Two Energy Scales and two Quasiparticle Dynamics in the Superconducting State of Underdoped Cuprates

The superconducting state of underdoped cuprates is often described in terms of a single energy-scale, associated with the maximum of the (d-wave) gap. Here, we report on electronic Raman scattering results, which show that the gap function in the underdoped regime is characterized by two energy scales, depending on doping in opposite manners. Their ratios to the maximum critical temperature are found to be universal in cuprates. Our experimental results also reveal two different quasiparticle dynamics in the underdoped superconducting state, associated with two regions of momentum space: nodal regions near the zeros of the superconducting gap and antinodal regions. While antinodal quasiparticles quickly loose coherence as doping is reduced, coherent nodal quasiparticles persist down to low doping levels. A theoretical analysis using a new sum-rule allows us to relate the low-frequency-dependence of the Raman response to the temperature-dependence of the superfluid density, both controlled by nodal excitations.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Dynamical Boson Stars

The idea of stable, localized bundles of energy has strong appeal as a model for particles. In the 1950s John Wheeler envisioned such bundles as smooth configurations of electromagnetic energy that he called {\em geons}, but none were found. Instead, particle-like solutions were found in the late 1960s with the addition of a scalar field, and these were given the name {\em boson stars}. Since then, boson stars find use in a wide variety of models as sources of dark matter, as black hole mimickers, in simple models of binary systems, and as a tool in finding black holes in higher dimensions with only a single killing vector. We discuss important varieties of boson stars, their dynamic properties, and some of their uses, concentrating on recent efforts.Comment: 79 pages, 25 figures, invited review for Living Reviews in Relativity; major revision in 201

Present state and future perspectives of using pluripotent stem cells in toxicology research

The use of novel drugs and chemicals requires reliable data on their potential toxic effects on humans. Current test systems are mainly based on animals or in vitro–cultured animal-derived cells and do not or not sufficiently mirror the situation in humans. Therefore, in vitro models based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have become an attractive alternative. The article summarizes the characteristics of pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic carcinoma and embryonic germ cells, and discusses the potential of pluripotent stem cells for safety pharmacology and toxicology. Special attention is directed to the potential application of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for the assessment of developmental toxicology as well as cardio- and hepatotoxicology. With respect to embryotoxicology, recent achievements of the embryonic stem cell test (EST) are described and current limitations as well as prospects of embryotoxicity studies using pluripotent stem cells are discussed. Furthermore, recent efforts to establish hPSC-based cell models for testing cardio- and hepatotoxicity are presented. In this context, methods for differentiation and selection of cardiac and hepatic cells from hPSCs are summarized, requirements and implications with respect to the use of these cells in safety pharmacology and toxicology are presented, and future challenges and perspectives of using hPSCs are discussed