Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p>Quantum information can be stored in micromechanical resonators, encoded as quanta of vibration known as phonons. The vibrational motion is then restricted to the stationary eigenmodes of the resonator, which thus serves as local storage for phonons. In contrast, we couple propagating phonons to an artificial atom in the quantum regime and reproduce findings from quantum optics, with sound taking over the role of light. Our results highlight the similarities between phonons and photons but also point to new opportunities arising from the characteristic features of quantum mechanical sound. The low propagation speed of phonons should enable new dynamic schemes for processing quantum information, and the short wavelength allows regimes of atomic physics to be explored that cannot be reached in photonic systems.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The orbits of giant extrasolar planets often have surprisingly small semimajor axes, large eccentricities, or severe misalignments between their orbit normals and their host stars' spin axes. In some formation scenarios invoking Kozai-Lidov oscillations, an external planetary companion drives a planet onto an orbit having these properties. The mutual inclinations for Kozai-Lidov oscillations can be large and have not been confirmed observationally. Here we present evidence that observed eccentric warm Jupiters with eccentric giant companions have mutual inclinations that oscillate between 35° and 65°. Our inference is based on the pairs’ observed apsidal separations, which cluster near 90°. The near-orthogonality of periapse directions is effected by the outer companion's quadrupolar and octupolar potentials. These systems may be undergoing a stalled version of tidal migration that produces warm Jupiters over hot Jupiters, and they provide evidence for a population of multiplanet systems that are not flat and have been sculpted by Kozai-Lidov oscillations.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Identifying the population of galaxies that was responsible for the reionization of the universe is a long-standing quest in astronomy. We present a possible local analog that has an escape fraction of ionizing flux of 21%. Our detection confirms the existence of gaps in the neutral gas enveloping the starburst region. The candidate contains a massive yet highly compact star-forming region. The gaps are most likely created by the unusually strong winds and intense ionizing radiation produced by this extreme object. Our study also validates the indirect technique of using the residual flux in saturated low-ionization interstellar absorption lines for identifying such leaky galaxies. Because direct detection of ionizing flux is impossible at the epoch of reionization, this represents a highly valuable technique for future studies.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Cycloaddition is an essential tool in chemical synthesis. Instead of using light or heat as a driving force, marine sponges promote cycloaddition with a more versatile but poorly understood mechanism in producing pyrrole–imidazole alkaloids sceptrin, massadine, and ageliferin. Through de novo synthesis of sceptrin and massadine, we show that sponges may use single-electron oxidation as a central mechanism to promote three different types of cycloaddition. Additionally, we provide surprising evidence that, in contrast to previous reports, sceptrin, massadine, and ageliferin have mismatched chirality. Therefore, massadine cannot be an oxidative rearrangement product of sceptrin or ageliferin, as is commonly believed. Taken together, our results demonstrate unconventional chemical approaches to achieving cycloaddition reactions in synthesis and uncover enantiodivergence as a new biosynthetic paradigm for natural products.</jats:p>

<jats:p> Limbless organisms such as snakes can navigate nearly all terrain. In particular, desert-dwelling sidewinder rattlesnakes ( <jats:italic>Crotalus cerastes</jats:italic> ) operate effectively on inclined granular media (such as sand dunes) that induce failure in field-tested limbless robots through slipping and pitching. Our laboratory experiments reveal that as granular incline angle increases, sidewinder rattlesnakes increase the length of their body in contact with the sand. Implementing this strategy in a physical robot model of the snake enables the device to ascend sandy slopes close to the angle of maximum slope stability. Plate drag experiments demonstrate that granular yield stresses decrease with increasing incline angle. Together, these three approaches demonstrate how sidewinding with contact-length control mitigates failure on granular media. </jats:p>

<jats:p>Longer lives and fertility far below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman are leading to rapid population aging in many countries. Many observers are concerned that aging will adversely affect public finances and standards of living. Analysis of newly available National Transfer Accounts data for 40 countries shows that fertility well above replacement would typically be most beneficial for government budgets. However, fertility near replacement would be most beneficial for standards of living when the analysis includes the effects of age structure on families as well as governments. And fertility below replacement would maximize per capita consumption when the cost of providing capital for a growing labor force is taken into account. Although low fertility will indeed challenge government programs and very low fertility undermines living standards, we find that moderately low fertility and population decline favor the broader material standard of living.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The United Nations (UN) recently released population projections based on data until 2012 and a Bayesian probabilistic methodology. Analysis of these data reveals that, contrary to previous literature, the world population is unlikely to stop growing this century. There is an 80% probability that world population, now 7.2 billion people, will increase to between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion in 2100. This uncertainty is much smaller than the range from the traditional UN high and low variants. Much of the increase is expected to happen in Africa, in part due to higher fertility rates and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline. Also, the ratio of working-age people to older people is likely to decline substantially in all countries, even those that currently have young populations.</jats:p>