5,249 research outputs found
Effect of a thin AlO_x layer on transition-edge sensor properties
We have studied the physics of transition-edge sensor (TES) devices with an
insulating AlOx layer on top of the device to allow implementation of more
complex detector geometries. By comparing devices with and without the
insulating film, we have observed significant additional noise apparently
caused by the insulator layer. In addition, AlOx was found to be a relatively
good thermal conductor. This adds an unforeseen internal thermal feature to the
system.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Low Temperature Detectors 14 conferenc
Fluctuation superconductivity limited noise in a transition-edge sensor
In order to investigate the origin of the until now unaccounted excess noise
and to minimize the uncontrollable phenomena at the transition in X-ray
microcalorimeters we have developed superconducting transition-edge sensors
into an edgeless geometry, the so-called Corbino disk (CorTES), with
superconducting contacts in the centre and at the outer perimeter. The measured
rms current noise and its spectral density can be modeled as resistance noise
resulting from fluctuations near the equilibrium superconductor-normal metal
boundaryComment: 9 pages, 4 figures.; Corrections to text and equations; replaced the
affected figures. Added reference [12
Traumatic brain injury : relationships between brain structural abnormalities and cognitive function
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability in young adults and a major public health problem. Persistent cognitive impairments are common, and constitute a significant source of long-term disability. The specific pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these impairments remain poorly understood. As it disconnects brain networks, white matter damage can be a key determinant of cognitive impairment after TBI. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods were employed to explore the relationships between indices of brain structure and cognitive function. The participants were 40 TBI patients and 40 healthy controls. First, relationships between focal lesions and cognitive performance were investigated using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a battery of neuropsychological tests. The results demonstrated that lesion location and load are not good indices of the cognitive deficits - probably because diffuse axonal injury is poorly assessed by standard MRI. By contrast, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to quantify the microstructure of white matter. A ‘whole-brain’ technique, tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), was used to flexibly analyse the structure of white matter tracts. Despite only small amounts of focal damage observed using standard MRI, TBSS revealed widespread white matter abnormalities after TBI. White matter damage was found in patients with no evidence of focal damage, and in patients classified as ‘mild’ clinically. Relationships between white matter tract structure and specific cognitive functions were then explored. The structure of the fornix, an important white matter pathway of the hippocampus, correlated with verbal associative memory across the patient and control groups. By contrast, structure of frontal lobe connections showed distinct relationships with executive function in these two groups. The results emphasise the importance of white matter pathology after TBI and suggest that disruption to specific white matter tracts is associated with particular patterns of cognitive impairment, but also highlight the complexity of these relationships.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Readout of solid-state charge qubits using a single-electron pump
A major difficulty in realizing a solid-state quantum computer is the
reliable measurement of the states of the quantum registers. In this paper, we
propose an efficient readout scheme making use of the resonant tunneling of a
ballistic electron produced by a single electron pump. We treat the measurement
interaction in detail by modeling the full spatial configuration, and show that
for pumped electrons with suitably chosen energy the transmission coefficient
is very sensitive to the qubit state. We further show that by using a short
sequence of pumping events, coupled with a simple feedback control procedure,
the qubit can be measured with high accuracy.Comment: 5 pages, revtex4, 4 eps figures. v2: published versio
Traumatic brain injury: relationships between brain structural abnormalities and cognitive function
