We use the controllability limit theory to study impact of correlation between in- and out-degrees (degree correlation) on edge controllability of real networks. Simulation results and analytic calculations show that the degree correlation plays an important role in the edge controllability of real networks, especially dense real networks. The upper and lower controllability limits hold for all kinds of real networks. Any edge controllability in between the limits is achievable by properly adjusting the degree correlation. In addition, we find that the edge dynamics in some real networks with positive degree correlation may be difficult to control, and explain the rationality of this anomaly based on the controllability limit theory.

The accuracy of unstructured finite volume methods is greatly influenced by the gradient reconstruction, for which the stencil selection plays a critical role. Compared with the commonly used face-neighbor and vertex-neighbor stencils, the global-direction stencil is independent of the mesh topology, and characteristics of the flow field can be well reflected by this novel stencil. However, for a high-aspect-ratio triangular grid, the grid skewness is evident, which is one of the most important grid-quality measures known to affect the accuracy and stability of finite volume solvers. On this basis and inspired by an approach of using face-area-weighted centroid to reduce the grid skewness, we explore a method by combining the global-direction stencil and face-area-weighted centroid on high-aspect-ratio triangular grids, so as to improve the computational accuracy. Four representative numerical cases are simulated on high-aspect-ratio triangular grids to examine the validity of the improved global-direction stencil. Results illustrate that errors of this improved methods are the lowest among all methods we tested, and in high-mach-number flow, with the increase of cell aspect ratio, the improved global-direction stencil always has a better stability than commonly used face-neighbor and vertex-neighbor stencils. Therefore, the computational accuracy as well as stability is greatly improved, and superiorities of this novel method are verified.

Current public-opinion propagation research usually focused on closed network topologies without considering the fluctuation of the number of network users or the impact of social factors on propagation. Thus, it remains difficult to accurately describe the public-opinion propagation rules of social networks. In order to study the rules of public opinion spread on dynamic social networks, by analyzing the activity of social-network users and the regulatory role of relevant departments in the spread of public opinion, concepts of additional user and offline rates are introduced, and the direct immune-susceptible, contacted, infected, and refractory (DI-SCIR) public-opinion propagation model based on real-time online users is established. The interventional force of relevant departments, credibility of real information, and time of intervention are considered, and a public-opinion propagation control strategy based on direct immunity is proposed. The equilibrium point and the basic reproduction number of the model are theoretically analyzed to obtain boundary conditions for public-opinion propagation. Simulation results show that the new model can accurately reflect the propagation rules of public opinion. When the basic reproduction number is less than 1, public opinion will eventually disappear in the network. Social factors can significantly influence the time and scope of public opinion spread on social networks. By controlling social factors, relevant departments can analyze the rules of public opinion spread on social networks to suppress the propagate of negative public opinion and provide a powerful tool to ensure security and stability of society.

The numerical method of modes analysis and decomposition of the output signal in 3D electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation is presented. By the method, multiple modes can be resolved at one time using a set of diagnostic data, the amplitudes and the phases of the specified modes can all be given separately. Based on the method, the output signals of one X-band tri-bend mode converter used for one high power microwave device, with ionization process in the device due to the strong normal electric field, are analyzed and decomposed.

We investigate (2+1)-dimensional generalized modified dispersive water wave (GMDWW) equation by utilizing the bifurcation theory of dynamical systems. We give the phase portraits and bifurcation analysis of the plane system corresponding to the GMDWW equation. By using the special orbits in the phase portraits, we analyze the existence of the traveling wave solutions. When some parameter takes special values, we obtain abundant exact kink wave solutions, singular wave solutions, periodic wave solutions, periodic singular wave solutions, and solitary wave solutions for the GMDWW equation.

We arrange quantum mechanical operators (a?a)m in their normally ordered product forms by using Touchard polynomials. Moreover, we derive the anti-normally ordered forms of (a?a)± m by using special functions as well as Stirling-like numbers together with the general mutual transformation rule between normal and anti-normal orderings of operators. Further, the ?- and ?-ordered forms of (QP)±m are also obtained by using an analogy method.

We explore how a displaced chaotic light (DCL) behaves in an amplitude dissipation channel, and what is its time evolution formula of photon number distribution. With the use of the method of integration within ordered product product of operator (IWOP) and the new binomial theorem involving two-variable Hermite polynomials we obtain the evolution law of DCL in the channel.

We present the analog analogue of Grover’s problem as an example of the time-independent Hamiltonian for applying the speed limit of the imaginary-time Schr?dinger equation derived by Okuyama and Ohzeki and the new class of energy-time uncertainty relation proposed by Kieu. It is found that the computational time of the imaginary-time quantum annealing of this Grover search can be exponentially small, while the counterpart of the quantum evolution driven by the real-time Schr?dinger equation could only provide square root speedup, compared with classic search. The present results are consistent with the cases of the time-dependent quantum evolution of the natural Grover problem in previous works. We once again emphasize that the logarithm and square root algorithmic performances are generic in imaginary-time quantum annealing and quantum evolution driven by real-time Schr?dinger equation, respectively. Also, we provide evidences to search deep reasons why the imaginary-time quantum annealing can lead to exponential speedup and the real-time quantum annealing can make square root speedup.

We consider the SU(3) spin–orbit coupled spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates in a two-dimensional harmonic trap. The competition between the SU(3) spin–orbit coupling and the spin-exchange interaction results in a rich variety of lattice configurations. The ground-state phase diagram spanned by the isotropic SU(3) spin–orbit coupling and the spin–spin interaction is presented. Five ground-state phases can be identified on the phase diagram, including the plane wave phase, the stripe phase, the kagome lattice phase, the stripe-honeycomb lattice phase, and the honeycomb hexagonal lattice phase. The system undergoes a sequence of phase transitions from the rectangular lattice phase to the honeycomb hexagonal lattice phase, and to the triangular lattice phase in spin-1 Bose–Einstein condensates with anisotrpic SU(3) spin–orbit coupling.

Soliton molecules are firstly obtained by velocity resonance for the Gerdjikov–Ivanov equation, and n-order smooth positon solutions for the Gerdjikov–Ivanov equation are generated by means of the general determinant expression of n-soliton solution. The dynamics of the smooth positons of the Gerdjikov–Ivanov equation are discussed using the decomposition of the modulus square, the trajectories and time-dependent “phase shifts” of positons after the collision can be described approximately. Additionally, some novel hybrid solutions consisting solitons and positons are presented and their rather complicated dynamics are revealed.

The physical characterization of a colloidal system of superficially modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is presented. The system consists of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (OAMNP) suspended in water. A structural analysis is carried out by using standard physical techniques to determine the diameter and shape of the MNPs and also the width of the coating shell. The colloidal stability and the polydispersity index of this ferrofluid are determined by using Zeta potential measurements. Additionally, the magnetic characterization is conducted by obtaining the DC magnetization loops, and the blocking temperatures are determined according to the ZFC–FC protocol. Finally, the values of power absorption density P of the ferrofluid are estimated by using a magneto-calorimetric procedure in a wide range of magnetic field amplitude H and frequency f. The experimental results exhibit spherical-like shape of OAMNP with (20 ± 4) nm in diameter. Due to the use of coating process, the parameters of the magnetization loops and the blocking temperatures are significantly modified. Hence, while the uncoated MNPs show a blocking state of the magnetization, the OAMNP are superparamagnetic above room temperature (300 K). Furthermore, the reached dependence P versus f and P versus H of the ferrofluid with coated MNPs are clearly fitted to linear and quadratic correlations, respectively, showing their accordance with the linear response theory.

