312 research outputs found
Full counting statistics of strongly non-Ohmic transport through single molecules
We study analytically the full counting statistics of charge transport
through single molecules, strongly coupled to a weakly damped vibrational mode.
The specifics of transport in this regime - a hierarchical sequence of
avalanches of transferred charges, interrupted by "quiet" periods - make the
counting statistics strongly non-Gaussian. We support our findings for the
counting statistics as well as for the frequency-dependent noise power by
numerical simulations, finding excellent agreement.Comment: 4+ pages, 2 figures; minor changes, version published in Phys. Rev.
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Electron injection in a nanotube with leads: finite frequency noise-correlations and anomalous charges
The non-equilibrium transport properties of a carbon nanotube which is
connected to Fermi liquid leads, where electrons are injected in the bulk, are
computed. A previous work which considered an infinite nanotube showed that the
zero frequency noise correlations, measured at opposite ends of the nanotube,
could be used to extract the anomalous charges of the chiral excitations which
propagate in the nanotube. Here, the presence of the leads have the effect that
such-noise cross-correlations vanish at zero frequency. Nevertheless,
information concerning the anomalous charges can be recovered when considering
the spectral density of noise correlations at finite frequencies, which is
computed perturbatively in the tunneling amplitude. The spectrum of the noise
cross-correlations is shown to depend crucially on the ratio of the time of
flight of quasiparticles traveling in the nanotube to the ``voltage'' time
which defines the width of the quasiparticle wave-packets injected when an
electron tunnels. Potential applications toward the measurement of such
anomalous charges in non-chiral Luttinger liquids (nanotubes or semiconductor
quantum wires) are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Output spectrum of a measuring device at arbitrary voltage and temperature
We calculate the noise spectrum of the electrical current in a quantum point
contact which is used for continuous measurements of a two-level system
(qubit). We generalize the previous results obtained for the regime of high
transport voltages (when is much larger than the qubit's energy level
splitting (we put )) to the case of arbitrary voltages and
temperatures. When the background output spectrum is essentially
asymmetric in frequency, i.e., it is no longer classical. Yet, the spectrum of
the amplified signal, i.e., the two coherent peaks at is still
symmetric. In the emission (negative frequency) part of the spectrum the
coherent peak can be 8 times higher than the background pedestal.
Alternatively, this ratio can be seen in the directly measureable {\it excess}
noise. For and T=0 the coherent peaks do not appear at all. We relate
these results to the properties of linear amplifiers.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, the results generalized for arbitrary angle
between the magnetic field and the observed component of the spin, minor
corrections and typo
Classical and novel TSPO ligands for the mitochondrial TSPO can modulate nuclear gene expression: Implications for mitochondrial retrograde signaling
It is known that knockdown of the mitochondrial 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) as well as TSPO ligands modulate various functions, including functions related to cancer. To study the ability of TSPO to regulate gene expression regarding such functions, we applied microarray analysis of gene expression to U118MG glioblastoma cells. Within 15 min, the classical TSPO ligand PK 11195 induced changes in expression of immediate early genes and transcription factors. These changes also included gene products that are part of the canonical pathway serving to modulate general gene expression. These changes are in accord with real-time, reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR. At the time points of 15, 30, 45, and 60 min, as well as 3 and 24 h of PK 11195 exposure, the functions associated with the changes in gene expression in these glioblastoma cells covered well known TSPO functions. These functions included cell viability, proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, tumorigenesis, and angiogenesis. This was corroborated microscopically for cell migration, cell accumulation, adhesion, and neuronal differentiation. Changes in gene expression at 24 h of PK 11195 exposure were related to downregulation of tumorigenesis and upregulation of programmed cell death. In the vehicle treated as well as PK 11195 exposed cell cultures, our triple labeling showed intense TSPO labeling in the mitochondria but no TSPO signal in the cell nuclei. Thus, mitochondrial TSPO appears to be part of the mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling pathway for modulation of nuclear gene expression. The novel TSPO ligand 2-Cl-MGV-1 appeared to be very specific regarding modulation of gene expression of immediate early genes and transcription factors
