4,100 research outputs found
Tunneling dynamics of few bosons in a double well
We study few-boson tunneling in a one-dimensional double well. As we pass
from weak interactions to the fermionization limit, the Rabi oscillations first
give way to highly delayed pair tunneling (for medium coupling), whereas for
very strong correlations multi-band Rabi oscillations emerge. All this is
explained on the basis of the exact few-body spectrum and without recourse to
the conventional two-mode approximation. Two-body correlations are found
essential to the understanding of the different tunnel mechanisms. The
investigation is complemented by discussing the effect of skewing the double
well, which offers the possibility to access specific tunnel resonancesComment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Brain GABA and Glutamate Concentrations Following Chronic Gabapentin Administration: A Convenience Sample Studied During Early Abstinence From Alcohol.
Gabapentin (GBP), a GABA analog that may also affect glutamate (Glu) production, can normalize GABA and Glu tone during early abstinence from alcohol, effectively treating withdrawal symptoms and facilitating recovery. Using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we tested the degree to which daily GBP alters regional brain GABA and Glu levels in short-term abstinent alcohol-dependent individuals. Regional metabolite levels were compared between 13 recently abstinent alcohol-dependent individuals who had received daily GBP for at least 1 week (GBP+) and 25 matched alcohol-dependent individuals who had not received GBP (GBP-). Magnetic resonance spectra from up to five different brain regions were analyzed to yield absolute GABA and Glu concentrations. GABA and Glu concentrations in the parieto-occipital cortex were not different between GBP- and GBP+. Glu levels in anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and basal ganglia did not differ between GBP- and GBP+. However, in a subgroup of individuals matched on age, sex, and abstinence duration, GBP+ had markedly lower Glu in the frontal white matter (WM) than GBP-, comparable to concentrations found in light/non-drinking controls. Furthermore, lower frontal WM Glu in GBP+ correlated with a higher daily GBP dose. Daily GBP treatment at an average of 1,600 mg/day for at least 1 week was not associated with altered cortical GABA and Glu concentrations during short-term abstinence from alcohol, but with lower Glu in frontal WM. GBP for the treatment of alcohol dependence may work through reducing Glu in WM rather than increasing cortical GABA
Dissipative quantum light field engineering
We put forward a dissipative preparation scheme for strongly correlated
photon states. Our approach is based on a two-photon loss mechanism that is
realised via a single four-level atom inside a bimodal optical cavity. Each
elementary two-photon emission event removes one photon out of each of the two
modes. The dark states of this loss mechanism are given by NOON states and
arbitrary superpositions thereof. We find that the steady state of the two
cavity modes exhibits entanglement and for certain parameters, a mixture of two
coherent entangled states is produced. We discuss how the quantum correlations
in the cavity modes and the output fields can be measured.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Correlations in Ultracold Trapped Few-Boson Systems: Transition from Condensation to Fermionization
We study the correlation properties of the ground states of few ultracold
bosons, trapped in double wells of varying barrier height in one dimension.
Extending previous results on the signature of the transition from a
Bose-condensed state via fragmentation to the hard-core limit, we provide a
deeper understanding of that transition by relating it to the loss of coherence
in the one-body density matrix and to the emerging long-range tail in the
momentum spectrum. These are accounted for in detail by discussing the natural
orbitals and their occupations. Our discussion is complemented by an analysis
of the two-body correlation function.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
Excitations of Few-Boson Systems in 1-D Harmonic and Double Wells
We examine the lowest excitations of one-dimensional few-boson systems
trapped in double wells of variable barrier height. Based on a numerically
exact multi-configurational method, we follow the whole pathway from the
non-interacting to the fermionization limit. It is shown how, in a purely
harmonic trap, the initially equidistant, degenerate levels are split up due to
interactions, but merge again for strong enough coupling. In a double well, the
low-lying spectrum is largely rearranged in the course of fermionization,
exhibiting level adhesion and (anti-)crossings. The evolution of the underlying
states is explained in analogy to the ground-state behavior. Our discussion is
complemented by illuminating the crossover from a single to a double well.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Quantum dynamics of two bosons in an anharmonic trap: Collective vs internal excitations
This work deals with the effects of an anharmonic trap on an interacting
two-boson system in one dimension. Our primary focus is on the role of the
induced coupling between the center of mass and the relative motion as both
anharmonicity and the (repulsive) interaction strength are varied. The ground
state reveals a strong localization in the relative coordinate, counteracting
the tendency to fragment for stronger repulsion. To explore the quantum
dynamics, we study the system's response upon (i) exciting the harmonic ground
state by continuously switching on an additional anharmonicity, and (ii)
displacing the center of mass, this way triggering collective oscillations. The
interplay between collective and internal dynamics materializes in the collapse
of oscillations, which are explained in terms of few-mode models.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Dynamics of vortices in weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates
We study the dynamics of vortices in ideal and weakly interacting
Bose-Einstein condensates using a Ritz minimization method to solve the
two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. For different initial vortex
configurations we calculate the trajectories of the vortices. We find
conditions under which a vortex-antivortex pair annihilates and is created
again. For the case of three vortices we show that at certain times two
additional vortices may be created, which move through the condensate and
annihilate each other again. For a noninteracting condensate this process is
periodic, whereas for small interactions the essential features persist, but
the periodicity is lost. The results are compared to exact numerical solutions
of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation confirming our analytical findings.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, one reference updated, typos correcte
Indomethacin decreases viscosity of gallbladder bile in patients with cholesterol gallstone disease
There is experimental evidence that inhibition of cyclooxygenase with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may decrease cholesterol gall-stone formation and mitigate biliary pain in gall-stone patients. The mechanisms by which NSAIDs exert these effect are unclear. In a prospective, controlled clinical trial we examined the effects of oral indomethacin on the composition of human gall-bladder bile. The study included 28 patients with symptomatic cholesterol or mixed gallstones. Of these, 8 were treated with 3 × 25 mg indomethacin daily for 7 days prior to elective cholecystectomy while 20 received no treatment and served as controls. Bile and tissue samples from the gallbladder were obtained during cholecystectomy. Indomethacin tissue levels in the gallbladder mucosa, as assessed by HPLC, were 1.05±0.4 ng/mg wet weight, a concentration known to inhibit effectively cyclooxygenase activity. Nevertheless, no differences between the treated and untreated groups were found in the concentrations of biliary mucus glycoprotein (0.94±0.27 versus 0.93±0.32 mg/ml) or total protein (5.8±0.9 versus 6.4±1.3 mg/ml), cholesterol saturation (1.3±0.2 versus 1.5±0.2), or nucleation time (2.0±3.0 versus 1.5±2.0 days). However, biliary viscosity, measured using a low-shear rotation viscosimeter, was significantly lower in patients receiving indomethacin treatment (2.9±0.6 versus 5.6±1.2 mPa.s; P < 0.02). In conclusion, in man oral indomethacin decreases bile viscosity without alteration of bile lithogenicity or biliary mucus glycoprotein content. Since mucus glycoproteins are major determinants of bile viscosity, an alteration in mucin macromolecular composition may conceivably cause the indomethacin-induced decrease in biliary viscosity and explain the beneficial effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in gallstone disease
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