116,523 research outputs found
Novel Josephson effects between multi-gap and single-gap superconductors
Multi-gap superconductors can exhibit qualitatively new phenomena due to
existence of multiple order parameters. Repulsive electronic interactions may
give rise to a phase difference of between the phases of the order
parameters. Collective modes due to the oscillation of the relative phases of
these order parameters are also possible. Here we show that both these
phenomena are observable in Josephson junctions between a single-gap and a
multi-gap superconductor. In particular, a non-monotonic temperature dependence
of the Josephson current through the junction reveals the existence of the
phase differences in the multi-gap superconductor. This mechanism may be
relevant for understanding several experiments on the Josephson junctions with
unconventional superconductors. We also discuss how the presence of the
collective mode resonantly enhances the DC Josephson current when the voltage
across the junction matches the mode frequency. We suggest that our results may
apply to MgB, 2H-NbSe, spin ladder and bilayer cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Adhesion-induced phase separation of multiple species of membrane junctions
A theory is presented for the membrane junction separation induced by the
adhesion between two biomimetic membranes that contain two different types of
anchored junctions (receptor/ligand complexes). The analysis shows that several
mechanisms contribute to the membrane junction separation. These mechanisms
include (i) the height difference between type-1 and type-2 junctions is the
main factor which drives the junction separation, (ii) when type-1 and type-2
junctions have different rigidities against stretch and compression, the
``softer'' junctions are the ``favored'' species, and the aggregation of the
softer junction can occur, (iii) the elasticity of the membranes mediates a
non-local interaction between the junctions, (iv) the thermally activated shape
fluctuations of the membranes also contribute to the junction separation by
inducing another non-local interaction between the junctions and renormalizing
the binding energy of the junctions. The combined effect of these mechanisms is
that when junction separation occurs, the system separates into two domains
with different relative and total junction densities.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure
Neuronal junctophilins recruit specific Cav and RyR isoforms to ER-PM junctions and functionally alter Cav2.1 and Cav2.2
Junctions between the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane that are induced by the neuronal junctophilins are of demonstrated importance, but their molecular architecture is still poorly understood and challenging to address in neurons. This is due to the small size of the junctions and the multiple isoforms of candidate junctional proteins in different brain areas. Using colocalization of tagged proteins expressed in tsA201 cells, and electrophysiology, we compared the interactions of JPH3 and JPH4 with different calcium channels. We found that JPH3 and JPH4 caused junctional accumulation of all the tested high-voltage-activated CaV isoforms, but not a low-voltage-activated CaV. Also, JPH3 and JPH4 noticeably modify CaV2.1 and CaV2.2 inactivation rate. RyR3 moderately colocalized at junctions with JPH4, whereas RyR1 and RyR2 did not. By contrast, RyR1 and RyR3 strongly colocalized with JPH3, and RyR2 moderately. Likely contributing to this difference, JPH3 binds to cytoplasmic domain constructs of RyR1 and RyR3, but not of RyR2
Macroscopic Many-Qubit Interactions in Superconducting Flux Qubits
Superconducting flux qubits are considered to investigate macroscopic
many-qubit interactions.
Many-qubit states based on current states can be manipulated through the
current-phase relation in each superconducting loop.
For flux qubit systems comprised of qubit loops, a general expression of
low energy Hamiltonian is presented in terms of low energy levels of qubits and
macroscopic quantum tunnelings between the many-qubit states.
Many-qubit interactions classified by {\em Ising type- or tunnel-}exchange
interactions can be observable experimentally.
Flux qubit systems can provide various artificial-spin systems to study
many-body systems that cannot be found naturally.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Connexins: synthesis, post-translational modifications, and trafficking in health and disease
Connexins are tetraspan transmembrane proteins that form gap junctions and facilitate direct intercellular communication, a critical feature for the development, function, and homeostasis of tissues and organs. In addition, a growing number of gap junction-independent functions are being ascribed to these proteins. The connexin gene family is under extensive regulation at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level, and undergoes numerous modifications at the protein level, including phosphorylation, which ultimately affects their trafficking, stability, and function. Here, we summarize these key regulatory events, with emphasis on how these affect connexin multifunctionality in health and disease
A Theoretical Study on Spin-Dependent Transport of "Ferromagnet/Carbon Nanotube Encapsulating Magnetic Atoms/Ferromagnet" Junctions with 4-Valued Conductances
As a novel function of ferromagnet (FM)/spacer/FM junctions, we theoretically
investigate multiple-valued (or multi-level) cell property, which is in
principle realized by sensing conductances of four states recorded with
magnetization configurations of two FMs; (up,up), (up,down), (down,up),
(down,down). In order to sense all the states, 4-valued conductances
corresponding to the respective states are necessary. We previously proposed
that 4-valued conductances are obtained in FM1/spin-polarized spacer (SPS)/FM2
junctions, where FM1 and FM2 have different spin polarizations, and the spacer
depends on spin [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 15, 8797 (2003)]. In this paper, an
ideal SPS is considered as a single-wall armchair carbon nanotube encapsulating
magnetic atoms, where the nanotube shows on-resonance or off-resonance at the
Fermi level according to its length. The magnitude of the obtained 4-valued
conductances has an opposite order between the on-resonant nanotube and the
off-resonant one, and this property can be understood by considering electronic
states of the nanotube. Also, the magnetoresistance ratio between (up,up) and
(down,down) can be larger than the conventional one between parallel and
anti-parallel configurations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys.: Condens.
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