We predict that pairs of polar molecules can be weakly bound together in an ultracold environment, provided that a dc electric field is present. The field that links the molecules together also strongly influences the basic properties of the resulting dimer, such as its binding energy and predissociation lifetime. Because of their long-range character, these dimers will be useful in disentangling cold collision dynamics of polar molecules. As an example, we estimate the microwave photoassociation yield for OH-OH cold collisions.

We present x-ray absorption and emission experiments and calculations showing that the size of carbon diamond must be reduced to at least 2 nm, in order to observe an increase of its optical gap, at variance with Si and Ge where quantum confinement effects persist up to 6–7 nm. In addition, our calculations show that the surface of nanodiamond particles larger than reconstructs in a fullerenelike manner, giving rise to a new family of carbon clusters: bucky diamonds. Signatures of these surface reconstructions are compatible with pre-edge features observed in measured absorption spectra.

The kinetic potential of nucleation theory is used to describe droplet growth processes in a cloud. Drizzle formation is identified as a statistical barrier-crossing phenomenon that transforms cloud droplets to drizzle size with a rate dependent on turbulent diffusion, droplet collection, and size distribution. Steady-state and transient drizzle rates are calculated for typical cloud conditions. We find drizzle more likely under transient conditions. The model quantifies an important indirect effect of aerosols on climate-drizzle suppression in clouds of higher droplet concentration.

We demonstrate a quasiballistic switching of the magnetization in a microscopic magnetoresistive memory cell. By means of time resolved magnetotransport, we follow the large angle precession of the free layer magnetization of a spin valve cell upon application of transverse magnetic field pulses. Stopping the field pulse after a $180°$ precession rotation leads to magnetization reversal with reversal times as short as 165 ps. This switching mode represents the fundamental ultrafast limit of field induced magnetization reversal.

We evidence multiple coherent precessional magnetization reversal in microscopic spin valves. Stable, reversible, and highly efficient magnetization switching is triggered by transverse field pulses as short as 140 ps with energies down to 15 pJ. At high fields a phase coherent reversal is found revealing periodic transitions from switching to nonswitching under variation of pulse parameters. At the low field limit the existence of a relaxation dominated regime is established allowing switching by pulse amplitudes below the quasistatic switching threshold.

We present a model for the activities of neural circuits in a nucleus found in the brains of songbirds: the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA). This is a fore brain song control nucleus responsible for the phasic and precise neural signals driving vocal and respiratory motor neurons during singing. Driving a physical model of the avian vocal organ with the signals generated by the neural model, we produce synthetic songs. This allows us to show that certain connectivity architectures in the RA give rise to a wide range of different vocalizations under simple excitatory instructions.

Transverse NMR relaxation in a macroscopic sample is shown to be extremely sensitive to the structure of mesoscopic magnetic susceptibility variations. Such a sensitivity is proposed as a novel kind of contrast in the NMR measurements. For suspensions of arbitrary-shaped paramagnetic objects, the transverse relaxation is found in the case of a small dephasing effect of an individual object. Strong relaxation rate dependence on the objects’ shape agrees with experiments on whole blood. Demonstrated structure sensitivity is a generic effect that arises in NMR relaxation in porous media, biological systems, as well as in kinetics of diffusion limited reactions.

We address the adsorption of water on Pt(111) using x-ray absorption, x-ray emission, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy along with calculations in the framework of density functional theory. Using the direct relationship between the electronic structure and adsorbate geometry, we show that in the first layer all the molecules bind directly to the surface and to each other through the in-layer H bonds without dissociation, creating a nearly flat overlayer. The water molecules are adsorbed through alternating metal-oxygen ($M$-O) and metal-hydrogen ($M$-HO) bonds.

We study the properties of quantum entanglement in moving frames, and show that, because spin and momentum become mixed when viewed by a moving observer, the entanglement between the spins of a pair of particles is not invariant. We give an example of a pair, fully spin entangled in the rest frame, which has its spin entanglement reduced in all other frames. Similarly, we show that there are pairs whose spin entanglement increases from zero to maximal entanglement when boosted. While spin and momentum entanglement separately are not Lorentz invariant, the joint entanglement of the wave function is.

Dynamical horizons are considered in full, nonlinear general relativity. Expressions of fluxes of energy and angular momentum carried by gravitational waves across these horizons are obtained. Fluxes are local, the energy flux is positive, and change in the horizon area is related to these fluxes. The flux formulas also give rise to balance laws analogous to the ones obtained by Bondi and Sachs at null infinity and provide generalizations of the first and second laws of black-hole mechanics.