We design an electromechanical transducer harvesting system with one-to-one internal resonance that can emerge a broader spectrum vibrations. The novel harvester is composed of a Duffing electrical circuit coupled to a mobile rod, and the coupling between both components is realized via the electromagnetic force. Approximate analytical solutions of the electromechanical system are carried out by introducing the multiple scales analysis, also the nonlinear modulation equation for one-to-one internal resonance is obtained. The character of broadband harvesting performance are analyzed, the two peaks and one jump phenomenon bending to the right for variation of control parameters are observed. It is shown that an advanced bandwidth over a corresponding linear model that does not possess a modal energy interchange.

Dynamic nature of hydrogen bond (H-bond) is central in molecular science of substance transportation, energy transfer, and phase transition in H-bonding networks diversely expressed as solution, crystal, and interfacial systems, thus attracting the state-of-the-art revealing of its phenomenological edges and sophisticated causes. However, the current understanding of the ground-state fluctuation from zero-point vibration (ZPV) lacks a firm quasi-classical base, concerning three basic dimensions as geometry, electronic structure, and interaction energy. Here, based on the ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of a ground-state water dimer, temporally separated fluctuation features in the elementary H-bond as the long-time weakening and the minor short-time strengthening are respectively assigned to two low-frequency intermolecular ZPV modes and two O–H stretching ones. Geometrically, the former modes instantaneously lengthen H-bond up to 0.2 ? whose time-averaged effect coverages to about 0.03 ? over 1-picosecond. Electronic-structure fluctuation crosses criteria’ borders, dividing into partially covalent and noncovalent H-bonding established for equilibrium models, with a 370% amplitude and the district trend in interaction energy fluctuation compared with conventional dragging models using frozen monomers. Extended physical picture within the normal-mode disclosure further approaches to the dynamic nature of H-bond and better supports the upper-building explorations towards ultrafast and mode-specific manipulation.

Boron carbide (B4C) is a rhombic structure composed of icosahedra and atomic chains, which has an important application in armored materials. The application of B4C under super high pressure without failure is a hot spot of research. Previous studies have unmasked the essential cause of B4C failure, i.e., its structure will change subjected to impact, especially under the non-hydrostatic pressure and shear stress. However, the change of structure has not been clearly understood nor accurately determined. Here in this paper, we propose several B4C polymorphs including B4C high pressure phases with non-icosahedra, which are denoted as post-B4C and their structures are formed due to icosahedra broken and may be obtained through high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). The research of their physical properties indicates that these B4C polymorphs have outstanding mechanical and electrical properties. For instance, aP10, mC10, mP20, and oP10-B4C are conductive superhard materials. We hope that our research will enrich the cognition of high pressure structural deformation of B4C and broaden the application scope of B4C.

We execute the density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) approaches to make a detailed exploration about excited state luminescent properties as well as excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism for the novel 2,6-dimethyl phenyl (DMP-HBT-py) system. Firstly, we check and confirm the formation and stabilization of hydrogen bonding interaction for DMP-HBT-py. Via optimized geometrical parameters of primary chemical bond and infrared (IR) spectra, we find O–H?N hydrogen bond of DMP-HBT-py should be strengthened in S1 state. Insights into frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) analyses, we infer charge redistribution and charge transfer (ICT) phenomena motivate ESIPT trend. Via probing into potential energy curves (PECs) in related electronic states, we come up with the ultrafast ESIPT behavior due to low potential barrier. Furthermore, we search the reaction transition state (TS) structure, the ultrafast ESIPT behavior and mechanism of DMP-HBT-py compound can be re-confirmed. We sincerely wish this work could play roles in further developing novel applications based on DMP-HBT-py compound and in promoting efficient solid emitters in OLEDs in future.

The three-component Gross–Pitaevskii equation with an angular momentum rotational term can be served as a model to study spinor Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) with time–space modulated interactions. Vortex solutions of the spinor BECs with spatiotemporally modulated interactions are worked out by similarity transformation. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of vortex states are demonstrated. Stable vortex states are obtained by adjusting the frequency of the external potential and the spatiotemporally modulated interaction.

We propose a metal/dielectric tri-layer metamaterial for wavefront shaping. By arranging the element in an array with a constant phase gradient and irradiated it with a plane wave, focused and focused vortex beams can be obtained. The designed metamaterial features the excellent capability of focused/focused vortex beams generation within the operating frequency range of 30 GHz–34 GHz. The simulation results are consistent with the theoretical analyses.

In this study, we explore the far-zero behaviors of a scattered partially polarized spatially and spectrally partially coherent electromagnetic pulsed beam irradiating on a deterministic medium. The analytical formula for the cross-spectral density matrix elements of this beam in the spherical coordinate system is derived. Within the framework of the first-order Born approximation, the effects of the scattering angle θ, the source parameters (i.e., the pulse duration T0 and the temporal coherence length Tcxx), and the scatterer parameter (i.e., the effective width of the medium σR) on the spectral density, the spectral shift, the spectral degree of polarization, and the degree of spectral coherence of the scattered source in the far-zero field are studied numerically and comparatively. Our work improves the scattering theory of stochastic electromagnetic beams and it may be useful for the applications involving the interaction between incident light waves and scattering media.

Annular-focused beams have attracted attention because of their novel properties and applications in optical trapping, high resolution microscopy, and laser-induced periodic surface structuring. Generation of this beam is very important and necessary. In this article, a novel design of zone plate for forming the annular-focused beams is proposed. The design principle is introduced, and the characteristics of zone plate are analyzed by numerical simulation. The result shows that the zone plate can form a monochromatic ring-shaped intensity distribution in the focal plane. And the design method is also generally suitable for designing the other optical elements to generate the annular-focused beams.

Instrument drifts introduce additional phase errors into atmospheric wind measurement of Doppler asymmetric spatial heterodyne spectroscopy (DASH). Aiming at the phase sensitivity of DASH to instrument drifts, in this paper we calculate the optical path difference (OPD) and present an accurate formula of DASH interferogram. By controlling variables in computational ray-tracing simulations and laboratory experiments, it is indicated that initial phase is directly determined by incident wavenumber, OPD offset and field of view (FOV). Accordingly, it is indicated that retrieved phase of DASH is sensitive to slight structural change caused by instrument drift, which provides the proof of necessary-to-track and -correct phase errors from instrument drifts.

An ultra-wideband and high-efficiency reflective linear-to-circular polarization conversion metasurface is proposed. The proposed metasurface is composed of a square array of a corner-truncated square patch printed on grounded dielectric substrate and covered with a dielectric layer, which is an orthotropic anisotropic structure with a pair of mutually perpendicular symmetric axes u and v along the directions with the tilt angles of ±45° with respect to the vertical y axis. When the u- and v-polarized waves are incident on the proposed metasurface, the phase difference between the two reflection coefficients is close to –90° in an ultra-wide frequency band, so it can realize high-efficiency and ultra-wideband LTC polarization conversion under both x- and y-polarized incidences in this band. The proposed polarization conversion metasurface is simulated and measured. Both the simulated and measured results show that the axial ratio (AR) of the reflected wave is kept below 3 dB in the ultra-wide frequency band of 5.87 GHz–21.13 GHz, which is corresponding to a relative bandwidth of 113%; moreover, the polarization conversion rate (PCR) can be kept larger than 99% in a frequency range of 8.08 GHz–20.92 GHz.

