6,732 research outputs found
Relativistically invariant quantum information
We show that quantum information can be encoded into entangled states of
multiple indistinguishable particles in such a way that any inertial observer
can prepare, manipulate, or measure the encoded state independent of their
Lorentz reference frame. Such relativistically invariant quantum information is
free of the difficulties associated with encoding into spin or other degrees of
freedom in a relativistic context.Comment: 5 pages, published versio
Relativistically covariant state-dependent cloning of photons
The influence of the relativistic covariance requirement on the optimality of
the symmetric state-dependent 1 -> 2 cloning machine is studied. Namely, given
a photonic qubit whose basis is formed from the momentum-helicity eigenstates,
the change to the optimal cloning fidelity is calculated taking into account
the Lorentz covariance unitarily represented by Wigner's little group. To
pinpoint some of the interesting results, we found states for which the optimal
fidelity of the cloning process drops to 2/3 which corresponds to the fidelity
of the optimal classical cloner. Also, an implication for the security of the
BB84 protocol is analyzed.Comment: corrected, rewritten and accepted in PR
Osmotic Edema Rapidly Increases Neuronal Excitability Through Activation of NMDA Receptor-Dependent Slow Inward Currents in Juvenile and Adult Hippocampus.
Cellular edema (cell swelling) is a principal component of numerous brain disorders including ischemia, cortical spreading depression, hyponatremia, and epilepsy. Cellular edema increases seizure-like activity in vitro and in vivo, largely through nonsynaptic mechanisms attributable to reduction of the extracellular space. However, the types of excitability changes occurring in individual neurons during the acute phase of cell volume increase remain unclear. Using whole-cell patch clamp techniques, we report that one of the first effects of osmotic edema on excitability of CA1 pyramidal cells is the generation of slow inward currents (SICs), which initiate after approximately 1 min. Frequency of SICs increased as osmolarity decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Imaging of real-time volume changes in astrocytes revealed that neuronal SICs occurred while astrocytes were still in the process of swelling. SICs evoked by cell swelling were mainly nonsynaptic in origin and NMDA receptor-dependent. To better understand the relationship between SICs and changes in neuronal excitability, recordings were performed in increasingly physiological conditions. In the absence of any added pharmacological reagents or imposed voltage clamp, osmotic edema induced excitatory postsynaptic potentials and burst firing over the same timecourse as SICs. Like SICs, action potentials were blocked by NMDAR antagonists. Effects were more pronounced in adult (8-20 weeks old) compared with juvenile (P15-P21) mice. Together, our results indicate that cell swelling triggered by reduced osmolarity rapidly increases neuronal excitability through activation of NMDA receptors. Our findings have important implications for understanding nonsynaptic mechanisms of epilepsy in relation to cell swelling and reduction of the extracellular space
The potential for liquid biopsies in the precision medical treatment of breast cancer.
Currently the clinical management of breast cancer relies on relatively few prognostic/predictive clinical markers (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2), based on primary tumor biology. Circulating biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may enhance our treatment options by focusing on the very cells that are the direct precursors of distant metastatic disease, and probably inherently different than the primary tumor's biology. To shift the current clinical paradigm, assessing tumor biology in real time by molecularly profiling CTCs or ctDNA may serve to discover therapeutic targets, detect minimal residual disease and predict response to treatment. This review serves to elucidate the detection, characterization, and clinical application of CTCs and ctDNA with the goal of precision treatment of breast cancer
How should one formulate, extract, and interpret `non-observables' for nuclei?
Nuclear observables such as binding energies and cross sections can be
directly measured. Other physically useful quantities, such as spectroscopic
factors, are related to measured quantities by a convolution whose
decomposition is not unique. Can a framework for these nuclear structure
`non-observables' be formulated systematically so that they can be extracted
from experiment with known uncertainties and calculated with consistent theory?
