843 research outputs found
Glassy Dynamics of Protein Folding
A coarse grained model of a random polypeptide chain, with only discrete
torsional degrees of freedom and Hookean springs connecting pairs of
hydrophobic residues is shown to display stretched exponential relaxation under
Metropolis dynamics at low temperatures with the exponent , in
agreement with the best experimental results. The time dependent correlation
functions for fluctuations about the native state, computed in the Gaussian
approximation for real proteins, have also been found to have the same
functional form. Our results indicate that the energy landscape exhibits
universal features over a very large range of energies and is relatively
independent of the specific dynamics.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, multicolumn, including 5 figures; larger
computations performed, error bars improve
A Many-body Problem with Point Interactions on Two Dimensional Manifolds
A non-perturbative renormalization of a many-body problem, where
non-relativistic bosons living on a two dimensional Riemannian manifold
interact with each other via the two-body Dirac delta potential, is given by
the help of the heat kernel defined on the manifold. After this renormalization
procedure, the resolvent becomes a well-defined operator expressed in terms of
an operator (called principal operator) which includes all the information
about the spectrum. Then, the ground state energy is found in the mean field
approximation and we prove that it grows exponentially with the number of
bosons. The renormalization group equation (or Callan-Symanzik equation) for
the principal operator of the model is derived and the function is
exactly calculated for the general case, which includes all particle numbers.Comment: 28 pages; typos are corrected, three figures are adde
GaN directional couplers for integrated quantum photonics
Large cross-section GaN waveguides are proposed as a suitable architecture to
achieve integrated quantum photonic circuits. Directional couplers with this
geometry have been designed with aid of the beam propagation method and
fabricated using inductively coupled plasma etching. Scanning electron
microscopy inspection shows high quality facets for end coupling and a well
defined gap between rib pairs in the coupling region. Optical characterization
at 800 nm shows single-mode operation and coupling-length-dependent splitting
ratios. Two photon interference of degenerate photon pairs has been observed in
the directional coupler by measurement of the Hong-Ou-Mandel dip with 96%
visibility.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Tight Kernel Bounds for Problems on Graphs with Small Degeneracy
In this paper we consider kernelization for problems on d-degenerate graphs,
i.e. graphs such that any subgraph contains a vertex of degree at most .
This graph class generalizes many classes of graphs for which effective
kernelization is known to exist, e.g. planar graphs, H-minor free graphs, and
H-topological-minor free graphs. We show that for several natural problems on
d-degenerate graphs the best known kernelization upper bounds are essentially
tight.Comment: Full version of ESA 201
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Quantum Photonic Waveguide Circuits
Integrated quantum photonics is a promising approach for future practical and
large-scale quantum information processing technologies, with the prospect of
on-chip generation, manipulation and measurement of complex quantum states of
light. The gallium arsenide (GaAs) material system is a promising technology
platform, and has already successfully demonstrated key components including
waveguide integrated single-photon sources and integrated single-photon
detectors. However, quantum circuits capable of manipulating quantum states of
light have so far not been investigated in this material system. Here, we
report GaAs photonic circuits for the manipulation of single-photon and
two-photon states. Two-photon quantum interference with a visibility of 94.9
+/- 1.3% was observed in GaAs directional couplers. Classical and quantum
interference fringes with visibilities of 98.6 +/- 1.3% and 84.4 +/- 1.5%
respectively were demonstrated in Mach-Zehnder interferometers exploiting the
electro-optic Pockels effect. This work paves the way for a fully integrated
quantum technology platform based on the GaAs material system.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Shapes of free resolutions over a local ring
We classify the possible shapes of minimal free resolutions over a regular
local ring. This illustrates the existence of free resolutions whose Betti
numbers behave in surprisingly pathological ways. We also give an asymptotic
characterization of the possible shapes of minimal free resolutions over
hypersurface rings. Our key new technique uses asymptotic arguments to study
formal Q-Betti sequences.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure; v2: sections have been reorganized substantially
and exposition has been streamline
Tube Models for Rubber-Elastic Systems
In the first part of the paper we show that the constraining potentials
introduced to mimic entanglement effects in Edwards' tube model and Flory's
constrained junction model are diagonal in the generalized Rouse modes of the
corresponding phantom network. As a consequence, both models can formally be
solved exactly for arbitrary connectivity using the recently introduced
constrained mode model. In the second part, we solve a double tube model for
the confinement of long paths in polymer networks which is partially due to
crosslinking and partially due to entanglements. Our model describes a
non-trivial crossover between the Warner-Edwards and the Heinrich-Straube tube
models. We present results for the macroscopic elastic properties as well as
for the microscopic deformations including structure factors.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, Macromolecules in pres
Photon Pair Generation in Silicon Micro-Ring Resonator with Reverse Bias Enhancement
Photon sources are fundamental components for any quantum photonic
technology. The ability to generate high count-rate and low-noise correlated
photon pairs via spontaneous parametric down-conversion using bulk crystals has
been the cornerstone of modern quantum optics. However, future practical
quantum technologies will require a scalable integration approach, and
waveguide-based photon sources with high-count rate and low-noise
characteristics will be an essential part of chip-based quantum technologies.
Here, we demonstrate photon pair generation through spontaneous four-wave
mixing in a silicon micro-ring resonator, reporting a maximum
coincidence-to-accidental (CAR) ratio of 602 (+-) 37, and a maximum photon pair
generation rate of 123 MHz (+-) 11 KHz. To overcome free-carrier related
performance degradations we have investigated reverse biased p-i-n structures,
demonstrating an improvement in the pair generation rate by a factor of up to
2, with negligible impact on CAR.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Induces Serum Amyloid A in Mice following Urinary Tract and Systemic Inoculation
Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase protein involved in the homeostasis of inflammatory responses and appears to be a vital host defense component with protective anti-infective properties. SAA expression remains poorly defined in many tissues, including the urinary tract which often faces bacterial challenge. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are usually caused by strains of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) and frequently occur among otherwise healthy individuals, many of whom experience bouts of recurrent and relapsing infections despite the use of antibiotics. To date, whether SAA is present in the infected urothelium and whether or not the induction of SAA can protect the host against UPEC is unclear. Here we show, using mouse models coupled with immunofluorescence microscopy and quantitative RT-PCR, that delivery of UPEC either directly into the urinary tract via catheterization or systemically via intraperitoneal injection triggers the expression of SAA. As measured by ELISA, serum levels of SAA1/2 were also transiently elevated in response to UTI, but circulating SAA3 levels were only up-regulated substantially following intraperitoneal inoculation of UPEC. In in vitro assays, physiological relevant levels of SAA1/2 did not affect the growth or viability of UPEC, but were able to block biofilm formation by the uropathogens. We suggest that SAA functions as a critical host defense against UTIs, preventing the formation of biofilms both upon and within the urothelium and possibly providing clinicians with a sensitive serological marker for UTI
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