On Nonconservative Stability Problems of Elastic Systems with Slight Damping

Equilibrium stability of linear two degree of freedom system with slight viscous damping subjected to nonconservative loadin

Effects of the Spin-Orbit Coupling and the Superconductivity in simple-cubic alpha-Polonium

We have investigated the mechanism of stabilizing the simple-cubic (SC) structure in polonium (alpha- Po), based on the phonon dispersion calculations using the first-principles all-electron band method. We have demonstrated that the stable SC structure results from the suppression of the Peierls instability due to the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in alpha-Po. Further, we have explored the possible superconductivity in alpha-Po, and predicted that it becomes a superconductor with Tc ~ 4 K. The transverse soft phonon mode at q ~ 2/3 R, which is greatly influenced by the SOC, plays an important role both in the structural stability and the superconductivity in alpha-Po. We have discussed effects of the SOC and the volume variation on the phonon dispersions and superconducting properties of alpha-Po.Comment: 5pages, 5figure

Mechanisms associated with activation of intracellular metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR5

The group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR5, is found on the cell surface as well as on intracellular membranes where it can mediate both overlapping and unique signaling effects. Previously we have shown that glutamate activates intracellular mGluR5 by entry through sodium-dependent transporters and/or cystine glutamate exchangers. Calibrated antibody labelling suggests that the glutamate concentration within neurons is quite high (~10 mM) raising the question as to whether intracellular mGluR5 is maximally activated at all times or whether a different ligand might be responsible for receptor activation. To address this issue, we used cellular, optical and molecular techniques to show that intracellular glutamate is largely sequestered in mitochondria; that the glutamate concentration necessary to activate intracellular mGluR5 is about ten-fold higher than what is necessary to activate cell surface mGluR5; and uncaging caged glutamate within neurons can directly activate the receptor. Thus these studies further the concept that glutamate itself serves as the ligand for intracellular mGluR5

The College and Career Experiences of Graduates of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University 1978-1988

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Coulomb-blockade effect in nonlinear mesoscopic capacitors

We consider an interacting quantum dot working as a coherent source of single electrons. The dot is tunnel coupled to a reservoir and capacitively coupled to a gate terminal with an applied ac potential. At low frequencies, this is the quantum analog of the RC circuit with a purely dynamical response. We investigate the quantized dynamics as a consequence of ac pulses with large amplitude. Within a Keldysh-Green function formalism we derive the time-dependent current in the Coulomb blockade regime. Our theory thus extends previous models that considered either noninteracting electrons in nonlinear response or interacting electrons in the linear regime. We prove that the electron emission and absorption resonances undergo a splitting when the charging energy is larger than the tunnel broadening. For very large charging energies, the additional peaks collapse and the original resonances are recovered, though with a reduced amplitude. Quantization of the charge emitted by the capacitor is reduced due to Coulomb repulsion and additional plateaus arise. Additionally, we discuss the differential capacitance and resistance as a function of time. We find that to leading order in driving frequency the current can be expressed as a weighted sum of noninteracting currents shifted by the charging energy.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes. Published versio

Pressure-induced Phonon Softenings and the Structural and Magnetic Transitions in CrO2_{2}

To investigate the pressure-induced structural transitions of chromium dioxide (CrO$_{2}$), phonon dispersions and total energy band structures are calculated as a function of pressure. The first structural transition has been confirmed at P$\approx$ 10 GPa from the ground state tetragonal CrO$_{2}$ (t-CrO$_{2}$) of rutile type to orthorhombic CrO$_{2}$ (o-CrO$_{2}$) of CaCl$_{2}$ type. The half-metallic property is found to be preserved in o-CrO$_{2}$. The softening of Raman-active B$_{1g}$ phonon mode, which is responsible for this structural transition, is demonstrated. The second structural transition is found to occur for P$\geq$ 61.1 GPa from ferromagnetic (FM) o-CrO$_{2}$ to nonmagnetic (NM) monoclinic CrO$_{2}$ (m-CrO$_{2}$) of MoO$_{2}$ type, which is related to the softening mode at {\bf q} = R(1/2,0,1/2). The third structural transition has been newly identified at P= 88.8 GPa from m-CrO$_{2}$ to cubic CrO$_{2}$ of CaF$_{2}$ type that is a FM insulator

Magnetoasymmetric transport in a mesoscopic interferometer: From the weak to the strong coupling regime

The microreversibility principle implies that the conductance of a two-terminal Aharonov-Bohm interferometer is an even function of the applied magnetic flux. Away from linear response, however, this symmetry is not fulfilled and the conductance phase of the interferometer when a quantum dot is inserted in one of its arms can be a continuous function of the bias voltage. Such magnetoasymmetries have been investigated in related mesoscopic systems and arise as a consequence of the asymetric response of the internal potential of the conductor out of equilibrium. Here we discuss magnetoasymmetries in quantum-dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometers when strong electron-electron interactions are taken into account beyond the mean-field approach. We find that at very low temperatures the asymmetric element of the differential conductance shows an abrupt change for voltages around the Fermi level. At higher temperatures we recover a smooth variation of the magnetoasymmetry as a function of the bias. We illustrate our results with the aid of the electron occupation at the dot, demonstrating that its nonequilibrium component is an asymmetric function of the flux even to lowest order in voltage. We also calculate the magnetoasymmetry of the current-current correlations (the noise) and find that it is given, to a good extent, by the magnetoasymmetry of the weakly nonlinear conductance term. Therefore, both magnetoasymmetries (noise and conductance) are related to each other via a higher-order fluctuation-dissipation relation. This result appears to be true even in the low temperature regime, where Kondo physics and many-body effects dominate the transport properties.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Diquaternary Ammonium Compounds in Zeolite Synthesis: Cyclic and Polycyclic N-Heterocycles Connected by Methylene Chains

An additional dimension has been added to our long-standing studies in high silica zeolite synthesis via a guest/host synergism. We have created and studied the impact of making symmetric diquaternary ammonium compounds, by varying the chain length between nitrogen charge centers, and the heterocycle size and geometry containing the nitrogen. This allows the introduction of a second spatial parameter in the use of the charged organo-cation guest in the zeolite synthesis. The series of 15 diquaternary ammonium compounds (5 heterocycles synthesized onto chain lengths of C4−C6) were tested in a total of 135 zeolite syntheses reactions. Nine screening reactions were employed for each guest molecule, and the conditions built upon past successes in finding novel high silica zeolites via introduction of boron, aluminum, or germanium as substituting tetrahedral framework atoms for silicon. Eighteen different zeolite structures emerged from the studies. The use of specific chain lengths for derivatives of the pyrrolidine ring system produced novel zeolite materials SSZ-74 and 75