Multipole resonance and Vernier effect in compact and flexible plasmonic structures

Spoof surface plasmons in corrugated metal surfaces allow tight field confinement and guiding even at low frequencies and are promising for compact microwave photonic devices. Here, we use metal-ink printing on flexible substrates to construct compact spoof plasmon resonators. We clearly observe multipole resonances in the microwave frequencies and demonstrate that they are still maintained even under significant bending. Moreover, by combining two resonators of slightly different sizes, we demonstrate spectral filtering via the Vernier effect. We selectively address a target higher-order resonance while suppressing the other modes. Finally, we investigate the index-sensing capability of printed plasmonic resonators. In the Vernier structure, we can control the resonance amplitude and frequency by adjusting a resonance overlap between two coupled resonators. The transmission amplitude can be maximized at a target refractive index, and this can provide more functionalities and increased design flexibility. The metal-ink printing of microwave photonic structures can be applied to various flexible devices. Therefore, we expect that the compact, flexible plasmonic structures demonstrated in this study may be useful for highly functional elements that can enable tight field confinement and manipulation.

Avalanche transport of energetic-ions in magnetic confinement plasmas: Nonlinear multiple wave-number simulation

Large burst activity, identified as toroidal Alfv\'{e}n eigenmode (TAE) avalanche, occurs frequently in neutral-beam heated plasmas in National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Based on the typical experimental observation of TAE avalanche on NSTX, a self-consistent nonlinear multiple wave-number ($k_{\parallel}\simeq n/R$, where $n$ toroidal mode-number and $R$ major radius) simulation associated with TAE avalanches is performed using the experimental parameters and profiles before the occurrence of TAE avalanche as the M3D-K input. The wave-wave nonlinear coupling among different modes and the resonant interaction between different modes and energetic-ions during TAE avalanches are identified in the nonlinear multiple wave-number simulations. The resonance overlap during the TAE avalanche is clearly observed in the simulation. It is found that the effective wave-wave coupling and a sufficiently strong drive are two important ingredients for the onset of TAE avalanches. TAE avalanche is considered to be a strongly nonlinear process and it is always accompanied by the simultaneous rapid frequency-chirping and large amplitude bursting of multiple modes and significant energetic-ion losses. The experimental phenomenon is observed on NSTX and is qualitatively reproduced by the simulation results in this work. These findings indicate that the onset of avalanche is triggered by nonlinearity of the system, and are also conducive to understanding the underlying mechanism of avalanche transport of energetic particles in the future burning plasmas, such as ITER.

Chain-Selective Isotopic Labeling of the Heterodimeric Type III Secretion Chaperone, Scc4:Scc1, Reveals the Total Structural Rearrangement of the Chlamydia trachomatis Bi-Functional Protein, Scc4

Scc4 is an unusual bi-functional protein from Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) that functions as a type III secretion system (T3SS) chaperone and an RNA polymerase (RNAP)-binding protein. Both functions require interactions with protein partners during specific stages of the CT developmental cycle. As a T3SS chaperone, Scc4 binds Scc1 during the late stage of development to form a heterodimer complex, which chaperones the essential virulence effector, CopN. During the early-middle stage of development, Scc4 regulates T3SS gene expression by binding the σ66-containing RNAP holoenzyme. In order to study the structure and association mechanism of the Scc4:Scc1 T3SS chaperone complex using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we developed an approach to selectively label each chain of the Scc4:Scc1 complex with the 15N-isotope. The approach allowed one protein to be visible in the NMR spectrum at a time, which greatly reduced resonance overlap and permitted comparison of the backbone structures of free and bound Scc4. 1H,15N-heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectra of the 15N-Scc4:Scc1 and Scc4:15N-Scc1 complexes showed a total structural rearrangement of Scc4 upon binding Scc1 and a dynamic region isolated to Scc1, respectively. Development of the chain-selective labeling approach revealed that the association of Scc4 and Scc1 requires partial denaturation of Scc1 to form the high affinity complex, while low affinity interactions occurred between the isolated proteins under non-denaturing conditions. These results provide new models for Scc4′s functional switching mechanism and Scc4:Scc1 association in CT.

Resonance overlap and nonlinear features of the beam–plasma system

The beam–plasma instability can be addressed as a reduced model in several contexts of plasma physics, from space to fusion plasma. In this paper, we review and refine some nonlinear features of this model. Specifically, by analysing the dependence of the nonlinear velocity spread as a function of the linear growth rate, we discuss the effective size of the resonance in view of its role in the spectral overlap at saturation. The relevance of this characterization relies on the necessity of a quantitative determination of the overlap degree to discriminate among different transport regimes of the self-consistent dynamics. The analysis is enriched with a study of the phase-space dynamics by means of the Lagrangian coherent structure technique, in order to define the transport barriers of the system describing the relevant features of the overlap process. Finally, we discuss relevant features related to the mode saturation levels.