A new experiment can create small scale barchan dunes under water: some sand is put on a tray moving periodically and asymmetrically in a water tank, and barchans rapidly form. We measure basic morphological and dynamical properties of these dunes and compare them to field data. These favorable results demonstrate experimentally the relevance of the so-called “saturation length” for the control of the dunes physics.

Composite materials are ideally suited to achieve multifunctionality since the best features of different materials can be combined to form a new material that has a broad spectrum of desired properties. Nature’s ultimate multifunctional composites are biological materials. There are presently no simple examples that rigorously demonstrate the effect of competing property demands on composite microstructures. To illustrate the fascinating types of microstructures that can arise in multifunctional optimization, we maximize the simultaneous transport of heat and electricity in three-dimensional, two-phase composites using rigorous optimization techniques. Interestingly, we discover that the optimal three-dimensional structures are bicontinuous triply periodic minimal surfaces.

There is controversy as to whether a one-dimensional (1D) electron gas can spin polarize in the absence of a magnetic field. Together with a simple model, we present conductance measurements on ultra-low-disorder quantum wires supportive of a spin polarization at $B=0$. A spin energy gap is indicated by the presence of a feature in the range $(0.5–0.7)\times 2e^2/h$ in conductance data. Importantly, it appears that the spin gap is not constant but a function of the electron density. Data obtained using a bias spectroscopy technique are consistent with the spin gap widening further as the Fermi level is increased.

We have fabricated electron Y-branch switches (YBS) on modulation doped $\mathrm{G}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{A}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{G}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{s}$ heterostructures. The Y branch consists of a one-dimensional source, which is split along the branching section into two one-dimensional drains. In addition to source drain voltages, external electric fields can be applied via gates along the branches.In the nonlinear transport regime sweeps of the side-gate voltages lead to a voltage difference between the drain reservoirs with gain. This switching gain increases superlinearly with the bias voltage applied between the source and the drains of the YBS. We explain the bias voltage enhanced switching by a capacitive coupling of the branches.

In this paper we present the first results on emission in metamaterial. We show how the specific properties of metallic composite material can modify the emission of an embedded source. We show that under proper conditions the energy radiated by a source embedded in a slab of metamaterial will be concentrated in a narrow cone in the surrounding media. An experimental demonstration of this effect is given in the microwave domain, and the constructed antenna has a directivity equivalent to the best reported results with photonic-crystal-based antennas but using a completely different physical principle [B. Temelkuaran et al., J. Appl. Phys. 87, 603 (2000)].

We propose that cold dark matter is made of Kaluza-Klein particles and explore avenues for its detection. The lightest Kaluza-Klein state is an excellent dark matter candidate if standard model particles propagate in extra dimensions and Kaluza-Klein parity is conserved. We consider Kaluza-Klein gauge bosons. In sharp contrast to the case of supersymmetric dark matter, these annihilate to hard positrons, neutrinos, and photons with unsuppressed rates. Direct detection signals are also promising. These conclusions are generic to bosonic dark matter candidates.

We report the observation of depression solitary surface waves on a layer of mercury when its depth is thin enough compared to the capillary length. These waves, as well as the well known elevation solitary waves, are studied with a new measurement technique using inductive sensors. The shape of the solitary waves, their amplitude-dependent velocity, and their damping rates by viscosity are found in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

We present a synthetic nanodevice, which transports potassium ions against their concentration gradient if stimulated with external field fluctuations. It consists of a single, conical pore, created in a thin polyethylene terephthalate film. The pumping mechanism is similar to one of longitudinally oscillating deterministic ratchets.

We first define a series of $NN$ interaction models ranging from very simple to fully realistic. We then present Green’s function Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei to show how nuclear spectra evolve as the nuclear forces are made increasingly sophisticated. We find that the absence of stable five- and eight-body nuclei depends crucially on the spin, isospin, and tensor components of the nuclear force.

Using a combination of laboratory experiments and computer simulation we show that microwaves reflected from and transmitted through soil have a fractal dimension correlated to that of the soil’s hierarchic permittivity network. The mathematical model relating the ground-penetrating radar record to the mass fractal dimension of soil structure is also developed. The fractal signature of the scattered microwaves correlates well with some physical and mechanical properties of soils.