67 research outputs found
Decoherence induced by interacting quantum spin baths
We study decoherence induced on a two-level system coupled to a
one-dimensional quantum spin chain. We consider the cases where the dynamics of
the chain is determined by the Ising, XY, or Heisenberg exchange Hamiltonian.
This model of quantum baths can be of fundamental importance for the
understanding of decoherence in open quantum systems, since it can be
experimentally engineered by using atoms in optical lattices. As an example,
here we show how to implement a pure dephasing model for a qubit system coupled
to an interacting spin bath. We provide results that go beyond the case of a
central spin coupled uniformly to all the spins of the bath, in particular
showing what happens when the bath enters different phases, or becomes
critical; we also study the dependence of the coherence loss on the number of
bath spins to which the system is coupled and we describe a
coupling-independent regime in which decoherence exhibits universal features,
irrespective of the system-environment coupling strength. Finally, we establish
a relation between decoherence and entanglement inside the bath. For the Ising
and the XY models we are able to give an exact expression for the decay of
coherences, while for the Heisenberg bath we resort to the numerical
time-dependent Density Matrix Renormalization Group.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figure
Decoherence by engineered quantum baths
We introduce, and determine decoherence for, a wide class of non-trivial
quantum spin baths which embrace Ising, XY and Heisenberg universality classes
coupled to a two-level system. For the XY and Ising universality classes we
provide an exact expression for the decay of the loss of coherence beyond the
case of a central spin coupled uniformly to all the spins of the baths which
has been discussed so far in the literature. In the case of the Heisenberg spin
bath we study the decoherence by means of the time-dependent density matrix
renormalization group. We show how these baths can be engineered, by using
atoms in optical lattices.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The Casimir Problem of Spherical Dielectrics: Quantum Statistical and Field Theoretical Approaches
The Casimir free energy for a system of two dielectric concentric nonmagnetic
spherical bodies is calculated with use of a quantum statistical mechanical
method, at arbitrary temperature. By means of this rather novel method, which
turns out to be quite powerful (we have shown this to be true in other
situations also), we consider first an explicit evaluation of the free energy
for the static case, corresponding to zero Matsubara frequency ().
Thereafter, the time-dependent case is examined. For comparison we consider the
calculation of the free energy with use of the more commonly known field
theoretical method, assuming for simplicity metallic boundary surfaces.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, one new reference; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Counting statistics of heat transport in harmonic junctions -- transient and steady states
We study the statistics of heat transferred in a given time interval ,
through a finite harmonic chain, called the center , which is connected
with two heat baths, the left and the right , that are maintained at
two different temperatures. The center atoms are driven by an external
time-dependent force. We calculate the cumulant generating function (CGF) for
the heat transferred out of the left lead, , based on two-time measurement
concept and using nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method. The CGF can be
concisely expressed in terms of Green's functions of the center and an
argument-shifted self-energy of the lead. The expression of CGF is valid in
both transient and steady state regimes. We consider three different initial
conditions for the density operator and show numerically, for one-dimensional
(1D) linear chains, how transient behavior differs from each other but finally
approaches the same steady state, independent of the initial distributions. We
also derive the CGF for the joint probability distribution , and
discuss the correlations between and . We calculate the total
entropy flow to the reservoirs. In the steady state we explicitly show that the
CGF obeys steady state fluctuation theorem (SSFT). Classical results are
obtained by taking . The method is also applied to the counting of
the electron number and electron energy, for which the associated self-energy
is obtained from the usual lead self-energy by multiplying a phase or shifting
the contour time, respectively.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
Fluctuations of Quantum Currents and Unravelings of Master Equations
The very notion of a current fluctuation is problematic in the quantum
context. We study that problem in the context of nonequilibrium statistical
mechanics, both in a microscopic setup and in a Markovian model. Our answer is
based on a rigorous result that relates the weak coupling limit of fluctuations
of reservoir observables under a global unitary evolution with the statistics
of the so-called quantum trajectories. These quantum trajectories are
frequently considered in the context of quantum optics, but they remain useful
for more general nonequilibrium systems.
In contrast with the approaches found in the literature, we do not assume
that the system is continuously monitored. Instead, our starting point is a
relatively realistic unitary dynamics of the full system.Comment: 18 pages, v1-->v2, Replaced the former Appendix B by a (thematically)
different one. Mainly changes in the introductory Section 2+ added reference
Entanglement in solvable many-particle models
Lecture notes for the Brazilian School on Statistical Mechanics, Natal,
Brazil, July 2011.
