1,043 research outputs found
Collisional decoherence reexamined
We re-derive the quantum master equation for the decoherence of a massive
Brownian particle due to collisions with the lighter particles from a thermal
environment. Our careful treatment avoids the occurrence of squares of Dirac
delta functions. It leads to a decoherence rate which is smaller by a factor of
2 pi compared to previous findings. This result, which is in agreement with
recent experiments, is confirmed by both a physical analysis of the problem and
by a perturbative calculation in the weak coupling limit.Comment: 33 pages, 4 figure
Comment on "Quantum linear Boltzmann equation with finite intercollision time"
Inconsistencies are pointed out in a recent proposal [L. Diosi, Phys. Rev. A
80, 064104 (2009); arXiv:0905.3908v1] for a quantum version of the classical
linear Boltzmann equation.Comment: 3 pages; v3: corresponds to published versio
Decoherence in a Talbot Lau interferometer: the influence of molecular scattering
We study the interference of C70 fullerenes in a Talbot-Lau interferometer
with a large separation between the diffraction gratings. This permits the
observation of recurrences of the interference contrast both as a function of
the de Broglie wavelength and in dependence of the interaction with background
gases. We observe an exponential decrease of the fringe visibility with
increasing background pressure and find good quantitative agreement with the
predictions of decoherence theory. From this we extrapolate the limits of
matter wave interferometry and conclude that the influence of collisional
decoherence may be well under control in future experiments with proteins and
even larger objects.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Normalization of Collisional Decoherence: Squaring the Delta Function, and an Independent Cross-Check
We show that when the Hornberger--Sipe calculation of collisional decoherence
is carried out with the squared delta function a delta of energy instead of a
delta of the absolute value of momentum, following a method introduced by
Di\'osi, the corrected formula for the decoherence rate is simply obtained. The
results of Hornberger and Sipe and of Di\'osi are shown to be in agreement. As
an independent cross-check, we calculate the mean squared coordinate diffusion
of a hard sphere implied by the corrected decoherence master equation, and show
that it agrees precisely with the same quantity as calculated by a classical
Brownian motion analysis.Comment: Tex: 14 pages 7/30/06: revisions to introduction, and references
added 9/29/06: further minor revisions and references adde
NKX2-5 regulates the expression of beta-catenin and GATA4 in ventricular myocytes.
BackgroundThe molecular pathway that controls cardiogenesis is temporally and spatially regulated by master transcriptional regulators such as NKX2-5, Isl1, MEF2C, GATA4, and beta-catenin. The interplay between these factors and their downstream targets are not completely understood. Here, we studied regulation of beta-catenin and GATA4 by NKX2-5 in human fetal cardiac myocytes.Methodology/principal findingsUsing antisense inhibition we disrupted the expression of NKX2-5 and studied changes in expression of cardiac-associated genes. Down-regulation of NKX2-5 resulted in increased beta-catenin while GATA4 was decreased. We demonstrated that this regulation was conferred by binding of NKX2-5 to specific elements (NKEs) in the promoter region of the beta-catenin and GATA4 genes. Using promoter-luciferase reporter assay combined with mutational analysis of the NKEs we demonstrated that the identified NKX2-5 binding sites were essential for the suppression of beta-catenin, and upregulation of GATA4 by NKX2-5.ConclusionsThis study suggests that NKX2-5 modulates the beta-catenin and GATA4 transcriptional activities in developing human cardiac myocytes
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