Parton distribution functions in hadrons serve as an illustrative example of
how this can be done. A systematic framework is also needed to address
questions of interpretation, such as whether short-range correlations are
important for nuclear structure.Comment: 7 pages. Contribution to the "Focus issue on Open Problems in Nuclear
Structure", Journal of Physics
Determining the strange and antistrange quark distributions of the nucleon
The difference between the strange and antistrange quark distributions,
\delta s(x)=s(x)-\sbar(x), and the combination of light quark sea and strange
quark sea, \Delta (x)=\dbar(x)+\ubar(x)-s(x)-\sbar(x), are originated from
non-perturbative processes, and can be calculated using non-perturbative models
of the nucleon. We report calculations of and using
the meson cloud model. Combining our calculations of with
relatively well known light antiquark distributions obtained from global
analysis of available experimental data, we estimate the total strange sea
distributions of the nucleon.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; talk given by F.-G. at QNP0
Heavy Quark Mass Effects in Deep Inelastic Scattering and Global QCD Analysis
A new implementation of the general PQCD formalism of Collins, including
heavy quark mass effects, is described. Important features that contribute to
the accuracy and efficiency of the calculation of both neutral current (NC) and
charged current (CC) processess are explicitly discussed. This new
implementation is applied to the global analysis of the full HERA I data sets
on NC and CC cross sections, with correlated systematic errors, in conjunction
with the usual fixed-target and hadron collider data sets. By using a variety
of parametrizations to explore the parton parameter space, robust new parton
distribution function (PDF) sets (CTEQ6.5) are obtained. The new quark
distributions are consistently higher in the region x ~ 10^{-3} than previous
ones, with important implications on hadron collider phenomenology, especially
at the LHC. The uncertainties of the parton distributions are reassessed and
are compared to the previous ones. A new set of CTEQ6.5 eigenvector PDFs that
encapsulates these uncertainties is also presented.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures; updated, Publication Versio
Genome-wide analysis points to roles for extracellular matrix remodeling, the visual cycle, and neuronal development in myopia
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is the most common eye disorder, resulting
primarily from excess elongation of the eye. The etiology of myopia, although
known to be complex, is poorly understood. Here we report the largest ever
genome-wide association study (43,360 participants) on myopia in Europeans. We
performed a survival analysis on age of myopia onset and identified 19
significant associations (p < 5e-8), two of which are replications of earlier
associations with refractive error. These 19 associations in total explain 2.7%
of the variance in myopia age of onset, and point towards a number of different
mechanisms behind the development of myopia. One association is in the gene
PRSS56, which has previously been linked to abnormally small eyes; one is in a
gene that forms part of the extracellular matrix (LAMA2); two are in or near
genes involved in the regeneration of 11-cis-retinal (RGR and RDH5); two are
near genes known to be involved in the growth and guidance of retinal ganglion
cells (ZIC2, SFRP1); and five are in or near genes involved in neuronal
signaling or development. These novel findings point towards multiple genetic
factors involved in the development of myopia and suggest that complex
interactions between extracellular matrix remodeling, neuronal development, and
visual signals from the retina may underlie the development of myopia in
humans
A note on the realignment criterion
For a quantum state in a bipartite system represented as a density matrix,
researchers used the realignment matrix and functions on its singular values to
study the separability of the quantum state. We obtain bounds for elementary
symmetric functions of singular values of realignment matrices. This answers
some open problems proposed by Lupo, Aniello, and Scardicchio. As a
consequence, we show that the proposed scheme by these authors for testing
separability would not work if the two subsystems of the bipartite system have
the same dimension.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and
Theoretica
Gravity from a fermionic condensate of a gauge theory
The most prominent realization of gravity as a gauge theory similar to the
gauge theories of the standard model comes from enlarging the gauge group from
the Lorentz group to the de Sitter group. To regain ordinary Einstein-Cartan
gravity the symmetry must be broken, which can be accomplished by known
quasi-dynamic mechanisms. Motivated by symmetry breaking models in particle
physics and condensed matter systems, we propose that the symmetry can
naturally be broken by a homogenous and isotropic fermionic condensate of
ordinary spinors. We demonstrate that the condensate is compatible with the
Einstein-Cartan equations and can be imposed in a fully de Sitter invariant
manner. This lends support, and provides a physically realistic mechanism for
understanding gravity as a gauge theory with a spontaneously broken local de
Sitter symmetry.Comment: 16 page
- …