13,300 research outputs found
Switchable ultrastrong coupling in circuit QED
Superconducting quantum circuits possess the ingredients for quantum
information processing and for developing on-chip microwave quantum optics.
From the initial manipulation of few-level superconducting systems (qubits)
to their strong coupling to microwave resonators, the time has come to consider
the generation and characterization of propagating quantum microwaves. In this
paper, we design a key ingredient that will prove essential in the general
frame: a swtichable coupling between qubit(s) and transmission line(s) that can
work in the ultrastrong coupling regime, where the coupling strength approaches
the qubit transition frequency. We propose several setups where two or more
loops of Josephson junctions are directly connected to a closed (cavity) or
open transmission line. We demonstrate that the circuit induces a coupling that
can be modulated in strength and type. Given recent studies showing the
accessibility to the ultrastrong regime, we expect our ideas to have an
immediate impact in ongoing experiments
Hyperonic crystallization in hadronic matter
Published in Hadrons, Nuclei and Applications, World Scientific, Singapore,
Proc.of the Conference Bologna2000. Structure of the Nucleus at the Dawn of the
Century, G. Bonsignori, M. Bruno, A. Ventura, D. Vretenar Editors, pag. 319.Comment: 4 pages, 2figure
An improved discrete bat algorithm for symmetric and asymmetric traveling salesman problems
Bat algorithm is a population metaheuristic proposed in 2010 which is based on the echolocation or bio-sonar characteristics of microbats. Since its first implementation, the bat algorithm has been used in a wide range of fields. In this paper, we present a discrete version of the bat algorithm to solve the well-known symmetric and asymmetric traveling salesman problems. In addition, we propose an improvement in the basic structure of the classic bat algorithm. To prove that our proposal is a promising approximation method, we have compared its performance in 37 instances with the results obtained by five different techniques: evolutionary simulated annealing, genetic algorithm, an island based distributed genetic algorithm, a discrete firefly algorithm and an imperialist competitive algorithm. In order to obtain fair and rigorous comparisons, we have conducted three different statistical tests along the paper: the Student's -test, the Holm's test, and the Friedman test. We have also compared the convergence behaviour shown by our proposal with the ones shown by the evolutionary simulated annealing, and the discrete firefly algorithm. The experimentation carried out in this study has shown that the presented improved bat algorithm outperforms significantly all the other alternatives in most of the cases
Q fever: a new ocular manifestation
Q Fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Ocular manifestations are rare in this infection. We describe the case of a man complaining of an intense retro-orbital headache, fever, arthralgia, and bilateral loss of vision, who showed an anterior uveitis accompanied by exudative bilateral inferior retinal detachment and optic disk edema. At the beginning, a Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) syndrome was suspected, but the patient was diagnosed with Q fever and treatment with doxycycline was initiated, with complete resolution after 2 weeks. We wondered if Q fever could unleash VKH syndrome or simulate a VKH syndrome by a similar immunological process
On Chern-Simons Quivers and Toric Geometry
We discuss a class of 3-dimensional N=4 Chern-Simons (CS) quiver gauge models
obtained from M-theory compactifications on singular complex 4-dimensional
hyper-Kahler (HK) manifolds, which are realized explicitly as a cotangent
bundle over two-Fano toric varieties V^2. The corresponding CS gauge models are
encoded in quivers similar to toric diagrams of V^2. Using toric geometry, it
is shown that the constraints on CS levels can be related to toric equations
determining V^2.Comment: 14pg, 1 Figure, late
Using phage Lytic Enzymes to Control Pathogenic Bacteria
Our laboratory has developed phage lytic enzymes to prevent infection by specifically destroying disease bacteria on mucous membranes and in blood. Enzymes specific for S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes have been developed to be used nasally and orally to control these organisms in environments such as hospitals and nursing homes to prevent or markedly reduce serious infections by these pathogens. In addition, a B. anthracis-specific enzyme was developed to kill the vegetative forms of these bacteria in the blood of infected individuals. In animal studies, >80% of mice colonized mucosally or infected intravenously with pathogenic bacteria were decolonized or survived after a single enzyme treatment delivered to the same site of colonization or infection
Efficacy of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for inactivating airborne pathogens
Atmospheric pressure plasmas have gained attention in recent years for several environmental applications. This technology could potentially be used to deactivate airborne microorganisms, surface-bound microorganisms, and biofilms. In this work, the authors explore the efficacy of the atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) to inactivate airborne Staphylococcus epidermidis and Aspergillus niger that are opportunistic pathogens associated with nosocomial infections. This technology uses air as the source of gas and does not require any process gas such as helium, argon, nitrogen, or hydrogen. The effect of DBD was studied on aerosolized S. epidermidis and aerosolized A. niger spores via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology observed on the SEM micrographs showed deformations in the cellular structure of both microor- ganisms. Cell structure damage upon interaction with the DBD suggests leakage of vital cellular materials, which is a key mechanism for microbial inactivation. The chemical structure of the cell surface of S. epidermidis was also analyzed by near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectros- copy before and after DBD exposure. Results from surface analysis revealed that reactive oxygen species from the DBD discharge contributed to alterations on the chemistry of the cell membrane/ cell wall of S. epidermidis
Limits on excited tau leptons masses from leptonic tau decays
We study the effects induced by excited leptons on the leptonic tau decay at
one loop level. Using a general effective lagrangian approach to describe the
couplings of the excited leptons, we compute their contributions to the
leptonic decays and use the current experimental values of the branching ratios
to put limits on the mass of excited states and the substructure scale.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Inflation-Produced Magnetic Fields in Nonlinear Electrodynamics
We study the generation of primeval magnetic fields during inflation era in
nonlinear theories of electrodynamics. Although the intensity of the produced
fields strongly depends on characteristics of inflation and on the form of
electromagnetic Lagrangian, our results do not exclude the possibility that
these fields could be astrophysically interesting.Comment: 6 page
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