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At least 325 records · Page 18

Modeling stimulated Brillouin backscatter from outer-cone quads across multiple inertial confinement fusion hohlraum designs

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is a potential risk for laser damage in the experiments carried out at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and by altering the energy deposition pattern in hohlraums, it affects the symmetry of indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions. We have surveyed backward SBS on outer-cone quads across NIF integrated hohlraums of various platforms numerically, using three-dimensional (3D) simulations with the backscatter code pF3D [Berger et al. Phys. Plasmas 5, 4337 (1998)] and ray-based gain calculations. Simulated reflected powers and energies, as well as the spectrum of reflected light all compare favorably with measurements. Ray-based calculations of exponential SBS amplification (“gain”), which assume a strongly damped plasma wave and steady-state response, are performed using a novel method that includes the 3D speckled field of the laser that drives SBS. This approach is useful for understanding qualitative differences between hohlraum designs and identifying regions susceptible to SBS within hohlraums. Quantitatively, gains are not found to correlate with SBS reflectivities in 3D, necessitating fully wave-based calculations that naturally include diffraction and various temporal dependencies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Direct evidence of the effect of a moderate external magnetic field on stimulated Raman scattering in the kinetic regime

We present results from an experiment carried out at the OMEGA-EP laser facility that investigated the effect of a perpendicular magnetic field on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and report the first direct measurement of magnetic mitigation of SRS. A 13-T magnetic field generated by pulsed-power coils was imposed on a gas jet plasma, and a novel three-picket interaction beam was used to explore SRS reflectivity for several plasma conditions within single shots. The time-resolved backscattered light shows that SRS was mitigated by the external 13-T magnetic field in the kinetic regime (kλ D ∼ 0.3, where k is the electron plasma wave's wavenumber and λ D is electron Debye length) and at a density of n e /n cr ∼ 0.10. On the other hand, we also measured an enhancement of SRS reflectivity at lower density (n e /n cr < 0.08). We discuss experimental results in the context of magnetohydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations that scan SRS dynamics for a variety of plasma conditions. While the experimental evidence of SRS mitigation validates prior work on the kinetic simulation of SRS in an external magnetic field, we also find that other mechanisms such as SRS rescatter can lead to an enhancement of measured SRS reflectivity in simulations of parameters relevant to our experiment.

Gas jet↗

Multifrequency stimulated Raman scattering of light in a calcite single crystal

Using pulses of multifrequency stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in calcite, nonlinear photoluminescence in a stilbene molecular crystal is excited. When multifrequency SRS is excited by the radiation of a Nd{sup 3+} : YAG laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm, eleven anti-Stokes components are observed in the visible spectrum with an average frequency shift of 1086 cm{sup −1} between them. Using the second harmonic of the Nd {sup 3+} : YAG laser radiation allowed three anti-Stokes and four Stokes components to be recorded. The large spectral range of the frequency comb facilitated effective reduction in the duration and increase in the intensity of the radiation pulse of multifrequency SRS. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Decay of a laser beam under stimulated temperature scattering in toluene as a result of two-photon pump absorption and nonsteady-state laser pulse interaction with matter

The decay of the pump-beam spatial structure under conditions of stimulated temperature scattering of a pulsed laser beam in toluene as a result of two-photon absorption of pump radiation and time-dependent interaction of a laser pulse with a medium is considered. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Stimulation of soil respiration by elevated CO 2 is enhanced under nitrogen limitation in a decade-long grassland study

Whether and how CO 2 and nitrogen (N) availability interact to influence carbon (C) cycling processes such as soil respiration remains a question of considerable uncertainty in projecting future C–climate feedbacks, which are strongly influenced by multiple global change drivers, including elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (eCO 2 ) and increased N deposition. However, because decades of research on the responses of ecosystems to eCO 2 and N enrichment have been done largely independently, their interactive effects on soil respiratory CO 2 efflux remain unresolved. Here, we show that in a multifactor free-air CO 2 enrichment experiment, BioCON (Biodiversity, CO 2 , and N deposition) in Minnesota, the positive response of soil respiration to eCO 2 gradually strengthened at ambient (low) N supply but not enriched (high) N supply for the 12-y experimental period from 1998 to 2009. In contrast to earlier years, eCO 2 stimulated soil respiration twice as much at low than at high N supply from 2006 to 2009. In parallel, microbial C degradation genes were significantly boosted by eCO 2 at low but not high N supply. Further, incorporating those functional genes into a coupled C–N ecosystem model reduced model parameter uncertainty and improved the projections of the effects of different CO 2 and N levels on soil respiration. If our observed results generalize to other ecosystems, they imply widely positive effects of eCO 2 on soil respiration even in infertile systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A robust plasma-based laser amplifier via stimulated Brillouin scattering

