Excitation Threshold Research Articles

Oscillator strength and cross section study of the valence-shell excitations of NO2 by fast electron scattering

Abstract Oscillator strengths and cross sections of the valence-shell excitations in NO2 are of great significance in testing the theoretical calculations and monitoring the state of ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere. In the present work, the generalized oscillator strengths of the valence-shell excitations in NO2 were obtained based on the fast electron scattering technique at an incident electron energy of 1.5 keV and an energy resolution of about 70 meV. By extrapolating the generalized oscillator strengths to the limit of a zero squared momentum transfer, the optical oscillator strengths for the dipole-allowed transitions have been obtained, which provide an independent cross check to the previous experimental results. Based on the BE-scaling method, the corresponding integral cross sections have also been derived systematically from the excitation threshold to 5000 eV. The present dynamic parameters can provide the fundamental spectroscopic data of NO2 and have important applications in the studies of atmospheric science.Oscillator strengths and cross sections of the valence-shell excitations in NO2 are of great significance in testing the theoretical calculations and monitoring the state of ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere. In the present work, the generalized oscillator strengths of the valence-shell excitations in NO2 were obtained based on the fast electron scattering technique at an incident electron energy of 1.5 keV and an energy resolution of about 70 meV. By extrapolating the generalized oscillator strengths to the limit of a zero squared momentum transfer, the optical oscillator strengths for the dipole-allowed transitions have been obtained, which provide an independent cross check to the previous experimental results. Based on the BE-scaling method, the corresponding integral cross sections have also been derived systematically from the excitation threshold to 5000 eV. The present dynamic parameters can provide the fundamental spectroscopic data of NO2 and have important applications in the studies of atmospheric science.

Hyperfine-induced effects on linear polarization following electron-impact excitation of heliumlike Tl79+ ions with nuclear spin

A most general density-matrix formalism is presented to investigate linear polarization of characteristic lines following electron-impact excitation of atoms or ions with arbitrary nuclear spin, which can account for depolarization of energy levels and multipole mixing of radiation fields. It is then applied to the linear polarization of the line radiated from heliumlike ions with nuclear spin . As an example, detailed calculations are performed for Tl79+ ions using the multi-configurational Dirac-Fock method and relativistic distorted-wave theory. It is found that the effect of the hyperfine interaction on the linear polarization depends dominantly on impact electron energy. For low impact energies close to the excitation threshold, the hyperfine interaction results in an enhancement of the linear polarization, especially for those photons emitted perpendicularly to the impact electron beam. In contrast, such a hyperfine-induced effect diminishes quickly with increasing impact energy and vanishes at medium and high energies, which is very different from the results for the case of radiative electron capture (Surzhykov et al 2013 Phys. Rev. A 87 052507). The present study is experimentally accessible at both electron-beam ion traps and ion storage rings and, thus, accurate polarization measurements at low energies can be utilized to probe the hyperfine interaction in highly charged few-electron ions.

Method of treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in the elderly

The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (HTN) in the elderly, highlighted in the literature, reflects the dissatisfaction of clinicians with the results of the treatment of this chronic disease. Scientific research on the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in the elderly is carried out by improving drug therapy through the introduction of new drugs and their combinations and through the development of new surgical techniques that affect the trigeminal nerve system (TN). Each of the therapeutic methods is mainly aimed at a single link in the pathogenetic chain of the development of trigeminal neuralgia, either to increase the threshold of excitability of sensitized neurons of the brain stem and cortex or to turn off the trigger zone.

Verification of gyrokinetic particle simulations of neoclassical tearing modes in fusion plasmas

The ability to simulate neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) in the gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) has been developed and verified, in which ions are treated with a gyrokinetic model and electrons are treated as a resistive fluid. The simulation results demonstrate that the neoclassical bootstrap current effect can destabilize an otherwise stable classical tearing mode. In the cylindrical geometry, GTC simulations in the magnetohydrodynamic limit show quantitative agreement with the modified Rutherford theory, both in terms of the scaling law in the small island limit and in terms of the saturation level and pressure flattening effect in the large island limit. The toroidal effects are slightly destabilizing for the NTM, while the kinetic effects of thermal ions are stabilizing for the NTM and increase its excitation threshold.