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) of bulk crystals in strong laser field is typically investigated with semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs). However, in the length gauge, it suffers from the divergence for the crystals with a zero band gap, such as graphene, using both Bloch- and Houston-states expansion methods. Here, we present a method of solving the SBEs based on time-dependent Bloch basis, which is equivalent to semiconductor Bloch equations in the velocity gauge. Using this method, we investigate the HHG of a single-layer graphene. It is found that our results for population are in good agreement with the other results. For a initial condition py = 0, we find the electrons just move in single valence band or conduction band, which are in accord with classical results. Our simulations on the HHG dependence of polarization of driving laser pulse confirm that 5th, 7th, and 9th harmonic yields increase to the maximal value when laser ellipticity ε ≈ 0.3. What is more, similar to the case of atoms in the laser field, the total strength of 3rd harmonic decrease monotonically with the increase of ε. In addition, we simulate the dependence of HHG on crystallographic orientation with respect to the polarization direction of linear mid-infrared laser pulse, and the results reveal that for higher harmonics, their radiation along with the change of rotation angle θ reflects exactly the sixfold symmetry of graphene. Our method can be further used to investigate the behaviors of other materials having Dirac points (i.e., surface states of topological insulators) in the strong laser fields.

We investigate the role of core potential in high ionization potential systems on high harmonic generation (HHG) spectra and obtain attosecond pulses. In our scheme, we use a standard soft core potential to model high ionization potential systems and irradiated these systems with fixed laser parameters. We observe the role of these systems on all the three steps involved in HHG process including ionization, propagation and recombination. In our study, the results illustrate that for high ionization potential systems, the HHG process is more sensitive to the ionization probability compared to the recombination amplitude. We also observe that due to the stronger core potential, small oscillations of the electrons during the propagation do not contribute to the HHG spectrum, which implies the dominance of only long quantum paths in the HHG spectrum. Our results, for attosecond pulse generation, show that long quantum path electrons are responsible for the supercontinuum region near the cutoff, which is suitable for the extraction of a single attosecond pulse in this region.

The generation and propagation characteristics of bright spatial bound-soliton pairs (BSPs) are investigated under the diffusion effect in photovoltaic photorefractive crystals by numerical simulation. The results show that two coherent solitons, one as the signal light and the other as the control light, can form a BSP when the peak intensity of the control light is appropriately selected. Moreover, under the diffusion effect, the BSP experiences a self-bending process during propagating and the center of the BSP moves on a parabolic trajectory. Furthermore, the lateral shift of the BSP at the output face of the crystal can be manipulated by adjusting the peak intensity of the control light. The research results provide a method for the design of all-optical switching and routing based on the manipulation of the lateral position of BSPs.

C70 nanotubes with a fcc lattice structure are polymerized through being irradiated by lasers with a wavelength of 514.5 nm at various power values. Raman spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra are employed to characterize the polymeric phases of the laser treated samples, showing that the disordered C70 oligomers are formed in the C70 nanotubes irradiated by such strong green lasers. Comparative studies further indicate that intermolecular bonds are formed between C70 molecules on the surface of nanotubes, which are similar to those formed under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions. And the content of intermolecular bonds increases obviously with the laser power increasing.

To obtain the adjustable photonic crystals (PCs), we numerically investigate one-dimensional (1D) PCs with alternating VO2 and SiO2 layers through transfer matrix method. The dispersion relation agrees well with the transmittance obtained by the finite element calculation. Tunable band gaps are achieved with the thermal stimuli of VO2, which has two crystal structures. The monoclinic crystal structure VO2 (R) at low temperature exhibits insulating property, and the high temperature square rutile structure VO2 (M) presents metal state. Concretely, the bandwidth is getting narrower and red shift occurs with the higher temperature in VO2 (R)/SiO2 PCs structure. Based on the phase change characteristics of VO2, we can flexibly adjust the original structure as VO2 (R)/VO2 (M)/SiO2. By increasing the phase ratio of VO2 (R) to VO2 (M), the band gap width gradually becomes wider and blue shift occurs. The discrete layers of gradient composites on the dispersion of 1D PCs are also investigated, which enhances the feasibility in practical operation. Thus, our proposed thermal modulation PCs structure paves a new way to realize thermal tunable optical filters and sensors.

The optical components of the visible light band are widely used in daily life and industrial development. However due to the serious loss of light and the high cost, the application is limited. The broadband gap metasurface will change this situation due to its low absorption and high efficiency. Herein, we simulate a size-adjustable metasurface of the Al doped ZnO (AZO) nanorod arrays based on finite difference time domain method (FDTD) which can realize the conversion of amplitude polarization and phase in the full visible band. The corresponding theoretical polarization conversion efficiency can reach as high as 91.48% (450 nm), 95.27% (530 nm), and 91.01% (65 nm). The modulation of focusing wavelength can be realized by directly adjusting the height of the AZO nanorod. The designed half-wave plate and metalens can be applied in the imaging power modulation halfwave conversion and enriching the spectroscopy.

The optimization of high power terahertz monolithic integrated circuit (TMIC) is systemically studied based on the physical model of the Schottky barrier varactor (SBV) with interface defects and tunneling effect. An ultra-thin dielectric layer is added to describe the extra tunneling effect and the damping of thermionic emission current induced by the interface defects. Power consumption of the dielectric layer results in the decrease of capacitance modulation ration (Cmax/Cmin), and thus leads to poor nonlinear C–V characteristics. The proposed Schottky metal-brim (SMB) terminal structure could improve the capacitance modulation ration by reducing the influence of the interface charge and eliminating the fringing capacitance effect. Finally, a 215 GHz tripler TMIC is fabricated based on the SMB terminal structure. The output power is above 5 mW at 210–218 GHz and the maximum could exceed 10 mW at 216 GHz, which could be widely used in terahertz imaging, radiometers, and so on. This paper also provides theoretical support for the SMB structure to optimize the TMIC performance.

Acoustic vortex (AV) beam is triggering the significant research interest in information and communication sciences due to its infinite and mutual orthogonal orbital angular momentums (OAMs). Therefore, measuring the topological charges of an AV beams become a task with great significance. In this work, we present a Fraunhofer diffraction (FD) pattern of an AV beam that can be used to quantitatively detect the OAMs of AV beams. We both theoretically and numerically investigate the FD patterns of AV beams passing through a multipoint interferometer (MPI). It is demonstrated that the topological charges of the AV beams can be determined from the interference intensity patterns. The proposed method may pave the way to the practical applications of AV beams.

Unique topological states emerged in various topological insulators (TI) have been proved with great application value for robust wave regulation. In this work, we demonstrate the parity inversion related to the definition of the primitive cell in one common lattice, and realize a type of symmetry-controlled edge states confined on the zigzag interfaces of the graphene-like sonic topological crystal. By simply sliding the selected ‘layer’ near the interface, the coupling of the pseudospin states induced by the multiple scattering for the C6v lattice results in the adjustment of the edge states. Based on the physics of the states, we experimentally propose a prototype of acoustic topological filter hosting multiple channels with independent adjustable edge states and realize the selective high transmission. Our work diversifies the prospects for the applications of the gapped edge states in the robust wave regulation, and proposes a frame to design new topological devices.

By constructing a new conformal mapping function, we study the surface effects on six edge nano-cracks emanating from a regular hexagonal nano-hole in one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals under anti-plane shear. Based on the Gurtin–Murdoch surface/interface model and complex potential theory, the exact solutions of phonon field, phason field and electric field are obtained. The analytical solutions of the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field, the electric displacement intensity factor and the energy release rate are given. The interaction effects of the nano-cracks and nano-hole on the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field and the electric displacement intensity factor are discussed in numerical examples. It can be seen that the surface effect leads to the coupling of phonon field, phason field and electric field. With the decrease of cavity size, the influence of surface effect is more obvious.

