Quenched Narrow-Line Laser Cooling of 40Ca to Near the Photon Recoil Limit

We present a cooling method that should be generally applicable to atoms with narrow optical transitions. This technique uses velocity-selective pulses to drive atoms towards a zero-velocity dark state and then quenches the excited state to increase the cooling rate. We demonstrate this technique of quenched narrow-line cooling by reducing the 1-D temperature of a sample of neutral 40Ca atoms. We velocity select and cool with the 1S0(4s2) to 3P1(4s4p) 657 nm intercombination line and quench with the 3P1(4s4p) to 1S0(4s5s) intercombination line at 553 nm, which increases the cooling rate eight-fold. Limited only by available quenching laser power, we have transferred 18 % of the atoms from our initial 2 mK velocity distribution and achieved temperatures as low as 4 microK, corresponding to a vrms of 2.8 cm/s or 2 recoils at 657 nm. This cooling technique, which is closely related to Raman cooling, can be extended to three dimensions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; Submitted to PRA Rapid Communication

Endovascular baroreflex amplification and the effect on sympathetic nerve activity in patients with resistant hypertension: A proof-of-principle study

Background: First in human studies suggest that endovascular baroreflex amplification (EVBA) lowers blood pressure (BP). To explore potential mechanisms for BP reduction, this study examines the effects of EVBA on muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS). // Methods: In a single-center sub-study of the CALM-DIEM study (Controlling And Lowering blood pressure with the MobiusHD—Defining Efficacy Markers), 14 patients with resistant hypertension were treated with EVBA. Microneurography and non-invasive continuous BP measurements were performed at baseline and three months after MobiusHD implantation. The primary outcome was change in MSNA. Secondary outcomes were change in baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), cardiovascular responses to a sympathetic stimulus, BP, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). // Results: The primary endpoint was obtained in 10 of 14 patients enrolled in the sub-study. MSNA burst frequency and burst incidence decreased in 6 of 10 patients: mean change -4.1 bursts/min (95% confidence interval -12.2 to 4.0) and -3.8 bursts/100 heartbeats (-15.2 to 7.7). MSNA spike frequency and spike count decreased in 8 of 10 patients: mean change -2.8 spikes/sec (-7.3 to 1.8) and -3.0 spikes/heartbeat (-6.1 to 0.1). Change in MSNA and BP were not correlated. Office BP decreased by -14/-6 mmHg (-27 to -2/-15 to 3). We observed a trend towards decreased HR (-5 bpm, -10 to 1) and increased total power HRV (623 msec2, 78 to 1168). In contrast, BRS and cardiovascular responses remained unchanged after EVBA. // Conclusions: In this proof-of-principle study, EVBA did not significantly decrease MSNA in patients with resistant hypertension. EVBA did not impair baroreflex function

Preserved functional autonomic phenotype in adult mice overexpressing moderate levels of human alpha-synuclein in oligodendrocytes

Mice overexpressing human alpha-synuclein in oligodendrocytes (MBP1-alpha-syn) recapitulate some key functional and neuropathological features of multiple system atrophy (MSA). Whether or not these mice develop severe autonomic failure, which is a key feature of human MSA, remains unknown. We explored cardiovascular autonomic regulation using long-term blood pressure (BP) radiotelemetry and pharmacological testing. We instrumented 12 MBP1-alpha-syn mice and 11 wild-type mice aged 9 months for radiotelemetry. Animals were tested with atropine, metoprolol, clonidine, and trimethaphan at 9 and 12 months age. We applied spectral and cross-spectral analysis to assess heart rate (HR) and BP variability. At 9 months of age daytime BP (transgenic: 101 +/- 2 vs. wild type: 99 +/- 2 mmHg) and HR (497 +/- 11 vs. 505 +/- 16 beats/min) were similar. Circadian BP and HR rhythms were maintained. Nighttime BP (109 +/- 2 vs. 108 +/- 2 mmHg) and HR (575 +/- 15 vs. 569 +/- 14 beats/min), mean arterial BP responses to trimethaphan (-21 +/- 8 vs. -10 +/- 5 mmHg, P = 0.240) and to clonidine (-8 +/- 3 vs. -5 +/- 2 mmHg, P = 0.314) were similar. HR responses to atropine (+159 +/- 24 vs. +146 +/- 22 beats/min), and to clonidine (-188 +/- 21 vs. -163 +/- 33 beats/min) did not differ between strains. Baroreflex sensitivity (4 +/- 1 vs. 4 +/- 1 msec/mmHg) and HR variability (total power, 84 +/- 17 vs. 65 +/- 21 msec(2)) were similar under resting conditions and during pharmacological testing. Repeated measurements at 12 months of age provided similar results. In mice, moderate overexpression of human alpha-synuclein in oligodendrocytes is not sufficient to induce overt autonomic failure. Additional mechanisms may be required to express the autonomic failure phenotype including higher levels of expression or more advanced age

Diagnostic criterion for crystallized beams

Small ion crystals in a Paul trap are stable even in the absence of laser cooling. Based on this theoretically and experimentally well-established fact we propose the following diagnostic criterion for establishing the presence of a crystallized beam: Absence of heating following the shut-down of all cooling devices. The validity of the criterion is checked with the help of detailed numerical simulations.Comment: REVTeX, 11 pages, 4 figures; submitted to PR