The five lectures introduce to the description of entanglement in
many-particle systems and review the ground-state entanglement features of
standard solvable lattice models. This is done using a thermodynamic
formulation in which the eigenvalue spectrum of a certain Hamiltonian
determines the entanglement properties. The methods to obtain it are discussed
and results, both analytical and numerical, for various cases including time
evolution are presented.Comment: 44 pages, 30 figures. Lecture notes for the Brazilian School on
Statistical Mechanics, Natal, July 2011. For the Brazilian Journal of Physic
Bang-Bang control of a qubit coupled to a quantum critical spin bath
We analytically and numerically study the effects of pulsed control on the
decoherence of a qubit coupled to a quantum spin bath. When the environment is
critical, decoherence is faster and we show that the control is relatively more
effective. Two coupling models are investigated, namely a qubit coupled to a
bath via a single link and a spin star model, yielding results that are similar
and consistent.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, replaced with published versio
A prebiotic, Celmanax™, decreases Escherichia coli O157:H7 colonization of bovine cells and feed-associated cytotoxicity in vitro
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Escherichia coli </it>O157:H7 is the most common serovar of enterohemorrhagic <it>E. coli </it>associated with serious human disease outbreaks. Cattle are the main reservoir with <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 inducing hemorrhagic enteritis in persistent shedding beef cattle, however little is known about how this pathogen affects cattle health. Jejunal Hemorrhage Syndrome (JHS) has unclear etiology but the pathology is similar to that described for <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 challenged beef cattle suggestive that <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 could be involved. There are no effective treatments for JHS however new approaches to managing pathogen issues in livestock using prebiotics and probiotics are gaining support. The first objective of the current study was to characterize pathogen colonization in hemorrhaged jejunum of dairy cattle during natural JHS outbreaks. The second objective was to confirm the association of mycotoxigenic fungi in feeds with the development of JHS and also to identify the presence of potential mycotoxins. The third objective was to determine the impact of a prebiotic, Celmanax™, or probiotic, Dairyman's Choice™ paste, on the cytotoxicity associated with feed extracts <it>in vitro</it>. The fourth objective was to determine the impact of a prebiotic or a probiotic on <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 colonization of mucosal explants and a bovine colonic cell line <it>in vitro</it>. The final objective was to determine if prebiotic and probiotic feed additives could modify the symptoms that preceded JHS losses and the development of new JHS cases.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Dairy cattle developed JHS after consuming feed containing several types of mycotoxigenic fungi including <it>Fusarium culmorum</it>, <it>F. poae</it>, <it>F. verticillioides</it>, <it>F. sporotrichioides</it>, <it>Aspergillus</it><it>flavus</it>, <it>Penicillium roqueforti, P. crustosum, P. paneum </it>and <it>P. citrinum</it>. Mixtures of Shiga toxin - producing <it>Escherichia coli </it>(STEC) colonized the mucosa in the hemorrhaged tissues of the cattle and no other pathogen was identified. The STECs expressed Stx1 and Stx2, but more significantly, Stxs were also present in the blood clot blocking the jejunum. Mycotoxin analysis of the corn crop confirmed the presence of fumonisin, NIV, ZEAR, DON, 15-ADON, 3-ADON, NEO, DAS, HT-2 and T-2. Feed extracts were toxic to enterocytes and 0.1% Celmanax™ removed the cytotoxicity <it>in vitro</it>. There was no effect of Dairyman's Choice™ paste on feed-extract activity <it>in vitro</it>. Fumonisin, T-2, ZEAR and DON were toxic to bovine cells and 0.1% Celmanax™ removed the cytotoxicity <it>in vitro</it>. Celmanax™ also directly decreased <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 colonization of mucosal explants and a colonic cell line in a dose-dependent manner. There was no effect of Dairyman's Choice™ paste on <it>E. coli </it>O157:H7 colonization <it>in vitro</it>. The inclusion of the prebiotic and probiotic in the feed was associated with a decline in disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current study confirmed an association between mycotoxigenic fungi in the feed and the development of JHS in cattle. This association was further expanded to include mycotoxins in the feed and mixtures of STECs colonizing the severely hemorrhaged tissues. Future studies should examine the extent of involvement of the different STEC in the infection process. The prebiotic, Celmanax™, acted as an anti-adhesive for STEC colonization and a mycotoxin binder <it>in vitro</it>. Future studies should determine the extent of involvement of the prebiotic in altering disease.</p
New Developments in the Casimir Effect
We provide a review of both new experimental and theoretical developments in
the Casimir effect. The Casimir effect results from the alteration by the
boundaries of the zero-point electromagnetic energy. Unique to the Casimir
force is its strong dependence on shape, switching from attractive to repulsive
as function of the size, geometry and topology of the boundary. Thus the
Casimir force is a direct manifestation of the boundary dependence of quantum
vacuum.
We discuss in depth the general structure of the infinities in the field
theory which are removed by a combination of zeta-functional regularization and
heat kernel expansion. Different representations for the regularized vacuum
energy are given. The Casimir energies and forces in a number of configurations
of interest to applications are calculated. We stress the development of the
Casimir force for real media including effects of nonzero temperature, finite
conductivity of the boundary metal and surface roughness. Also the combined
effect of these important factors is investigated in detail on the basis of
condensed matter physics and quantum field theory at nonzero temperature.
The experiments on measuring the Casimir force are also reviewed, starting
first with the older measurements and finishing with a detailed presentation of
modern precision experiments. The latter are accurately compared with the
theoretical results for real media.
At the end of the review we provide the most recent constraints on the
corrections to Newtonian gravitational law and other hypothetical long-range
interactions at submillimeter range obtained from the Casimir force
measurements.Comment: 275 pages,29 figures, to appear in Physics Report
- …