We present an in-depth study of the failure phenomenon of solid expandable tubular (SET) due to large expansion ratio in open holes of deep and ultra-deep wells. By examining the post-expansion SET, lots of microcracks are found on the inner surface of SET. Their morphology and parameters such as length and depth are investigated by use of metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, the Voronoi cell technique is adopted to characterize the multi-phase material microstructure of the SET. By using the anisotropic elastoplastic material constitutive model and macro/microscopic multi-dimensional cross-scale coupled boundary conditions, a sophisticated and multi-scale finite element model (FEM) of the SET is built successfully to simulate the material microstructure damage for different expansion ratios. The microcrack initiation and growth is simulated, and the structural integrity of the SET is discussed. It is concluded that this multi-scale finite element modeling method could effectively predict the elastoplastic deformation and the microscopic damage initiation and evolution of the SET. It is of great significance as a theoretical analysis tool to optimize the selection of appropriate tubular materials and it could be also used to substantially reduce costly failures of expandable tubulars in the field. This numerical analysis is not only beneficial for understanding the damage process of tubular materials but also effectively guides the engineering application of the SET technology.

Pseudospark-sourced electron beam is a promising candidate for driving vacuum electronic devices to generate millimeter wave and terahertz wave radiation as it has a very high combined beam current density. However, the inherent velocity spread of the beam, which is difficult to measure in experiment, has a great influence on the operating frequency and efficiency of the vacuum electronic device. In this paper, the velocity distribution characteristics of the electron beam produced by a single-gap hollow cathode electron gun are numerically studied and a three-dimensional kinetic plasma simulation model of a single-gap hollow cathode electron gun is built by using particle in cell and Monte Carlo collision methods in Vorpal. Based on the simulation model, the time-dependent evolution of the plasma formation inside the hollow cathode and electron beam generation process are observed. It is demonstrated that the pseudospark-sourced electron beam has a relatively large velocity spread. The time-dependent velocity distribution of the beam is analyzed, and the dependence of the beam velocity distribution under various operating conditions such as anode–cathode potential difference, gas pressure, and cathode aperture size are also studied.

A hot-electron driven scheme can be more effective than a laser-driven scheme within suitable hot-electron energy and target density. In our one-dimensional (1D) radiation hydrodynamic simulations, 20× pressure enhancement was achieved when the ignitor laser spike was replaced with a 60-keV hot-electron spike in a shock ignition target designed for the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which can lead to greater shell velocity. Higher hot-spot pressure at the deceleration phase was obtained owing to the greater shell velocity. More cold shell material is ablated into the hot spot, and it benefits the increases of the hot-spot pressure. Higher gain and a wider ignition window can be observed in the hot-electron-driven shock ignition.

Tungsten is one of the most promising plasma-facing materials (PFMs) to be used in the nuclear fusion reactor as divertor material in the future. In this work, W2+-ions bombardment is used to simulate the neutron irradiation damage to commercial pure tungsten (W) and rolled tungsten–potassium (W–K). The 7 MeV of 3 × 1015 W2+-ions/cm2, 3 MeV of 4.5 × 1014 W2+, and 2 MeV of 3 × 1014 W2+-ions/cm2 are applied at 923 K in sequence to produce a uniform region of 100 nm–400 nm beneath the sample surface with the maximum damage value of 11.5 dpa. Nanoindentation is used to inspect the changes in hardness and elastic modulus after self-ion irradiation. Irradiation hardening occurred in both materials. The irradiation hardening of rolled W–K is affected by two factors: one is the absorption of vacancies and interstitial atoms by potassium bubbles, and the other is the interaction between potassium bubbles and dislocations. Under the condition of 11.5 dpa, the capability of defect absorption can reach a threshold. As a result, dislocations finally dominate the hardening of rolled W–K. Specific features of dislocation loops in W–K are further observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to explain the hardening effect. This work might provide valuable enlightenment for W–K alloy as a promising plasma facing material candidate.

The wind tunnel test was conducted with an NACA 0012 airfoil to explore the flow control effects on airfoil dynamic stall by NS-DBD plasma actuation. Firstly, light and deep dynamic stall states were set, based on the static stall characteristics of airfoil at a Reynolds number of 5.8 × 105. Then, the flow control effect of NS-DBD on dynamic stall was studied and the influence law of three typical reduced frequencies (k = 0.05, k = 0.05, and k = 0.15) was examined at various dimensionless actuation frequencies (F+ = 1, F+ = 2, and F+ = 3). For both light and deep dynamic stall states, NS-DBD had almost no effect on upstroke. However, the lift coefficients on downstroke were increased significantly and the flow control effect at F+ = 1 is the best. The flow control effect of the light stall state is more obvious than that of deep stall state under the same actuation conditions. For the same stall state, with the reduced frequency increasing, the control effect became worse. Based on the in being principles of flow separation control by NS-DBD, the mechanism of dynamic stall control was discussed and the influence of reduced frequency on the dynamic flow control was analyzed. Different from the static airfoil flow separation control, the separated angle of leading-edge shear layer for the airfoil in dynamic stall state is larger and flow control with dynamic oscillation is more difficult. The separated angle is closely related to the effective angle of attack, so the effect of dynamic stall control is greatly dependent on the history of angles of attack.

In order to solve the problem of single arc plasma actuator’s failure to suppress the boundary layer separation, the effectiveness of the array surface arc plasma actuator to enhance the excitation intensity is verified by experiment. In this study, an electrical parameter measurement system and high-speed schlieren technology were adopted to delve into the electrical, flow field, and excitation characteristics of the high-energy array surface arc plasma actuator under low ambient pressure. The high-energy array surface arc discharge released considerable heat rapidly; as a result, two characteristic structures were generated, i.e., the precursor shock wave and thermal deposition area. The duration increased with the increase in environmental pressure. The lower the pressure, the wider the thermal deposition area’s influence range. The precursor shock wave exhibited a higher propagation speed at the initial phase of discharge; it tended to decay over time and finally remained at 340 m/s. The lower the environmental pressure, the higher the speed would be at the initial phase. High-energy array surface arc plasma actuator can be employed to achieve effective high-speed aircraft flow control.

Nanostructuring, structure distortion, and/or disorder are the main manipulation techniques to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity and improve the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials. A single-phase α-MgAgSb sample, MgAg0.97Sb0.99, with high thermoelectric performance in near room temperature region was synthesized through a high-energy ball milling with a hot-pressing method. Here, we report the average grain size of 24–28 nm and the accurate structure distortion, which are characterized by high-resolution neutron diffraction and synchrotron x-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement data analysis. Both the small grain size and the structure distortion have a contribution to the low lattice thermal conductivity in MgAg0.97Sb0.99.

In this work, a novel carbon allotrope tP40 carbon with space group P4/mmm is proposed. The structural stability, mechanical properties, elastic anisotropy, and electronic properties of tP40 carbon are investigated systematically by using density functional theory (DFT). The calculated elastic constants and phonon dispersion spectra indicate that the tP40 phase is a metastable carbon phase with mechanical stability and dynamic stability. The B/G ratio indicates that tP40 carbon is brittle from 0 GPa to 60 GPa, while tP40 carbon is ductile from 70 GPa to 100 GPa. Additionally, the anisotropic factors and the directional dependence of the Poisson’s ratio, shear modulus, and Young’s modulus of tP40 carbon at different pressures are estimated and plotted, suggesting that the tP40 carbon is elastically anisotropic. The calculated hardness values of tP40 carbon are 44.0 GPa and 40.2 GPa obtained by using Lyakhov–Oganov’s model and Chen’s model, respectively, which means that the tP40 carbon can be considered as a superhard material. The electronic band gap within Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof hybrid functional (HSE06) is 4.130 eV, and it is found that the tP40 carbon is an indirect and wider band gap semiconductor material.

The various morphologies of tracks in MoS2 irradiated by swift heavy ions at normal and 30° incidence with 9.5–25.0 MeV/u 86Kr, 129Xe, 181Ta, and 209Bi ions were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The diameter of ion tracks increases from 1.9 nm to 4.5 nm with increasing electronic energy loss. The energy loss threshold of the track formation in MoS2 is predicted as about 9.7 keV/nm based on the thermal spike model and it seems consistent with the experimental results. It is shown that the morphology of ion tracks is related to the penetration length of ions in MoS2. The formation process of ion tracks is discussed based on the cooperative process of outflow and recrystallization of the molten phase during rapid quenching.