Limited evidence for sympathetic neural overactivation in older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Mechanistic studies suggested that excess sympathetic activity promotes arterial hypertension while worsening insulin sensitivity. Older patients with type 2 diabetes are at particularly high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. However, data on sympathetic activity in this population is scarce. Methods: We studied 61 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (22 women, 60.9 ± 1.4 years; 39 men, 60.9 ± 1.4 years). They had to have diabetes for at least 2 years, a hemoglobin A1c of 6.5-10%, a body-mass-index of 20-40 kg/m2, and had to be treated with stable doses of metformin only. We recorded ECG, finger and brachial blood pressure, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Results: MSNA was 37.5 ± 2.5 bursts/min in women and 39.0 ± 2.0 bursts/min in men (p = 0.55). MSNA expressed as burst incidence was 52.7 ± 2.0 bursts/100 beats in women and 59.2 ± 3.1 bursts/100 beats in men (p = 0.21). Five out of 39 men (12.8%) and two out of 22 women (9.1%) exhibited resting MSNA measurements above the 95th percentile for sex and age. In the pooled analysis, MSNA was not significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, body composition, or HbA1c (r 2 0.26 for all). Discussion: We conclude that relatively few older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibit increased MSNA. The large interindividual variability in MSNA cannot be explained by gender, blood pressure, body mass index, or glycemic control

Vibrational pair cat states

Published versio

Theory of Photon Blockade by an Optical Cavity with One Trapped Atom

In our recent paper [1], we reported observations of photon blockade by one atom strongly coupled to an optical cavity. In support of these measurements, here we provide an expanded discussion of the general phenomenology of photon blockade as well as of the theoretical model and results that were presented in Ref. [1]. We describe the general condition for photon blockade in terms of the transmission coefficients for photon number states. For the atom-cavity system of Ref. [1], we present the model Hamiltonian and examine the relationship of the eigenvalues to the predicted intensity correlation function. We explore the effect of different driving mechanisms on the photon statistics. We also present additional corrections to the model to describe cavity birefringence and ac-Stark shifts. [1] K. M. Birnbaum, A. Boca, R. Miller, A. D. Boozer, T. E. Northup, and H. J. Kimble, Nature 436, 87 (2005).Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Noncovalent Interactions by QMC: Speedup by One-Particle Basis-Set Size Reduction

While it is empirically accepted that the fixed-node diffusion Monte-Carlo (FN-DMC) depends only weakly on the size of the one-particle basis sets used to expand its guiding functions, limits of this observation are not settled yet. Our recent work indicates that under the FN error cancellation conditions, augmented triple zeta basis sets are sufficient to achieve a benchmark level of 0.1 kcal/mol in a number of small noncovalent complexes. Here we report on a possibility of truncation of the one-particle basis sets used in FN-DMC guiding functions that has no visible effect on the accuracy of the production FN-DMC energy differences. The proposed scheme leads to no significant increase in the local energy variance, indicating that the total CPU cost of large-scale benchmark noncovalent interaction energy FN-DMC calculations may be reduced.Comment: ACS book chapter, accepte

The theory of heating of the quantum ground state of trapped ions

Using a displacement operator formalism, I analyse the depopulation of the vibrational ground state of trapped ions. Two heating times, one characterizing short time behaviour, the other long time behaviour are found. The short time behaviour is analyzed both for single and multiple ions, and a formula for the relative heating rates of different modes is derived. The possibility of correction of heating via the quantum Zeno effect, and the exploitation of the suppression of heating of higher modes to reduce errors in quantum computation is considered.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Randomized trial comparing SGLT2 inhibition and hydrochlorothiazide on sympathetic traffic in type 2 diabetes

Introduction Reductions in sympathetic nervous system activity may contribute to beneficial effects of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition on cardiovascular outcomes. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that SGLT2 inhibition with empagliflozin (Empa) lowers muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared with hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) to discern SGLT2-specific actions from responses to increased natriuresis. Methods We randomized patients with T2DM on metformin monotherapy to either 25 mg/d Empa (n = 20) or 25 mg/d HCT (n = 21) for 6 weeks in a parallel, double-blind fashion. We assessed MSNA by peroneal microneurography, blood pressure, cardiovascular and metabolic biomarkers at baseline and at the end of treatment. Results Both drugs elicited volume depletion, as indicated by increased thoracic impedance. Compared with HCT, Empa caused 1.23 kg more body weight loss (P = 0.011) and improved glycemic control. Seated systolic blood pressure decreased with both treatments (P < 0.002). MSNA did not change significantly with either treatment; however, MSNA changes were negatively correlated with changes in body weight on Empa (P = 0.042) and on HCT(P = 0.001). The relationship was shifted to lower MSNA on Empa compared with HCT (P = 0.002). Conclusion Increased renal sodium excretion eliciting body weight loss may promote sympathetic activation. However, sympathetic excitation in the face of increased sodium loss may be attenuated by SGLT2 inhibitor-specific actions