We consider a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the quantum Hall regime in the presence of a Zeeman field, with the Fermi level tuned to a filling factor of ν=1. We show that, in the presence of ...spin-orbit coupling, contacting the 2DEG with a narrow strip of an s-wave superconductor produces a topological superconducting gap along the contact as a result of crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) processes across the strip. The sign of the topological gap, controlled by the CAR amplitude, depends periodically on the Fermi wavelength and strip width and can be externally tuned. An interface between two halves of a long strip with topological gaps of opposite sign implements a robust π junction, hosting a pair of Majorana zero modes that do not split despite their overlap. We show that such a configuration can be exploited to perform protected non-Abelian tunnel-braid operations without any fine tuning.
Rice genotypes with pigmented caryopses have received increased attention because of their antioxidant properties. Previous works evidenced that the kernel of red rice is characterized by the ...presence of proanthocyanidins, whereas black rice is characterized by the presence of anthocyanins. In the present study, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the polyphenol content of the caryopsis were evaluated on a set of Italian rice varieties (three white, two black and five red ones). The pigmented rices, on average, had a TAC four times higher than the white ones. As expected, red-grained genotypes contained no detectable anthocyanins and one black rice contained no detectable proanthocyanidins. However, the black-grained cv. Artemide had large amounts of both proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins. This genotype was also characterized by the highest TAC and polyphenol content: its TAC was about twice the TAC of the other pigmented rices, and it had a polyphenol content 2–3 times the content found in the other pigmented rices. Pigmented genotypes are confirmed to be very interesting to breed rice for high polyphenol content and TAC. Furthermore, the possibility to select for genotypes accumulating both anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins provides a way to substantially increase the polyphenol content and TAC of the rice caryopsis.
Time-series analyses of satellite images reveal that sea ice extent in the Ross Sea has experienced significant changes over the last 40 years, likely triggered by large-scale atmospheric anomalies. ...However, resolving how sea ice in the Ross Sea has changed over longer timeframes has until now remained more elusive. Here we used a laminated sediment piston core (14.6 m) collected from the Edisto inlet (Western Ross Sea) to reconstruct fast ice dynamics over the last 2.6 ka. Our goal was to first understand the climate expression of selected well-defined sediment laminae and then use these characteristics for reconstructing past sea ice behaviour across the whole sedimentary sequence. We used the recently established sea ice diatom biomarker proxy IPSO25 in combination with diatom census counts and bulk analyses. Analyses performed on a suite of discrete laminae revealed statistically significant differences between dark and light laminae reflecting different depositional conditions. Based on their respective biogeochemical fingerprints, we infer that dark laminae accumulated during sea ice thaws in early summer. Under these conditions, laminae contain relatively high concentrations of IPSO25 and display an enriched δ13C composition for the bulk organic matter (OM). While diatom assemblages in dark laminae are relatively homogenous, as the thaw continues later in the summer, Corethron pennatum becomes the dominant diatom species, resulting in the formation of light laminae characterized by low IPSO25 concentrations. Since C. pennatum can migrate vertically through the water column to uptake nutrients and avoid competition in oligotrophic waters, its high concentration likely reflects stratified and ice-free surface waters typical of late summer.
Down-core trends show that the correlation between sediment brightness and geochemical fingerprint (i.e., IPSO25 and δ13C) holds throughout the record. Based on the knowledge gained at lamina level, our down-core high-resolution reconstruction shows that the summer fast ice coverage changed dramatically during the late Holocene. Specifically, we conclude that the Edisto inlet experienced regular early summer opening between 2.6 ka, and ca. 0.7 ka, after which, coastal fast ice persisted during summer months and ice-free conditions became less frequent. Comparison with previous regional ice core data suggests that the sudden cooling recorded over the Victoria Land Coast region since 0.7 ka might potentially explain our observation of persistent summer fast ice in the Western Ross Sea. Our study has shown that multi-proxy data derived from laminated sediments can provide hitherto unknown detail regarding past summer sea ice dynamics in coastal Antarctic regions.
