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- ItemHigh-fidelity multimode fibre-based endoscopy for deep brain in vivo imaging(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Turtaev, Sergey; Leite, Ivo T.; Altwegg-Boussac, Tristan; Pakan, Janelle M. P.; Rochefort, Nathalie L.; Čižmár, TomášProgress in neuroscience relies on new techniques for investigating the complex dynamics of neuronal networks. An ongoing challenge is to achieve minimally invasive and high-resolution observations of neuronal activity in vivo inside deep brain areas. Recently introduced methods for holographic control of light propagation in complex media enable the use of a hair-thin multimode optical fibre as an ultranarrow imaging tool. Compared to endoscopes based on graded-index lenses or fibre bundles, this new approach offers a footprint reduction exceeding an order of magnitude, combined with a significant enhancement in resolution. We designed a compact and high-speed system for fluorescent imaging at the tip of a fibre, achieving a resolution of 1.18 ± 0.04 µm across a 50-µm field of view, yielding 7-kilopixel images at a rate of 3.5 frames/s. Furthermore, we demonstrate in vivo observations of cell bodies and processes of inhibitory neurons within deep layers of the visual cortex and hippocampus of anaesthetised mice. This study paves the way for modern microscopy to be applied deep inside tissues of living animal models while exerting a minimal impact on their structural and functional properties.
- ItemNanowire-supported plasmonic waveguide for remote excitation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2014) Huang, Y.; Fang, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Zhu, L.; Sun, M.Due to its amazing ability to manipulate light at the nanoscale, plasmonics has become one of the most interesting topics in the field of light-matter interaction. As a promising application of plasmonics, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been widely used in scientific investigations and material analysis. The large enhanced Raman signals are mainly caused by the extremely enhanced electromagnetic field that results from localized surface plasmon polaritons. Recently, a novel SERS technology called remote SERS has been reported, combining both localized surface plasmon polaritons and propagating surface plasmon polaritons (PSPPs, or called plasmonic waveguide), which may be found in prominent applications in special circumstances compared to traditional local SERS. In this article, we review the mechanism of remote SERS and its development since it was first reported in 2009. Various remote metal systems based on plasmonic waveguides, such as nanoparticle-nanowire systems, single nanowire systems, crossed nanowire systems and nanowire dimer systems, are introduced, and recent novel applications, such as sensors, plasmon-driven surface-catalyzed reactions and Raman optical activity, are also presented. Furthermore, studies of remote SERS in dielectric and organic systems based on dielectric waveguides remind us that this useful technology has additional, tremendous application prospects that have not been realized in metal systems.
- ItemTuning the interplay between nematicity and spin fluctuations in Na1-x Li x FeAs superconductors(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Baek, S.-H.; Bhoi, D.; Nam, W.; Lee, B.; Efremov, D.V.; Büchner, B.; Kim, K.H.Strong interplay of spin and charge/orbital degrees of freedom is the fundamental characteristic of the iron-based superconductors (FeSCs), which leads to the emergence of a nematic state as a rule in the vicinity of the antiferromagnetic state. Despite intense debate for many years, however, whether nematicity is driven by spin or orbital fluctuations remains unsettled. Here, by use of transport, magnetization, and 75As nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, we show a striking transformation of the relationship between nematicity and spin fluctuations (SFs) in Na1-x Li x FeAs; For x ≤ 0.02, the nematic transition promotes SFs. In contrast, for x ≥ 0.03, the system undergoes a non-magnetic phase transition at a temperature T 0 into a distinct nematic state that suppresses SFs. Such a drastic change of the spin fluctuation spectrum associated with nematicity by small doping is highly unusual, and provides insights into the origin and nature of nematicity in FeSCs.
- ItemAbrupt transitions in time series with uncertainties(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Goswami, B.; Boers, N.; Rheinwalt, A.; Marwan, N.; Heitzig, J.; Breitenbach, S.F.M.; Kurths, J.Identifying abrupt transitions is a key question in various disciplines. Existing transition detection methods, however, do not rigorously account for time series uncertainties, often neglecting them altogether or assuming them to be independent and qualitatively similar. Here, we introduce a novel approach suited to handle uncertainties by representing the time series as a time-ordered sequence of probability density functions. We show how to detect abrupt transitions in such a sequence using the community structure of networks representing probabilities of recurrence. Using our approach, we detect transitions in global stock indices related to well-known periods of politico-economic volatility. We further uncover transitions in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation which coincide with periods of phase locking with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Finally, we provide for the first time an 'uncertainty-aware' framework which validates the hypothesis that ice-rafting events in the North Atlantic during the Holocene were synchronous with a weakened Asian summer monsoon.
- ItemWhen optimization for governing human-environment tipping elements is neither sustainable nor safe(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Barfuss, W.; Donges, J.F.; Lade, S.J.; Kurths, J.Optimizing economic welfare in environmental governance has been criticized for delivering short-term gains at the expense of long-term environmental degradation. Different from economic optimization, the concepts of sustainability and the more recent safe operating space have been used to derive policies in environmental governance. However, a formal comparison between these three policy paradigms is still missing, leaving policy makers uncertain which paradigm to apply. Here, we develop a better understanding of their interrelationships, using a stylized model of human-environment tipping elements. We find that no paradigm guarantees fulfilling requirements imposed by another paradigm and derive simple heuristics for the conditions under which these trade-offs occur. We show that the absence of such a master paradigm is of special relevance for governing real-world tipping systems such as climate, fisheries, and farming, which may reside in a parameter regime where economic optimization is neither sustainable nor safe.