Pro-arrhythmic role of adrenergic spatial densities in the human atria: An in-silico study.

Chronic stress among young patients (≤ 45 years old) could result in autonomic dysfunction. Autonomic dysfunction could be exhibited via sympathetic hyperactivity, sympathetic nerve sprouting, and diffuse adrenergic stimulation in the atria. Adrenergic spatial densities could alter atrial electrophysiology and increase arrhythmic susceptibility. Therefore, we examined the role of adrenergic spatial densities in creating arrhythmogenic substrates in silico. We simulated three 25 cm2 atrial sheets with varying adrenergic spatial densities (ASD), activation rates, and external transmembrane currents. We measured their effects on spatial and temporal heterogeneity of action potential durations (APD) at 50% and 20%. Increasing ASD shortens overall APD, and maximum spatial heterogeneity (31%) is achieved at 15% ASD. The addition of a few (5% to 10%) adrenergic elements decreases the excitation threshold, below 18 μA/cm2, while ASDs greater than 10% increase their excitation threshold up to 22 μA/cm2. Increase in ASD during rapid activation increases APD50 and APD20 by 21% and 41%, respectively. Activation times of captured beats during rapid activation could change by as much as 120 ms from the baseline cycle length. Rapidly activated atrial sheets with high ASDs significantly increase temporal heterogeneity of APD50 and APD20. Rapidly activated atrial sheets with 10% ASD have a high likelihood (0.7 ± 0.06) of fragmenting otherwise uniform wavefronts due to the transient inexcitability of adrenergically stimulated elements, producing an effective functional block. The likelihood of wave fragmentation due to ASD highly correlates with the spatial variations of APD20 (ρ = 0.90, p = 0.04). Our simulations provide a novel insight into the contributions of ASD to spatial and temporal heterogeneities of APDs, changes in excitation thresholds, and a potential explanation for wave fragmentation in the human atria due to sympathetic hyperactivity. Our work may aid in elucidating an electrophysiological link to arrhythmia initiation due to chronic stress among young patients.

Low threshold photon avalanche upconversion emission for temperature sensing based on Yb(III)/Er(III) Co-doped NdVO4 with sphere 3D self-assembled structure microparticles

Upconversion luminescent microcrystals (UCMs) due to their optical characteristics have been applicated in temperature detecting fields. However, the accuracy of traditional temperature probes based on UCMs is limited by the low intensity of upconversion luminescence (UCL). Herein, Yb3+ and Er3+ ions co-doped NdVO4 (NdVO4:Yb/Er) UCMs with a 3D self-assembled structure were designed via a hydrothermal method. This innovative structure enables the realization of a photon avalanche (PA) emission process. The Yb3+ and Er3+ co-doping in NdVO4:Yb/Er UCMs significantly reduces the PA threshold compared to NdVO4:Er UCMs. Obvious PA process produced by Yb3+/Er3+ doping is observed at low excitation threshold (～13 mW) in NdVO4:Yb/Er UCMs, enhancing the whole UCL intensity. Additionally, the NdVO4:Yb/Er UCMs exhibit a high temperature sensitivity of 3.5% K−1 at low pump power, indicating that UCMs have the potential application in optical temperature sensor.

Reduction of the external resonant magnetic perturbation threshold for 2/1 locked mode excitation by the pre-excited mode on J-TEXT

A significant reduction of the external resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) required for exciting the locked mode (LM) has been observed experimentally due to the presence of an existing LM on J-TEXT. In a plasma with edge safety factor q a slightly smaller than 3, 3/1 and 2/1 modes are observed to be destabilized successively by a rotating RMP field. The 3/1 mode is excited first and identified as an external kink mode, whose excitation threshold decreases with the operating q a increasing from 2.67 to 2.8 with the absence of a 3/1 rational surface. Shortly after excitation of the 3/1 external kink mode, 2/1 field penetration occurs and the 2/1 mode is excited, as identified by the phase between the 2/1 magnetic response and the RMP field jumping by π. The 2/1 mode is excited with a dominant kink structure and then converts into tearing mode for a duration of several milliseconds. During the excitation of the 2/1 mode, the phase difference between the 2/1 and 3/1 modes evolves from π to around 0 and the 2/1 mode amplitude grows to a saturation value comparable with that of the 3/1 mode. The presence of the 3/1 mode leads to a remarkable reduction of the external RMP current required for the 2/1 mode excitation, which can be explained by the contribution of a 2/1 resonant field from the 3/1 mode via the toroidal coupling effect. The larger 3/1 mode amplitude can lead to a greater reduction. This work reveals that the mode can be excited more easily with a reduced amplitude of RMP or error field due to the impact of the pre-existing mode and this might be a new consideration for error field correlation predictions and active magnetohydrodynamics control actuator designs.

