8,715 research outputs found
Macroscopic superposition states in rotating ring lattices
We investigate the effects of rotation on one-dimensional ultracold bosons
confined to optical ring lattices. First, we show that there exists a critical
rotation frequency at which the ground state of a weakly-interacting and
integer-filled atomic gas is fragmented into a macroscopic superposition state
with different circulation. Second, we point out several advantages of using
slightly non-uniform ring lattices. Finally, we demonstrate that different
quasi-momentum states can be distinguished in time-of-flight absorption imaging
and propose to probe correlations via the many-body oscillations induced by a
sudden change in the rotation frequency.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; PQE-2008 conference proceedings; minor
correction
Signal of Bose condensation in an optical lattice at finite temperature
We discuss the experimental signal for the Bose condensation of cold atoms in
an optical lattice at finite temperature. Instead of using the visibility of
the interference pattern via the time-of-flight imaging, we show that the
momentum space density profile in the first Brillouin zone, in particular its
bimodal distribution, provides an unambiguous signal for the Bose condensation.
We confirm this point with detailed calculation of the change in the atomic
momentum distribution across the condensation phase transition, taking into
account both the global trapping potential and the atomic interaction effects.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, replaced with the published versio
A condition-specific codon optimization approach for improved heterologous gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
All authors are with the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, TX 78712, USA -- Hal S. Alper is with the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2500 Speedway Avenue, Austin, TX 78712, USA
-- Amanda M. Lanza Current Address: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biologics Development, 35 South Street, Hopkinton, MA 01748, USABackground: Heterologous gene expression is an important tool for synthetic biology that enables metabolic engineering and the production of non-natural biologics in a variety of host organisms. The translational efficiency of heterologous genes can often be improved by optimizing synonymous codon usage to better match the host organism. However, traditional approaches for optimization neglect to take into account many factors known to influence synonymous codon distributions. Results: Here we define an alternative approach for codon optimization that utilizes systems level information and codon context for the condition under which heterologous genes are being expressed. Furthermore, we utilize a probabilistic algorithm to generate multiple variants of a given gene. We demonstrate improved translational efficiency using this condition-specific codon optimization approach with two heterologous genes, the fluorescent protein-encoding eGFP and the catechol 1,2-dioxygenase gene CatA, expressed in S. cerevisiae. For the latter case, optimization for stationary phase production resulted in nearly 2.9-fold improvements over commercial gene optimization algorithms. Conclusions: Codon optimization is now often a standard tool for protein expression, and while a variety of tools and approaches have been developed, they do not guarantee improved performance for all hosts of applications. Here, we suggest an alternative method for condition-specific codon optimization and demonstrate its utility in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a proof of concept. However, this technique should be applicable to any organism for which gene expression data can be generated and is thus of potential interest for a variety of applications in metabolic and cellular engineering.Chemical EngineeringInstitute for Cellular and Molecular [email protected]
Hanbury Brown-Twiss Interferometry for Fractional and Integer Mott Phases
Hanbury-Brown-Twiss interferometry (HBTI) is used to study integer and
fractionally filled Mott Insulator (MI) phases in period-2 optical
superlattices. In contrast to the quasimomentum distribution, this second order
interferometry pattern exhibits high contrast fringes in the it insulating
phases. Our detailed study of HBTI suggests that this interference pattern
signals the various superfluid-insulator transitions and therefore can be used
as a practical method to determine the phase diagram of the system. We find
that in the presence of a confining potential the insulating phases become
robust as they exist for a finite range of atom numbers. Furthermore, we show
that in the trapped case the HBTI interferogram signals the formation of the MI
domains and probes the shell structure of the system.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure
Double Quantum Dots in Carbon Nanotubes
We study the two-electron eigenspectrum of a carbon-nanotube double quantum
dot with spin-orbit coupling. Exact calculation are combined with a simple
model to provide an intuitive and accurate description of single-particle and
interaction effects. For symmetric dots and weak magnetic fields, the
two-electron ground state is antisymmetric in the spin-valley degree of freedom
and is not a pure spin-singlet state. When double occupation of one dot is
favored by increasing the detuning between the dots, the Coulomb interaction
causes strong correlation effects realized by higher orbital-level mixing.
Changes in the double-dot configuration affect the relative strength of the
electron-electron interactions and can lead to different ground state
transitions. In particular, they can favor a ferromagnetic ground state both in
spin and valley degrees of freedom. The strong suppression of the energy gap
can cause the disappearance of the Pauli blockade in transport experiments and
thereby can also limit the stability of spin-qubits in quantum information
proposals. Our analysis is generalized to an array of coupled dots which is
expected to exhibit rich many-body behavior.Comment: 14 pages, 11 pages and 1 table. Typos in text and Figs.4 and 6
correcte
The Ljapunov-Schmidt reduction for some critical problems
This is a survey about the application of the Ljapunov-Schmidt reduction for
some critical problems
The Fermi Problem in Discrete Systems
The Fermi two-atom problem illustrates an apparent causality violation in
Quantum Field Theory which has to do with the nature of the built in
correlations in the vacuum. It has been a constant subject of theoretical
debate and discussions during the last few decades. Nevertheless, although the
issues at hand could in principle be tested experimentally, the smallness of
such apparent violations of causality in Quantum Electrodynamics prevented the
observation of the predicted effect. In the present paper we show that the
problem can be simulated within the framework of discrete systems that can be
manifested, for instance, by trapped atoms in optical lattices or trapped ions.
Unlike the original continuum case, the causal structure is no longer sharp.
Nevertheless, as we show, it is possible to distinguish between "trivial"
effects due to "direct" causality violations, and the effects associated with
Fermi's problem, even in such discrete settings. The ability to control
externally the strength of the atom-field interactions, enables us also to
study both the original Fermi problem with "bare atoms", as well as correction
in the scenario that involves "dressed" atoms. Finally, we show that in
principle, the Fermi effect can be detected using trapped ions.Comment: Second version - minor change
Effects of random localizing events on matter waves: formalism and examples
A formalism is introduced to describe a number of physical processes that may
break down the coherence of a matter wave over a characteristic length scale l.
In a second-quantized description, an appropriate master equation for a set of
bosonic "modes" (such as atoms in a lattice, in a tight-binding approximation)
is derived. Two kinds of "localizing processes" are discussed in some detail
and shown to lead to master equations of this general form: spontaneous
emission (more precisely, light scattering), and modulation by external random
potentials. Some of the dynamical consequences of these processes are
considered: in particular, it is shown that they generically lead to a damping
of the motion of the matter-wave currents, and may also cause a "flattening" of
the density distribution of a trapped condensate at rest.Comment: v3; a few corrections, especially in Sections IV and
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