1. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
-
A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background
- 2022
-
In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 376:6592, s. 521-523
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- After large galaxies merge, their central supermassive black holes are expected to form binary systems. Their orbital motion should generate a gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies. Searches for this background use pulsar timing arrays, which perform long-term monitoring of millisecond pulsars at radio wavelengths. We used 12.5 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data to form a gamma-ray pulsar timing array. Results from 35 bright gamma-ray pulsars place a 95% credible limit on the GWB characteristic strain of 1.0 x 10(-14) at a frequency of 1 year(-1). The sensitivity is expected to scale with t(obs), the observing time span, as t(obs)(-13/6). This direct measurement provides an independent probe of the GWB while offering a check on radio noise models.
|
|
2. |
- Chen, Guanying, et al.
(author)
-
Core/shell NaGdF 4:Nd 3+/NaGdF 4 nanocrystals with efficient near-infrared to near-infrared downconversion photoluminescence for bioimaging applications
- 2012
-
In: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-0851 .- 1936-086X. ; 6:4, s. 2969-2977
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have synthesized core/shell NaGdF 4:Nd 3+/NaGdF 4 nanocrystals with an average size of 15 nm and exceptionally high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield. When excited at 740 nm, the nanocrystals manifest spectrally distinguished, near-infrared to near-infrared (NIR-to-NIR) downconversion PL peaked at ∌900, ∌1050, and ∌1300 nm. The absolute quantum yield of NIR-to-NIR PL reached 40% for core-shell nanoparticles dispersed in hexane. Time-resolved PL measurements revealed that this high quantum yield was achieved through suppression of nonradiative recombination originating from surface states and cross relaxations between dopants. NaGdF 4:Nd 3+/NaGdF 4 nanocrystals, synthesized in organic media, were further converted to be water-dispersible by eliminating the capping ligand of oleic acid. NIR-to-NIR PL bioimaging was demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo through visualization of the NIR-to-NIR PL at ∌900 nm under incoherent lamp light excitation. The fact that both excitation and the PL of these nanocrystals are in the biological window of optical transparency, combined with their high quantum efficiency, spectral sharpness, and photostability, makes these nanocrystals extremely promising as optical biomaging probes.
|
|
3. |
|
|
4. |
- Lim, Chang-Keun, et al.
(author)
-
Plasmon-enhanced two-photon-induced isomerization for highly-localized light-based actuation of inorganic/organic interfaces
- 2016
-
In: Nanoscale. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2040-3364 .- 2040-3372. ; 8:7, s. 4194-4202
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two-photon initiated photo-isomerization of an azobenzene moiety adsorbed on silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) is demonstrated. The azobenzene is linked to a materials-binding peptide that brings it into intimate contact with the Ag NP surface, producing a dramatic enhancement of its two-photon absorbance. An integrated modeling approach, combining advanced conformational sampling with Quantum Mechanics/Capacitance Molecular Mechanics and response theory, shows that charge transfer and image charges in the Ag NP generate local fields that enhance two-photon absorption of the cis isomer, but not the trans isomer, of adsorbed molecules. Moreover, dramatic local field enhancement is expected near the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength, and the LSPR band of the Ag NPs overlaps the azobenzene absorbance that triggers cis to trans switching. As a result, the Ag NPs enable two-photon initiated cis to trans isomerization, but not trans to cis isomerization. Confocal anti-Stokes fluorescence imaging shows that this effect is not due to local heating, while the quadratic dependence of switching rate on laser intensity is consistent with a two-photon process. Highly localized two-photon initiated switching could allow local manipulation near the focal point of a laser within a 3D nanoparticle assembly, which cannot be achieved using linear optical processes.
|
|
5. |
|
|