Theory of superconductor-insulator transition in single Josephson junctions

A non-band theory is developed to describe the superconductor-insulator (SI) transtition in resistively shunted, single Josephson junctions. The $I-V$ characteristic is formulated by a Landauer-like formula and evaluated by the path-integral transfer-matrix method. The result is consistent with the recent experiments at around 80 $mK$. However, the insulator phase shrinks with decreasing temperature indicating that the single Josephson junction becomes all superconducting at absolute zero temperature, as long as dissipation is present.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Conductance Fluctuations in a Metallic Wire Interrupted by a Tunnel Junction

The conductance fluctuations of a metallic wire which is interrupted by a small tunnel junction has been explored experimentally. In this system, the bias voltage V, which drops almost completely inside the tunnel barrier, is used to probe the energy dependence of conductance fluctuations due to disorder in the wire. We find that the variance of the fluctuations is directly proportional to V. The experimental data are consistently described by a theoretical model with two phenomenological parameters: the phase breaking time at low temperatures and the diffusion coefficient.Comment: 9 pages RevTeX and 4 PS figures (accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

The Least-core and Nucleolus of Path Cooperative Games

Cooperative games provide an appropriate framework for fair and stable profit distribution in multiagent systems. In this paper, we study the algorithmic issues on path cooperative games that arise from the situations where some commodity flows through a network. In these games, a coalition of edges or vertices is successful if it enables a path from the source to the sink in the network, and lose otherwise. Based on dual theory of linear programming and the relationship with flow games, we provide the characterizations on the CS-core, least-core and nucleolus of path cooperative games. Furthermore, we show that the least-core and nucleolus are polynomially solvable for path cooperative games defined on both directed and undirected network

Ramanujan sums analysis of long-period sequences and 1/f noise

Ramanujan sums are exponential sums with exponent defined over the irreducible fractions. Until now, they have been used to provide converging expansions to some arithmetical functions appearing in the context of number theory. In this paper, we provide an application of Ramanujan sum expansions to periodic, quasiperiodic and complex time series, as a vital alternative to the Fourier transform. The Ramanujan-Fourier spectrum of the Dow Jones index over 13 years and of the coronal index of solar activity over 69 years are taken as illustrative examples. Distinct long periods may be discriminated in place of the 1/f^{\alpha} spectra of the Fourier transform.Comment: 10 page

Progress Toward Efficient Laminar Flow Analysis and Design

A multi-fidelity system of computer codes for the analysis and design of vehicles having extensive areas of laminar flow is under development at the NASA Langley Research Center. The overall approach consists of the loose coupling of a flow solver, a transition prediction method and a design module using shell scripts, along with interface modules to prepare the input for each method. This approach allows the user to select the flow solver and transition prediction module, as well as run mode for each code, based on the fidelity most compatible with the problem and available resources. The design module can be any method that designs to a specified target pressure distribution. In addition to the interface modules, two new components have been developed: 1) an efficient, empirical transition prediction module (MATTC) that provides n-factor growth distributions without requiring boundary layer information; and 2) an automated target pressure generation code (ATPG) that develops a target pressure distribution that meets a variety of flow and geometry constraints. The ATPG code also includes empirical estimates of several drag components to allow the optimization of the target pressure distribution. The current system has been developed for the design of subsonic and transonic airfoils and wings, but may be extendable to other speed ranges and components. Several analysis and design examples are included to demonstrate the current capabilities of the system

Ballistic Transport Through Chaotic Cavities: Can Parametric Correlations and the Weak Localization Peak be Described by a Brownian Motion Model?

A Brownian motion model is devised on the manifold of S-matrices, and applied to the calculation of conductance-conductance correlations and of the weak localization peak. The model predicts that (i) the correlation function in $B$ has the same shape and width as the weak localization peak; (ii) the functions behave as $\propto 1-{\cal O}(B^2)$, thus excluding a linear line shape; and (iii) their width increases as the square root of the number of channels in the leads. Some of these predictions agree with experiment and with other calculations only in the limit of small $B$ and a large number of channels.Comment: 5 pages revtex (twocolumn

Two-Bit Gates are Universal for Quantum Computation

A proof is given, which relies on the commutator algebra of the unitary Lie groups, that quantum gates operating on just two bits at a time are sufficient to construct a general quantum circuit. The best previous result had shown the universality of three-bit gates, by analogy to the universality of the Toffoli three-bit gate of classical reversible computing. Two-bit quantum gates may be implemented by magnetic resonance operations applied to a pair of electronic or nuclear spins. A ``gearbox quantum computer'' proposed here, based on the principles of atomic force microscopy, would permit the operation of such two-bit gates in a physical system with very long phase breaking (i.e., quantum phase coherence) times. Simpler versions of the gearbox computer could be used to do experiments on Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen states and related entangled quantum states.Comment: 21 pages, REVTeX 3.0, two .ps figures available from author upon reques

Diffusive spin transport

Information to be stored and transported requires physical carriers. The quantum bit of information (qubit) can for instance be realised as the spin 1/2 degree of freedom of a massive particle like an electron or as the spin 1 polarisation of a massless photon. In this lecture, I first use irreducible representations of the rotation group to characterise the spin dynamics in a least redundant manner. Specifically, I describe the decoherence dynamics of an arbitrary spin S coupled to a randomly fluctuating magnetic field in the Liouville space formalism. Secondly, I discuss the diffusive dynamics of the particle's position in space due to the presence of randomly placed impurities. Combining these two dynamics yields a coherent, unified picture of diffusive spin transport, as applicable to mesoscopic electronic devices or photons propagating in cold atomic clouds.Comment: Lecture notes, published in A. Buchleitner, C. Viviescas, and M. Tiersch (Eds.), "Entanglement and Decoherence. Foundations and Modern Trends", Lecture Notes in Physics 768, Springer, Berlin (2009

"Electro-flux" effect in superconducting hybrid Aharonov-Bohm rings

We have extended the circuit theory of Andreev conductance [Phys.~Rev.~Lett. {\bf 73}, 1420 (1994)] to diffusive superconducting hybrid structures that contain an Aharonov-Bohm ring. The electrostatic potential distribution in the system is predicted to be flux-dependent with a period of the superconducting flux quantum $\Phi_{0}=h/2e$. When at least one tunnel barrier is present, the conductance of the system oscillates with the same period.Comment: 4 pages RevTex including three Postscript figures. Also available at http://www.tn.tudelft.nl/tn/thssci.htm

Quantum interference and Klein tunneling in graphene heterojunctions

The observation of quantum conductance oscillations in mesoscopic systems has traditionally required the confinement of the carriers to a phase space of reduced dimensionality. While electron optics such as lensing and focusing have been demonstrated experimentally, building a collimated electron interferometer in two unconfined dimensions has remained a challenge due to the difficulty of creating electrostatic barriers that are sharp on the order of the electron wavelength. Here, we report the observation of conductance oscillations in extremely narrow graphene heterostructures where a resonant cavity is formed between two electrostatically created bipolar junctions. Analysis of the oscillations confirms that p-n junctions have a collimating effect on ballistically transmitted carriers. The phase shift observed in the conductance fringes at low magnetic fields is a signature of the perfect transmission of carriers normally incident on the junctions and thus constitutes a direct experimental observation of ``Klein Tunneling.''Comment: 13 pages and 6 figures including supplementary information. The paper has been modified in light of new theoretical results available at arXiv:0808.048