Brillouin amplification in plasma is more resilient to fluctuations in the laser and plasma parameters than Raman amplification, making it an attractive alternative to Raman amplification. In this work, we focus on high plasma densities, n 0 > n cr /4, where stimulated Raman scattering is not possible and laser beam filamentation is the dominant competing process. Through analytic theory and multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we identify a parameter regime for which Brillouin amplification can be efficient while maintaining filamentation of the probe at a controlled level. We demonstrate pump-to-probe compression ratios of up to 72 and peak amplified probe fluences over 1 kJ cm -2 with ≃50% efficiency. High pulse quality is maintained through control of parasitic filamentation, enabling operation at large beam diameters. Provided the pump and probe pulse diameters can be increased to 1 mm, our results suggest that Brillouin amplification can be used to produce sub-picosecond pulses of petawatt power.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Laminarin stimulates single cell rates of sulfate reduction whereas oxygen inhibits transcriptomic activity in coastal marine sediment

Abstract The chemical cycles carried out by bacteria and archaea living in coastal sediments are vital aspects of benthic ecology. These ecosystems are subject to physical disruption, which may allow for increased respiration and complex carbon consumption—impacting chemical cycling in this environment often thought to be a terminal place of deposition. We use the redox-enzyme sensitive probe RedoxSensor Green to measure rates of electron transfer physiology in individual sulfate reducer cells residing in anoxic sediment, subjected to transient exposure of oxygen and laminarin. We use index fluorescence activated cell sorting and single cell genomics sequencing to link those measurements to genomes of respiring cells. We measure per-cell sulfate reduction rates in marine sediments (0.01–4.7 fmol SO42− cell−1 h−1) and determine that cells within the Chloroflexota phylum are the most active in respiration. Chloroflexota respiration activity is also stimulated with the addition of laminarin, even in marine sediments already rich in organic matter. Evaluating metatranscriptomic data alongside this respiration-based technique, Chloroflexota genomes encode laminarinases indicating a likely ability to degrade laminarin. We also provide evidence that abundant Patescibacteria cells do not use electron transport pathways for energy, and instead likely carry out fermentation of polysaccharides. There is a decoupling of respiration-related activity rates from transcription, as respiration rates increase while transcription decreases with oxygen exposure. Overall, we reveal an active community of respiring Chloroflexota that cycles sulfate at potential rates of 23–40 nmol h−1 per cm3 sediment in incubation settings, and non-respiratory Patescibacteria that can cycle complex polysaccharides.

Lindsay, Melody R.↗

Novobiocin blocks nucleic acid binding to Polθ and inhibits stimulation of its ATPase activity

Polymerase theta (Polθ) acts in DNA replication and repair, and its inhibition is synthetic lethal in BRCA1 and BRCA2-deficient tumor cells. Novobiocin (NVB) is a first-in-class inhibitor of the Polθ ATPase activity, and it is currently being tested in clinical trials as an anti-cancer drug. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism of NVB-mediated Polθ inhibition. Using hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HX-MS), biophysical, biochemical, computational and cellular assays, we found NVB is a non-competitive inhibitor of ATP hydrolysis. NVB sugar group deletion resulted in decreased potency and reduced HX-MS interactions, supporting a specific NVB binding orientation. Collective results revealed that NVB binds to an allosteric site to block DNA binding, both in vitro and in cells. Comparisons of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tumors and matched controls implied that POLQ upregulation in tumors stems from its role in replication stress responses to increased cell proliferation: this can now be tested in fifteen tumor types by NVB blocking ssDNA-stimulation of ATPase activity, required for Polθ function at replication forks and DNA damage sites. Structural and functional insights provided in this study suggest a path for developing NVB derivatives with improved potency for Polθ inhibition by targeting ssDNA binding with entropically constrained small molecules.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Multibeam absolute stimulated Raman scattering and two-plasmon decay

Multibeam absolute instability thresholds for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and two-plasmon decay (TPD) are calculated in three dimensions for conditions relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments on the OMEGA laser and at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Although multibeam effects are found to be significant for both instabilities, SRS is found to have less efficient multibeam coupling than TPD. The results are consistent with the observation of a TPD-dominated regime on the OMEGA laser and a SRS-dominated regime on the NIF despite the single-beam SRS threshold being lower than the single-beam TPD threshold on both facilities. The minimum instability threshold for NIF plasma parameters occurs for SRS near quarter-critical densities with a shared electromagnetic wave propagating along the beam axis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Electron acceleration at oblique angles via stimulated Raman scattering at laser irradiance >10 16 W cm –2 μm 2

