Vortex Formation by Interference of Multiple Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensates

We report observations of vortex formation as a result of merging together multiple $^{87}$Rb Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in a confining potential. In this experiment, a trapping potential is partitioned into three sections by a barrier, enabling the simultaneous formation of three independent, uncorrelated condensates. The three condensates then merge together into one BEC, either by removal of the barrier, or during the final stages of evaporative cooling if the barrier energy is low enough; both processes can naturally produce vortices within the trapped BEC. We interpret the vortex formation mechanism as originating in interference between the initially independent condensates, with indeterminate relative phases between the three initial condensates and the condensate merging rate playing critical roles in the probability of observing vortices in the final, single BEC.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Spontaneous vortices in the formation of Bose-Einstein condensates

Phase transitions are ubiquitous in nature, ranging from protein folding and denaturisation, to the superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition, to the decoupling of forces in the early universe. Remarkably, phase transitions can be arranged into universality classes, where systems having unrelated microscopic physics exhibit identical scaling behaviour near the critical point. Here we present an experimental and theoretical study of the Bose-Einstein condensation phase transition of an atomic gas, focusing on one prominent universal element of phase transition dynamics: the spontaneous formation of topological defects during a quench through the transition. While the microscopic dynamics of defect formation in phase transitions are generally difficult to investigate, particularly for superfluid phase transitions, Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) offer unique experimental and theoretical opportunities for probing such details. Although spontaneously formed vortices in the condensation transition have been previously predicted to occur, our results encompass the first experimental observations and statistical characterisation of spontaneous vortex formation in the condensation transition. Using microscopic theories that incorporate atomic interactions and quantum and thermal fluctuations of a finite-temperature Bose gas, we simulate condensation and observe vortex formation in close quantitative agreement with our experimental results. Our studies provide further understanding of the development of coherence in superfluids, and may allow for direct investigation of universal phase-transition dynamics.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Nature. Supplementary movie files are available at http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/mdavis/spontaneous_vortice

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Measurement of charged particle spectra in minimum-bias events from proton-proton collisions at root s =13 TeV

Pseudorapidity, transverse momentum, and multiplicity distributions are measured in the pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar 0.5 GeV in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV. Measurements are presented in three different event categories. The most inclusive of the categories corresponds to an inelastic pp data set, while the other two categories are exclusive subsets of the inelastic sample that are either enhanced or depleted in single diffractive dissociation events. The measurements are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo event generators used to describe high-energy hadronic interactions in collider and cosmic-ray physics.Peer reviewe

Search for resonant pair production of Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quark-antiquark pairs in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV

A search for a narrow-width resonance decaying into two Higgs bosons, each decaying into a bottom quark-antiquark pair, is presented. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. No evidence for such a signal is observed. Upper limits are set on the product of the production cross section for the resonance and the branching fraction for the selected decay mode in the resonance mass range from 260 to 1200 GeV

Search for supersymmetric partners of electrons and muons in proton–proton collisions at s=13TeV

A search for direct production of the supersymmetric (SUSY) partners of electrons or muons is presented in final states with two opposite-charge, same-flavour leptons (electrons and muons), no jets, and large missing transverse momentum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at s=13TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016. The search uses the MT2 variable, which generalises the transverse mass for systems with two invisible objects and provides a discrimination against standard model backgrounds containing W bosons. The observed yields are consistent with the expectations from the standard model. The search is interpreted in the context of simplified SUSY models and probes slepton masses up to approximately 290, 400, and 450 GeV, assuming right-handed only, left-handed only, and both right- and left-handed sleptons (mass degenerate selectrons and smuons), and a massless lightest supersymmetric particle. Limits are also set on selectrons and smuons separately. These limits show an improvement on the existing limits of approximately 150 GeV.0info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe