109 research outputs found
New Chiral Phases of Superfluid 3He Stabilized by Anisotropic Silica Aerogel
A rich variety of Fermi systems condense by forming bound pairs, including
high temperature [1] and heavy fermion [2] superconductors, Sr2RuO4 [3], cold
atomic gases [4], and superfluid 3He [5]. Some of these form exotic quantum
states having non-zero orbital angular momentum. We have discovered, in the
case of 3He, that anisotropic disorder, engineered from highly porous silica
aerogel, stabilizes a chiral superfluid state that otherwise would not exist.
Additionally, we find that the chiral axis of this state can be uniquely
oriented with the application of a magnetic field perpendicular to the aerogel
anisotropy axis. At suffciently low temperature we observe a sharp transition
from a uniformly oriented chiral state to a disordered structure consistent
with locally ordered domains, contrary to expectations for a superfluid glass
phase [6].Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure, and Supplementary Informatio
Imaging the nanoscale organization of peptidoglycan in living Lactococcus lactis cells
Peptidoglycans provide bacterial cell walls with
mechanical strength. The spatial organization of peptidoglycan has previously been difficult
to study. Here, atomic force microscopy, together with cells carrying mutations in cell-wall
polysaccharides, has allowed an in-depth study of these molecules
The A-B transition in superfluid helium-3 under confinement in a thin slab geometry
The influence of confinement on the topological phases of superfluid 3He is
studied using the torsional pendulum method. We focus on the phase transition
between the chiral A-phase and the time-reversal-invariant B-phase, motivated
by the prediction of a spatiallymodulated (stripe) phase at the A-B phase
boundary. We confine superfluid 3He to a single 1.08 {\mu}m thick nanofluidic
cavity incorporated into a high-precision torsion pendulum, and map the phase
diagram between 0.1 and 5.6 bar. We observe only small supercooling of the
A-phase, in comparison to bulk or when confined in aerogel. This has a
non-monotonic pressure dependence, suggesting that a new intrinsic B-phase
nucleation mechanism operates under confinement, mediated by the putative
stripe phase. Both the phase diagram and the relative superfluid fraction of
the A and B phases, show that strong coupling is present at all pressures, with
implications for the stability of the stripe phase.Comment: 6 figures, 1 table + supplemental informatio
Using viral vectors as gene transfer tools (Cell Biology and Toxicology Special Issue: ETCS-UK 1 day meeting on genetic manipulation of cells)
In recent years, the development of powerful viral gene transfer techniques has greatly facilitated the study of gene function. This review summarises some of the viral delivery systems routinely used to mediate gene transfer into cell lines, primary cell cultures and in whole animal models. The systems described were originally discussed at a 1-day European Tissue Culture Society (ETCS-UK) workshop that was held at University College London on 1st April 2009. Recombinant-deficient viral vectors (viruses that are no longer able to replicate) are used to transduce dividing and post-mitotic cells, and they have been optimised to mediate regulatable, powerful, long-term and cell-specific expression. Hence, viral systems have become very widely used, especially in the field of neurobiology. This review introduces the main categories of viral vectors, focusing on their initial development and highlighting modifications and improvements made since their introduction. In particular, the use of specific promoters to restrict expression, translational enhancers and regulatory elements to boost expression from a single virion and the development of regulatable systems is described
Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model
We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h095%=3.47×10-25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering. © 2019 American Physical Society
Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model
We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO’s second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h95%0=3.47×10−25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering
Changes to the Fossil Record of Insects through Fifteen Years of Discovery
The first and last occurrences of hexapod families in the fossil record are compiled from publications up to end-2009. The major features of these data are compared with those of previous datasets (1993 and 1994). About a third of families (>400) are new to the fossil record since 1994, over half of the earlier, existing families have experienced changes in their known stratigraphic range and only about ten percent have unchanged ranges. Despite these significant additions to knowledge, the broad pattern of described richness through time remains similar, with described richness increasing steadily through geological history and a shift in dominant taxa, from Palaeoptera and Polyneoptera to Paraneoptera and Holometabola, after the Palaeozoic. However, after detrending, described richness is not well correlated with the earlier datasets, indicating significant changes in shorter-term patterns. There is reduced Palaeozoic richness, peaking at a different time, and a less pronounced Permian decline. A pronounced Triassic peak and decline is shown, and the plateau from the mid Early Cretaceous to the end of the period remains, albeit at substantially higher richness compared to earlier datasets. Origination and extinction rates are broadly similar to before, with a broad decline in both through time but episodic peaks, including end-Permian turnover. Origination more consistently exceeds extinction compared to previous datasets and exceptions are mainly in the Palaeozoic. These changes suggest that some inferences about causal mechanisms in insect macroevolution are likely to differ as well
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