•Dark and light sediment laminae exhibit different chemical and ecological features.•Dark and light sediment laminae reflect different fast ice coverage during summer.•Enriched δ13C and high IPSO25 (dark laminae) track early thawing of fast ice.•High concentration of C. pennatum (light laminae) identifies protracted ice-free conditions.•Summer ice-free conditions became less frequent since 0.7 ka BP along the north-western Ross Sea.
Motivated by a recent experiment (Sanchez-Yamagishi et al 2016 Nat. Nanotechnol. 214) reporting evidence of helical spin-polarized edge states in layer-biased twisted bilayer graphene under a ...magnetic flux, we study the possibility of stabilising a quantum spin Hall (QSH) phase in such a system, without Zeeman or spin-orbit couplings, and with a QSH gap induced instead by electronic interactions. We analyse how magnetic flux, electric field, interlayer rotation angle, and interactions (treated at a mean field level) combine to produce a pseudo-QSH with broken time-reversal symmetry, and spin-polarized helical edge states. The effect is a consequence of a robust interaction-induced ferrimagnetic ordering of the quantum Hall ground state under an interlayer bias, provided the two rotated layers are effectively decoupled at low energies. We discuss in detail the electronic structure and the constraints on system parameters, such as the angle, interactions and magnetic flux, required to reach the pseudo-QSH phase. We find, in particular, that purely local electronic interactions are not sufficient to account for the experimental observations, which demand at least nearest-neighbour interactions to be included.
We study a graphene Hall probe located on top of a magnetic surface as a detector of skyrmions, using as a working principle the anomalous Hall effect produced by the exchange interaction of the ...graphene electrons with the noncoplanar magnetization of the skyrmion. We study the magnitude of the effect as a function of the exchange interaction, skyrmion size, and device dimensions. Our calculations for multiterminal graphene nanodevices, working in the ballistic regime, indicate that for realistic exchange interactions a single skyrmion would give Hall voltages well within reach of the experimental state of the art. The proposed device could act as an electrical transducer that marks the presence of a single skyrmion in a nanoscale region, paving the way towards the integration of skyrmion-based spintronics and graphene electronics.
Barley grains contain a relevant amount of soluble fibre (i.e. β-glucans) and can be used for production of foods with healthy functions. To produce barley flours enriched in β-glucans, grain ...micronization and air classification of the flour was used, and a method to predict the relationship between the yield of the enriched flour and its β-glucan content was developed. This method is based on a series of sortings of micronized flour, with a progressive increase in the yield of a selected fraction; a curve for β-glucan enrichment vs. yield can then be calculated. Thus, the most suitable combination of yield and β-glucan content can be chosen. We tested this approach on two hull-less barleys with different starch type, and obtained barley flour fractions with twice the β-glucan concentration that the grain had. Enriched flour fractions with 11.2 and 15.6% β-glucans were obtained from cultivars Priora (hull-less) and CDC Alamo (waxy, hull-less), respectively, with a good flour yield (about 30%). We suggest that our method can be adopted for finely tuning the enrichment process to meet the industry's needs.
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(LXO / STO) interfaces are known to host a strongly inhomogeneous (nearly) two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). In this work, we present three unconventional ...electronic mechanisms of electronic phase separation (EPS) in a 2DEG as a possible source of inhomogeneity in oxide interfaces. Common to all three mechanisms is the dependence of some (interaction) potential on the 2DEGs density. We first consider a mechanism resulting from a sizable density-dependent Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Next, we point out that an EPS may also occur in the case of a density-dependent superconducting pairing interaction. Finally, we show that the confinement of the 2DEG to the interface by a density-dependent, self-consistent electrostatic potential can by itself cause an EPS.
The NUMEN project proposes to study heavy-ion induced Double Charge Exchange (DCE) reactions with the final goal to get information on the nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) ...decay. The knowledge of the nuclear matrix elements is crucial to infer the neutrino average masses from the possible measurement of the half-life of 0νββ decay. DCE reactions and 0νββ decay present some similarities, the initial and final-state wave functions are the same and the transition operators are similar. The experimental measurements of DCE reactions induced by heavy ions present a number of challenging aspects, since they are characterized by very low cross sections.
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