Abstract P1065: Primitive Macrophages Enhance The Function Of Bioengineered Human Cardiac Microtissues

Human cardiac bioengineering has traditionally focused on cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation. Unlike normal cardiac growth in the native human heart, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)- derived cardiomyocytes are typically grown in the absence of key supportive populations, which may negatively impact function due to a failure to recreate complex multicellular environments. In vivo murine studies have demonstrated that embryonic-derived resident cardiac macrophages promote neonatal cardiac regeneration, yet macrophages have not been incorporated in cardiac bioengineering approaches. We hypothesized that inclusion of human embryonic stem cell derived primitive macrophages (hESC-macrophages) into bioengineered human cardiac microtissues (“Biowires”) would improve cardiomyocyte functional properties. We found that addition of hESC-macrophages into Biowires led to enhanced contractile force, improved relaxation, reduced excitation threshold, increased maximum capture rate, and increased conduction velocity that mechanistically was correlated with improved calcium cycling, indicating hESC-macrophages improve a broad range of electromechanical properties. Moreover, hESC-macrophages enhanced microtissue function across cardiomyocyte cell sources and bioengineering platforms (Experimental N=6 independent cellular differentiations across 2 different platforms). These changes occurred in the absence of significant transcriptional shifts in cardiomyocytes. Rather, Biowires with hESC-macrophages had reduced mitochondrial DNA release, oxidative stress and cytotoxicity in the very early phases of tissue formation, thereby promoting a favorable environment for cardiac microtissue development. In conclusion, these data reveal a previously unappreciated, yet major beneficial role for macrophages specifically in human cardiac tissue engineering. In general, bioengineering human tissue continues to be a major research focus, and our data argue that inclusion of yolk sac-derived macrophages may improve early microtissue formation and modeling in vitro , and could enhance cell delivery approaches in vivo .

Expression changes of NaV channel subunits correlate with developmental maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons

To investigate the variations in the expression of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channel subunits during development of rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons and their correlation with maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of the neurons. We observed the changes in the expression levels of NaV1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.6 during the development of Purkinje neurons using immunohistochemistry in neonatal (5-7 days after birth), juvenile (12-14 days), adolescent (21-24 days), and adult (42-60 days) SD rats. Using whole-cell patch-clamp technique, we recorded the spontaneous electrical activity of the neurons in ex vivo brain slices of rats of different ages to analyze the changes of electrophysiological characteristics of these neurons during development. The expression of NaV subunits in rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons showed significant variations during development. NaV1.1 subunit was highly expressed throughout the developmental stages and increased progressively with age (P < 0.05). NaV1.2 expression was not detected in the neurons in any of the developmental stages (P > 0.05). The expression level of NaV1.3 decreased with development and became undetectable after adolescence (P < 0.05). NaV1.6 expression was not detected during infancy, but increased with further development (P < 0.05). NaV1.1 and NaV1.3 were mainly expressed in the early stages of development. With the maturation of the rats, NaV1.3 expression disappeared and NaV1.6 expression increased in the neurons. NaV1.1 and NaV1.6 were mainly expressed after adolescence. The total NaV protein level increased gradually with development (P < 0.05) and tended to stabilize after adolescence. The spontaneous frequency and excitability of the Purkinje neurons increased gradually with development and reached the mature levels in adolescence. The developmental expression of NaV subunits was positively correlated with discharge frequency (r=0.9942, P < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the excitatory threshold of the neurons (r=0.9891, P < 0.05). The changes in the expression levels of NaV subunits are correlated with the maturation of high frequency electrophysiological properties of the neurons, suggesting thatmature NaV subunit expressions is the basis of maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of the neurons.

