National Institutes of Natural Sciences

Intertwined bulk photocarrier and interfacial barrier dynamics in van der Waals point-contact Schottky junctions

Abstract Schottky junctions based on transition-metal dichalcogenides underpin next-generation optoelectronic devices, yet the nanoscale carrier dynamics that ultimately govern their performance remain largely inaccessible. Here, we employ optical pump–probe time-resolved atomic...

Facilitation of explosive bursts’ prevention in reversed magnetic shear tokamak plasmas through the current condensation effect for disruption avoidance

The reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration, a promising candidate for steady-state tokamak operation, facilitates high bootstrap current fractions through internal transport barriers, but also hosts multiple rational surfaces vulnerable to tearing modes. Under high bootstrap...

Strong connections of locally clustered neurons in the upper-layer cortex underlie schizophrenia-related auditory deviance detection

The detection of unexpected sounds, or auditory deviance detection, is thought to be achieved by comparing prediction signals and sensory inputs in the auditory cortex. This process is markedly impaired in patients with schizophrenia. However, the local circuit properties underly...

Artificial hibernation reveals synaptic engram architecture associated with memory retention

Memories leave lasting physical changes at the synaptic level. Although stable, larger spines are thought to support memory, the high turnover of dendritic spines and the drifting of neuronal representations after memory formation suggest alternative possibilities. To elucidate t...