Josephson-vortex-flow terahertz emission in layered high-TcT_c superconducting single crystals

We report on the successful terahertz emission (0.6$\sim$1 THz) that is continuous and tunable in its frequency and power, by driving Josephson vortices in resonance with the collective standing Josephson plasma modes excited in stacked Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$ intrinsic Josephson junctions. Shapiro-step detection was employed to confirm the terahertz-wave emission. Our results provide a strong feasibility of developing long-sought solid-state terahertz-wave emission devices

Effect of a Non-Newtonian Load on Signature S

The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is increasingly used for monitoring the interfacial interaction between surfaces and macromolecules such as biomaterials, polymers, and metals. Recent QCM applications deal with several types of liquids with various viscous macromolecule compounds, which behave differently from Newtonian liquids. To properly monitor such interactions, it is crucial to understand the influence of the non-Newtonian fluid on the QCM measurement response. As a quantitative indicator of non-Newtonian behavior, we used the quartz resonator signature, S2, of the QCM measurement response, which has a consistent value for Newtonian fluids. We then modified De Kee’s non-Newtonian three-parameter model to apply it to our prediction of S2 values for non-Newtonian liquids. As a model, we chose polyethylene glycol (PEG400) with the titration of its volume concentration in deionized water. As the volume concentration of PEG400 increased, the S2 value decreased, confirming that the modified De Kee’s three-parameter model can predict the change in S2 value. Collectively, the findings presented herein enable the application of the quartz resonator signature, S2, to verify QCM measurement analysis in relation to a wide range of experimental subjects that may exhibit non-Newtonian behavior, including polymers and biomaterials

Dimerization-Induced Fermi-Surface Reconstruction in IrTe2

We report a de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillation study on IrTe2 single crystals showing complex dimer formations. By comparing the angle dependence of dHvA oscillations with band structure calculations, we show distinct Fermi surface reconstruction induced by a 1/5-type and a 1/8-type dimerizations. This verifies that an intriguing quasi-two-dimensional conducting plane across the layers is induced by dimerization in both cases. A phase transition to the 1/8 phase with higher dimer density reveals that local instabilities associated with intra-and interdimer couplings are the main driving force for complex dimer formations in IrTe2.X11149sciescopu

Supergravity Radiative Effects on Soft Terms and the μ\mu Term

We compute quadratically divergent supergravity one-loop effects on soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters and the $\mu$ term in generic hidden sector supergravity models. These effects can significantly modify the matching condition for soft parameters at the Planck scale and also provide several new sources of the $\mu$ term which are naturally of order the weak scale. We also discuss some phenomenological implications of these effects, particularly the violation of the scalar mass universality which may lead to dangerous FCNC phenomena, and apply the results to superstring effective supergravity models.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX. One reference is adde

Electrogenic transport and K(+) ion channel expression by the human endolymphatic sac epithelium.

The endolymphatic sac (ES) is a cystic organ that is a part of the inner ear and is connected to the cochlea and vestibule. The ES is thought to be involved in inner ear ion homeostasis and fluid volume regulation for the maintenance of hearing and balance function. Many ion channels, transporters, and exchangers have been identified in the ES luminal epithelium, mainly in animal studies, but there has been no functional study investigating ion transport using human ES tissue. We designed the first functional experiments on electrogenic transport in human ES and investigated the contribution of K(+) channels in the electrogenic transport, which has been rarely identified, even in animal studies, using electrophysiological/pharmacological and molecular biological methods. As a result, we identified functional and molecular evidence for the essential participation of K(+) channels in the electrogenic transport of human ES epithelium. The identified K(+) channels involved in the electrogenic transport were KCNN2, KCNJ14, KCNK2, and KCNK6, and the K(+) transports via those channels are thought to play an important role in the maintenance of the unique ionic milieu of the inner ear fluid