21,810 research outputs found
Dynamical aspects of inextensible chains
In the present work the dynamics of a continuous inextensible chain is
studied. The chain is regarded as a system of small particles subjected to
constraints on their reciprocal distances. It is proposed a treatment of
systems of this kind based on a set Langevin equations in which the noise is
characterized by a non-gaussian probability distribution. The method is
explained in the case of a freely hinged chain. In particular, the generating
functional of the correlation functions of the relevant degrees of freedom
which describe the conformations of this chain is derived. It is shown that in
the continuous limit this generating functional coincides with a model of an
inextensible chain previously discussed by one of the authors of this work.
Next, the approach developed here is applied to a inextensible chain, called
the freely jointed bar chain, in which the basic units are small extended
objects. The generating functional of the freely jointed bar chain is
constructed. It is shown that it differs profoundly from that of the freely
hinged chain. Despite the differences, it is verified that in the continuous
limit both generating functionals coincide as it is expected.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX 2e + various packages, 3 figures. The title has been
changed and three references have been added. A large part of the manuscript
has been rewritten to improve readability. Chapter 4 has been added. It
contains the construction of the generating functional without the
shish-kebab approximation and a new derivation of the continuous limit of the
freely jointed bar chai
Enhanced magnetocaloric response in Cr/Mo containing Nanoperm-type amorphous alloys
The magnetocaloric effect of Fe76Cr8−xMoxCu1B15 (x =0,4) alloys is studied. Although the combined addition of Cr and Mo is more efficient in tuning the Curie temperature of the alloy, the Mo-free alloy presents a higher magnetocaloric response. The refrigerant capacity (RC) for the Mo-containing alloy is comparable to that of Gd5Ge1.9Si2Fe0.1 (for a field of 50 kOe, RC = 273 J kg−1 for the Mo alloy vs 240 J kg−1 for the Gd-based one), with a larger temperature span of the optimal refrigeration cycle (250 K vs 90 K, respectively). The restriction of the temperature span to 90 K gives RC = 187 J kg−1 for the Mo alloy. A master curve behavior for the magnetic entropy change is also evidenced
Qubit-oscillator systems in the ultrastrong-coupling regime and their potential for preparing nonclassical states
We consider a system composed of a two-level system (i.e. a qubit) and a
harmonic oscillator in the ultrastrong-coupling regime, where the coupling
strength is comparable to the qubit and oscillator energy scales. Special
emphasis is placed on the possibility of preparing nonclassical states in this
system. These nonclassical states include squeezed states, Schrodinger-cat
states and entangled states. We start by comparing the predictions of a number
of analytical methods that can be used to describe the system under different
assumptions, thus analyzing the properties of the system in various parameter
regimes. We then examine the ground state of the system and analyze its
nonclassical properties. We finally discuss some questions related to the
possible experimental observation of the nonclassical states and the effect of
decoherence.Comment: 19 pages (two-column), 11 figure
Diameter selective characterization of single-wall carbon nanotubes
A novel method is presented which allows the characterization of diameter
selective phenomena in SWCNTs. It is based on the transformation of fullerene
peapod materials into double-wall carbon nanotubes and studying the diameter
distribution of the latter. The method is demonstrated for the diameter
selective healing of nanotube defects and yield from C peapod samples.
Openings on small diameter nanotubes are closed first. The yield of very small
diameter inner nanotubes from C peapods is demonstrated. This challenges
the theoretical models of inner nanotube formation. An anomalous absence of
mid-diameter inner tubes is observed and explained by the suppressed amount of
C peapods due to the competition of the two almost equally stable
standing and lying C peapod configurations
Probing tiny motions of nanomechanical resonators: classical or quantum mechanical?
We propose a spectroscopic approach to probe tiny vibrations of a
nanomechanical resonator (NAMR), which may reveal classical or quantum behavior
depending on the decoherence-inducing environment. Our proposal is based on the
detection of the voltage-fluctuation spectrum in a superconducting transmission
line resonator (TLR), which is {\it indirectly} coupled to the NAMR via a
controllable Josephson qubit acting as a quantum transducer. The classical
(quantum mechanical) vibrations of the NAMR induce symmetric (asymmetric) Stark
shifts of the qubit levels, which can be measured by the voltage fluctuations
in the TLR. Thus, the motion of the NAMR, including if it is quantum mechanical
or not, could be probed by detecting the voltage-fluctuation spectrum of the
TLR.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. to appear in Physical Review Letter
Detection of bovine papillomavirus type 2 in the peripheral blood of cattle with urinary bladder tumours: possible biological role
Bovine papillomavirus type 2 (BPV-2) infection has been associated with urinary bladder tumours in adult cattle grazing on bracken fern-infested land. In this study, we investigated the
simultaneous presence of BPV-2 in whole blood and urinary bladder tumours of adult cattle in an attempt to better understand the biological role of circulating BPV-2. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 78 cattle clinically suffering from a severe chronic enzootic haematuria. Circulating BPV-2 DNA was detected in 61 of them and in two blood samples from healthy cows. Fifty of the affected animals were slaughtered at public slaughterhouses and neoplastic proliferations in the urinary bladder were detected in all of them. BPV-2 DNA was amplified and sequenced in 78% of urinary bladder tumour samples and in 38.9% of normal samples as a control. Circulating episomal BPV-2 DNA was detected in 78.2% of the blood samples. Simultaneous presence of BPV-2 DNA in neoplastic bladder and blood samples was detected in 37 animals. Specific viral E5 mRNA and E5 oncoprotein were also detected in blood by RT-PCR
and Western blot/immunocytochemistry, respectively. It is likely that BPV-2 can persist and be maintained in an active status in the bloodstream, in particular in the lymphocytes, as a reservoir of viral infection that, in the presence of co-carcinogens, may cause the development of urinary bladder tumours
Generation and control of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger entanglement in superconducting circuits
Going beyond the entanglement of microscopic objects (such as photons, spins,
and ions), here we propose an efficient approach to produce and control the
quantum entanglement of three macroscopic coupled superconducting qubits. By
conditionally rotating, one by one, selected Josephson charge qubits, we show
that their Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled states can be
deterministically generated. The existence of GHZ correlations between these
qubits could be experimentally demonstrated by effective single-qubit
operations followed by high-fidelity single-shot readouts. The possibility of
using the prepared GHZ correlations to test the macroscopic conflict between
the noncommutativity of quantum mechanics and the commutativity of classical
physics is also discussed.Comment: 4 Pages with 1 figure. to appear in Physical Review Letter
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