1,446 research outputs found
Energy Absorption During Running by Leg Muscles in a Cockroach
Biologists have traditionally focused on a muscle\u27s ability to generate power. By determining muscle length, strain and activation pattern in the cockroach Blaberus discoidalis, we discovered leg extensor muscles that operate as active dampers that only absorb energy during running. Data from running animals were compared with measurements of force and power production of isolated muscles studied over a range of stimulus conditions and muscle length changes. We studied the trochanter-femoral extensor muscles 137 and 179, homologous leg muscles of the mesothoracic and metathoracic legs, respectively. Because each of these muscles is innervated by a single excitatory motor axon, the activation pattern of the muscle could be defined precisely. Work loop studies using sinusoidal strains at 8 Hz showed these trochanter-femoral extensor muscles to be quite capable actuators, able to generate a maximum of 19-25 W kg-1 (at 25ºC). The optimal conditions for power output were four stimuli per cycle (interstimulus interval 11 ms), a strain of approximately 4%, and a stimulation phase such that the onset of the stimulus burst came approximately half-way through the lengthening phase of the cycle. High-speed video analysis indicated that the actual muscle strain during running was 12% in the mesothoracic muscles and 16% in the metathoracic ones. Myographic recordings during running showed on average 3-4 muscle action potentials per cycle, with the timing of the action potentials such that the burst usually began shortly after the onset of shortening. Imposing upon the muscle in vitro the strain, stimulus number and stimulus phase characteristic of running generated work loops in which energy was absorbed (-25 W kg-1) rather than produced. Simulations exploring a wide parameter space revealed that the dominant parameter that determines function during running is the magnitude of strain. Strains required for the maximum power output by the trochanter-femoral extensor muscles simply do not occur during constant, average-speed running. Joint angle ranges of the coxa-trochanter-femur joint during running were 3-4 times greater than the changes necessary to produce maximum power output. None of the simulated patterns of stimulation or phase resulted in power production when strain magnitude was greater than 5%. The trochanter-femoral extensor muscles 137/179 of a cockroach running at its preferred speed of 20 cm s-1 do not operate under conditions which maximize either power output or efficiency. In vitro measurements, however, demonstrate that these muscles absorb energy, probably to provide control of leg flexion and to aid in its reversal
Giant mass and anomalous mobility of particles in fermionic systems
We calculate the mobility of a heavy particle coupled to a Fermi sea within a
non-perturbative approach valid at all temperatures. The interplay of particle
recoil and of strong coupling effects, leading to the orthogonality catastrophe
for an infinitely heavy particle, is carefully taken into account. We find two
novel types of strong coupling effects: a new low energy scale and
a giant mass renormalization in the case of either near-resonant scattering or
a large transport cross section . The mobility is shown to obey two
different power laws below and above . For ,
where is the Fermi wave length, an exponentially large effective
mass suppresses the mobility.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Synchronization of active mechanical oscillators by an inertial load
Motivated by the operation of myogenic (self-oscillatory) insect flight
muscle, we study a model consisting of a large number of identical oscillatory
contractile elements joined in a chain, whose end is attached to a damped
mass-spring oscillator. When the inertial load is small, the serial coupling
favors an antisynchronous state in which the extension of one oscillator is
compensated by the contraction of another, in order to preserve the total
length. However, a sufficiently massive load can sychronize the oscillators and
can even induce oscillation in situations where isolated elements would be
stable. The system has a complex phase diagram displaying quiescent,
synchronous and antisynchrononous phases, as well as an unsual asynchronous
phase in which the total length of the chain oscillates at a different
frequency from the individual active elements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Microscopic model of critical current noise in Josephson-junction qubits: Subgap resonances and Andreev bound states
We propose a microscopic model of critical current noise in
Josephson-junctions based on individual trapping-centers in the tunnel barrier
hybridized with electrons in the superconducting leads. We calculate the noise
exactly in the limit of no on-site Coulomb repulsion. Our result reveals a
noise spectrum that is dramatically different from the usual Lorentzian assumed
in simple models. We show that the noise is dominated by sharp subgap
resonances associated to the formation of pairs of Andreev bound states, thus
providing a possible explanation for the spurious two-level systems
