Quantum dynamics in single spin measurement

We study the quantum dynamics of a model for the single-spin measurement in magnetic-resonance force microscopy. We consider an oscillating driven cantilever coupled with the magnetic moment of the sample. Then, the cantilever is damped through an external bath and its readout is provided by a radiation field. Conditions for reliable measurements will be discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling of a Domain Wall in a Ferromagnetic Metal

The macroscopic quantum tunneling of a planar domain wall in a ferromagnetic metal is studied based on the Hubbard model. It is found that the ohmic dissipation is present even at zero temperature due to the gapless Stoner excitation, which is the crucial difference from the case of the insulating magnet. The dissipative effect is calculated as a function of width of the wall and is shown to be effective in a thin wall and in a weak ferromagnet. The results are discussed in the light of recent experiments on ferromagnets with strong anisotropy. PACS numbers:75.60.Ch, 03.65.Sq, 75.10.LpComment: 13page

Micropropagation of a recalcitrant pine (Pinus pinea L.): An overview of the effects of ectomycorrhizal inoculation

Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) is an economically important forest species in some regions of Iberian Peninsula. Portugal and Spain have nearly 500,000 ha of stone pine stands, representing 85% of worldwide distribution. The main use of this species is for the production of seeds (pinion) for food industry. In addition to its enormous profitability as a producer of seeds, it has beneficial impact on soil protection, dunes fixation and is a pioneer species particularly for cork and holm oaks degraded ecosystems. Stone pine plantations are today a major source of income for forestry holdings. Investments have targeted breeding, reforestation, forest management and harvesting. The maternal inheritance of desirable characteristics such as cone weight, number of seeds per cone and seed length is considerably high in this species thus encouraging the selection of seeds from “plus” trees. The selected trees have been propagated by grafting and micropropagation. However, grafting generates high variability due to scion-rootstock interaction that varies production levels. The production of clonal plants from selected seeds by micropropagation techniques has advanced very slowly due to the recalcitrance of this species in tissue culture and particularly to adventitious rooting of microshoots. Due to the tremendous importance of developing a reproducible tissue culture method for clonal propagation, a study has been carried out for over a decade to enhance rooting and acclimation. During this period of time, continuous increments in the multiplication rate and rooting frequency were achieved by introducing variations in culture media composition and conditions. Auxins, carbohydrates, light quality and duration, temperature at different concentrations and levels as well as compounds such as coumarin; salicylic acid, polyamines, etc. were tested for induction and expression phases of adventitious rooting. Despite these efforts, microshoots regenerated through organogenesis from mature embryo cotyledons failed to root or to have sustained root growth. At this point, an in vitro co-culture technique of stone pine microshoots with ectomycorrhizal-fungi was introduced to overcome the adventitious root growth cessation in vitro and improve root development during acclimation phase. An overview of the results showing the positive effect of fungal inoculation in promoting root growth in vitro and on plantlet survival during acclimation will be presented. Preliminary results of biochemical signals between Pinus pinea/Pisolithus arhizus during early steps of in vitro culture detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry that might be responsible for the positive effect on root growth will be also presented

Localization on short-range potentials in dissipative quantum mechanics

In this Letter the problem of the existence of a state localized on a weak short-range attractive potential in the presence of dissipation is considered. It is shown that, contrary to the pure quantum case, a localized state is produced in any number of dimensions, while in low dimensions dissipation leads to much stronger localization. The results have physical implications for the dissipative dynamics of objects such as heavy particles in Fermi liquids and for superconductivity in high-$T_c$ materials.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 1 figure. Published versio

Quantum master equation descriptions of a nanomechanical resonator coupled to a single-electron transistor

We analyse the quantum dynamics of a nanomechanical resonator coupled to a normal-state single-electron transistor (SET). Starting from a microscopic description of the system, we derive a master equation for the SET island charge and resonator which is valid in the limit of weak electro-mechanical coupling. Using this master equation we show that, apart from brief transients, the resonator always behaves like a damped harmonic oscillator with a shifted frequency and relaxes into a thermal-like steady state. Although the behaviour remains qualitatively the same, we find that the magnitude of the resonator damping rate and frequency shift depend very sensitively on the relative magnitudes of the resonator period and the electron tunnelling time. Maximum damping occurs when the electrical and mechanical time-scales are the same, but the frequency shift is greatest when the resonator moves much more slowly than the island charge. We then derive reduced master equations which describe just the resonator dynamics. By making slightly different approximations, we obtain two different reduced master equations for the resonator. Apart from minor differences, the two reduced master equations give rise to a consistent picture of the resonator dynamics which matches that obtained from the master equation including the SET island charge.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure

Clinical course of physiotherapy treatment response in patients with chronic low back pain- a prospective cohort study with survival analysis

Trabalho apresentado 10th Congress of European Pain Federation (EFIC), 6-9 setembro de 2017, Copenhaga, DinamarcaN/

Qualidade biológica do solo após adição de pó de balão e cultivo do milho: I - População e atividade de microrganismos.

O pó de balão ou charcok, resíduo da indústria siderúrgica não integrada a carvão vegetal enquadrado na Classe I e considerado perigoso, tem sido recomendado na cultura de eucalipto, na dosagem de 50 t ha-1. Nesse trabalho, procurou-se analisar os impactos da aplicação deste resíduo sobre a qualidade do solo cultivado com milho, medidos através da densidade populacional de fungos, bactérias e actinomicetos e hidrólise do diacetato de fluoresceína (FDA). Foram avaliados seis tratamentos constituídos de doses de pó de balão equivalentes a 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 t ha-1, na presença de adubação e de 50 t ha-1 de pó de balão, na ausência de adubação, distribuídos em delineamento de blocos casualizados, em três repetições. As amostras de solo foram coletadas após a colheita das plantas de milho, efetuada aos 60 dias de idade. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que não houve diferença significativa na composição qualitativa e quantitativa e atividade dos microrganismos, independente das dosagens de pó de balão utilizadas. Concluiu-se que a aplicação de pó de balão não afetou a qualidade biológica do solo através dos bioindicadores utilizados, mesmo na dosagem 100 t ha-1, equivalente ao dobro da recomendada

Aharonov-Bohm ring with fluctuating flux

We consider a non-interacting system of electrons on a clean one-channel Aharonov-Bohm ring which is threaded by a fluctuating magnetic flux. The flux derives from a Caldeira-Leggett bath of harmonic oscillators. We address the influence of the bath on the following properties: one- and two-particle Green's functions, dephasing, persistent current and visibility of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in cotunneling transport through the ring. For the bath spectra considered here (including Nyquist noise of an external coil), we find no dephasing in the linear transport regime at zero temperature. PACS numbers: 73.23.-b, 73.23.Hk, 73.23.Ra, 03.65.YzComment: 17 pages, 8 figures. To be published in PRB. New version contains minor corrections and additional discussion suggested by referee. A simple introduction to the basics of dephasing can be found at http://iff.physik.unibas.ch/~florian/dephasing/dephasing.htm