30 research outputs found
Demkov-Kunike model for cold atom association: weak interaction regime
We study the nonlinear mean-field dynamics of molecule formation at coherent
photo- and magneto-association of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate for the
case when the external field configuration is defined by the quasi-linear level
crossing Demkov-Kunike model, characterized by a bell-shaped pulse and finite
variation of the detuning. We present a general approach to construct an
approximation describing the temporal dynamics of the molecule formation in the
weak interaction regime and apply the developed method to the nonlinear
Demkov-Kunike problem. The presented approximation, written as a scaled
solution to the linear problem associated to the nonlinear one we treat,
contains fitting parameters which are determined through a variational
procedure. Assuming that the parameters involved in the solution of the linear
problem are not modified, we suggest an analytical expression for the scaling
parameter.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Many-body Landau-Zener dynamics in coupled 1D Bose liquids
The Landau-Zener model of a quantum mechanical two-level system driven with a
linearly time dependent detuning has served over decades as a textbook paradigm
of quantum dynamics. In their seminal work [L. D. Landau, Physik. Z. Sowjet. 2,
46 (1932); C. Zener, Proc. Royal Soc. London 137, 696 (1932)], Landau and Zener
derived a non-perturbative prediction for the transition probability between
two states, which often serves as a reference point for the analysis of more
complex systems. A particularly intriguing question is whether that framework
can be extended to describe many-body quantum dynamics. Here we report an
experimental and theoretical study of a system of ultracold atoms, offering a
direct many-body generalization of the Landau-Zener problem. In a system of
pairwise tunnel-coupled 1D Bose liquids we show how tuning the correlations of
the 1D gases, the tunnel coupling between the tubes and the inter-tube
interactions strongly modify the original Landau-Zener picture. The results are
explained using a mean-field description of the inter-tube condensate
wave-function, coupled to the low-energy phonons of the 1D Bose liquid.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures
Weak coupling regime of the Landau-Zener transition for association of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate
In the framework of a basic semiclassical time-dependent nonlinear two-state
problem, we study the weak coupling limit of the nonlinear Landau-Zener
transition at coherent photo- and magneto-association of an atomic
Bose-Einstein condensate. Using an exact third-order nonlinear differential
equation for the molecular state probability, we develop a variational approach
which enables us to construct an accurate analytic approximation describing
time dynamics of the coupled atom-molecular system for the case of weak
coupling. The approximation is written in terms of the solution to an auxiliary
linear Landau-Zener problem with some effective Landau-Zener parameter. The
dependence of this effective parameter on the input Landau-Zener parameter is
found to be unexpected: as the generic Landau-Zener parameter increases, the
effective Landau-Zener parameter first monotonically increases (starting from
zero), reaches its maximal value and then monotonically decreases again
reaching zero at some point. The constructed approximation quantitatively well
describes many characteristics of the time dynamics of the system, in
particular, it provides a highly accurate formula for the final transition
probability to the molecular state. The present result for the final transition
probability improves the accuracy of the previous approximation by Ishkhanyan
et al. [Phys. Rev. A 69, 043612 (2004); J. Phys. A 38, 3505 (2005)] by order of
magnitude.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Quadratic-nonlinear Landau-Zener transition for association of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate with inter-particle elastic interactions included
We study the strong coupling limit of a quadratic-nonlinear Landau-Zener
problem for coherent photo- and magneto-association of cold atoms taking into
account the atom-atom, atom-molecule, and molecule-molecule elastic scattering.
Using an exact third-order nonlinear differential equation for the molecular
state probability, we develop a variational approach which enables us to
construct a highly accurate and simple analytic approximation describing the
time dynamics of the coupled atom-molecule system. We show that the
approximation describing time evolution of the molecular state probability can
be written as a sum of two distinct terms; the first one, being a solution to a
limit first-order nonlinear equation, effectively describes the process of the
molecule formation while the second one, being a scaled solution to the linear
Landau-Zener problem (but now with negative effective Landau-Zener parameter as
long as the strong coupling regime is considered), corresponds to the remaining
oscillations which come up when the process of molecule formation is over.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
Insights into the origin of metazoan multicellularity from predatory unicellular relatives of animals
Background:
The origin of animals from their unicellular ancestor was one of the most important events in evolutionary history, but the nature and the order of events leading up to the emergence of multicellular animals are still highly uncertain. The diversity and biology of unicellular relatives of animals have strongly informed our understanding of the transition from single-celled organisms to the multicellular Metazoa. Here, we analyze the cellular structures and complex life cycles of the novel unicellular holozoans Pigoraptor and Syssomonas (Opisthokonta), and their implications for the origin of animals.