- ItemSpectral field mapping in plasmonic nanostructures with nanometer resolution(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Krehl, J.; Guzzinati, G.; Schultz, J.; Potapov, P.; Pohl, D.; Martin, J.; Verbeeck, J.; Fery, A.; Büchner, B.; Lubk, A.Plasmonic nanostructures and -devices are rapidly transforming light manipulation technology by allowing to modify and enhance optical fields on sub-wavelength scales. Advances in this field rely heavily on the development of new characterization methods for the fundamental nanoscale interactions. However, the direct and quantitative mapping of transient electric and magnetic fields characterizing the plasmonic coupling has been proven elusive to date. Here we demonstrate how to directly measure the inelastic momentum transfer of surface plasmon modes via the energy-loss filtered deflection of a focused electron beam in a transmission electron microscope. By scanning the beam over the sample we obtain a spatially and spectrally resolved deflection map and we further show how this deflection is related quantitatively to the spectral component of the induced electric and magnetic fields pertaining to the mode. In some regards this technique is an extension to the established differential phase contrast into the dynamic regime. © 2018, The Author(s).
- ItemEarly-warning signals for Dansgaard-Oeschger events in a high-resolution ice core record(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Boers, N.The Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, as observed in oxygen isotope ratios from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) record, are an outstanding example of past abrupt climate transitions. Their physical cause remains debated, and previous research indicated that they are not preceded by classical early-warning signals (EWS). Subsequent research hypothesized that the DO events are caused by bifurcations of physical mechanisms operating at decadal timescales, and proposed to search for EWS in the high-frequency fluctuation levels. Here, a time series with 5-year resolution is obtained from the raw NGRIP record, and significant numbers of EWS in terms of variance and autocorrelation increases are revealed in the decadal-scale variability. Wavelet analysis indicates that the EWS are most pronounced in the 10-50-year periodicity band, confirming the above hypothesis. The DO events are hence neither directly noise-induced nor purely externally forced, which provides valuable constraints regarding potential physical causes.
- ItemTwo-thirds of global cropland area impacted by climate oscillations(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Heino, M.; Puma, M.J.; Ward, P.J.; Gerten, D.; Heck, V.; Siebert, S.; Kummu, M.The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) peaked strongly during the boreal winter 2015-2016, leading to food insecurity in many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Besides ENSO, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are known to impact crop yields worldwide. Here we assess for the first time in a unified framework the relationships between ENSO, IOD and NAO and simulated crop productivity at the sub-country scale. Our findings reveal that during 1961-2010, crop productivity is significantly influenced by at least one large-scale climate oscillation in two-thirds of global cropland area. Besides observing new possible links, especially for NAO in Africa and the Middle East, our analyses confirm several known relationships between crop productivity and these oscillations. Our results improve the understanding of climatological crop productivity drivers, which is essential for enhancing food security in many of the most vulnerable places on the planet.
- ItemUniaxial stress flips the natural quantization axis of a quantum dot for integrated quantum photonics(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Yuan, X.; Weyhausen-Brinkmann, F.; Martín-Sánchez, J.; Piredda, G.; Křápek, V.; Huo, Y.; Huang, H.; Schimpf, C.; Schmidt, O.G.; Edlinger, J.; Bester, G.; Trotta, R.; Rastelli, A.The optical selection rules in epitaxial quantum dots are strongly influenced by the orientation of their natural quantization axis, which is usually parallel to the growth direction. This configuration is well suited for vertically emitting devices, but not for planar photonic circuits because of the poorly controlled orientation of the transition dipoles in the growth plane. Here we show that the quantization axis of gallium arsenide dots can be flipped into the growth plane via moderate in-plane uniaxial stress. By using piezoelectric strain-actuators featuring strain amplification, we study the evolution of the selection rules and excitonic fine structure in a regime, in which quantum confinement can be regarded as a perturbation compared to strain in determining the symmetry-properties of the system. The experimental and computational results suggest that uniaxial stress may be the right tool to obtain quantum-light sources with ideally oriented transition dipoles and enhanced oscillator strengths for integrated quantum photonics.
- ItemCommitted sea-level rise under the Paris Agreement and the legacy of delayed mitigation action(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Mengel, M.; Nauels, A.; Rogelj, J.; Schleussner, C.-F.Sea-level rise is a major consequence of climate change that will continue long after emissions of greenhouse gases have stopped. The 2015 Paris Agreement aims at reducing climate-related risks by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero and limiting global-mean temperature increase. Here we quantify the effect of these constraints on global sea-level rise until 2300, including Antarctic ice-sheet instabilities. We estimate median sea-level rise between 0.7 and 1.2 m, if net-zero greenhouse gas emissions are sustained until 2300, varying with the pathway of emissions during this century. Temperature stabilization below 2 °C is insufficient to hold median sea-level rise until 2300 below 1.5 m. We find that each 5-year delay in near-term peaking of CO2 emissions increases median year 2300 sea-level rise estimates by ca. 0.2 m, and extreme sea-level rise estimates at the 95th percentile by up to 1 m. Our results underline the importance of near-term mitigation action for limiting long-term sea-level rise risks.