633 research outputs found
High Density Mesoscopic Atom Clouds in a Holographic Atom Trap
We demonstrate the production of micron-sized high density atom clouds of
interest for meso- scopic quantum information processing. We evaporate atoms
from 60 microK, 3x10^14 atoms/cm^3 samples contained in a highly anisotropic
optical lattice formed by interfering di racted beams from a holographic phase
plate. After evaporating to 1 microK by lowering the con ning potential, in
less than a second the atom density reduces to 8x10^13 cm^- 3 at a phase space
density approaching unity. Adiabatic recompression of the atoms then increases
the density to levels in excess of 1x10^15 cm^-3. The resulting clouds are
typically 8 microns in the longest dimension. Such samples are small enough to
enable mesoscopic quantum manipulation using Rydberg blockade and have the high
densities required to investigate new collision phenomena.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Recent trends and potential drivers of non-invasive cardiovascular imaging use in the United States of America and England
Background: Non-invasive Cardiovascular imaging (NICI), including cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging provides important information to guide the management of patients with cardiovascular conditions. Current rates of NICI use and potential policy determinants in the United States of America (US) and England remain unexplored. Methods: We compared NICI activity in the US (Medicare fee-for-service, 2011â2015) and England (National Health Service, 2012â2016). We reviewed recommendations related to CMR from Clinical Practice Guidelines, Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC), and Choosing Wisely. We then categorized recommendations according to whether CMR was the only recommended NICI technique (substitutable indications). Reimbursement policies in both settings were systematically collated and reviewed using publicly available information. Results: The 2015 rate of NICI activity in the US was 3.1 times higher than in England (31,055 vs. 9,916 per 100,000 beneficiaries). The proportion of CMR of all NICI was small in both jurisdictions, but nuclear cardiac imaging was more frequent in the US in absolute and relative terms. American and European CPGs were similar, both in terms of number of recommendations and proportions of indications where CMR was not the only recommended NICI technique (substitutable indications). Reimbursement schemes for NICI activity differed for physicians and hospitals between the two settings. Conclusions: Fee-for-service physician compensation in the US for NICI may contribute to higher NICI activity compared to England where physicians are salaried. Reimbursement arrangements for the performance of the test may contribute to the higher proportion of nuclear cardiac imaging out of the total NICI activity. Differences in CPG recommendations appear not to explain the variation in NICI activity between the US and England
All Optical Formation of an Atomic Bose-Einstein Condensate
We have created a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms directly in an
optical trap. We employ a quasi-electrostatic dipole force trap formed by two
crossed CO_2 laser beams. Loading directly from a sub-doppler laser-cooled
cloud of atoms results in initial phase space densities of ~1/200.
Evaporatively cooling through the BEC transition is achieved by lowering the
power in the trapping beams over ~ 2 s. The resulting condensates are F=1
spinors with 3.5 x 10^4 atoms distributed between the m_F = (-1,0,1) states.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Quantum Logic Gates in Optical Lattices
We propose a new system for implementing quantum logic gates: neutral atoms
trapped in a very far-off-resonance optical lattice. Pairs of atoms are made to
occupy the same well by varying the polarization of the trapping lasers, and
then a near-resonant electric dipole is induced by an auxiliary laser. A
controlled-NOT can be implemented by conditioning the target atomic resonance
on a resolvable level shift induced by the control atom. Atoms interact only
during logical operations, thereby suppressing decoherence.Comment: Revised version, To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. Three separate
postscript figure
Entanglement of atoms via cold controlled collisions
We show that by using cold controlled collisions between two atoms one can
achieve conditional dynamics in moving trap potentials. We discuss implementing
two qubit quantum--gates and efficient creation of highly entangled states of
many atoms in optical lattices.Comment: 4 pages 3 figure
All-Optical Production of a Degenerate Fermi Gas
We achieve degeneracy in a mixture of the two lowest hyperfine states of
Li by direct evaporation in a CO laser trap, yielding the first
all-optically produced degenerate Fermi gas. More than atoms are
confined at temperatures below K at full trap depth, where the Fermi
temperature for each state is K. This degenerate two-component mixture
is ideal for exploring mechanisms of superconductivity ranging from Cooper
pairing to Bose condensation of strongly bound pairs.Comment: 4 pgs RevTeX with 2 eps figs, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Spinor Bosonic Atoms in Optical Lattices: Symmetry Breaking and Fractionalization
We study superfluid and Mott insulator phases of cold spin-1 Bose atoms with
antiferromagnetic interactions in an optical lattice, including a usual polar
condensate phase, a condensate of singlet pairs, a crystal spin nematic phase,
and a spin singlet crystal phase. We suggest a possibility of exotic
fractionalized phases of spinor BEC and discuss them in the language of
topological defect condensation and lattice gauge theory.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure included; references adde
Microevolution during the emergence of a monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium epidemic in the United Kingdom
Microevolutionary events associated with the emergence and clonal expansion of new 27 epidemic clones of bacterial pathogens hold the key to understanding the drivers of 28 epidemiological success. We describe a comparative whole genome sequence and 29 phylogenomic analysis of monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from the UK 30 and Italy from 2005-2012. Monophasic isolates from this time formed a single clade 31 distinct from recent monophasic epidemic clones described previously from North 32 America and Spain. The current UK monophasic epidemic clones encode a novel 33 genomic island encoding resistance to heavy metals (SGI-3), and composite transposon 34 encoding antibiotic resistance genes not present in other Typhimurium isolates, that 35 may have contributed to the epidemiological success. We also report a remarkable 36 degree of genotypic variation that accumulated during clonal expansion of a UK 37 epidemic including multiple independent acquisitions of a novel prophage carrying the 38 sopE gene and multiple deletion events affecting the phase II flagellin locus
Press notice. EC agricultural price indices. Trends in EC agricultural price indices (output and input): 1st quarter 1985. 1985.3
The
high precious metal loading and high overpotential of the oxygen
evolution reaction (OER) prevents the widespread utilization of polymer
electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers. Herein we explore
the OER activity and stability in acidic electrolyte of a combined
IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub>/RuO<sub>2</sub> system consisting
of RuO<sub>2</sub> thin films with submonolayer (1, 2, and 4 Ă
)
amounts of IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub> deposited on top. Operando
extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on the Ir L-3 edge
revealed a rutile type IrO<sub>2</sub> structure with some Ir sites
occupied by Ru, IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub> being at the surface
of the RuO<sub>2</sub> thin film. We monitor corrosion on IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub>/RuO<sub>2</sub> thin films by combining
electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) with inductively
coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We elucidate the importance of
submonolayer surface IrO<sub><i>x</i></sub> in minimizing
Ru dissolution. Our work shows that we can tune the surface properties
of active OER catalysts, such as RuO<sub>2</sub>, aiming to achieve
higher electrocatalytic stability in PEM electrolyzers
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