Results:
Syssomonas and Pigoraptor are characterized by complex life cycles with a variety of cell types including flagellates, amoeboflagellates, amoeboid non-flagellar cells, and spherical cysts. The life cycles also include the formation of multicellular aggregations and syncytium-like structures, and an unusual diet for single-celled opisthokonts (partial cell fusion and joint sucking of a large eukaryotic prey), all of which provide new insights into the origin of multicellularity in Metazoa. Several existing models explaining the origin of multicellular animals have been put forward, but these data are interestingly consistent with one, the “synzoospore hypothesis.”
Conclusions:
The feeding modes of the ancestral metazoan may have been more complex than previously thought, including not only bacterial prey, but also larger eukaryotic cells and organic structures. The ability to feed on large eukaryotic prey could have been a powerful trigger in the formation and development of both aggregative (e.g., joint feeding, which also implies signaling) and clonal (e.g., hypertrophic growth followed by palintomy) multicellular stages that played important roles in the emergence of multicellular animals.Science, Faculty ofNon UBCBotany, Department ofReviewedFacult
On the origin of TSAR : morphology, diversity and phylogeny of Telonemia
Telonemia is a poorly known major phylum of flagellated eukaryotes with a unique combination of morphological traits. Phylogenomics recently revealed the phylogenetic position of telonemids as sister to SAR, one of the largest groups of eukaryotes, comprising Stramenopiles, Alveolata and Rhizaria. Due to this key evolutionary position, investigations of telonemids are of critical importance for elucidating the origin and diversification of an astounding diversity of eukaryotic forms and life strategies. To date, however, only two species have been morphologically characterized from Telonemia, which do not represent this genetically very diverse group. In this study, we established cultures for six new telonemid strains, including the description of five new species and a new genus. We used these cultures to update the phylogeny of Telonemia and provide a detailed morphological and ultrastructural investigation. Our data elucidate the origin of TSAR from flagellates with complex morphology and reconstruction of the ancestral structure of stramenopiles, alveolates and rhizarians, and their main synapomorphic characters. Since telonemids are a common component of aquatic environments, the features of their feeding, behaviour and ecological preferences observed in clonal cultures and the results of global metabarcoding analysis contribute to a deeper understanding of organization of microbial food webs
New Lineage of Microbial Predators Adds Complexity to Reconstructing the Evolutionary Origin of Animals
Highlights:
• New predatory protist (Tunicaraptor) with unique morphology is related to animals
• Tunicaraptor calls into question many of the well-accepted relationships in Holozoa
• Tunicaraptor possesses a unique combination of “animal-specific” gene products
• Eukaryovorous flagellates may represent a major share of unicellular animal relatives
The origin of animals is one of the most intensely studied evolutionary events, and our understanding of this transition was greatly advanced by analyses of unicellular relatives of animals, which have shown many “animal-specific” genes actually arose in protistan ancestors long before the emergence of animals [1–3]. These genes have complex distributions, and the protists have diverse lifestyles, so understanding their evolutionary significance requires both a robust phylogeny of animal relatives and a detailed understanding of their biology [4, 5]. But discoveries of new animal-related lineages are rare and historically biased to bacteriovores and parasites. Here, we characterize the morphology and transcriptome content of a new animal-related lineage, predatory flagellate Tunicaraptor unikontum. Tunicaraptor is an extremely small (3–5 μm) and morphologically simple cell superficially resembling some fungal zoospores, but it survives by preying on other eukaryotes, possibly using a dedicated but transient “mouth,” which is unique for unicellular opisthokonts. The Tunicaraptor transcriptome encodes a full complement of flagellar genes and the flagella-associated calcium channel, which is only common to predatory animal relatives and missing in microbial parasites and grazers. Tunicaraptor also encodes several major classes of animal cell adhesion molecules, as well as transcription factors and homologs of proteins involved in neurodevelopment that have not been found in other animal-related lineages. Phylogenomics, including Tunicaraptor, challenges the existing framework used to reconstruct the evolution of animal-specific genes and emphasizes that the diversity of animal-related lineages may be better understood only once the smaller, more inconspicuous animal-related lineages are better studied