2,551 research outputs found
Anomalous shell effect in the transition from a circular to a triangular billiard
We apply periodic orbit theory to a two-dimensional non-integrable billiard
system whose boundary is varied smoothly from a circular to an equilateral
triangular shape. Although the classical dynamics becomes chaotic with
increasing triangular deformation, it exhibits an astonishingly pronounced
shell effect on its way through the shape transition. A semiclassical analysis
reveals that this shell effect emerges from a codimension-two bifurcation of
the triangular periodic orbit. Gutzwiller's semiclassical trace formula, using
a global uniform approximation for the bifurcation of the triangular orbit and
including the contributions of the other isolated orbits, describes very well
the coarse-grained quantum-mechanical level density of this system. We also
discuss the role of discrete symmetry for the large shell effect obtained here.Comment: 14 pages REVTeX4, 16 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev. E.
Qualities of some figures are lowered to reduce their sizes. Original figures
are available at http://www.phys.nitech.ac.jp/~arita/papers/tricirc
Sewing sound quantum flesh onto classical bones
Semiclassical transformation theory implies an integral representation for
stationary-state wave functions in terms of angle-action variables
(). It is a particular solution of Schr\"{o}dinger's time-independent
equation when terms of order and higher are omitted, but the
pre-exponential factor in the integrand of this integral
representation does not possess the correct dependence on . The origin of
the problem is identified: the standard unitarity condition invoked in
semiclassical transformation theory does not fix adequately in a
factor which is a function of the action written in terms of and
. A prescription for an improved choice of this factor, based on
succesfully reproducing the leading behaviour of wave functions in the vicinity
of potential minima, is outlined. Exact evaluation of the modified integral
representation via the Residue Theorem is possible. It yields wave functions
which are not, in general, orthogonal. However, closed-form results obtained
after Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization bear a striking resemblance to the exact
analytical expressions for the stationary-state wave functions of the various
potential models considered (namely, a P\"{o}schl-Teller oscillator and the
Morse oscillator).Comment: RevTeX4, 6 page
Observing trajectories with weak measurements in quantum systems in the semiclassical regime
We propose a scheme allowing to observe the evolution of a quantum system in
the semiclassical regime along the paths generated by the propagator. The
scheme relies on performing consecutive weak measurements of the position. We
show how weak trajectories" can be extracted from the pointers of a series of
measurement devices having weakly interacted with the system. The properties of
these "weak trajectories" are investigated and illustrated in the case of a
time-dependent model system.Comment: v2: Several minor corrections were made. Added Appendix (that will
appear as Suppl. Material). To be published in Phys Rev Let
Enhancement of the critical temperature in iron-pnictide superconductors by finite size effects
Recent experiments have shown that, in agreement with previous theoretical
predictions, superconductivity in metallic nanostructures can be enhanced with
respect to the bulk limit. Motivated by these results we study finite size
effects (FSE) in an iron-pnictide superconductor. For realistic values of the
bulk critical temperature Tc ~ 20-50K, we find that, in the nanoscale region L
~ 10 nm, Tc(L) has a complicated oscillating pattern as a function of the
system size L. A substantial enhancement of Tc with respect to the bulk limit
is observed for different boundary conditions, geometries and two microscopic
models of superconductivity. Thermal fluctuations, which break long range
order, are still small in this region. Finally we show that the differential
conductance, an experimental observable, is also very sensitive to FSE.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Periodic-Orbit Bifurcations and Superdeformed Shell Structure
We have derived a semiclassical trace formula for the level density of the
three-dimensional spheroidal cavity. To overcome the divergences occurring at
bifurcations and in the spherical limit, the trace integrals over the
action-angle variables were performed using an improved stationary phase
method. The resulting semiclassical level density oscillations and
shell-correction energies are in good agreement with quantum-mechanical
results. We find that the bifurcations of some dominant short periodic orbits
lead to an enhancement of the shell structure for "superdeformed" shapes
related to those known from atomic nuclei.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure
Semiclassical trace formulae for systems with spin-orbit interactions: successes and limitations of present approaches
We discuss the semiclassical approaches for describing systems with
spin-orbit interactions by Littlejohn and Flynn (1991, 1992), Frisk and Guhr
(1993), and by Bolte and Keppeler (1998, 1999). We use these methods to derive
trace formulae for several two- and three-dimensional model systems, and
exhibit their successes and limitations. We discuss, in particular, also the
mode conversion problem that arises in the strong-coupling limit.Comment: LaTeX2e, 25 pages incl. 9 figures, version 3: final version in print
for J. Phys.
Semiclassical Theory of Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer Pairing-Gap Fluctuations
Superfluidity and superconductivity are genuine many-body manifestations of
quantum coherence. For finite-size systems the associated pairing gap
fluctuates as a function of size or shape. We provide a parameter free
theoretical description of pairing fluctuations in mesoscopic systems
characterized by order/chaos dynamics. The theory accurately describes
experimental observations of nuclear superfluidity (regular system), predicts
universal fluctuations of superconductivity in small chaotic metallic grains,
and provides a global analysis in ultracold Fermi gases.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Sprouty1 regulates reversible quiescence of a self-renewing adult muscle stem cell pool during regeneration.
Satellite cells are skeletal muscle stem cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation after transplantation, but whether they contribute to endogenous muscle fiber repair has been unclear. The transcription factor Pax7 marks satellite cells and is critical for establishing the adult satellite cell pool. By using a lineage tracing approach, we show that after injury, quiescent adult Pax7(+) cells enter the cell cycle; a subpopulation returns to quiescence to replenish the satellite cell compartment, while others contribute to muscle fiber formation. We demonstrate that Sprouty1 (Spry1), a receptor tyrosine kinase signaling inhibitor, is expressed in quiescent Pax7(+) satellite cells in uninjured muscle, downregulated in proliferating myogenic cells after injury, and reinduced as Pax7(+) cells re-enter quiescence. We show that Spry1 is required for the return to quiescence and homeostasis of the satellite cell pool during repair. Our results therefore define a role for Spry1 in adult muscle stem cell biology and tissue repair
- âŠ