288 research outputs found
Dynamic regulation of Ero1 and peroxiredoxin 4 localization in the secretory pathway
In the early secretory compartment (ESC), a network of chaper-
ones and enzymes assists oxidative folding of nascent proteins.
Ero1 flavoproteins oxidize protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), gen-
erating H2O2 as a byproduct. Peroxiredoxin 4 (Prx4) can utilize
luminal H2O2 to oxidize PDI, thus favoring oxidative folding while
limiting oxidative stress. Interestingly, neither ER oxidase contains
known ER retention signal(s), raising the question of how cells pre-
vent their secretion. Here we show that the two proteins share sim-
ilar intracellular localization mechanisms. Their secretion is pre-
vented by sequential interactions with PDI and ERp44, two
resident proteins of the ESC-bearing KDEL-like motifs. PDI binds
preferentially Ero1 , whereas ERp44 equally retains Ero1 and
Prx4. The different binding properties of Ero1 and Prx4 increase
the robustness of ER redox homeostasis
C-axis electronic Raman scattering in Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}
We report a c-axis-polarized electronic Raman scattering study of
Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} single crystals. In the normal state, a resonant
electronic continuum extends to 1.5 eV and gains significant intensity as the
incoming photon energy increases. In the superconducting state, a coherence
2\Delta peak appears around 50 meV, with a suppression of the scattering
intensity at frequencies below the peak position. The peak energy, which is
higher than that seen with in-plane polarizations, signifies distinctly
different dynamics of quasiparticle excitations created with out-of-plane
polarization.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX, 3 postscript figure
Structure optimization effects on the electronic properties of BiSrCaCuO
We present detailed first-principles calculations for the normal state
electronic properties of the high T superconductor
BiSrCaCuO, by means of the linearized augmented plane wave
(LAPW) method within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). As a
first step, the body centered tetragonal (BCT) cell has been adopted, and
optimized regarding its volume, ratio and internal atomic positions by
total energy and force minimizations. The full optimization of the BCT cell
leads to small but visible changes in the topology of the Fermi surface,
rounding the shape of CuO barrels, and causing both the BiO bands,
responsible for the pockets near the \textit{\=M} 2D symmetry point, to dip
below the Fermi level. We have then studied the influence of the distortions in
the BiO plane observed in nature by means of a
orthorhombic cell (AD-ORTH) with space group. Contrary to what has been
observed for the Bi-2201 compound, we find that for Bi-2212 the distortion does
not sensibly shift the BiO bands which retain their metallic character. As a
severe test for the considered structures we present Raman-active phonon
frequencies () and eigenvectors calculated within the frozen-phonon
approximation. Focussing on the totally symmetric A modes, we observe
that for a reliable attribution of the peaks observed in Raman experiments,
both - and a-axis vibrations must be taken into account, the latter being
activated by the in-plane orthorhombic distortion.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
Physical origin of the buckling in CuO: Electron-phonon coupling and Raman spectra
It is shown theoretically that the buckling of the CuO planes in
certain cuprate systems can be explained in terms of an electric field across
the planes which originates from different valences of atoms above and below
the plane. This field results also in a strong coupling of the Raman-active
out-of-phase vibration of the oxygen atoms ( mode) to the electronic
charge transfer between the two oxygens in the CuO plane. Consequently,
the electric field can be deduced from the Fano-type line shape of the
phonon. Using the electric field estimated from the electron-phonon coupling
the amplitude of the buckling is calculated and found to be in good agreement
with the structural data. Direct experimental support for the idea proposed is
obtained in studies of YBaCuO and
BiSr(CaY)CuO with different oxygen and
yttrium doping, respectively, including antiferromagnetic samples. In the
latter compound, symmetry breaking by replacing Ca partially by Y leads to an
enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling by an order of magnitude.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, and 1 tabl
C-axis lattice dynamics in Bi-based cuprate superconductors
We present results of a systematic study of the c axis lattice dynamics in
single layer Bi2Sr2CuO6 (Bi2201), bilayer Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) and trilayer
Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi2223) cuprate superconductors. Our study is based on both
experimental data obtained by spectral ellipsometry on single crystals and
theoretical calculations. The calculations are carried out within the framework
of a classical shell model, which includes long-range Coulomb interactions and
short-range interactions of the Buckingham form in a system of polarizable
ions. Using the same set of the shell model parameters for Bi2201, Bi2212 and
Bi2223, we calculate the frequencies of the Brillouin-zone center phonon modes
of A2u symmetry and suggest the phonon mode eigenvector patterns. We achieve
good agreement between the calculated A2u eigenfrequencies and the experimental
values of the c axis TO phonon frequencies which allows us to make a reliable
phonon mode assignment for all three Bi-based cuprate superconductors. We also
present the results of our shell model calculations for the Gamma-point A1g
symmetry modes in Bi2201, Bi2212 and Bi2223 and suggest an assignment that is
based on the published experimental Raman spectra. The
superconductivity-induced phonon anomalies recently observed in the c axis
infrared and resonant Raman scattering spectra in trilayer Bi2223 are
consistently explained with the suggested assignment.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figure
Systematics of c-axis Phonons in the Thallium and Bismuth Based Cuprate Superconductors
We present grazing incidence reflectivity measurements in the far infrared
region at temperatures above and below Tc for a series of thallium (Tl2Ba2CuO6,
Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8) and bismuth (Bi2Sr2CuO6, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and
Bi(2-x)Pb(x)Sr2CaCu2O8) based cuprate superconductors. From the spectra, which
are dominated by the c-axis phonons, longitudinal frequencies (LO) are directly
obtained. The reflectivity curves are well fitted by a series of Lorentz
oscillators. In this way the transverse (TO) phonon frequencies were accurately
determined. On the basis of the comparative study of the Bi and Tl based
cuprates with different number of CuO2 layers per unit cell, we suggest
modifications of the assignment of the main oxygen modes. We compare the LO
frequencies in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 obtained from intrinsic
Josephson junction characteristics with our measurements, and explain the
discrepancy in LO frequencies obtained by the two different methods.Comment: 8 pages Revtex, 6 eps figures, 3 tables, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Local structure study about Co in YBa(CuCo)O thin films using polarized XAFS
We have studied the local structure around Co in
YBa(CuCo)O thin films with three different
concentrations: x=0.07, 0.10, 0.17, and in a
PrBa(CuCo)O thin film of concentration x=0.05
using the X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) technique. Data were collected
at the Co -edge with polarizations both parallel and perpendicular to the
film surface. We find that the oxygen neighbors are well ordered and shortened
in comparison with YBCO Cu-O values to 1.80 \AA{} and 1.87 \AA{} in the
-axis and -plane, respectively. A comparison of further neighbors in the
thin film and powder data show that these peaks in the film are suppressed in
amplitude relative to the powder samples, which suggests there is more disorder
and/or distortions of the Co environment present in the thin films.Comment: 14 pages; To be submitted to Phys. Rev.
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