Electronic structure of rectangular quantum dots

We study the ground state properties of rectangular quantum dots by using the spin-density-functional theory and quantum Monte Carlo methods. The dot geometry is determined by an infinite hard-wall potential to enable comparison to manufactured, rectangular-shaped quantum dots. We show that the electronic structure is very sensitive to the deformation, and at realistic sizes the non-interacting picture determines the general behavior. However, close to the degenerate points where Hund's rule applies, we find spin-density-wave-like solutions bracketing the partially polarized states. In the quasi-one-dimensional limit we find permanent charge-density waves, and at a sufficiently large deformation or low density, there are strongly localized stable states with a broken spin-symmetry.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PR

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Metallomics Studies of Human Blood Serum from Treated Bipolar Disorder Patients

In the present work, metallomics studies using biomolecular (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, MALDI-TOF MS/MS) and elemental mass spectrometry (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, LA-ICPMS) of human blood serum samples from bipolar disorder (BD) patients compared to controls were performed. The serum samples from three different groups: control (n = 25), BD patients treated with Li (n = 15), and BD patients not treated with Li (n = 10), were pooled according to their groups and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). Then, in order to determine the metals bound to the protein spots and search for differences among the studied groups, the 2-D gels were analyzed by LA-ICPMS in three distinct modes: bioimaging of metals in gel sections, line scan through the protein spots, and microlocal analysis of selected protein spots. MALDI-TOF MS/MS characterized 32 serum proteins, and they were associated with the metals previously detected. When comparing control and treated BD patient groups, a differentiation in terms of metals bound to proteins was possible to observe. The main metals bound to proteins found in all groups were Na, Mg, Zn, Ca, and Fe. Mn was only detected in the control group; Co was only observed in the control and BD patients treated with Li group. K and Ti were only found in the BD patient groups, and P was only observed in control and BD patients not treated with Li drugs. This exploratory work shows that the association of LA-ICPMS with MALDI-TOF MS/MS is a powerful strategy in metallomics studies applied to determine differences in metal-containing proteins, being able to play an important role on the discovery of potential markers for BD and its treatment with Li in serum samples