Cooling a nanomechanical resonator with quantum back-action
Quantum mechanics demands that the act of measurement must affect the
measured object. When a linear amplifier is used to continuously monitor the
position of an object, the Heisenberg uncertainty relationship requires that
the object be driven by force impulses, called back-action. Here we measure the
back-action of a superconducting single-electron transistor (SSET) on a
radiofrequency nanomechanical resonator. The conductance of the SSET, which is
capacitively coupled to the resonator, provides a sensitive probe of the
latter's position;back-action effects manifest themselves as an effective
thermal bath, the properties of which depend sensitively on SSET bias
conditions. Surprisingly, when the SSET is biased near a transport resonance,
we observe cooling of the nanomechanical mode from 550mK to 300mK-- an effect
that is analogous to laser cooling in atomic physics. Our measurements have
implications for nanomechanical readout of quantum information devices and the
limits of ultrasensitive force microscopy (such as single-nuclear-spin magnetic
resonance force microscopy). Furthermore, we anticipate the use of these
backaction effects to prepare ultracold and quantum states of mechanical
structures, which would not be accessible with existing technology.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Natur
Photo--assisted current and shot noise in the fractional quantum Hall effect
The effect of an AC perturbation on the shot noise of a fractional quantum
Hall fluid is studied both in the weak and the strong backscattering regimes.
It is known that the zero-frequency current is linear in the bias voltage,
while the noise derivative exhibits steps as a function of bias. In contrast,
at Laughlin fractions, the backscattering current and the backscattering noise
both exhibit evenly spaced singularities, which are reminiscent of the
tunneling density of states singularities for quasiparticles. The spacing is
determined by the quasiparticle charge and the ratio of the DC bias
with respect to the drive frequency. Photo--assisted transport can thus be
considered as a probe for effective charges at such filling factors, and could
be used in the study of more complicated fractions of the Hall effect. A
non-perturbative method for studying photo--assisted transport at is
developed, using a refermionization procedure.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Zero-point fluctuations in the ground state of a mesoscopic normal ring
We investigate the persistent current of a ring with an in-line quantum dot
capacitively coupled to an external circuit. Of special interest is the
magnitude of the persistent current as a function of the external impedance in
the zero temperature limit when the only fluctuations in the external circuit
are zero-point fluctuations. These are time-dependent fluctuations which
polarize the ring-dot structure and we discuss in detail the contribution of
displacement currents to the persistent current. We have earlier discussed an
exact solution for the persistent current and its fluctuations based on a Bethe
ansatz. In this work, we emphasize a physically more intuitive approach using a
Langevin description of the external circuit. This approach is limited to weak
coupling between the ring and the external circuit. We show that the zero
temperature persistent current obtained in this approach is consistent with the
persistent current calculated from a Bethe ansatz solution. In the absence of
coupling our system is a two level system consisting of the ground state and
the first excited state. In the presence of coupling we investigate the
projection of the actual state on the ground state and the first exited state
of the decoupled ring. With each of these projections we can associate a phase
diffusion time. In the zero temperature limit we find that the phase diffusion
time of the excited state projection saturates, whereas the phase diffusion
time of the ground state projection diverges.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Variational Methods for Biomolecular Modeling
Structure, function and dynamics of many biomolecular systems can be
characterized by the energetic variational principle and the corresponding
systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). This principle allows us to
focus on the identification of essential energetic components, the optimal
parametrization of energies, and the efficient computational implementation of
energy variation or minimization. Given the fact that complex biomolecular
systems are structurally non-uniform and their interactions occur through
contact interfaces, their free energies are associated with various interfaces
as well, such as solute-solvent interface, molecular binding interface, lipid