Since the discoveries of polymeric nitrogen, named cg-N (2004), LP-N (2014), HLP-N (2019), another polymorph named black phosphorus nitrogen (BP-N) was synthesized at high-pressure-high-temperature conditions. The narrow existing pressure region and similar synthesized pressure of BP-N compared with cg-N indicate that the stable energy and enthalpy of formation of these two structures are close to each other, which was confirmed by our theoretical calculation. In order to obtain the pressure region of BP-N phase, pure N2 and TiN/Pb + N2 precursors were used for laser-heating high pressure experiments in diamond anvil cell (DAC), and the phase identity was examined by Raman and XRD mapping. BP-N can be synthesized in the pressure range of 130 GPa to 140 GPa with the assistance of heating absorber. With the decrease of the pressure, BP-N can be quenched to ～ 40 GPa. The synthesizing pressure–temperature and the stable pressure region of BP-N are important for further exploration of BP-N and its kinetic and thermal dynamic relationship with other polymeric nitrogen, especially cg-N.

A simple two-dimensional phononic crystal hosting topologically protected edge states is proposed to emulate the quantum spin Hall effect in electronic systems, whose phononic topological phase can be reconfigured through the rotation of scatters. In particular, the band inversion occurs between two pairs of high-order compound states, resulting in topological phase transition from trivial to nontrivial over a relatively broad high-frequency range. This is further evidenced by an effective Hamiltonian derived by the k ? p perturbation theory. The phononic topology is related to a pseudo-time-reversal symmetry constructed by the point group symmetry of two doubly degenerate eigenstates. Numerical simulations unambiguously demonstrate robust helical edge states whose pseudospin indices are locked to the propagation direction along the interface between topologically trivial and nontrivial phononic crystals. Our designed phononic systems provide potential applications in robust acoustic signal transport along any desired path over a high-frequency range.

By applying nonequilibrium Green’s functions in combination with the density-functional theory, we investigate the electronic, thermal, and thermoelectric properties of four kinds of bases in DNA perpendicularly coupling between two ZGNR electrodes. The results show that the electron transport is highly sensitive to different base-ZGNR coupling geometries, and the system can present large rectifying and negative differential resistance effects. Moreover, the fluctuations of electronic transmission and super-low thermal conductance result in significant enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT): the ZT will be over 1.4 at room temperature, and over 1.6 at 200 K. The results show that the base-ZGNR coupling devices can present large rectifying, negative differential resistance, and enhanced thermoelectric effects.

The nontrivial topology is investigated in a dodecagonal quasicrystal made of 30° twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). Based on tight-binding model with both exchange field and Rashba spin–orbit coupling, the topological index, chiral edge states, and quantum conductance are calculated to distinguish its unique topological phase. A high Bott index (B = 4) quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) is identified in TBG quasicrystal, which is robust to a finite perturbation without closing the nontrivial gap. Most remarkably, we have found that the multiple Dirac cone replicas in TBG quasicrystal are only a spectra feature without generating extra chiral edge states. Our results not only propose a possible way to realize the QAHE in quasicrystal, but also identify the continuity of nontrivial topology in TBG between crystal and quasicrystal.

Vanadium oxide films were grown by atomic layer deposition using the tetrakis[ethylmethylamino] vanadium as the vanadium precursor and H2O as the oxide source. The effect of the source temperature on the quality of vanadium oxide films and valence state was investigated. The crystallinity, surface morphology, film thickness, and photoelectric properties of the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, I–V characteristics curves, and UV–visible spectrophotometer. By varying the source temperature, the content of V6O11, VO2, and V6O13 in the vanadium oxide film increased, that is, as the temperature increased, the average oxidation state generally decreased to a lower value, which is attributed to the rising of the vapor pressure and the change of the ionization degree for organometallics. Meanwhile, the root-mean-square roughness decreased and the metal–insulator transition temperature reduced. Our study is great significance for the fabrication of vanadium oxide films by atomic layer deposition.

Proteins are important biological molecules whose structures are closely related to their specific functions. Understanding how the protein folds under physical principles, known as the protein folding problem, is one of the main tasks in modern biophysics. Coarse-grained methods play an increasingly important role in the simulation of protein folding, especially for large proteins. In recent years, we proposed a novel coarse-grained method derived from the topological soliton model, in terms of the backbone Cα chain. In this review, we will first systematically address the theoretical method of topological soliton. Then some successful applications will be displayed, including the thermodynamics simulation of protein folding, the property analysis of dynamic conformations, and the multi-scale simulation scheme. Finally, we will give a perspective on the development and application of topological soliton.

Single event effects (SEEs) in a 28-nm system-on-chip (SoC) were assessed using heavy ion irradiations, and susceptibilities in different processor configurations with data accessing patterns were investigated. The patterns included the sole processor (SP) and asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) patterns with static and dynamic data accessing. Single event upset (SEU) cross sections in static accessing can be more than twice as high as those of the dynamic accessing, and processor configuration pattern is not a critical factor for the SEU cross sections. Cross section interval of upset events was evaluated and the soft error rates in aerospace environment were predicted for the SoC. The tests also indicated that ultra-high linear energy transfer (LET) particle can cause exception currents in the 28-nm SoC, and some even are lower than the normal case.

Nowadays, magnetic cooling (MC) technology by using the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) has attracted extensive research interest for its promising practical applications. A constant large/giant MCE covers wide refrigeration temperatures (denote as table-like shape) is beneficial for obtaining high efficiency performance for MC. In this paper, the HoNi/HoNi2 composite was successfully synthesized by arc-melting method and proved to be composed of HoNi and HoNi2 crystalline phases with weight ratios of 52.4 wt.% and 47.6 wt.%, respectively. The maximum magnetic entropy change (-ΔSMmax) is 18.23 J/(kg?K), and the refrigerant capacity values RC1, RC2, and RC3 are 867.9 J/kg, 676.4 J/kg, and 467.8 J/kg with ΔH = 0–70 kOe, respectively. The table-like shape MCE and large refrigerant capacity values make the composite attractive for cryogenic MC using the Ericsson cycle.

A new method is presented to generate two-directional (2D) grid multi-scroll chaotic attractors via a specific form of the sine function and sign function series, which are applied to increase saddle points of index 2. The scroll number in the x-direction is modified easily through changing the thresholds of the specific form of the sine function, while the scroll number in the y-direction is controlled by the sign function series. Some basic dynamical properties, such as equilibrium points, bifurcation diagram, phase portraits, and Lyapunov exponents spectrum are studied. Furthermore, the electronic circuit of the system is designed and its simulation results are given by Multisim 10.

A synthetic antiferromagnet based on a thin antiferromagnetically coupled Co2MnSi/MnGa bilayer with Pt capping is proposed in this work. Square magnetic loops measured by anomalous Hall effect reveal that a well perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is obtained in this structure. A very large coercivity of 83 kOe (1 Oe = 79.5775 A?m-1) is observed near the magnetic moment compensation point of 270 K, indicating an antiferromagnetic behavior. Moreover, the anomalous Hall signal does not go to zero even at the magnetic compensation point, for which the difficulty in detecting the conventional antiferromagnets can be overcome. By changing the temperature, the polarity of the spin–orbit torque induced switching is changed around the bilayer compensation point. This kind of thin bilayer has potential applications in spin–orbit-related effects, spintronic devices, and racetrack memories.

The tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is proposed by using the advantages of dopingless and line-tunneling technology. The line tunneling is created due to the fact that the gate electric field is aligned with the tunneling direction, which dramatically enhances tunneling area and tunneling current. Moreover, the effects of the structure parameters such as the length between top gate and source electrode, the length between top gate and drain electrode, the distance between bottom gate and drain electrode, and the metal position on the on-state current, electric field and energy band are investigated and optimized. In addition, analog/radio-frequency performance and linearity characteristics are studied. All results demonstrate that the proposed device not only enhances the on/of current ratio and reduces the subthreshold swing, but also offers eight times improvement in cut-off frequency and gain band product as compared with the conventional point tunneling dopingless TFET, at the same time; it shows better linearity and small distortions. This proposed device greatly enhances the potential of applications in dopingless TFET.

Large threshold voltage and small on-state current are the main limitations of the normal tunneling field effect transistor (TFET). In this paper, a novel TFET with gate-controlled P+N+N+ structure based on partially depleted GeOI (PD-GeOI) substrate is proposed. With the buried P+-doped layer (BP layer) introduced under P+N+N+ structure, the proposed device behaves as a two-tunneling line device and can be shut off by the BP junction, resulting in a high on-state current and low threshold voltage. Simulation results show that the on-state current density Ion of the proposed TFET can be as large as 3.4 × 10-4 A/μm, and the average subthreshold swing (SS) is 55 mV/decade. Moreover, both of Ion and SS can be optimized by lengthening channel and buried P+ layer. The off-state current density of TTP TFET is 4.4 × 10-10 A/μm, and the threshold voltage is 0.13 V, showing better performance than normal germanium-based TFET. Furthermore, the physics and device design of this novel structure are explored in detail.

Zn0.90Ni0.10O nanoparticles have been synthesized by single-bath two-electrode electrodeposition at constant voltage. X-ray diffraction, UV vis and photoluminescence studies reveal that a single-phase polycrystalline hcp wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO is evolved. The material consists of a large number of defects such as oxygen vacancy (Ov) and zinc interstitial (Zi). The magnetization study reveals that the sample exhibits room-temperature global ferromagnetism and the ferromagnetic ordering seems to be defect induced via bound magnetic polaron mechanism, and double exchange is also expected to have played role. Interesting optoelectronic properties have been found in the synthesized sample and the material seems to be a potential candidate to be used as a UV sensor. Such a transition metal doped ZnO based dilute magnetic semiconducting system exhibiting room-temperature ferromagnetism is likely to be first of its kind in the sense that such materials have not yet been reported to be synthesized by the simple method of electrodeposition to the best of our knowledge on the basis of ample literature review.

RNAs play crucial and versatile roles in biological processes. Computational prediction approaches can help to understand RNA structures and their stabilizing factors, thus providing information on their functions, and facilitating the design of new RNAs. Machine learning (ML) techniques have made tremendous progress in many fields in the past few years. Although their usage in protein-related fields has a long history, the use of ML methods in predicting RNA tertiary structures is new and rare. Here, we review the recent advances of using ML methods on RNA structure predictions and discuss the advantages and limitation, the difficulties and potentials of these approaches when applied in the field.

Plants and animals recognize microbial invaders by detecting pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) through pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). This recognition plays a crucial role in plant immunity. The newly discovered protein in plants that responds to bacterial flagellin, i.e., flagellin-sensitive 2 (FLS2), is ubiquitously expressed and present in many plants. The association of FLS2 and BAK1, facilitated by a highly conserved epitope flg22 of flagellin, triggers such downstream immune responses as activated MAPK pathway and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) for bacterial defense and plant immunity. Here we study the intrinsic dynamics and conformational change of FLS2 upon the formation of the FLS2–flg22–BAK1 complex. The top intrinsic normal modes and principal structural fluctuation components are very similar, showing two bending modes and one twisting mode. The twisting mode alone, however, accounts for most of the conformational change of FLS2 induced by binding with flg22 and BAK1. This study indicates that flg22 binding suppresses FLS2 conformational fluctuation, especially on the twisting motion, thus facilitating FLS2–BAK1 interaction. A detailed analysis of this sensing mechanism may aid better design on both PRR and peptide mimetics for plant immunity.

Stress voltages on time-dependent breakdown characteristics of GaN MIS-HEMTs during negative gate bias stress (with VGS 0, VS = 0) are investigated. For negative bias stress, the breakdown time distribution (β) decreases with the increasing negative gate voltage, while β is larger for higher drain voltage at off-state stress. Two humps in the time-dependent gate leakage occurred under both breakdown conditions, which can be ascribed to the dielectric breakdown triggered earlier and followed by the GaN layer breakdown. Combining the electric distribution from simulation and long-term monitoring of electric parameter, the peak electric fields under the gate edges at source and drain sides are confirmed as the main formation locations for per-location paths during negative gate voltage stress and off-state stress, respectively.

Nanodiamonds have outstanding mechanical properties, chemical inertness, and biocompatibility, which give them potential in various applications. Current methods for preparing nanodiamonds often lead to products with impurities and uneven morphologies. We report a two-step high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) method to synthesize nanodiamonds using naphthalene as the precursor without metal catalysts. The grain size of the diamonds decreases with increasing carbonization time (at constant pressure and temperature of 11.5 GPa and 700 °C, respectively). This is discussed in terms of the different crystallinities of the carbon intermediates. The probability of secondary anvil cracking during the HPHT process is also reduced. These results indicate that the two-step method is efficient for synthesizing nanodiamonds, and that it is applicable to other organic precursors.

A new dual directional silicon-controlled rectifier based electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device suitable for 12-V applications is proposed in this paper. The proposed device (NPEMDDSCR) is based on the embedded DDSCR (EMDDSCR) structure, in which the P+ electrode and P+ injection are removed from the inner finger. Compared with the conventional modified DDSCR (MDDSCR), its high holding voltage meets the requirements for applications. Compared with the embedded DDSCR (EMDDSCR), it has good conduction uniformity. The MDDSCR, EMDDSCR, and NPEMDDSCR are fabricated with an identical width in a 0.5-μm CDMOS process. In order to verify and predict the characteristics of the proposed ESD protection device, a transmission line pulse (TLP) testing system and a two-dimensional device simulation platform are used in this work. The measurements demonstrate that the NPEMDDSCR provides improved reliability and higher area efficiency for 12 V or similar applications. The measurement results also show that the NPEMDDSCR provides higher robustness and better latch-up immunity capability.

Double main phase process is applied to fabricate [(Pr, Nd)1 – xMMx]13.8FebalM1.5B5.9 (x = 0.5 and 0.7; M = Cu, Al, Co, and Nb) sintered magnets with high misch metal (MM) content. In comparison to the magnets by single main phase process, the enhanced magnetic properties have been achieved. For magnets of x = 0.7, Hcj increases to 371.9 kA/m by 60.5%, and (BH)max is significantly enhanced to 253.3 kJ/m3 by 56.9%, compared with those of the single main phase magnets of the same nominal composition. In combination with minor loops and magnetic recoil curves, the property improvement of magnets with double main phase method is well explained. As a result, it is demonstrated that double main phase technology is an effective approach to improve the permanent magnetic properties of MM based sintered magnets.

The strong chiroptical effect is highly desirable and has a wide range of applications in biosensing, chiral catalysis, polarization tuning, and chiral photo detection. In this work, we find a simple method to enhance the reflection circular dichroism (CDR) by placing the planar anisotropic chiral metamaterials (i.e., Z-shaped PACMs) on the interface of two media (i.e., Z-PCMI) with a large refractive index difference. The maximum reflection CDR from the complex system can reach about 0.840 when the refractive index is set as ntop = 4.0 and nbottom = 1.49, which is approximately three times larger than that of placing the Z-shaped PACMs directly on the substrate (i.e., Z-PCMS). While the minimum reflection CDR is 0.157 when the refractive index is set as nbottom = 1.49. So we can get a large available range of reflection CDR from –0.840 to –0.157. Meanwhile, the transmission CDT remains unchanged with the refractive index ntop increment. Our in-depth research indicates that the large reflection CDR is derived from the difference of non-conversion components of the planar anisotropic chiral metamaterials’ reflection matrices. In short, we provide a simple and practical method to enhance the chiroptical effect by changing the refractive index difference between two media without having to design a complex chiral structure.

