460 research outputs found
Electrical Resistivity of a Thin Metallic Film
The electrical resistivity of a pure sample of a thin metallic film is found
to depend on the boundary conditions. This conclusion is supported by a
free-electron model calculation and confirmed by an ab initio relativistic
Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker computation. The low-temperature resistivity is found to
be zero for a free-standing film (reflecting boundary conditions) but nonzero
when the film is sandwiched between two semi-infinite samples of the same
material (outgoing boundary conditions). In the latter case, this resistivity
scales inversely with the number of monolayers and is due to the background
diffusive scattering by a finite lattice.Comment: 20 pages. To be published in Physical Review B, December 15, 199
Some exact results for a trapped quantum gas at finite temperature
We present closed analytical expressions for the particle and kinetic energy
spatial densities at finite temperatures for a system of noninteracting
fermions (bosons) trapped in a d-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential. For
d=2 and 3, exact expressions for the N-particle densities are used to calculate
perturbatively the temperature dependence of the splittings of the energy
levels in a given shell due to a very weak interparticle interaction in a
dilute Fermi gas. In two dimensions, we obtain analytically the surprising
result that the |l|-degeneracy in a harmonic oscillator shell is not lifted in
the lowest order even when the exact, rather than the Thomas-Fermi expression
for the particle density is used. We also demonstrate rigorously (in two
dimensions) the reduction of the exact zero-temperature fermionic expressions
to the Thomas-Fermi form in the large-N limit.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures include
Exact first-order density matrix for a d-dimensional harmonically confined Fermi gas at finite temperature
We present an exact closed form expression for the {\em finite temperature}
first-order density matrix of a harmonically trapped ideal Fermi gas in any
dimension. This constitutes a much sought after generalization of the recent
results in the literature, where exact expressions have been limited to
quantities derived from the {\em diagonal} first-order density matrix. We
compare our exact results with the Thomas-Fermi approximation (TFA) and
demonstrate numerically that the TFA provides an excellent description of the
first-order density matrix in the large-N limit. As an interesting application,
we derive a closed form expression for the finite temperature Hartree-Fock
exchange energy of a two-dimensional parabolically confined quantum dot. We
numerically test this exact result against the 2D TF exchange functional, and
comment on the applicability of the local-density approximation (LDA) to the
exchange energy of an inhomogeneous 2D Fermi gas.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures included in the text, RevTeX4. Text before
Eq.(25) corrected. Additional equation following Eq.(25) has been adde
G-Quadruplex Dynamics Contribute To Regulation Of Mitochondrial Gene Expression
Single-stranded DNA or RNA sequences rich in guanine (G) can adopt non-canonical structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences that are predicted to form G4 are enriched on the heavy-strand and have been associated with formation of deletion breakpoints. Increasing evidence supports the ability of mtDNA to form G4 in cancer cells; however, the functional roles of G4 structures in regulating mitochondrial nucleic acid homeostasis in non-cancerous cells remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate by live cell imaging that the G4-ligand RHPS4 localizes primarily to mitochondria at low doses. We find that low doses of RHPS4 do not induce a nuclear DNA damage response but do cause an acute inhibition of mitochondrial transcript elongation, leading to respiratory complex depletion. We also observe that RHPS4 interferes with mtDNA levels or synthesis both in cells and isolated mitochondria. Importantly, a mtDNA variant that increases G4 stability and anti-parallel G4-forming character shows a stronger respiratory defect in response to RHPS4, supporting the conclusion that mitochondrial sensitivity to RHPS4 is G4-mediated. Taken together, our results indicate a direct role for G4 perturbation in mitochondrial genome replication, transcription processivity, and respiratory function in normal cells
Correlations in a confined magnetized free-electron gas
Equilibrium quantum statistical methods are used to study the pair
correlation function for a magnetized free-electron gas in the presence of a
hard wall that is parallel to the field. With the help of a path-integral
technique and a Green function representation the modifications in the
correlation function caused by the wall are determined both for a
non-degenerate and for a completely degenerate gas. In the latter case the
asymptotic behaviour of the correlation function for large position differences
in the direction parallel to the wall and perpendicular to the field, is found
to change from Gaussian in the bulk to algebraic near the wall.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, submitted to J. Phys. A: Math. Ge
Nernst Effect in Electron-Doped PrCeCuO
The Nernst effect of PrCeCuO (x=0.13, 0.15, and 0.17) has
been measured on thin film samples between 5-120 K and 0-14 T. In comparison to
recent measurements on hole-doped cuprates that showed an anomalously large
Nernst effect above the resistive T and H
\cite{xu,wang1,wang2,capan}, we find a normal Nernst effect above T and
H for all dopings. The lack of an anomalous Nernst effect in the
electron-doped compounds supports the models that explain this effect in terms
of amplitude and phase fluctuations in the hole-doped cuprates. In addition,
the H(T) determined from the Nernst effect shows a conventional behavior
for all dopings. The energy gap determined from H(0) decreases as the
system goes from under-doping to over-dopingin agreement with the recent
tunnelling experiments
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