How to reduce the suspension thermal noise in LIGO without improving the Q's of the pendulum and violin modes

The suspension noise in interferometric gravitational wave detectors is caused by losses at the top and the bottom attachments of each suspension fiber. We use the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem to argue that by careful positioning of the laser beam spot on the mirror face it is possible to reduce the contribution of the bottom attachment point to the suspension noise by several orders of magnitude. For example, for the initial and enhanced LIGO design parameters (i.e. mirror masses and sizes, and suspension fibers' lengths and diameters) we predict a reduction of $\sim 100$ in the "bottom" spectral density throughout the band $35-100\hbox{Hz}$ of serious thermal noise. We then propose a readout scheme which suppresses the suspension noise contribution of the top attachment point. The idea is to monitor an averaged horizontal displacement of the fiber of length $l$; this allows one to record the contribution of the top attachment point to the suspension noise, and later subtract it it from the interferometer readout. For enhanced LIGO this would allow a suppression factor about 100 in spectral density of suspension thermal noise.Comment: a few misprints corrected; submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit

Dialectics and Implications of Natural Neurotropic Autoantibodies in Neurological Disease and Rehabilitation

The role of natural idiotypic (Id-Abs) and anti-idiotypic (AId-Abs) autoantibodies against neuro-antigens observed in different neurological disorders is not fully understood. In particular, limited experimental evidence has been provided concerning the qualitative and quantitative serological response after acute injuries of the central nervous system or during chronic mental diseases. In this study, we analyzed the specific Id-Abs and AId-Abs serological reactivities against 4 neuro-antigens in a large population of patients with ischemic stroke, schizophrenia, as well as healthy individuals. Patients with ischemic stroke were tested at different time points following the acute stroke episode and a correlation was attempted between autoantibodies response and different patterns of functional recovery. Results showed variable and detectable Id-Abs and AId-Abs in different proportions of all three populations of subjects. Among patients with different functional recovery after ischemic stroke, a difference in time-related trends of Id-Abs and AId-Abs was encountered. Our observations suggest that changes in the production of natural neurotropic Abs may engender a positive homeostatic, beside a possible pathogenic effect, in specific neurological disorders

Considerable enhancement of the critical current in a superconducting film by magnetized magnetic strip

We show that a magnetic strip on top of a superconducting strip magnetized in a specified direction may considerably enhance the critical current in the sample. At fixed magnetization of the magnet we observed diode effect - the value of the critical current depends on the direction of the transport current. We explain these effects by a influence of the nonuniform magnetic field induced by the magnet on the current distribution in the superconducting strip. The experiment on a hybrid Nb/Co structure confirmed the predicted variation of the critical current with a changing value of magnetization and direction of the transport current.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Two-dimensional effective action for matter fields coupled to the dilaton

We revise the calculation of the one-loop effective action for scalar and spinor fields coupled to the dilaton in two dimensions. Applying the method of covariant perturbation theory for the heat kernel we derive the effective action in an explicitly covariant form that produces both the conformally invariant and the conformally anomalous terms.For scalar fields the conformally invariant part of the action is nonlocal. The obtained effective action is proved to be infrared finite. We also compute the one-loop effective action for scalar fields at finite temperature.Comment: LaTeX, 25 page

Negative magneto-resistance of electron gas in a quantum well with parabolic potential

We have studied the electrical conductivity of the electron gas in parallel electric and magnetic fields directed along the plane of a parabolic quantum well (across the profile of the potential). We found a general expression for the electrical conductivity applicable for any magnitudes of the magnetic field and the degree of degeneration of the electron gas. A new mechanism of generation of the negative magnetoresistance has been revealed. It has been shown that in a parabolic quantum well with a non-degenerated electron gas the negative magnetoresistance results from spin splitting of the levels of the size quantization.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Spin photocurrents and circular photon drag effect in (110)-grown quantum well structures

We report on the study of spin photocurrents in (110)-grown quantum well structures. Investigated effects comprise the circular photogalvanic effect and so far not observed circular photon drag effect. The experimental data can be described by an analytical expression derived from a phenomenological theory. A microscopic model of the circular photon drag effect is developed demonstrating that the generated current has spin dependent origin.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure