179 research outputs found
Quantum correlated twin atomic beams via photo-dissociation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate
We study the process of photo-dissociation of a molecular Bose-Einstein
condensate as a potential source of strongly correlated twin atomic beams. We
show that the two beams can possess nearly perfect quantum squeezing in their
relative numbers.Comment: Corrected LaTeX file layou
Formation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate and an entangled atomic gas by Feshbach resonance
Processes of association in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, and
dissociation of the resulting molecular condensate, due to Feshbach resonance
in a time-dependent magnetic field, are analyzed incorporating non-mean-field
quantum corrections and inelastic collisions. Calculations for the Na atomic
condensate demonstrate that there exist optimal conditions under which about
80% of the atomic population can be converted to a relatively long-lived
molecular condensate (with lifetimes of 10 ms and more). Entangled atoms in
two-mode squeezed states (with noise reduction of about 30 dB) may also be
formed by molecular dissociation. A gas of atoms in squeezed or entangled
states can have applications in quantum computing, communications, and
measurements.Comment: LaTeX, 5 pages with 4 figures, uses REVTeX
Quantum field effects in coupled atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates
This paper examines the parameter regimes in which coupled atomic and
molecular Bose-Einstein condensates do not obey the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
Stochastic field equations for coupled atomic and molecular condensates are
derived using the functional positive-P representation. These equations
describe the full quantum state of the coupled condensates and include the
commonly used Gross-Pitaevskii equation as the noiseless limit. The model
includes all interactions between the particles, background gas losses,
two-body losses and the numerical simulations are performed in three
dimensions. It is found that it is possible to differentiate the quantum and
semiclassical behaviour when the particle density is sufficiently low and the
coupling is sufficiently strong.Comment: 4 postscript figure
Superposition of macroscopic numbers of atoms and molecules
We theoretically examine photoassociation of a non-ideal Bose-Einstein
condensate, focusing on evidence for a macroscopic superposition of atoms and
molecules. This problem raises an interest because, rather than two states of a
given object, an atom-molecule system is a seemingly impossible macroscopic
superposition of different objects. Nevertheless, photoassociation enables
coherent intraparticle conversion, and we thereby propose a viable scheme for
creating a superposition of a macroscopic number of atoms with a macroscopic
number of molecules.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figs, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
The faint young Sun problem
For more than four decades, scientists have been trying to find an answer to
one of the most fundamental questions in paleoclimatology, the `faint young Sun
problem'. For the early Earth, models of stellar evolution predict a solar
energy input to the climate system which is about 25% lower than today. This
would result in a completely frozen world over the first two billion years in
the history of our planet, if all other parameters controlling Earth's climate
had been the same. Yet there is ample evidence for the presence of liquid
surface water and even life in the Archean (3.8 to 2.5 billion years before
present), so some effect (or effects) must have been compensating for the faint
young Sun. A wide range of possible solutions have been suggested and explored
during the last four decades, with most studies focusing on higher
concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane or
ammonia. All of these solutions present considerable difficulties, however, so
the faint young Sun problem cannot be regarded as solved. Here I review
research on the subject, including the latest suggestions for solutions of the
faint young Sun problem and recent geochemical constraints on the composition
of Earth's early atmosphere. Furthermore, I will outline the most promising
directions for future research. In particular I would argue that both improved
geochemical constraints on the state of the Archean climate system and
numerical experiments with state-of-the-art climate models are required to
finally assess what kept the oceans on the Archean Earth from freezing over
completely.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures. Invited review paper accepted for publication in
Reviews of Geophysic
Toward Determining ATPase Mechanism in ABC Transporters: Development of the Reaction Path–Force Matching QM/MM Method
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are ubiquitous ATP-dependent membrane proteins involved in translocations of a wide variety of substrates across cellular membranes. To understand the chemomechanical coupling mechanism as well as functional asymmetry in these systems, a quantitative description of how ABC transporters hydrolyze ATP is needed. Complementary to experimental approaches, computer simulations based on combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) potentials have provided new insights into the catalytic mechanism in ABC transporters. Quantitatively reliable determination of the free energy requirement for enzymatic ATP hydrolysis, however, requires substantial statistical sampling on QM/MM potential. A case study shows that brute force sampling of ab initio QM/MM (AI/MM) potential energy surfaces is computationally impractical for enzyme simulations of ABC transporters. On the other hand, existing semiempirical QM/MM (SE/MM) methods, although affordable for free energy sampling, are unreliable for studying ATP hydrolysis. To close this gap, a multiscale QM/MM approach named reaction path-force matching (RP-FM) has been developed. In RP-FM, specific reaction parameters for a selected SE method are optimized against AI reference data along reaction paths by employing the force matching technique. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated for a proton transfer reaction in the gas phase and in solution. The RP-FM method may offer a general tool for simulating complex enzyme systems such as ABC transporters
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