestingoption, at least as viable as the sort ofAcausal-Particular approach he favors, andarguably more in the spirit of Boltzmannhimself. Thus, the competition of explanatoryprojects includes three horses, not two. Inaddition, it is the Acausal-Particular approachthat could benefit enormously from dissociationfrom fanciful ideas of low-entropy futureboundary conditions entertained by Price. Novelrevolutionary developments in observationalcosmology, as well as in the nascentastrophysical discipline of physicaleschatology, have obliterated such hypotheses.Also, the Acausal-Anthropic approach wepropose, offers another clear instance ofdisteleological nature of the anthropicprinciple.     

Frozen magma lenses below the oceanic crust

The Earth's oceanic crust crystallizes from magmatic systems generated at mid-ocean ridges. Whereas a single magma body residing within the mid-crust is thought to be responsible for the generation of the upper oceanic crust, it remains unclear if the lower crust is formed from the same magma body, or if it mainly crystallizes from magma lenses located at the base of the crust. Thermal modelling, tomography, compliance and wide-angle seismic studies, supported by geological evidence, suggest the presence of gabbroic-melt accumulations within the Moho transition zone in the vicinity of fast- to intermediate-spreading centres. Until now, however, no reflection images have been obtained of such a structure within the Moho transition zone. Here we show images of groups of Moho transition zone reflection events that resulted from the analysis of approximately 1,500 km of multichannel seismic data collected across the intermediate-spreading-rate Juan de Fuca ridge. From our observations we suggest that gabbro lenses and melt accumulations embedded within dunite or residual mantle peridotite are the most probable cause for the observed reflectivity, thus providing support for the hypothesis that the crust is generated from multiple magma bodies.     

Sensitivity gains in chemosensing by lasing action in organic polymers

Societal needs for greater security require dramatic improvements in the sensitivity of chemical and biological sensors. To meet this challenge, increasing emphasis in analytical science has been directed towards materials and devices having highly nonlinear characteristics; semiconducting organic polymers (SOPs), with their facile excited state (exciton) transport, are prime examples of amplifying materials. SOPs have also been recognized as promising lasing materials, although the susceptibility of these materials to optical damage has thus far limited applications. Here we report that attenuated lasing in optically pumped SOP thin films displays a sensitivity to vapours of explosives more than 30 times higher than is observed from spontaneous emission. Critical to this achievement was the development of a transducing polymer with high thin-film quantum yield, a high optical damage threshold in ambient atmosphere and a record low lasing threshold. Trace vapours of the explosives 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) introduce non-radiative deactivation pathways that compete with stimulated emission. We demonstrate that the induced cessation of the lasing action, and associated sensitivity enhancement, is most pronounced when films are pumped at intensities near their lasing threshold. The combined gains from amplifying materials and lasing promise to deliver sensors that can detect explosives with unparalleled sensitivity.     

Uniform resonant chaotic mixing in fluid flows

Laminar flows can produce particle trajectories that are chaotic, with nearby tracers separating exponentially in time. For time-periodic, two-dimensional flows and steady three-dimensional (3D) flows, enhancements in mixing due to chaotic advection are typically limited by impenetrable transport barriers that form at the boundaries between ordered and chaotic mixing regions. However, for time-dependent 3D flows, it has been proposed theoretically that completely uniform mixing is possible through a resonant mechanism called singularity-induced diffusion; this is thought to be the case even if the time-dependent and 3D perturbations are infinitesimally small. It is important to establish the conditions for which uniform mixing is possible and whether or not those conditions are met in flows that typically occur in nature. Here we report experimental and numerical studies of mixing in a laminar vortex flow that is weakly 3D and weakly time-periodic. The system is an oscillating horizontal vortex chain (produced by a magnetohydrodynamic technique) with a weak vertical secondary flow that is forced spontaneously by Ekman pumping--a mechanism common in vortical flows with rigid boundaries, occurring in many geophysical, industrial and biophysical flows. We observe completely uniform mixing, as predicted by singularity-induced diffusion, but only for oscillation periods close to typical circulation times.     

Lymphocyte reactivity in Imuran-treated guinea-pigs and in vitro effect of colchicine

Summary Imuran treatment significantly diminished macrophage migration inhibition in immunized guinea-pigs and the percentage of E-rosette forming cells in all treated animals. 10^–6 M colchicine in vitro significantly increased the percentage of E-rosette forming cells in Imuran-treated animals. The results suggest possible alteration of the lymphocyte receptors after treatment with Imuran.This work was supported by the grants of the Republic Research Fund of Serbia.     

Reinke's crystals at damaged germinal epithelium

Zusammenfassung Überprüfung der Reinkeschen Kristalle in den Leydingschen Zellen an einem bioptischen Material von 220 Hoden steriler Männer (22–45) entsprechend verschiedener Beschädigungsstufen des Samenepithels ergab keinen Einfluss des Keimepithels auf die Kristallbildung.

---

---

Reinke, Arch. mikrosk. Anat. EntwMech.47, 34 (1896).