Anderson localization (AL) phenomena usually exist in systems with random potential. However, disorder-free quantum many-body systems with local conservation can also exhibit AL or even many-body localization transition. We show that the AL phase exists in a modified Kondo lattice without external random potential. The density of state, inverse participation ratio and temperature-dependent resistance are computed by classical Monte Carlo simulation, which uncovers an AL phase from the previously studied Fermi liquid and Mott insulator regimes. The occurrence of AL roots from quenched disorder formed by conservative localized moments. Interestingly, a many-body wavefunction is found, which captures elements in all three paramagnetic phases and is used to compute their quantum entanglement. In light of these findings, we expect that the disorder-free AL phenomena can exist in generic translation-invariant quantum many-body systems.

It is a central issue to find the slow dynamic modes of biological macromolecules via analyzing the large-scale data of molecular dynamics simulation (MD). While the MD data are high-dimensional time-successive series involving all-atomic details and sub-picosecond time resolution, a few collective variables which characterizing the motions in longer than nanoseconds are needed to be chosen for an intuitive understanding of the dynamics of the system. The trajectory map (TM) was presented in our previous works to provide an efficient method to find the low-dimensional slow dynamic collective-motion modes from high-dimensional time series. In this paper, we present a more straight understanding about the principle of TM via the slow-mode linear space of the conformational probability distribution functions of MD trajectories and more clearly discuss the relation between the TM and the current other similar methods in finding slow modes.

RNAs carry out diverse biological functions, partly because different conformations of the same RNA sequence can play different roles in cellular activities. To fully understand the biological functions of RNAs requires a conceptual framework to investigate the folding kinetics of RNA molecules, instead of native structures alone. Over the past several decades, many experimental and theoretical methods have been developed to address RNA folding. The helix-based RNA folding theory is the one which uses helices as building blocks, to calculate folding kinetics of secondary structures with pseudoknots of long RNA in two different folding scenarios. Here, we will briefly review the helix-based RNA folding theory and its application in exploring regulation mechanisms of several riboswitches and self-cleavage activities of the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme.

Trapping effect in normally-off Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) high-electron-mobility transistors (MOS-HEMTs) with post-etch surface treatment was studied in this paper. Diffusion-controlled interface oxidation treatment and wet etch process were adopted to improve the interface quality of MOS-HEMTs. With capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurement, the density of interface and border traps were calculated to be 1.13 × 1012 cm-2 and 6.35 × 1012 cm-2, effectively reduced by 27% and 14% compared to controlled devices, respectively. Furthermore, the state density distribution of border traps with large activation energy was analyzed using photo-assisted C–V measurement. It is found that irradiation of monochromatic light results in negative shift of C–V curves, which indicates the electron emission process from border traps. The experimental results reveals that the major border traps have an activation energy about 3.29 eV and the change of post-etch surface treatment process has little effect on this major activation energy.

Protein–protein interactions (PPI) are important for many biological processes. Theoretical understanding of the structurally determining factors of interaction sites will help to understand the underlying mechanism of protein–protein interactions. At the same time, understanding the complex structure of proteins helps to explore their function. And accurately predicting protein complexes from PPI networks helps us understand the relationship between proteins. In the past few decades, scholars have proposed many methods for predicting protein interactions and protein complex structures. In this review, we first briefly introduce the methods and servers for predicting protein interaction sites and interface residue pairs, and then introduce the protein complex structure prediction methods including template-based prediction and template-free prediction. Subsequently, this paper introduces the methods of predicting protein complexes from the PPI network and the method of predicting missing links in the PPI network. Finally, it briefly summarizes the application of machine/deep learning models in protein structure prediction and action site prediction.

The RNA tertiary structure is essential to understanding the function and biological processes. Unfortunately, it is still challenging to determine the large RNA structure from direct experimentation or computational modeling. One promising approach is first to predict the tertiary contacts and then use the contacts as constraints to model the structure. The RNA structure modeling depends on the contact prediction accuracy. Although many contact prediction methods have been developed in the protein field, there are only several contact prediction methods in the RNA field at present. Here, we first review the theoretical basis and test the performances of recent RNA contact prediction methods for tertiary structure and complex modeling problems. Then, we summarize the advantages and limitations of these RNA contact prediction methods. We suggest some future directions for this rapidly expanding field in the last.

We investigate the mechanical and microstructural changes of the densified silica glass under uniaxial loading-unloading via atomistic simulations with a modified BKS potential. The stress–strain relationship is found to include three respective stages: elastic, plastic and hardening regions. The bulk modulus increases with the initial densification and will undergo a rapid increase after complete densification. The yield pressure varies from 5 to 12 GPa for different densified samples. In addition, the Si–O–Si bond angle reduces during elastic deformation under compression, and 5-fold Si will increase linearly in the plastic deformation. In the hardening region, the peak splitting and the new peak are both found on the Si–Si and O–O pair radial distribution functions, where the 6-fold Si is increased. Instead, the lateral displacement of the atoms always varies linearly with strain, without evident periodic characteristic. As is expected, the samples are permanently densified after release from the plastic region, and the maximum density of recovered samples is about 2.64 g/cm3, which contains 15 % 5-fold Si, and the Si–O–Si bond angle is less than the ordinary silica glass. All these findings are of great significance for understanding the deformation process of densified silica glass.

The equilibrium distribution of a polymer chain between two interconnected spherical cavities (a small one with radius Rs and a large one with radius Rl) is studied by using Monte Carlo simulation. A conformational transition from a double-cavity-occupation (DCO) state to a single-cavity-occupation (SCO) state is observed. The dependence of the critical radius of the small cavity (RsC) where the transition occurs on Rl and the polymer length N can be described by RsC∝N1/3Rl1-1/3ν with ν being the Flory exponent, and meanwhile the equilibrium number (ms) of monomers in the small cavity for the DCO phase can be expressed as ms = N/((Rl/Rs)3 + 1), which can be quantitatively understood by using the blob picture. Moreover, in the SCO phase, the polymer is found to prefer staying in the large cavity.

Based on our previous work, we study the problem of neural signal transmission of myelinated neurons. We found that the transmembrane ion current at Ranvier’s node acts as an energy supplement. In addition, the length of the myelin sheath has an upper limit of lT. Above this upper limit, the neural signal will not be effectively transmitted. In the range of normal physiological parameters, lT is on the order of mm. Finally, the effect of temperature on the transmission of nerve signals is investigated. temperatures that are too high and too low are not conducive to the conduction of nerve signals.

The exciton dispersion is examined in the case of four selected prototypical molecular solids: pentacene, tetracene, picene, and chrysene. The model parameters are determined by fitting to experimental data obtained by inelastic electron scattering. Within the picture that relies on Frenkel-type excitons we obtain that theoretical dispersion curves along different directions in the Brillouin zone are in good agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that the influence of charge-transfer excitons on exciton dispersion of the analyzed organic solids is not as large as proposed. In reciprocal space directions where Davydov splitting is observed we employ the upgraded version of Hamiltonian used in Materials11, 2219 (2018).