Stable and low-threshold photon upconversion in nondegassed water by organic crystals.

Photon upconversion (UC) is a technology that converts lower-energy photons (longer wavelength light) into higher-energy photons (shorter wavelength light), the opposite of fluorescence. Thus, UC is expected to open a vast domain of photonic applications that are not otherwise possible. Recently, UC by triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) between organic molecules has been studied because of its applicability to low-intensity light, although the majority of such studies have focused on liquid samples in the form of organic solvent solutions. To broaden the range of applications, solid-state UC materials have been an active area of research. We recently developed air-stable, high-performance molecular UC crystals that utilize a stable solid-solution phase of bicomponent organic crystals. This article begins with a brief overview of previous challenges in developing and improving solid-state TTA-UC materials. Then, we briefly review and explain the concept as well as advantages of our molecular solid-solution UC crystals. We applied these organic crystals for the first time to a water environment. We observed blue UC emission upon photoexcitation at 542nm (green-yellow light) and then measured the excitation intensity dependence as well as the temporal stability of the UC emission in air-saturated water. In nondegassed water, these organic crystals were stable, functioned with a low excitation threshold intensity of a few milliwatts per square centimeter, and exhibited high photo-irradiation durability at least over 40h; indicating that the developed organic crystals are also viable for aqueous conditions. Therefore, the organic crystals presented in this report are expected to extend the domain of UC-based photonic applications in practical water systems including in vivo diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic applications.

Dynamical excitation of spin-orbit coupled spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate in a narrow box trap

We demonstrate the dynamics of a spin-1 ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling in a narrow square box trap when an obstacle potential is moving in it. The ground-state energy would be enhanced with the box trap becomes narrower. From the Bogoliubov analytical excitation spectrum lines, we obtain the dependence of critical excitation velocity and momentum on the trap geometry under different SO coupling. Numerically, when the obstacle moves along the direction of plane wave ground state, in addition to spin-density waves being excited periodically, a long density belt accompanied by density island chain is found ahead of the obstacle. Such density distribution is mainly determined by the narrow box trap. A series of density islands arranged more closely are generated as the obstacle moves along opposite direction. There exists another velocity threshold for different density excitation under a larger SO coupling.

Membrane polarization at the excitation threshold induced by external electric fields in cardiomyocytes of rats at different developmental stages.

External electric fields (E), used for cardiac pacing and defibrillation/cardioversion, induce a spatially variable change in cardiomyocyte transmembrane potential (ΔVm) that depends on cell geometry and E orientation. This study investigates E-induced ΔVm in cardiomyocytes from rats at different ages, which show marked size/geometry variation. Using a tridimensional numerical electromagnetic model recently proposed (NM3D), it was possible: (a) to evaluate the suitability of the simpler, prolate spheroid analytical model (PSAM) to calculate amplitude and location of ΔVm maximum (ΔVmax) for E = 1V.cm-1; and (b) to estimate the ΔVmax required for excitation (ΔVT) from experimentally determined threshold E values (ET). Ventricular myocytes were isolated from neonatal, weaning, adult, and aging Wistar rats. NM3D was constructed as the extruded 2D microscopy cell image, while measured minor and major cell dimensions were used for PSAM. Acceptable ΔVm estimates can be obtained with PSAM from paralelepidal cells for small θ. ET, but not ΔVT, was higher for neonate cells. ΔVT was significantly greater in the cell from older animals, which indicate lower responsiveness to E associated with aging, rather than with altered cell geometry/dimensions. ΔVT might be used as a non-invasive indicator of cell excitability as it is little affected by cell geometry/size.

Ambient Pressure Sensitivity of the Subharmonic Response of Coated Microbubbles: Effects of Acoustic Excitation Parameters.

