A Quantum Tweezer for Atoms

We propose a quantum tweezer for extracting a desired number of neutral atoms from a reservoir. A trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is used as the reservoir, taking advantage of its coherent nature, which can guarantee a constant outcome. The tweezer is an attractive quantum dot, which may be generated by red-detuned laser light. By moving with certain speeds, the dot can extract a desired number of atoms from the BEC through Landau-Zener tunneling. The feasibility of our quantum tweezer is demonstrated through realistic and extensive model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures Revised versio

Feedback-Optimized Operations with Linear Ion Crystals

We report on transport operations with linear crystals of 40Ca+ ions by applying complex electric time-dependent potentials. For their control we use the information obtained from the ions' fluorescence. We demonstrate that by means of this feedback technique, we can transport a predefined number of ions and also split and unify ion crystals. The feedback control allows for a robust scheme, compensating for experimental errors as it does not rely on a precisely known electrical modeling of the electric potentials in the ion trap beforehand. Our method allows us to generate a self-learning voltage ramp for the required process. With an experimental demonstration of a transport with more than 99.8 % success probability, this technique may facilitate the operation of a future ion based quantum processor

A single atom detector integrated on an atom chip: fabrication, characterization and application

We describe a robust and reliable fluorescence detector for single atoms that is fully integrated into an atom chip. The detector allows spectrally and spatially selective detection of atoms, reaching a single atom detection efficiency of 66%. It consists of a tapered lensed single-mode fiber for precise delivery of excitation light and a multi-mode fiber to collect the fluorescence. The fibers are mounted in lithographically defined holding structures on the atom chip. Neutral 87Rb atoms propagating freely in a magnetic guide are detected and the noise of their fluorescence emission is analyzed. The variance of the photon distribution allows to determine the number of detected photons / atom and from there the atom detection efficiency. The second order intensity correlation function of the fluorescence shows near-perfect photon anti-bunching and signs of damped Rabi-oscillations. With simple improvements one can boost the detection efficiency to > 95%.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figure

CEO pay, shareholder returns, and accounting profits

We assess the impact on CEO pay (including salary, cash bonus, and benefits in kind) of changes in both accounting and shareholder returns in 99 British companies in the years 1972-89. After correcting for heterogeneity biases inherent in the standard specifications of the problem, we find a strong positive relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in shareholder returns, and no statistically significant relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in accounting returns. Differences between firms in long-term average profitability do appear to have a substantial effect on CEO pay, while differences between firms in shareholder returns add nothing to the within-firm pay dynamics.These findings call into question the rationale for explicitly share-based incentive schemes

Coherent coupling of two quantum dots embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm ring

We define two laterally gated small quantum dots (~ 15 electrons) in an Aharonov-Bohm geometry in which the coupling between the two dots can be broadly changed. For weakly coupled quantum dots we find Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. In an intermediate coupling regime we concentrate on the molecular states of the double dot and extract the magnetic field dependence of the coherent coupling.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Effect of Influenza Vaccination on Viral Replication and Immune Response in Persons Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Receiving Potent Antiretroviral Therapy

Nineteen patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with varying levels of viral suppression achieved with antiretroviral therapy were evaluated to determine whether trivalent influenza vaccine activated HIV replication. Humoral immune responses and CD4+ lymphocyte subsets were compared in 5 HIV-uninfected vaccinated subjects. Transient elevations of plasma HIV RNA levels (76-89 copies/mL) appeared within 2 weeks in 3 of 11 patients with 50 copies/mL. HIV DNA decreased in patients with <400 RNA copies/mL at baseline and showed an HIV RNA increase after vaccination (n = 8) when compared with 8 patients with <50 copies/mL at baseline who lacked viral response to vaccination. Concurrent decreases in proviral DNA and memory phenotype CD4+ cells in association with increased plasma HIV RNA after vaccination in patients with <400 RNA copies/mL at baseline suggest that in vivo mobilization of the latently infected cell reservoir may occur during potent antiretroviral therap

Impact of co-adsorbed oxygen on crotonaldehyde adsorption over gold nanoclusters : a computational study