The generation of hot, directional electrons via laser-driven stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a topic of great importance in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) schemes. Little recent research has been dedicated to this process at high laser intensity, in which back, side, and forward scatter simultaneously occur in high energy density plasmas, of relevance to, for example, shock ignition ICF. In this paper, we present an experimental and particle-in-cell (PIC) investigation of hot electron production from SRS in the forward and near-forward directions from a single speckle laser of wavelength λ 0 = 1.053μm, peak laser intensities in the range I 0 = 0.2–1.0×10 17 Wcm –2 and target electron densities between ne = 0.3–1.6% n c , where n c is the plasma critical density. As the intensity and density are increased, the hot electron spectrum changes from a sharp cutoff to an extended spectrum with a slope temperature T = 34 ± 1 keV and maximum measured energy of 350 keV experimentally. Multidimensional PIC simulations indicate that the high energy electrons are primarily generated from SRS-driven electron plasma wave phase fronts with k vectors angled ~50° with respect to the laser axis. These results are consistent with analytical arguments that the spatial gain is maximized at an angle which balances the tendency for the growth rate to be larger for larger scattered light wave angles until the kinetic damping of the plasma wave becomes important. The efficiency of generated high energy electrons drops significantly with a reduction in either laser intensity or target electron density, which is a result of the rapid drop in growth rate of Raman scattering at angles in the forward direction.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electronic Population Transfer via Impulsive Stimulated X-Ray Raman Scattering with Attosecond Soft-X-Ray Pulses

Free electron lasers provide a source of X-ray pulses short enough and intense enough to drive nonlinearities in molecular systems. Impulsive interactions driven by these X-ray pulses provide a way to create and probe valence electron motions with high temporal and spatial resolution. Observing these electronic motions is crucial to understand the role of electronic coherence in chemical processes. A simple nonlinear technique for probing electronic motion, impulsive stimulated X-ray Raman scattering (ISXRS), involves a single impulsive interaction to produce a coherent superposition of electronic states. In this work, we demonstrate electronic population transfer via ISXRS using broad bandwidth (5.5 eV full width at half maximum) attosecond X-ray pulses produced by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The impulsive excitation is resonantly enhanced by the oxygen 1s &rarr; 2π* resonance of nitric oxide (NO), and excited state neutral molecules are probed with a time-delayed UV laser pulse.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Gradient Field Detection Using Interference of Stimulated Microwave Optical Sidebands

Here, we demonstrate that stimulated microwave optical sideband generation using parametric frequency conversion can be utilized as a powerful technique for coherent state detection in atomic physics experiments. The technique has advantages over traditional absorption or polarization rotation-based measurements and enables the isolation of signal photons from probe photons. We outline a theoretical framework that accurately models sideband generation using a density matrix formalism. Using this technique, we demonstrate a novel intrinsic magnetic gradiometer that detects magnetic gradient fields between two spatially separated vapor cells by measuring the frequency of the beat note between sidebands generated within each cell. The sidebands are produced with high efficiency using parametric frequency conversion of a probe beam interacting with 87 Rb atoms in a coherent superposition of magnetically sensitive hyperfine ground states. Interference between the sidebands generates a low-frequency beat note whose frequency is determined by the magnetic field gradient between the two vapor cells. In contrast to traditional gradiometers the intermediate step of measuring the magnetic field experienced by the two vapor cells is unnecessary. We show that this technique can be readily implemented in a practical device by demonstrating a compact magnetic gradiometer sensor head with a sensitivity of 25 fT/cm/ √ Hz with a 4.4 cm baseline, while operating in a noisy laboratory environment unshielded from Earth’s field.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Stimulated Emission of Signal Photons from Dark Matter Waves

The manipulation of quantum states of light has resulted in significant advancements in both dark matter searches and gravitational wave detectors. Current dark matter searches operating in the microwave frequency range use nearly quantum-limited amplifiers. Future high frequency searches will use photon counting techniques to evade the standard quantum limit. We present a signal enhancement technique that utilizes a superconducting qubit to prepare a superconducting microwave cavity in a nonclassical Fock state and stimulate the emission of a photon from a dark matter wave. By initializing the cavity in an | n = 4 ⟩ Fock state, we demonstrate a quantum enhancement technique that increases the signal photon rate and hence also the dark matter scan rate each by a factor of 2.78. Using this technique, we conduct a dark photon search in a band around 5.965 GHz ( 24.67 μ eV ), where the kinetic mixing angle ε ≥ 4.35 × 10 − 13 is excluded at the 90% confidence level. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Stimulation of isoprene emissions and electron transport rates are a key mechanism of thermal tolerance in the tropical species Vismia guianensis

