7,260 research outputs found
Evidence for strong electron-phonon coupling and polarons in the optical response of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4
The normal state optical response of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 is found to be
consistent with a simple multi-component model, based on free carriers with
strong electron-phonon interaction, localized polaronic states near 0.15 eV and
a mid-infrared band at 0.5 eV. Normal state reflectance and absorbance of
La_{1.83}Sr_{0.17}CuO_4 are investigated and their temperature dependence is
explained. Both, the ac and dc response are recovered and the quasi-linear
behavior of the optical scattering rate up to 3000- 4000 cm^{-1} is found to be
consistent with strong electron-phonon interaction, which also accounts for the
value of T_c. Although not strictly applicable in the superconducting state,
our simple model accounts for the observed penetration depth and the optical
response below T_c can be recovered by introducing a small amount of additional
carriers. Our findings suggest that the optical response of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4
could be explained both, in the normal and superconducting state, by a simple
multi-fluid model with strong electron-phonon interaction if the gap symmetry
and the temperature dependence of the 0.5 eV mid-infrared band are adequately
taken into account.Comment: 22 pages, REVTeX, 12 figures in ps-fil
Gap and subgap tunnelling in cuprates
We describe strongly attractive carriers in cuprates in the framework of a
simple quasi-one dimensional Hamiltonian with a local attraction. In contrast
with the conventional BCS theory there are two energy scales, a temperature
independent incoherent gap and a temperature dependent coherent gap
combining into one temperature dependent global gap
. The temperature dependence of the gap
and single particle (Giaver) tunnelling spectra in cuprates are quantitatively
described. A framework for understanding of two distinct energy scales observed
in Giaver tunnelling and electron-hole reflection experiments is provided.Comment: 9 pages (RevTex), 4 postscript figures, typos correcte
Small and large polarons in nickelates, manganites, and cuprates
By comparing the optical conductivities of La_{1.67}Sr_{0.33}NiO_{4} (LSNO),
Sr_{1.5}La_{0.5}MnO_4 (SLMO), Nd_2CuO_{4-y} (NCO), and
Nd_{1.96}Ce_{0.04}CuO_{4} (NCCO), we have identified a peculiar behavior of
polarons in this cuprate family. While in LSNO and SLMO small polarons localize
into ordered structures below a transition temperature, in those cuprates the
polarons appear to be large, and at low T their binding energy decreases. This
reflects into an increase of the polaron radius, which may trigger coherent
transport.Comment: File latex, 15 p. incl. 4 Figs. epsf, to appear on the Journal of
Superconductivity - Proc. "Stripes 1996" - Roma Dec 199
Theory of SIS tunnelling in cuprates
We show that the single-particle polaron Green's function describes SIS
tunnelling in cuprates, including the absence of Ohm's law at high voltages,
the dip/hump features in the first derivative of the current, a substantial
incoherent spectral weight beyond quasiparticle peaks and unusual shape of the
peaks.
The theory allows us to determine the characteristic phonon frequencies,
normal and superconducting gaps, impurity scattering rate, and the
electron-phonon coupling from the tunnelling data.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Infrared response of ordered polarons in layered perovskites
We report on the infrared absorption spectra of three oxides where charged
superlattices have been recently observed in diffraction experiments. In
LaSrNiO, polaron localization is found to suppress the
low-energy conductivity through the opening of a gap and to split the
- vibrational manifold of the oxygen octahedra. Similar effects
are detected in SrLaMnO and in LaNiO, with
peculiar differences related to the type of charge ordering.Comment: File latex, 11 p. + 3 Figures, to appear on Phys. Rev. B (Rapid
Commun.), 1 Oct. 1996. The figures will be faxed upon request.
E-mail:[email protected] Fax: +39-6-446315
Current Distribution in the Three-Dimensional Random Resistor Network at the Percolation Threshold
We study the multifractal properties of the current distribution of the
three-dimensional random resistor network at the percolation threshold. For
lattices ranging in size from to we measure the second, fourth and
sixth moments of the current distribution, finding {\it e.g.\/} that
where is the conductivity exponent and is the
correlation length exponent.Comment: 10 pages, latex, 8 figures in separate uuencoded fil
Resistance and Resistance Fluctuations in Random Resistor Networks Under Biased Percolation
We consider a two-dimensional random resistor network (RRN) in the presence
of two competing biased percolations consisting of the breaking and recovering
of elementary resistors. These two processes are driven by the joint effects of
an electrical bias and of the heat exchange with a thermal bath. The electrical
bias is set up by applying a constant voltage or, alternatively, a constant
current. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to analyze the network evolution
in the full range of bias values. Depending on the bias strength, electrical
failure or steady state are achieved. Here we investigate the steady-state of
the RRN focusing on the properties of the non-Ohmic regime. In constant voltage
conditions, a scaling relation is found between and , where
is the average network resistance, the linear regime resistance
and the threshold value for the onset of nonlinearity. A similar relation
is found in constant current conditions. The relative variance of resistance
fluctuations also exhibits a strong nonlinearity whose properties are
investigated. The power spectral density of resistance fluctuations presents a
Lorentzian spectrum and the amplitude of fluctuations shows a significant
non-Gaussian behavior in the pre-breakdown region. These results compare well
with electrical breakdown measurements in thin films of composites and of other
conducting materials.Comment: 15 figures, 23 page
Optical conductivity of the nonsuperconducting cuprate La(8-x)Sr(x)Cu(8)O(20)
La(8-x)Sr(x)Cu(8)O(20) is a non-superconducting cuprate, which exhibits a
doubling of the elementary cell along the c axis. Its optical conductivity
sigma (omega) has been first measured here, down to 20 K, in two single
crystals with x = 1.56 and x = 2.24. Along c, sigma (omega) shows, in both
samples, bands due to strongly bound charges, thus confirming that the cell
doubling is due to charge ordering. In the ab plane, in addition to the Drude
term one observes an infrared peak at 0.1 eV and a midinfrared band at 0.7 eV.