Using density functional theory, we study the alloying of the buckled hexagonal germanene superlattice supported on Al (111)-(3 × 3), the sheet composed of triangular, rhombic, and pentagonal motifs on Al (111)-(3 × 3), and the buckled geometry on Al (111)-(7×7)(19°), which are denoted, respectively, by BHS, TRP, and SRT7, to facilitate the discussion in this paper. They could be alloyed in the low doping concentration range. The stable configurations BHS, TRP, and SRT7 of the pure and alloyed germanenes supported on both Al (111) and its Al2Ge surface alloy, except the SRT7 pure germanene on Al2Ge, could re-produce the experimental scanning tunneling microscopy images. The relatively stable Al–Ge alloy species are the Al3Ge5 BHS-2T, Al3Ge5 TRP-2T, and Al3Ge3 SRT7-1T on Al (111) while they are the Al4Ge4 BHS-1T, Al3Ge5 TRP-2T, and Al27Ge27 SRT7-(3 × 3)-9T on Al2Ge (the n in the nT means that there are n Ge atoms per unit which sit at the top sites and protrude upward). In addition, the Al3Ge5 BHS-2T and Al4Ge4 BHS-1T are the most stable alloy sheets on Al (111) and Al2Ge, respectively. Comparing with the experimental studies, there exists no structural transition among these alloyed configurations, which suggests that the experimental conditions play a crucial role in selectively growing the pure or the alloyed germanene sheets, which may also help grow the one-atomic thick honeycomb structure on idea Al (111).

We present a room temperature nonlinear mass sensing based on a hybrid spin-nanoresonator system with the microwave pump–probe technique and the spin readout technique, which includes a single spin of nitrogen–vacancy (NV) center in diamond and a nanomechanical cantilever. The resonance frequency of the nanoresonator can be measured with the nolinear Kerr spectrum, and the parameters that influence the nolinear Kerr spectrum are also investigated. Further, according to the relationship between frequency shifts and variable mass attached on the nanoresonator, this system can also be used to detect the mass of DNA molecules with the nolinear Kerr spectrum. Benefiting from the single spin of the NV center in diamond has a long coherence time at 300 K, the hybrid system can realize room temperature mass sensor, and the mass response rate can reach 2600 zg/Hz.

Tuning magnetic damping constant in dedicated spintronic devices has important scientific and technological implications. Here we report on anisotropic damping in various compositional amorphous CoFeB films grown on GaAs(001) substrates. Measured by a vector network analyzer-ferromagnetic resonance (VNA-FMR) equipment, a giant magnetic damping anisotropy of 385%, i.e., the damping constant increases by about four times, is observed in a 10-nm-thick Co40Fe40B20 film when its magnetization rotates from easy axis to hard axis, accompanied by a large and pure in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) with its anisotropic field of about 450 Oe. The distinct damping anisotropy is mainly resulted from anisotropic two-magnon-scattering induced by the interface between the ferromagnetic layer and the substrate, which also generates a significant UMA in the film plane.

The techniques for oceanographic observation have made great progress in both space-time coverage and quality, which make the observation data present some characteristics of big data. We explore the essence of global ocean dynamic via constructing a complex network with regard to sea surface temperature. The global ocean is divided into discrete regions to represent the nodes of the network. To understand the ocean dynamic behavior, we introduce the Gaussian mixture models to describe the nodes as limit-cycle oscillators. The interacting dynamical oscillators form the complex network that simulates the ocean as a stochastic system. Gaussian probability matching is suggested to measure the behavior similarity of regions. Complex network statistical characteristics of the network are analyzed in terms of degree distribution, clustering coefficient and betweenness. Experimental results show a pronounced sensitivity of network characteristics to the climatic anomaly in the oceanic circulation. Particularly, the betweenness reveals the main pathways to transfer thermal energy of El Ni?o–Southern oscillation. Our works provide new insights into the physical processes of ocean dynamic, as well as climate changes and ocean anomalies.

In general relativity, Mercury’s orbit becomes approximately elliptical and the its perihelion has thus an additional advance. We demonstrate, meanwhile, that in comparison of those given by Newton’s theory of gravitation for the orbit of the Mercury, the circumference and the area are reduced by 40.39 km and 2.35 × 109 km2, respectively, besides the major-axis contraction pointed out recently, and all are produced by the curved space within Einstein's theory of gravitation. Since the resolution power of present astronomical distance measurement technology reaches one kilometer, the shrinkage of Mercury’s orbit can then be observable.

Prion diseases are associated with the misfolding of the normal helical cellular form of prion protein (PrPC) into the β-sheet-rich scrapie form (PrPSc) and the subsequent aggregation of PrPSc into amyloid fibrils. Recent studies demonstrated that a naturally occurring variant V127 of human PrPC is intrinsically resistant to prion conversion and aggregation, and can completely prevent prion diseases. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. Herein we perform multiple microsecond molecular dynamics simulations on both wildtype (WT) and V127 variant of human PrPC to understand at atomic level the protective effect of V127 variant. Our simulations show that G127V mutation not only increases the rigidity of the S2–H2 loop between strand-2 (S2) and helix-2 (H2), but also allosterically enhances the stability of the H2 C-terminal region. Interestingly, previous studies reported that animals with rigid S2–H2 loop usually do not develop prion diseases, and the increase in H2 C-terminal stability can prevent misfolding and oligomerization of prion protein. The allosteric paths from G/V127 to H2 C-terminal region are identified using dynamical network analyses. Moreover, community network analyses illustrate that G127V mutation enhances the global correlations and intra-molecular interactions of PrP, thus stabilizing the overall PrPC structure and inhibiting its conversion into PrPSc. This study provides mechanistic understanding of human V127 variant in preventing prion conversion which may be helpful for the rational design of potent anti-prion compounds.

For a superintegrable system defined in plane polar-like coordinates introduced by Szumiński et al. and studied by Fordy, we show that the system with a position-dependent mass is separable in three distinct coordinate systems. The corresponding separation equations and additional integrals of motion are derived explicitly. The closure algebra of integrals is deduced. We also make a generalization of this system by employing the classical Jacobi method. Lastly a sufficient condition which ensures flatness of the underlying space is derived via explicit calculation.

Quorum sensing (QS) refers to the cell communication through signaling molecules that regulate many important biological functions of bacteria by monitoring their population density. Although a wide spectrum of studies on the QS system mechanisms have been carried out in experiments, mathematical modeling to explore the QS system has become a powerful approach as well. In this paper, we review the research progress of network modeling in bacterial QS to capture the system’s underlying mechanisms. There are four types of QS system models for bacteria: the Gram-negative QS system model, the Gram-positive QS system model, the model for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive QS system, and the synthetic QS system model. These QS system models are mostly described by the ordinary differential equations (ODE) or partial differential equations (PDE) to study the changes of signaling molecule dynamics in time and space and the cell population density variations. Besides the deterministic simulations, the stochastic modeling approaches have also been introduced to discuss the noise effects on kinetics in QS systems. Taken together, these current modeling efforts advance our understanding of the QS system by providing systematic and quantitative dynamics description, which can hardly be obtained in experiments.

Super-high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements are carried out on LiFeAs superconductor to investigate its electron dynamics. Three energy scales at ～ 20 meV, ～ 34 meV, and ～ 55 meV are revealed for the first time in the electron self-energy both in the superconducting state and normal state. The ～ 20 meV and ～ 34 meV scales can be attributed to the coupling of electrons with sharp bosonic modes which are most likely phonons. These observations provide definitive evidence on the existence of mode coupling in iron-based superconductors.

The solar cell based on organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskite is progressing amazingly fast in last decade owing to the robust experimental and theoretical investigations. First-principles calculation is one of the crucial ways to understand the nature of the materials and is practically helpful to the development and application of perovskite solar cells. Here, we briefly review the progress of theoretical studies we made in the last few years on the modification of electronic structures of perovskites by varying the composition, configuration, and structure, and the new understandings into the defect properties of halide perovskites for solar cell and optoelectronic applications. These understandings are foundations and new starting points for future investigations. We hope the experience and inspiration gained from these studies encourage more theoretical explorations for new functional perovskite-based materials.