Young stars as tracers of a barred-spiral Milky Way

Identifying the structure of our Galaxy has always been fraught with difficulties, and while modern surveys continue to make progress building a map of the Milky Way, there is still much to understand. The arm and bar features are important drivers in shaping the interstellar medium, but their exact nature and influence still require attention. We present results of smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations of gas in the Milky Way including star formation, stellar feedback, and ISM cooling, when exposed to different arm and bar features, with the aim of better understanding how well newly formed stars trace out the underlying structure of the Galaxy. The bar is given a faster pattern speed than the arms, resulting in a complex, time-dependent morphology and star formation. Inter-arm branches and spurs are easily influenced by the bar, especially in the two-armed spiral models where there is a wide region of resonance overlap in the disc. As the bar over-takes the spiral arms it induces small boosts in star formation and enhances spiral features, which occur at regularly spaced beat-like intervals. The locations of star formation events are similar to those seen in observational data, and do not show a perfect 1:1 correspondence with the underlying spiral potential, though arm tangencies are generally well traced by young stars. Stellar velocity fields from the newly formed stars are compared to data from Gaia DR2, showing that the spiral and bar features can reproduce many of the non-axisymmetric features seen in the data. A simple analytical model is used to show many of these feature are a natural response of gas to rigidly rotating spiral and bar potentials.

On the instability of Saturn’s hypothetical retrograde co-orbitals

ABSTRACT We find an interesting fact that fictitious retrograde co-orbitals of Saturn, or small bodies inside the retrograde 1:1 resonance with Saturn, are highly unstable in our numerical simulations. It is shown that, in the presence of Jupiter, the retrograde co-orbitals will get ejected from Saturn’s co-orbital space within a time-scale of 10 Myr. This scenario reminds us of the instability of Saturn Trojans caused by both the great inequality and the secular resonances. Therefore, we carry out in-depth inspections of both mechanisms and prove that the retrograde resonance overlap, raised by great inequality, cannot serve as an explanation for the instability of the retrograde co-orbitals, due to the weakness of the retrograde 2:5 resonance with Jupiter at low eccentricity. However, we discover that both ν5 and ν6 secular resonances contribute to the slow growth of the eccentricity and are therefore possibly the primary causes of the instability inside Saturn’s retrograde co-orbital space.

Secular spin-axis dynamics of exoplanets

Context. Seasonal variations and climate stability of a planet are very sensitive to the planet obliquity and its evolution. This is of particular interest for the emergence and sustainability of land-based life, but orbital and rotational parameters of exoplanets are still poorly constrained. Numerical explorations usually realised in this situation are therefore in heavy contrast with the uncertain nature of the available data. Aims. We aim to provide an analytical formulation of the long-term spin-axis dynamics of exoplanets, linking it directly to physical and dynamical parameters, but still giving precise quantitative results if the parameters are well known. Together with bounds for the poorly constrained parameters of exoplanets, this analysis is designed to enable a quick and straightforward exploration of the spin-axis dynamics. Methods. The long-term orbital solution is decomposed into quasi-periodic series and the spin-axis Hamiltonian is expanded in powers of eccentricity and inclination. Chaotic zones are measured by the resonance overlap criterion. Bounds for the poorly known parameters of exoplanets are obtained from physical grounds (rotational breakup) and dynamical considerations (equipartition of the angular momentum deficit). Results. This method gives accurate results when the orbital evolution is well known. The detailed structure of the chaotic zones for the solar system planets can be retrieved from simple analytical formulas. For less-constrained planetary systems, the maximal extent of the chaotic regions can be computed, requiring only the mass, the semi-major axis, and the eccentricity of the planets present in the system. Additionally, some estimated bounds of the precession constant allow to classify which observed exoplanets are necessarily out of major spin-orbit secular resonances (unless the precession rate is affected by the presence of massive satellites).

Lattice effect influence on the electric and magnetic dipole resonance overlap in a disk array

Designing the shape of silicon nanoparticles has been shown to be an effective approach to increasing overlap between electric and magnetic dipole resonances thereby achieving directional scattering and decrease of reflection. Variations of disk diameter and/or height affect resonances differently and can thus result in resonance overlap. In most of the studies, the disks are arranged in a periodic array where the periodicity is varied together with disk diameter, but the role of lattice effect is neglected. Here we theoretically study a periodic array of disks and show that the contribution of the lattice effect in shifting resonance positions is comparable to the effect of the diameter change. We demonstrate that the lattice effect is important even when the wavelength of diffraction remains on the blue side from electric and magnetic dipole resonances and there are no additional lattice resonances excited. Period and disk dimensions are chosen so that the resonances overlap in the proximity of the telecommunication wavelength which is of great practical interest.