The sensitivity of the acoustic response of microbubbles, specifically a strong correlation between their subharmonic response and the ambient pressure, has motivated development of a non-invasive subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) method. However, this correlation has previously been found to vary depending on the microbubble type, the acoustic excitation and the hydrostatic pressure range. In this study, the ambient pressure sensitivity of microbubble response was investigated. The fundamental, subharmonic, second harmonic and ultraharmonic responses from an in-house lipid-coated microbubble were measured for excitations with peak negative pressures (PNPs) of 50-700 kPa and frequencies of 2, 3 and 4 MHz in the ambient overpressure range 0-25 kPa (0-187 mmHg) in an in vitro setup. The subharmonic response typically has three stages-occurrence, growth and saturation-with increasing excitation PNP. We find distinct decreasing and increasing variations of the subharmonic signal with overpressure that are closely related to the threshold of subharmonic generation in a lipid-shelled microbubble. Above the excitation threshold, that is, in the growth-saturation phase, subharmonic signals decreased linearly with slopes as high as -0.56 dB/kPa with ambient pressure increase; below the threshold excitation (at atmospheric pressure), increasing overpressure triggers subharmonic generation, indicating a lowering of subharmonic threshold, and therefore leads to an increase in subharmonic with overpressure, the maximum enhancement being ∼11 dB for 15 kPa overpressure at 2 MHz and 100 kPa PNP. This study indicates the possible development of novel and improved SHAPE methodologies.

Ultrafast activation of the double-exchange interaction in antiferromagnetic manganites

In doped manganite systems, strong electronic correlations result in rich phase diagrams where electron delocalization strongly affects the magnetic order. Here, we employ a femtosecond all-optical pump-probe scheme to impulsively photodope the antiferromagnetic parent manganite system CaMnO3 and unveil the formation dynamics of a long-range ferromagnetic state. We resonantly target intense charge transfer electronic transitions in CaMnO3 to photodope the system and probe the subsequent dynamics of both charges and spins using a unique combination of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy and time-resolved magneto-optical Faraday measurements. We demonstrate that photodoping promotes a long-lived population of delocalized electrons and induces a net magnetization, effectively promoting ferromagnetism resulting from light-induced carrier-mediated short-range double-exchange interactions. The picosecond set time of the magnetization, much longer than the electron timescale, and the presence of an excitation threshold are consistent with the formation of ferromagnetic patches in an antiferromagnetic background.

Collision-induced excitation of ammonia in warm interstellar and circumstellar environments

ABSTRACT Ammonia (NH3) is the first polyatomic molecule detected in the interstellar medium. Both its spectroscopic and collisional properties have been extensively studied earlier, and NH3 has often been used in laboratory astrophysics studies to compare high-level scattering calculations with state-of-the-art experiments. Nevertheless, some of its important collisional properties remain unresolved. In this paper, we report state-to-state and thermally averaged collisional data for the rotational excitation of NH3 by H2 calculated with the close-coupling quantum theory. Both nuclear spin symmetries (ortho/para) of the colliders are studied. Similar research has been carried out previously, providing rate coefficients up to a temperature of 200 K for rotational states with internal energy up to ∼420 cm−1. Here, we have computed cross sections for collision energies up to 4700 cm−1 and rate coefficients up to 500 K. Most of the rotation-inversion levels of ammonia have been considered below the first vibrational excitation threshold, leading to a total of 33 ortho- and 62 para-NH3 states. We have compared our results with the most accurate data for He and H atoms available in the literature. The propensity rules have also been analysed in the case of high rotational levels of NH3. The rate coefficients obtained by averaging over the thermal H2 relative populations exhibit significantly larger magnitudes than the state-to-state collisional data in the case of NH3 transitions with large internal energy difference, when the rotational energy transfer between the colliders is strong.

Fully Inkjet‐Printed Perovskite Microlaser with an Outcoupling Waveguide

AbstractPhotonic materials based on metal halide perovskites undergo rapid development owing to their unique optical properties and facile synthesis. Concurrently, there is also a growing interest in integrated photonics that can combine several elements on one chip. Nowadays technologies of integrated photonics are based on the traditional mask lithography combined with physical or chemical deposition methods. In this study, the possibility of facile fabrication of a simple pair of photonic elements is addressed, such as a microresonator with an outcoupling waveguide by means of inkjet printing on a glass substrate covered by a layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The printed laser has revealed an appreciably high laser emission with a Q‐factor of 3300 and a threshold excitation fluence of 34 µJ·cm−2. The outcoupling waveguide has demonstrated the capability to transfer a reasonable part of the emitted radiation. The experimental results with a numerical simulation based on an appropriate physical model are also rationalized. Thus, the study points out a perspective for integrated photonics to be possibly implemented with this relatively cheap, flexible, and scalable fabrication method.

