Two-dimensional Bose-Einstein Condensation in Cuprate Superconductors

Transition temperatures $T_{c}$ calculated using the BCS model electron-phonon interaction without any adjustable parameters agree with empirical values for quasi-2D cuprate superconductors. They follow from a two-dimensional gas of temperature-dependent Cooper pairs in chemical and thermal equilibrium with unpaired fermions in a boson-fermion (BF) statistical model as the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) singularity temperature is approached from above. The {\it linear} (as opposed to quadratic) boson dispersion relation due to the Fermi sea yields substantially higher $T_{c}$'s with the BF model than with BCS or pure-boson BEC theories.Comment: 7 pages including 2 figure

One-dimensional Cooper pairing

We study electron pairing in a one-dimensional (1D) fermion gas at zero temperature under zero- and finite-range, attractive, two-body interactions. The binding energy of Cooper pairs (CPs) with zero total or center-of-mass momentum (CMM) increases with attraction strength and decreases with interaction range for fixed strength. The excitation energy of 1D CPs with nonzero CMM display novel, unique properties. It satisfies a dispersion relation with \textit{two} branches: a\ phonon-like \textit{linear }excitation for small CP CMM; this is followed by roton-like \textit{quadratic} excitation minimum for CMM greater than twice the Fermi wavenumber, but only above a minimum threshold attraction strength. The expected quadratic-in-CMM dispersion \textit{in vacuo }when the Fermi wavenumber is set to zero is recovered for \textit{any% } coupling. This paper completes a three-part exploration initiated in 2D and continued in 3D.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

The BCS-Bose Crossover Theory

We contrast {\it four} distinct versions of the BCS-Bose statistical crossover theory according to the form assumed for the electron-number equation that accompanies the BCS gap equation. The four versions correspond to explicitly accounting for two-hole-(2h) as well as two-electron-(2e) Cooper pairs (CPs), or both in equal proportions, or only either kind. This follows from a recent generalization of the Bose-Einstein condensation (GBEC) statistical theory that includes not boson-boson interactions but rather 2e- and also (without loss of generality) 2h-CPs interacting with unpaired electrons and holes in a single-band model that is easily converted into a two-band model. The GBEC theory is essentially an extension of the Friedberg-T.D. Lee 1989 BEC theory of superconductors that excludes 2h-CPs. It can thus recover, when the numbers of 2h- and 2e-CPs in both BE-condensed and noncondensed states are separately equal, the BCS gap equation for all temperatures and couplings as well as the zero-temperature BCS (rigorous-upper-bound) condensation energy for all couplings. But ignoring either 2h- {\it or} 2e-CPs it can do neither. In particular, only {\it half} the BCS condensation energy is obtained in the two crossover versions ignoring either kind of CPs. We show how critical temperatures $T_{c}$ from the original BCS-Bose crossover theory in 2D require unphysically large couplings for the Cooper/BCS model interaction to differ significantly from the $T_{c}$s of ordinary BCS theory (where the number equation is substituted by the assumption that the chemical potential equals the Fermi energy).Comment: thirteen pages including two figures. Physica C (in press, 2007

Novel loss-of-function variants in CDC14A are associated with recessive sensorineural hearing loss in Iranian and Pakistani patients

CDC14A encodes the Cell Division Cycle 14A protein and has been associated with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss (DFNB32), as well as hearing impairment and infertile male syndrome (HIIMS) since 2016. To date, only nine variants have been associated in patients whose initial symptoms included moderate-to-profound hearing impairment. Exome analysis of Iranian and Pakistani probands who both showed bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss revealed a novel splice site variant (c.1421+2T>C, p.?) that disrupts the splice donor site and a novel frameshift variant (c.1041dup, p.Ser348Glnfs*2) in the gene CDC14A, respectively. To evaluate the pathogenicity of both loss-of-function variants, we analyzed the effects of both variants on the RNA-level. The splice variant was characterized using a minigene assay. Altered expression levels due to the c.1041dup variant were assessed using RT-qPCR. In summary, cDNA analysis confirmed that the c.1421+2T>C variant activates a cryptic splice site, resulting in a truncated transcript (c.1414_1421del, p.Val472Leufs*20) and the c.1041dup variant results in a defective transcript that is likely degraded by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The present study functionally characterizes two variants and provides further confirmatory evidence that CDC14A is associated with a rare form of hereditary hearing loss

Interactions between temperature and energy supply drive microbial communities in hydrothermal sediment

Temperature and bioavailable energy control the distribution of life on Earth, and interact with each other due to the dependency of biological energy requirements on temperature. Here we analyze how temperature-energy interactions structure sediment microbial communities in two hydrothermally active areas of Guaymas Basin. Sites from one area experience advective input of thermogenically produced electron donors by seepage from deeper layers, whereas sites from the other area are diffusion-dominated and electron donor-depleted. In both locations, Archaea dominate at temperatures >45 °C and Bacteria at temperatures <10 °C. Yet, at the phylum level and below, there are clear differences. Hot seep sites have high proportions of typical hydrothermal vent and hot spring taxa. By contrast, high-temperature sites without seepage harbor mainly novel taxa belonging to phyla that are widespread in cold subseafloor sediment. Our results suggest that in hydrothermal sediments temperature determines domain-level dominance, whereas temperature-energy interactions structure microbial communities at the phylum-level and below