Crotonaldehyde (2-butenal) adsorption over gold sub-nanometer particles, and the influence of co-adsorbed oxygen, has been systematically investigated by computational methods. Using density functional theory, the adsorption energetics of crotonaldehyde on bare and oxidised gold clusters (Au13, d = 0.8 nm) were determined as a function of oxygen coverage and coordination geometry. At low oxygen coverage, sites are available for which crotonaldehyde adsorption is enhanced relative to bare Au clusters by 10 kJ mol−1. At higher oxygen coverage, crotonaldehyde is forced to adsorb in close proximity to oxygen weakening adsorption by up to 60 kJ mol−1 relative to bare Au. Bonding geometries, density of states plots and Bader analysis, are used to elucidate crotonaldehyde bonding to gold nanoparticles in terms of partial electron transfer from Au to crotonaldehyde, and note that donation to gold from crotonaldehyde also becomes significant following metal oxidation. At high oxygen coverage we find that all molecular adsorption sites have a neighbouring, destabilising, oxygen adatom so that despite enhanced donation, crotonaldehyde adsorption is always weakened by steric interactions. For a larger cluster (Au38, d = 1.1 nm) crotonaldehyde adsorption is destabilized in this way even at a low oxygen coverage. These findings provide a quantitative framework to underpin the experimentally observed influence of oxygen on the selective oxidation of crotyl alcohol to crotonaldehyde over gold and gold–palladium alloys

Impact of co-adsorbed oxygen on crotonaldehyde adsorption over gold nanoclusters : a computational study

Crotonaldehyde (2-butenal) adsorption over gold sub-nanometer particles, and the influence of co-adsorbed oxygen, has been systematically investigated by computational methods. Using density functional theory, the adsorption energetics of crotonaldehyde on bare and oxidised gold clusters (Au13, d = 0.8 nm) were determined as a function of oxygen coverage and coordination geometry. At low oxygen coverage, sites are available for which crotonaldehyde adsorption is enhanced relative to bare Au clusters by 10 kJ mol−1. At higher oxygen coverage, crotonaldehyde is forced to adsorb in close proximity to oxygen weakening adsorption by up to 60 kJ mol−1 relative to bare Au. Bonding geometries, density of states plots and Bader analysis, are used to elucidate crotonaldehyde bonding to gold nanoparticles in terms of partial electron transfer from Au to crotonaldehyde, and note that donation to gold from crotonaldehyde also becomes significant following metal oxidation. At high oxygen coverage we find that all molecular adsorption sites have a neighbouring, destabilising, oxygen adatom so that despite enhanced donation, crotonaldehyde adsorption is always weakened by steric interactions. For a larger cluster (Au38, d = 1.1 nm) crotonaldehyde adsorption is destabilized in this way even at a low oxygen coverage. These findings provide a quantitative framework to underpin the experimentally observed influence of oxygen on the selective oxidation of crotyl alcohol to crotonaldehyde over gold and gold–palladium alloys

Transmitted Drug Resistance in the CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems Cohort: Prevalence and Effects on Pre-Therapy CD4 and Viral Load

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genomes often carry one or more mutations associated with drug resistance upon transmission into a therapy-naïve individual. We assessed the prevalence and clinical significance of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) in chronically-infected therapy-naïve patients enrolled in a multi-center cohort in North America. Pre-therapy clinical significance was quantified by plasma viral load (pVL) and CD4+ cell count (CD4) at baseline. Naïve bulk sequences of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) were screened for resistance mutations as defined by the World Health Organization surveillance list. The overall prevalence of TDR was 14.2%. We used a Bayesian network to identify co-transmission of TDR mutations in clusters associated with specific drugs or drug classes. Aggregate effects of mutations by drug class were estimated by fitting linear models of pVL and CD4 on weighted sums over TDR mutations according to the Stanford HIV Database algorithm. Transmitted resistance to both classes of reverse transcriptase inhibitors was significantly associated with lower CD4, but had opposing effects on pVL. In contrast, position-specific analyses of TDR mutations revealed substantial effects on CD4 and pVL at several residue positions that were being masked in the aggregate analyses, and significant interaction effects as well. Residue positions in RT with predominant effects on CD4 or pVL (D67 and M184) were re-evaluated in causal models using an inverse probability-weighting scheme to address the problem of confounding by other mutations and demographic or risk factors. We found that causal effect estimates of mutations M184V/I ( pVL) and D67N/G ( and pVL) were compensated by K103N/S and K219Q/E/N/R. As TDR becomes an increasing dilemma in this modern era of highly-active antiretroviral therapy, these results have immediate significance for the clinical management of HIV-1 infections and our understanding of the ongoing adaptation of HIV-1 to human populations