(microresonators) observed in Josephson junction qubits [R.W. Simmonds et al.,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 077003 (2004)]. Another implication of our model is that
each trapping-center will contribute a sharp dielectric resonance only in the
superconducting phase, providing an effective way to validate our results
experimentally. We derive an effective Hamiltonian for a qubit interacting with
Andreev bound states, establishing a direct connection between phenomenological
models and the microscopic parameters of a Fermionic bath.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
The Response of Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia to Overdrive Atrial and Ventricular Pacing:
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75015/1/j.1540-8167.1993.tb01227.x.pd
Avoided Critical Behavior in O(n) Systems
Long-range frustrating interactions, even if their strength is infinitesimal,
can give rise to a dramatic proliferations of ground or near-ground states. As
a consequence, the ordering temperature can exhibit a discontinuous drop as a
function of the frustration. A simple model of the doped Mott insulator, where
the short-range tendency of the holes to phase separate competes with
long-range Coulomb effects, exhibits this "avoided critical" behavior. This
model may serve as a paradigm for many other systems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Electrodynamics of Abrikosov vortices: the Field Theoretical Formulation
Electrodynamic phenomena related to vortices in superconductors have been
studied since their prediction by Abrikosov, and seem to hold no fundamental
mysteries. However, most of the effects are treated separately, with no guiding
principle. We demonstrate that the relativistic vortex worldsheet in spacetime
is the object that naturally conveys all electric and magnetic information, for
which we obtain simple and concise equations. Breaking Lorentz invariance leads
to down-to-earth Abrikosov vortices, and special limits of these equations
include for instance dynamic Meissner screening and the AC Josephson relation.
On a deeper level, we explore the electrodynamics of two-form sources in the
absence of electric monopoles, in which the electromagnetic field strength
itself acquires the characteristics of a gauge field. This novel framework
leaves room for unexpected surprises.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, 5 figure
Experimental Designs for Binary Data in Switching Measurements on Superconducting Josephson Junctions
We study the optimal design of switching measurements of small Josephson
junction circuits which operate in the macroscopic quantum tunnelling regime.
Starting from the D-optimality criterion we derive the optimal design for the
estimation of the unknown parameters of the underlying Gumbel type
distribution. As a practical method for the measurements, we propose a
sequential design that combines heuristic search for initial estimates and
maximum likelihood estimation. The presented design has immediate applications
in the area of superconducting electronics implying faster data acquisition.
The presented experimental results confirm the usefulness of the method. KEY
WORDS: optimal design, D-optimality, logistic regression, complementary log-log
link, quantum physics, escape measurement
Tuning a Josephson junction through a quantum critical point
We tune the barrier of a Josephson junction through a zero-temperature
metal-insulator transition and study the thermodynamic behavior of the junction
in the proximity of the quantum-critical point. We examine a
short-coherence-length superconductor and a barrier (that is described by a
Falicov-Kimball model) using the local approximation and dynamical mean-field
theory. The inhomogeneous system is self-consistently solved by performing a
Fourier transformation in the planar momentum and exactly inverting the
remaining one-dimensional matrix with the renormalized perturbation expansion.
Our results show a delicate interplay between oscillations on the scale of the
Fermi wavelength and pair-field correlations on the scale of the coherence
length, variations in the current-phase relationship, and dramatic changes in
the characteristic voltage as a function of the barrier thickness or
correlation strength (which can lead to an ``intrinsic'' pinhole effect).Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, ReVTe
The transition temperature of the dilute interacting Bose gas
We show that the critical temperature of a uniform dilute Bose gas must
increase linearly with the s-wave scattering length describing the repulsion
between the particles. Because of infrared divergences, the magnitude of the
shift cannot be obtained from perturbation theory, even in the weak coupling
regime; rather, it is proportional to the size of the critical region in
momentum space. By means of a self-consistent calculation of the quasiparticle
spectrum at low momenta at the transition, we find an estimate of the effect in
reasonable agreement with numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, to be published in Physical Review Letter
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