Randomized whispering-gallery-mode microdisk laser arrays via cavity deformations for anti-counterfeiting labels

Optical physical unclonable functions (PUFs) have emerged as a promising strategy for effective and unbreakable anti-counterfeiting. However, the unpredictable spatial distribution and broadband spectra of most optical PUFs complicate efficient and accurate verification in practical anti-counterfeiting applications. Here, we propose an optical PUF-based anti-counterfeiting label from perovskite microlaser arrays, where randomness is introduced through vapor-induced microcavity deformation. The initial perovskite microdisk laser arrays with regular positions and uniform sizes are fabricated by femtosecond laser direct ablation. By introducing vapor fumigation to induce random deformations in each microlaser cavity, a laser array with completely uneven excitation thresholds and narrow-linewidth lasing signals is obtained. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated that the post-treated laser array can provide fixed-point and random lasing signals to facilitate information encoding. Furthermore, different emission states of the lasing signal can be achieved by altering the pump energy density to reflect higher capacity information. A threefold PUF (excited under three pump power densities) with a resolution of 5×5 pixels exhibits a high encoding capacity (1.43×1045), making it a promising candidate to achieve efficient authentication and high security with anti-counterfeiting labels.

Highly Tuneable Photochromic Sodalites for Dosimetry, Security Marking and Imaging

AbstractPhotochromic sodalites are considered for a plethora of possible applications, such as UV indexing and X‐ray imaging, but for many of these the materials are yet to be optimized. UV indexing can be improved through incremental adjustment of the activation energy of coloration from 300 to 410 nm through replacement of sulfur with selenium. By combining this and other methods of tuning presented in the literature, the excitation threshold and photochromism color can be tuned independently of one another. The range of possible absorption maxima is expanded to 420–680 nm, or almost the entire visible spectrum. Mixing low‐cost and easy‐to‐synthesize sodalites further broadens the possible range of colors and facilitates development of a unique sodalite mix capable of quantifying the doses of two types of UV radiation simultaneously. Finally, the response to X‐rays of these highly tuned sodalites is investigated, and it is found that they can be sensitized to produce clear, high‐contrast X‐ray images at significantly lower doses of radiation than those required by classic photochromic sodalite, Na8(AlSiO4)6(Cl,S)2.

Effects of non-ideality of classical plasmas on the 1Se resonance states in H−

The effects of the non-ideality (NI) of the classical plasmas on the 1Se resonance states of the negative ion of hydrogen (H−) have been investigated theoretically by using the stabilization method. The organized effect of the plasma charged particles is represented by a pseudopotential, which depends on the Debye length D and the non-ideality parameter γ. Densities of the resonance states as a function of D and γ are calculated by employing a highly correlated and extensive basis set. Convergence of the resonance parameters (energy and width) is ensured by increasing the number of terms in the basis. Three 1Se resonance states are found to emerge below the H(4S) excitation threshold. Our present results for lowest lying resonance for plasma-free cases as well as in weakly coupled plasmas are in excellent agreement with the established results in the literature. An extensive study is carried out to explore the changes in the resonance parameters of the three states due to the effects of plasma NI. It is found that, for a given Debye length, the resonance energy increases, and the resonance width decreases with increasing plasma non-ideality.

Measurements and Modeling of a Monolithically Integrated Self-Spiking Two-Section Laser in InP

The self-spiking behavior of an integrated saturable absorber and gain section laser fabricated in an InP technology platform is analyzed. The gain, absorber and intensity dynamics are first inspected using the normalized Yamada model. This model shows excitable behavior as well as the relative refractory period, both of which are also present in biological neurons. Measurements of a two-section laser show irregular spike generation on the millisecond timescale, with a saturable absorber voltage controlled spike density. From our simulations, and from the quasi-random character and millisecond timescale at which these pulses occur, we conclude the laser is triggered by noise, an important characteristic in the operation of biological neurons. Simulations of the laser around the excitability threshold using a newly proposed model with an optical noise term show qualitatively similar self-spiking behavior as measured.