815 research outputs found
Phase-Controlled Force and Magnetization Oscillations in Superconducting Ballistic Nanowires
The emergence of superconductivity-induced phase-controlled forces in the
(0.01-0.1) nN range, and of magnetization oscillations, in nanowire junctions,
is discussed. A giant magnetic response to applied weak magnetic fields, is
predicted in the ballistic Josephson junction formed by a superconducting tip
and a surface, bridged by a normal metal nanowire where Andreev states form.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Free-electron Model for Mesoscopic Force Fluctuations in Nanowires
When two metal electrodes are separated, a nanometer sized wire (nanowire) is
formed just before the contact breaks. The electrical conduction measured
during this retraction process shows signs of quantized conductance in units of
G_0=2e^2/h. Recent experiments show that the force acting on the wire during
separation fluctuates, which has been interpreted as being due to atomic
rearrangements. In this report we use a simple free electron model, for two
simple geometries, and show that the electronic contribution to the force
fluctuations is comparable to the experimentally found values, about 2 nN.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, reference correcte
Four electrons in a two-leg Hubbard ladder: exact ground states
In the case of a two-leg Hubbard ladder we present a procedure which allows
the exact deduction of the ground state for the four particle problem in
arbitrary large lattice system, in a tractable manner, which involves only a
reduced Hilbert space region containing the ground state. In the presented
case, the method leads to nine analytic, linear, and coupled equations
providing the ground state. The procedure which is applicable to few particle
problems and other systems as well is based on an r-space representation of the
wave functions and construction of symmetry adapted orthogonal basis wave
vectors describing the Hilbert space region containing the ground state. Once
the ground state is deduced, a complete quantum mechanical characterization of
the studied state can be given. Since the analytic structure of the ground
state becomes visible during the use of the method, its importance is not
reduced only to the understanding of theoretical aspects connected to exact
descriptions or potential numerical approximation scheme developments, but is
relevant as well for a large number of potential technological application
possibilities placed between nano-devices and quantum calculations, where the
few particle behavior and deep understanding are important key aspects to know.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Quantum Suppression of the Rayleigh Instability in Nanowires
A linear stability analysis of metallic nanowires is performed in the
free-electron model using quantum chaos techniques. It is found that the
classical instability of a long wire under surface tension can be completely
suppressed by electronic shell effects, leading to stable cylindrical
configurations whose electrical conductance is a magic number 1, 3, 5, 6,...
times the quantum of conductance. Our results are quantitatively consistent
with recent experiments with alkali metal nanowires.Comment: 10 pages, 5 eps figures, updated and expanded, accepted for
publication in "Nonlinearity
Elastase-mediated fibrinogenolysis by chemoattractant-stimulated neutrophils occurs in the presence of physiologic concentrations of antiproteinases.
Plasma levels of the HNE-derived fibrinopeptide A alpha 1-21 reflect in vivo enzyme activity. To provide a possible explanation for the presence of circulating A alpha 1-21 in individuals with normal plasma antiproteinase concentrations we investigated whether PMN-associated HNE is more resistant to inhibition than the free enzyme. PMN were stimulated to migrate across 125I-fibrinogen-coated nitrocellulose filters in response to 10(-7) M FMLP, and the extent of fibrinogenolysis was determined by measuring release of A alpha 1-21 and 125I-labeled fibrinogen degradation products. The fibrinogenolytic activity of migrating PMN was then compared with that of free HNE present in PMN lysates or secreted by PMN stimulated with FMLP. Whereas the fibrinogenolytic activity of soluble HNE was completely inhibited by low concentrations (1%) of plasma or serum and macromolecular antiproteinase (alpha 1 proteinase-inhibitor and soybean trypsin-inhibitor), even in the presence of undiluted plasma or serum the activity of the migrating PMN was incompletely blocked (81-85%). Further, concentrations of alpha 1 proteinase-inhibitor and soybean trypsin-inhibitor that totally inhibited free HNE activity also incompletely blocked (88-89%) the fibrinogenolytic activity of migrating PMN, indicating that FMLP-stimulated PMN demonstrate significant fibrinogenolytic activity in the presence of antiproteinases as small as 20,000 mol wt. A specific low molecular weight HNE inhibitor (MeO-Suc-Ala2-Pro-ValCH2Cl), however, totally blocked PMN-mediated fibrinogenolysis without affecting intracellular HNE activity, HNE secretion from PMN, or PMN migration in response to FMLP. These findings support the hypothesis that PMN migrating on a fibrinogen-coated surface form zones of close contact with fibrinogen, thus preventing access of plasma antiproteinases to HNE released at the cell-substrate interface. The occurrence of this phenomenon in vivo would explain the presence of circulating A alpha 1-21 in individuals with normal antiproteinase concentrations
Quantum Conductance in Semimetallic Bismuth Nanocontacts
Electronic transport properties of bismuth nanocontacts are analyzed by means
of a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The subquantum steps
observed in the conductance versus elongation curves give evidence of atomic
rearrangements in the contact. The underlying quantum nature of the conductance
reveals itself through peaks in the conductance histograms. The shape of the
conductance curves at 77 K is well described by a simple gliding mechanism for
the contact evolution during elongation. The strikingly different behaviour at
4 K suggests a charge carrier transition from light to heavy ones as the
contact cross section becomes sufficiently small.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
Connective neck evolution and conductance steps in hot point contacts
Dynamic evolution of the connective neck in Al and Pb mechanically
controllable break junctions was studied during continuous approach of
electrodes at bias voltages V_b up to a few hundred mV. A high level of power
dissipation (10^-4 - 10^-3 W) and high current density (j > 10^10 A/cm^2) in
the constriction lead to overheating of the contact area, electromigration and
current-enhanced diffusion of atoms out of the "hot spot". At a low electrode
approach rate (10 - 50 pm/s) the transverse dimension of the neck and the
conductance of the junction depend on V_b and remain nearly constant over the
approach distance of 10 - 30 nm. For V_b > 300 mV the connective neck consists
of a few atoms only and the quantum nature of conductance manifests itself in
abrupt steps and reversible jumps between two or more levels. These features
are related to an ever changing number of individual conductance channels due
to the continuous rearrangement in atomic configuration of the neck, the
recurring motion of atoms between metastable states, the formation and breaking
of isolated one-atom contacts and the switching between energetically
preferable neck geometries.Comment: 21 pages 10 figure
Origin of anomalously long interatomic distances in suspended gold chains
The discovery of long bonds in gold atom chains has represented a challenge
for physical interpretation. In fact, interatomic distances frequently attain
3.0-3.6 A values and, distances as large as 5.0 A may be seldom observed. Here,
we studied gold chains by transmission electron microscopy and performed
theoretical calculations using cluster ab initio density functional formalism.
We show that the insertion of two carbon atoms is required to account for the
longest bonds, while distances above 3 A may be due to a mixture of clean and
one C atom contaminated bonds.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Postscript figures, to be published in Physical Review
Letter
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