Tropical forests absorb large amounts of atmospheric CO 2 through photosynthesis, but high surface temperatures suppress this absorption while promoting isoprene emissions. While mechanistic isoprene emission models predict a tight coupling to photosynthetic electron transport (ETR) as a function of temperature, direct field observations of these phenomenon are lacking in the tropics and are necessary to assess the impact of a warming climate on global isoprene emissions. In this paper, we demonstrate that in the early successional species Vismia guianensis in the central Amazon, ETR rates increased with temperature in concert with isoprene emissions, even as stomatal conductance ($g _s$) and net photosynthetic carbon fixation ($P_n$) declined. We observed the highest temperatures of continually increasing isoprene emissions yet reported (50°C). While $P_n$ showed an optimum value of 32.6 ± 0.4°C, isoprene emissions, ETR, and the oxidation state of PSII reaction centers (q L ) increased with leaf temperature with strong linear correlations for ETR (ρ = 0.98) and q L (ρ= 0.99) with leaf isoprene emissions. In contrast, other photoprotective mechanisms, such as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), were not activated at elevated temperatures. Inhibition of isoprenoid biosynthesis repressed $P_n$ at high temperatures through a mechanism that was independent of stomatal closure. While extreme warming will decrease $g_s$ and $P_n$ in tropical species, our observations support a thermal tolerance mechanism where the maintenance of high photosynthetic capacity under extreme warming is assisted by the simultaneous stimulation of ETR and metabolic pathways that consume the direct products of ETR including photorespiration and the biosynthesis of thermoprotective isoprenoids. Our results confirm that models which link isoprene emissions to the rate of ETR hold true in tropical species and provide necessary "ground-truthing" for simulations of the large predicted increases in tropical isoprene emissions with climate warming.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Purple acid phosphatase2 stimulates a futile cycle of lipid synthesis and degradation, and mitigates the negative growth effects of triacylglycerol accumulation in vegetative tissues

Storage lipids (mostly triacylglycerols, TAGs) serve as an important energy and carbon reserve in plants and hyperaccumulation of TAG in vegetative tissues can cause negative effects on plant growth. Purple acid phosphatase2 (PAP2) was shown previously to affect carbon metabolism and boost plant growth. However, the effects of PAP2 on lipid metabolism remain unknown. Here, we demonstrated PAP2 as a factor that can stimulate a futile cycle of fatty acid (FA) synthesis and degradation and mitigate negative growth effects associated with TAG accumulation in vegetative tissues. Constitutive expression of PAP2 in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced both lipid synthesis and degradation in leaves and led to substantial increase in seed oil yield. Suppressing lipid degradation in a PAP2-overexpressing line by disrupting sugar-dependent1 (SDP1), a predominant TAG lipase, significantly elevated vegetative TAG content and improved plant growth. Diverting FAs from membrane lipids to TAGs in PAP2-overexpressing plants by constitutively expressing phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase1 (PDAT1) increased TAG contents to up to 6% of dry weight in vegetative tissues without compromising biomass yield. Overall, these results highlight the potential of combining PAP2 with TAG-promoting factors to enhance carbon assimilation, FA synthesis and allocation to TAGs for optimized plant growth and storage lipid accumulation in vegetative tissues.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The surface stress of biomedical silicones is a stimulant of cellular response

Silicones are commonly used for lubrication of syringes, encapsulation of medical devices, and fabrication of surgical implants. While silicones are generally viewed as relatively inert to the cellular milieu, they can mediate a variety of inflammatory responses and other deleterious effects, but the mechanisms underlying the bioactivity of silicones remain unresolved. Here, we report that silicone liquids and gels have high surface stresses that can strongly resist deformation at cellular length scales. Biomedical silicones, including syringe lubricants and fillings from FDA-approved breast implants, readily adsorb matrix proteins and activate canonical rigidity sensing pathways through their surface stresses. In 3D culture models, liquid silicone droplets support robust cellular adhesion and the formation of multinucleated monocyte-derived cell masses that recapitulate phenotypic aspects of granuloma formation in the foreign body response. Together, our findings implicate surface stress as a cellular stimulant that should be considered in application of silicones for biomedical purposes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Attosecond impulsive stimulated X-ray Raman scattering in liquid water

We report the measurement of impulsive stimulated x-ray Raman scattering in neutral liquid water. An attosecond pulse drives the excitations of an electronic wavepacket in water molecules. The process comprises two steps: a transition to core-excited states near the oxygen atoms accompanied by transition to valence-excited states. Thus, the wavepacket is impulsively created at a specific atomic site within a few hundred attoseconds through a nonlinear interaction between the water and the x-ray pulse. We observe this nonlinear signature in an intensity-dependent Stokes Raman sideband at 526 eV. Our measurements are supported by our state-of-the-art calculations based on the polarization response of water dimers in bulk solvation and propagation of attosecond x-ray pulses at liquid density.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