Change of quasiparticle dispersion in crossing T_c in the underdoped cuprates

One of the most remarkable properties of the high-temperature superconductors is a pseudogap regime appearing in the underdoped cuprates above the superconducting transition temperature T_c. The pseudogap continously develops out of the superconducting gap. In this paper, we demonstrate by means of a detailed comparison between theory and experiment that the characteristic change of quasiparticle dispersion in crossing T_c in the underdoped cuprates can be understood as being due to phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter. In particular, we show that within a phase fluctuation model the characteristic back-turning BCS bands disappear above T_c whereas the gap remains open. Furthermore, the pseudogap rather has a U-shape instead of the characteristic V-shape of a d_{x^2-y^2}-wave pairing symmetry and starts closing from the nodal k=(pi/2,pi/2) directions, whereas it rather fills in at the anti-nodal k=(pi,0) regions, yielding further support to the phase fluctuation scenario.Comment: 6 pages, 4 eps-figure

Phase-fluctuation induced reduction of the kinetic energy at the superconducting transition

Recent reflectivity measurements provide evidence for a "violation" of the in-plane optical integral in the underdoped high-T_c compound Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} up to frequencies much higher than expected by standard BCS theory. The sum rule violation may be related to a loss of in-plane kinetic energy at the superconducting transition. Here, we show that a model based on phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter can account for this change of in-plane kinetic energy at T_c. The change is due to a transition from a phase-incoherent Cooper-pair motion in the pseudogap regime above T_c to a phase-coherent motion at T_c.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps-figure

Characterization and evolution of cell division and cell wall synthesis genes in the bacterial phyla Verrucomicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Chlamydiae and Planctomycetes and phylogenetic comparison with rRNA genes

In the past, studies on the relationships of the bacterial phyla Planctomycetes, Chlamydiae, Lentisphaerae, and Verrucomicrobia using different phylogenetic markers have been controversial. Investigations based on 16S rRNA sequence analyses suggested a relationship of the four phyla, showing the branching order Planctomycetes, Chlamydiae, Verrucomicrobia/Lentisphaerae. Phylogenetic analyses of 23S rRNA genes in this study also support a monophyletic grouping and their branching order—this grouping is significant for understanding cell division, since the major bacterial cell division protein FtsZ is absent from members of two of the phyla Chlamydiae and Planctomycetes. In Verrucomicrobia, knowledge about cell division is mainly restricted to the recent report of ftsZ in the closely related genera Prosthecobacter and Verrucomicrobium. In this study, genes of the conserved division and cell wall (dcw) cluster (ddl, ftsQ, ftsA, and ftsZ) were characterized in all verrucomicrobial subdivisions (1 to 4) with cultivable representatives (1 to 4). Sequence analyses and transcriptional analyses in Verrucomicrobia and genome data analyses in Lentisphaerae suggested that cell division is based on FtsZ in all verrucomicrobial subdivisions and possibly also in the sister phylum Lentisphaerae. Comprehensive sequence analyses of available genome data for representatives of Verrucomicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Chlamydiae, and Planctomycetes strongly indicate that their last common ancestor possessed a conserved, ancestral type of dcw gene cluster and an FtsZ-based cell division mechanism. This implies that Planctomycetes and Chlamydiae may have shifted independently to a non-FtsZ-based cell division mechanism after their separate branchings from their last common ancestor with Verrucomicrobia

In Vitro Aging of Human Skin Fibroblasts: Age-Dependent Changes in 4-Hydroxynonenal Metabolism

Evidence suggests that the increased production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species lead to cellular aging. One of the consequences is lipid peroxidation generating reactive aldehydic products, such as 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) that modify proteins and form adducts with DNA bases. To prevent damage by HNE, it is metabolized. The primary metabolic products are the glutathione conjugate (GSH-HNE), the corresponding 4-hydroxynonenoic acid (HNA), and the alcohol 1,4-dihydroxynonene (DHN). Since HNE metabolism can potentially change during in vitro aging, cell cultures of primary human dermal fibroblasts from several donors were cultured until senescence. After different time points up to 30 min of incubation with 5 \ub5M HNE, the extracellular medium was analyzed for metabolites via liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS). The metabolites appeared in the extracellular medium 5 min after incubation followed by a time-dependent increase. But, the formation of GSH-HNL and GSH-DHN decreased with increasing in vitro age. As a consequence, the HNE levels in the cells increase and there is more protein modification observed. Furthermore, after 3 h of incubation with 5 \ub5M HNE, younger cells showed less proliferative capacity, while in older cells slight increase in the mitotic index was noticed

Exact ground states for the four-electron problem in a two-dimensional finite Hubbard square system

We present exact explicit analytical results describing the exact ground state of four electrons in a two dimensional square Hubbard cluster containing 16 sites taken with periodic boundary conditions. The presented procedure, which works for arbitrary even particle number and lattice sites, is based on explicitly given symmetry adapted base vectors constructed in r-space. The Hamiltonian acting on these states generates a closed system of 85 linear equations providing by its minimum eigenvalue the exact ground state of the system. The presented results, described with the aim to generate further creative developments, not only show how the ground state can be exactly obtained and what kind of contributions enter in its construction, but emphasize further characteristics of the spectrum. On this line i) possible explications are found regarding why weak coupling expansions often provide a good approximation for the Hubbard model at intermediate couplings, or ii) explicitly given low lying energy states of the kinetic energy, avoiding double occupancy, suggest new roots for pairing mechanism attracting decrease in the kinetic energy, as emphasized by kinetic energy driven superconductivity theories.Comment: 37 pages, 18 figure

Pair Phase Fluctuations and the Pseudogap

The single-particle density of states and the tunneling conductance are studied for a two-dimensional BCS-like Hamiltonian with a d_{x^2-y^2}-gap and phase fluctuations. The latter are treated by a classical Monte Carlo simulation of an XY model. Comparison of our results with recent scanning tunneling spectra of Bi-based high-T_c cuprates supports the idea that the pseudogap behavior observed in these experiments can be understood as arising from phase fluctuations of a d_{x^2-y^2} pairing gap whose amplitude forms on an energy scale set by T_c^{MF} well above the actual superconducting transition.Comment: 5 pages, 6 eps-figure