domain interface, and membrane surfaces. This fact motivates the inclusion of
interface geometry, particular its curvatures, to the parametrization of free
energies. Applications of such interface geometry based energetic variational
principles are illustrated through three concrete topics: the multiscale
modeling of biomolecular electrostatics and solvation that includes the
curvature energy of the molecular surface, the formation of microdomains on
lipid membrane due to the geometric and molecular mechanics at the lipid
interface, and the mean curvature driven protein localization on membrane
surfaces. By further implicitly representing the interface using a phase field
function over the entire domain, one can simulate the dynamics of the interface
and the corresponding energy variation by evolving the phase field function,
achieving significant reduction of the number of degrees of freedom and
computational complexity. Strategies for improving the efficiency of
computational implementations and for extending applications to coarse-graining
or multiscale molecular simulations are outlined.Comment: 36 page
Continuation for thin film hydrodynamics and related scalar problems
This chapter illustrates how to apply continuation techniques in the analysis
of a particular class of nonlinear kinetic equations that describe the time
evolution through transport equations for a single scalar field like a
densities or interface profiles of various types. We first systematically
introduce these equations as gradient dynamics combining mass-conserving and
nonmass-conserving fluxes followed by a discussion of nonvariational amendmends
and a brief introduction to their analysis by numerical continuation. The
approach is first applied to a number of common examples of variational
equations, namely, Allen-Cahn- and Cahn-Hilliard-type equations including
certain thin-film equations for partially wetting liquids on homogeneous and
heterogeneous substrates as well as Swift-Hohenberg and Phase-Field-Crystal
equations. Second we consider nonvariational examples as the
Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, convective Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard
equations and thin-film equations describing stationary sliding drops and a
transversal front instability in a dip-coating. Through the different examples
we illustrate how to employ the numerical tools provided by the packages
auto07p and pde2path to determine steady, stationary and time-periodic
solutions in one and two dimensions and the resulting bifurcation diagrams. The
incorporation of boundary conditions and integral side conditions is also
discussed as well as problem-specific implementation issues
Hedgehog-interacting protein is highly expressed in endothelial cells but down-regulated during angiogenesis and in several human tumors
BACKGROUND: The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway regulates a variety of developmental processes, including vasculogenesis, and can also induce the expression of pro-angiogenic factors in fibroblasts postnatally. Misregulation of the Hh pathway has been implicated in a variety of different types of cancer, including pancreatic and small-cell lung cancer. Recently a putative antagonist of the pathway, Hedgehog-interacting protein (HIP), was identified as a Hh binding protein that is also a target of Hh signaling. We sought to clarify possible roles for HIP in angiogenesis and cancer. METHODS: Inhibition of Hh signaling by HIP was assayed by measuring the induction of Ptc-1 mRNA in TM3 cells treated with conditioned medium containing Sonic hedgehog (Shh). Angiogenesis was assayed in vitro by EC tube formation on Matrigel. Expression of HIP mRNA was assayed in cells and tissues by Q-RT-PCR and Western blot. HIP expression in human tumors or mouse xenograft tumors compared to normal tissues was assayed by Q-RT-PCR or hybridization of RNA probes to a cancer profiling array. RESULTS: We show that Hedgehog-interacting protein (HIP) is abundantly expressed in vascular endothelial cells (EC) but at low or undetectable levels in other cell types. Expression of HIP in mouse epithelial cells attenuated their response to Shh, demonstrating that HIP can antagonize Hh signaling when expressed in the responding cell, and supporting the hypothesis that HIP blocks Hh signaling in EC. HIP expression was significantly reduced in tissues undergoing angiogenesis, including PC3 human prostate cancer and A549 human lung cancer xenograft tumors, as well as in EC undergoing tube formation on Matrigel. HIP expression was also decreased in several human tumors of the liver, lung, stomach, colon and rectum when compared to the corresponding normal tissue. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that reduced expression of HIP, a naturally occurring Hh pathway antagonist, in tumor neo-vasculature may contribute to increased Hh signaling within the tumor and possibly promote angiogenesis
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