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability in young adults and a major public health problem. Persistent cognitive impairments are common, and constitute a significant source of long-term disability. The specific pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these impairments remain poorly understood. As it disconnects brain networks, white matter damage can be a key determinant of cognitive impairment after TBI. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods were employed to explore the relationships between indices of brain structure and cognitive function. The participants were 40 TBI patients and 40 healthy controls. First, relationships between focal lesions and cognitive performance were investigated using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a battery of neuropsychological tests. The results demonstrated that lesion location and load are not good indices of the cognitive deficits - probably because diffuse axonal injury is poorly assessed by standard MRI. By contrast, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to quantify the microstructure of white matter. A ‘whole-brain’ technique, tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), was used to flexibly analyse the structure of white matter tracts. Despite only small amounts of focal damage observed using standard MRI, TBSS revealed widespread white matter abnormalities after TBI. White matter damage was found in patients with no evidence of focal damage, and in patients classified as ‘mild’ clinically. Relationships between white matter tract structure and specific cognitive functions were then explored. The structure of the fornix, an important white matter pathway of the hippocampus, correlated with verbal associative memory across the patient and control groups. By contrast, structure of frontal lobe connections showed distinct relationships with executive function in these two groups. The results emphasise the importance of white matter pathology after TBI and suggest that disruption to specific white matter tracts is associated with particular patterns of cognitive impairment, but also highlight the complexity of these relationships
Normal metal - superconductor decoupling as a source of thermal fluctuation noise in transition-edge sensors
We have studied the origin of excess noise in superconducting transition-edge
sensors (TES) with several different detector designs. We show that most of the
observed noise and complex impedance features can be explained by a thermal
model consisting of three bodies. We suggest that one of the thermal blocks and
the corresponding thermal fluctuation noise arises due to the high-frequency
thermal decoupling of the normal and superconducting phase regions inside the
TES film. Our results are also consistent with the prediction that in thin
bilayer proximitized superconductors, the jump in heat capacity at the critical
temperature is smaller than the universal BCS theory result.Comment: 11 pages 14 figure
Discovery of a New Deeply Eclipsing SU UMa-Type Dwarf Nova, IY UMa (= TmzV85)
We discovered a new deeply eclipsing SU UMa-type dwarf nova, IY UMa, which
experienced a superoutburst in 2000 January. Our monitoring revealed two
distinct outbursts, which suggest a superoutburst interval of ~800 d, or its
half, and an outburst amplitude of 5.4 mag. From time-series photometry during
the superoutburst, we determined a superhump and orbital period of 0.07588 d
and 0.0739132 d, respectively.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by PASJ lette
Heavy MSSM Higgs Bosons at CMS: "LHC wedge" and Higgs-Mass Precision
The search for MSSM Higgs bosons will be an important goal at the LHC. In
order to analyze the search reach of the CMS experiment for the heavy neutral
MSSM Higgs bosons, we combine the latest results for the CMS experimental
sensitivities based on full simulation studies with state-of-the-art
theoretical predictions of MSSM Higgs-boson properties. The experimental
analyses are done assuming an integrated luminosity of 30 or 60 fb^-1. The
results are interpreted as 5 \si discovery contours in MSSM M_A-tan_beta
benchmark scenarios. Special emphasis is put on the variation of the Higgs
mixing parameter mu. While the variation of mu can shift the prospective
discovery reach (and correspondingly the ``LHC wedge'' region) by about Delta
tan_beta= 10, the discovery reach is rather stable with respect to the impact
of other supersymmetric parameters. Within the discovery region we analyze the
accuracy with which the masses of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons can be
determined. An accuracy of 1-4% should be achievable, depending on M_A and
tan_beta.Comment: Talk given by G.W. at EPS07 (Manchester, July 2007) and talk given by
S.H. at SUSY07 (Karlsruhe, July 2007). 4 pages, 2 figure
WZ Sge-Type Star V592 Herculis
We observed the entire course of the 1998 outburst of V592 Her, which was
originally reported as a nova in 1968. We have been able to construct a full
light curve of the outburst, which is characterized by a rapid initial decline
(0.98 mag/d), which smoothly developed into a plateau phase with a slower
linear decline. We detected superhumps characteristic to SU UMa-type dwarf
novae ~7 d after the optical maximum. The overall behavior of the light curve
and the development of superhumps were characteristic to a WZ Sge-type dwarf
nova. Combined with the past literature, we have been able to uniquely
determine the superhump period to be 0.05648(2) d. From this period, together
with a modern interpretation of the absolute magnitude of the outburst light
curve, we conclude that the overall picture of V592 Her is not inconsistent
with a lower main-sequence secondary star in contrast to a previous claim that
V592 Her contains a brown dwarf.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc.
Japa
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