Physics Potential of a 2540 Km Baseline Superbeam Experiment

We study the physics potential of a neutrino superbeam experiment with a 2540 km baseline. We assume a neutrino beam similar to the NuMI beam in medium energy configuration. We consider a 100 kton totally active scintillator detector at a 7 mr off-axis location. We find that such a configuration has outstanding hierarchy discriminating capability. In conjunction with the data from the present reactor neutrino experiments, it can determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at 3 sigma level in less than 5 years, if sin^2(2*theta13) > 0.01, running in the neutrino mode alone. As a stand alone experiment, with a 5 year neutrino run and a 5 year anti-neutrino run, it can determine non-zero theta13 at 3 sigma level if sin^2(2*theta13) > 7*10^{-3} and hierarchy at 3 sigma level if sin^2(2*theta13) > 8*10^{-3}. This data can also distinguish deltaCP = pi/2 from the CP conserving values of 0 and pi, for sin^2(2*theta13) > 0.02.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures and 1 table: Published versio

Impact of different Agents on the Efficacy of Codling Moth Granulovirus in Tank Mixtures

In the control of codling moth it is common to combine the granulovirus with other agents, especially fungicides, in spray application. Therefore the knowledge about the influence of these agents on the efficacy of the virus in tank mix is very important. Studies on this subject were part of a project supported by BMELV (German Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer protection) at the Institute for Biological Control of JKI in Darmstadt. The granulovirus of Cydia pomonella (L.) (CpGV) was mixed with 10 different agents at concentrations as applied in the field. After the exposure the virus activity was calculated from larval mortality determined in bioassays with neonates of a susceptible codling moth strain. Only two agents with a pH of 11 (sodium silicate (water glass) and calcium polysulfide (lime sulphur)) reduced the virulence of CpGV significantly

Resolving Octant Degeneracy at LBL experiment by combining Daya Bay Reactor Setup

Long baseline Experiment (LBL) have promised to be a very powerful experimental set up to study various issues related to Neutrinos. Some ongoing and planned LBL and medium baseline experiments are - T2K, MINOS, NOvA, LBNE, LBNO etc. But the long baseline experiments are crippled due to presence of some parameter degeneracies, like the Octant degeneracy. In this work, we first show the presence of Octant degeneracy in LBL experiments, and then combine it with Daya Bay Reactor experiment, at different values of CP violation phase. We show that the Octant degeneracy in LBNE can be resolved completely with this proposal.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figure

Interplay between nanometer-scale strain variations and externally applied strain in graphene

We present a molecular modeling study analyzing nanometer-scale strain variations in graphene as a function of externally applied tensile strain. We consider two different mechanisms that could underlie nanometer-scale strain variations: static perturbations from lattice imperfections of an underlying substrate and thermal fluctuations. For both cases we observe a decrease in the out-of-plane atomic displacements with increasing strain, which is accompanied by an increase in the in-plane displacements. Reflecting the non-linear elastic properties of graphene, both trends together yield a non-monotonic variation of the total displacements with increasing tensile strain. This variation allows to test the role of nanometer-scale strain variations in limiting the carrier mobility of high-quality graphene samples

Eluate derived by extracorporal antibody-based immunoadsorption elevates the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in podocytes via B-2 kinin receptors

Background/Aim: Patients with idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) often develop a recurrence of the disease after kidney transplantation. In a number of FSGS patients, plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption procedures have been shown to transiently reduce proteinuria and are thought to do this by eliminating a circulating factor. Direct cellular effects of eluates from immunoadsorption procedures on podocytes, the primary target of injury in FSGS, have not yet been reported. Methods: Eluates were derived from antibody-based immunoadsorption of a patient suffering from primary FSGS, a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus, and a healthy volunteer. The cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ({[}Ca2+](i)) of differentiated podocytes was measured by single-cell fura-2 microfluorescence measurements. Free and total immunoreactive kinin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: FSGS eluates increased the {[}Ca2+](i) levels concentration dependently (EC50 0.14 mg/ml; n = 3-19). 1 mg/ml eluate increased the {[}Ca2+](i) values reversibly from 82 +/- 12 to 1,462 +/- 370 nmol/l, and then they returned back to 100 16 nmol/l (n = 19). The eluate-induced increase of {[}Ca2+](i) consisted of an initial Ca2+ peak followed by a Ca2+ plateau which depended on the extracellular Ca2+ concentration. The eluate-induced increase of {[}Ca2+](i) was inhibited by the specific B-2 kinin receptor antagonist Hoe 140 in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 2.47 nmol/l). In addition, prior repetitive application of bradykinin desensitized the effect of eluate on {[}Ca2+](i). A colonic epithelial cell line not reacting to bradykinin did not respond to eluate either (n = 6). Similar to FSGS eluates, the eluate preparations of both the systemic lupus patient and the healthy volunteer led to a biphasic, concentration-dependent {[}Ca2+](i) increase in poclocytes which again was inhibited by Hoe 140. Free kinins were detected in all eluate preparations. Conclusion: The procedure of antibody-based immunoadsorption leads to kinin in the eluate which elevates the {[}Ca2+](i) level of podocytes via B-2 kinin receptors. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Purification of genuine multipartite entanglement

In tasks, where multipartite entanglement plays a central role, state purification is, due to inevitable noise, a crucial part of the procedure. We consider a scenario exploiting the multipartite entanglement in a straightforward multipartite purification algorithm and compare it to bipartite purification procedures combined with state teleportation. While complete purification requires an infinite amount of input states in both cases, we show that for an imperfect output fidelity the multipartite procedure exhibits a major advantage in terms of input states used.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Is U3Ni3Sn4 best described as near a quantum critical point?

Although most known non-Fermi liquid (NFL) materials are structurally or chemically disordered, the role of this disorder remains unclear. In particular, very few systems have been discovered that may be stoichiometric and well ordered. To test whether U3Ni3Sn4 belongs in this latter class, we present measurements of the x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) of polycrystalline and single-crystal U3Ni3Sn4 samples that are consistent with no measurable local structural disorder. We also present temperature-dependent specific heat data in applied magnetic fields as high as 8 T that show features that are inconsistent with the antiferromagnetic Griffiths' phase model, but do support the conclusion that a Fermi liquid/NFL crossover temperature increases with applied field. These results are inconsistent with theoretical explanations that require strong disorder effects, but do support the view that U3Ni3Sn4 is a stoichiometric, ordered material that exhibits NFL behavior, and is best described as being near an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, in press with PR

Fluctuation Superconductivity in Mesoscopic Aluminum Rings

Fluctuations are important near phase transitions, where they can be difficult to describe quantitatively. Superconductivity in mesoscopic rings is particularly intriguing because the critical temperature is an oscillatory function of magnetic field. There is an exact theory for thermal fluctuations in one-dimensional superconducting rings, which are therefore expected to be an excellent model system. We measure the susceptibility of many rings, one ring at a time, using a scanning SQUID that can isolate magnetic signals from seven orders of magnitude larger background applied flux. We find that the fluctuation theory describes the results and that a single parameter characterizes the ways in which the fluctuations are especially important at magnetic fields where the critical temperature is suppressed.Comment: Reprinted with permission from AAA