The 0.1 eV peak hardens considerably below 200 K, in correspondence of an
anomalous increase in the sample dc resistivity, in agreement with its
polaronic origin. This study allows one to establish relevant similarities and
differences with respect to the spectrum of the ab plane of the superconducting
cuprates.Comment: Revised version submitted to Phys. Rev. B, including the elimination
of Fig. 1 and changes to Figs. 4 and
The over-representation of binary DNA tracts in seven sequenced chromosomes
BACKGROUND: DNA tracts composed of only two bases are possible in six combinations: A+G (purines, R), C+T (pyrimidines, Y), G+T (Keto, K), A+C (Imino, M), A+T (Weak, W) and G+C (Strong, S). It is long known that all-pyrimidine tracts, complemented by all-purines tracts ("R.Y tracts"), are excessively present in analyzed DNA. We have previously shown that R.Y tracts are in vast excess in yeast promoters, and brought evidence for their role in gene regulation. Here we report the systematic mapping of all six binary combinations on the level of complete sequenced chromosomes, as well as in their different subregions. RESULTS: DNA tracts composed of the above binary base combinations have been mapped in seven sequenced chromosomes: Human chromosomes 21 and 22 (the major contigs); Drosophila melanogaster chr. 2R; Caenorhabditis elegans chr. I; Arabidopsis thaliana chr. II; Saccharomyces cerevisiae chr. IV and M. jannaschii. A huge over-representation, reaching million-folds, has been found for very long tracts of all binary motifs except S, in each of the seven organisms. Long R.Y tracts are the most excessive, except in D. melanogaster, where the K.M motif predominates. S (G, C rich) tracts are in excess mainly in CpG islands; the W motif predominates in bacteria. Many excessively long W tracts are nevertheless found also in the archeon and in the eukaryotes. The survey of complete chromosomes enables us, for the first time, to map systematically the intergenic regions. In human and other chromosomes we find the highest over-representation of the binary DNA tracts in the intergenic regions. These over-representations are only partly explainable by the presence of interspersed elements. CONCLUSIONS: The over-representation of long DNA tracts composed of five of the above motifs is the largest deviation from randomness so far established for DNA, and this in a wide range of eukaryotic and archeal chromosomes. A propensity for ready DNA unwinding is proposed as the functional role, explaining the evolutionary conservation of the huge excesses observed
Regulatory control and the costs and benefits of biochemical noise
Experiments in recent years have vividly demonstrated that gene expression
can be highly stochastic. How protein concentration fluctuations affect the
growth rate of a population of cells, is, however, a wide open question. We
present a mathematical model that makes it possible to quantify the effect of
protein concentration fluctuations on the growth rate of a population of
genetically identical cells. The model predicts that the population's growth
rate depends on how the growth rate of a single cell varies with protein
concentration, the variance of the protein concentration fluctuations, and the
correlation time of these fluctuations. The model also predicts that when the
average concentration of a protein is close to the value that maximizes the
growth rate, fluctuations in its concentration always reduce the growth rate.
However, when the average protein concentration deviates sufficiently from the
optimal level, fluctuations can enhance the growth rate of the population, even
when the growth rate of a cell depends linearly on the protein concentration.
The model also shows that the ensemble or population average of a quantity,
such as the average protein expression level or its variance, is in general not
equal to its time average as obtained from tracing a single cell and its
descendants. We apply our model to perform a cost-benefit analysis of gene
regulatory control. Our analysis predicts that the optimal expression level of
a gene regulatory protein is determined by the trade-off between the cost of
synthesizing the regulatory protein and the benefit of minimizing the
fluctuations in the expression of its target gene. We discuss possible
experiments that could test our predictions.Comment: Revised manuscript;35 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX4; to appear in PLoS
Computational Biolog
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