478 research outputs found
Vortex structure in exponentially shaped Josephson junctions
We report the numerical calculations of the static vortex structure and
critical curves in exponentially shaped long Josephson junctions for in-line
and overlap geometries. Each solution of the corresponding boundary value
problem is associated with the Sturm-Liouville problem whose minimal eigenvalue
allows to make a conclusion about the stability of the vortex. The change in
width of the junction leads to the renormalization of the magnetic flux in
comparison to the case of a linear one-dimensional model. We study the
influence of the model's parameters and, particularly, the shape parameter on
the stability of the states of the magnetic flux. We compare the vortex
structure and critical curves for the in-line and overlap geometries. Our
numerically constructed critical curve of the Josephson junction matches well
with the experimental one.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Vortex
dynamics in superconductors and other complex systems" Yalta, Crimea,
Ukraine, 13-17 September 200
Relativistic graphene ratchet on semidisk Galton board
Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we study numerically and analytically
a photogalvanic effect, or ratchet, of directed electron transport induced by a
microwave radiation on a semidisk Galton board of antidots in graphene. A
comparison between usual two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and electrons in
graphene shows that ratchet currents are comparable at very low temperatures.
However, a large mean free path in graphene should allow to have a strong
ratchet transport at room temperatures. Also in graphene the ratchet transport
emerges even for unpolarized radiation. These properties open promising
possibilities for room temperature graphene based sensitive photogalvanic
detectors of microwave and terahertz radiation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Research done at Quantware
http://www.quantware.ups-tlse.fr/. More detailed analysis is give
Directed motion of domain walls in biaxial ferromagnets under the influence of periodic external magnetic fields
Directed motion of domain walls (DWs) in a classical biaxial ferromagnet
placed under the influence of periodic unbiased external magnetic fields is
investigated. Using the symmetry approach developed in this article the
necessary conditions for the directed DW motion are found. This motion turns
out to be possible if the magnetic field is applied along the most easy axis.
The symmetry approach prohibits the directed DW motion if the magnetic field is
applied along any of the hard axes. With the help of the soliton perturbation
theory and numerical simulations, the average DW velocity as a function of
different system parameters such as damping constant, amplitude, and frequency
of the external field, is computed.Comment: Added references, corrected typos, extended introductio
Broken symmetries and directed collective energy transport
We study the appearance of directed energy current in homogeneous spatially
extended systems coupled to a heat bath in the presence of an external ac field
E(t). The systems are described by nonlinear field equations. By making use of
a symmetry analysis we predict the right choice of E(t) and obtain directed
energy transport for systems with a nonzero topological charge Q. We
demonstrate that the symmetry properties of motion of topological solitons
(kinks and antikinks) are equivalent to the ones for the energy current.
Numerical simulations confirm the predictions of the symmetry analysis and,
moreover, show that the directed energy current drastically increases as the
dissipation parameter reduces. Our results generalize recent rigorous
theories of currents generated by broken time-space symmetries to the case of
interacting many-particle systems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Rectification and Phase Locking for Particles on Two Dimensional Periodic Substrates
We show that a novel rectification phenomena is possible for overdamped
particles interacting with a 2D periodic substrate and driven with a
longitudinal DC drive and a circular AC drive. As a function of DC amplitude,
the longitudinal velocity increases in a series of quantized steps with
transverse rectification occuring near these transitions. We present a simple
model that captures the quantization and rectification behaviors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figure
In-plane fluxon in layered superconductors with arbitrary number of layers
I derive an approximate analytic solution for the in-plane vortex (fluxon) in
layered superconductors and stacked Josephson junctions (SJJ's) with arbitrary
number of layers. The validity of the solution is verified by numerical
simulation. It is shown that in SJJ's with large number of thin layers,
phase/current and magnetic field of the fluxon are decoupled from each other.
The variation of phase/current is confined within the Josephson penetration
depth, , along the layers, while magnetic field decays at the
effective London penetration depth, . For comparison
with real high- superconducting samples, large scale numerical simulations
with up to 600 SJJ's and with in-plane length up to 4000 %, are
presented. It is shown, that the most striking feature of the fluxon is a
Josephson core, manifesting itself as a sharp peak in magnetic induction at the
fluxon center.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Was presented in part at the First Euroconference
on Vortex Matter in Superconductors (Crete, September 1999
The structure of the superconducting gap in MgB2 from point-contact spectroscopy
We have studied the structure of the superconducting gap in MgB2 thin films
by means of point-contact spectroscopy using a gold tip. The films were
produced by depositing pure boron on a sapphire substrate, using e-beam
evaporation, followed by reaction with magnesium vapour. The films have a Tc of
38.6 +- 0.3 K and resistivity of about 20 microOhm cm at 40 K. The
point-contact spectra prove directly the existence of a multi-valued order
parameter in MgB2, with two distinct values of the gap, DELTA1=2.3+-0.3 meV and
DELTA2=6.2+-0.7 meV at 4.2 K. Analysis of the spectra in terms of the
Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model reveals that both gaps close simultaneously at
the Tc of the film. Possible mechanisms that can explain the intrinsic
co-existence of two values of the gap are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Progress in the development of a KITWPA for the DARTWARS project
DARTWARS (Detector Array Readout with Traveling Wave AmplifieRS) is a three
years project that aims to develop high-performing innovative Traveling Wave
Parametric Amplifiers (TWPAs) for low temperature detectors and qubit readout
(C-band). The practical development follows two different promising approaches,
one based on the Josephson junctions (TWJPA) and the other one based on the
kinetic inductance of a high-resistivity superconductor (KITWPA). This paper
presents the advancements made by the DARTWARS collaboration to produce a first
working prototype of a KITWPA.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures. Proceeding of Pisa15th Meeting conferenc
The kinase inhibitor SI113 induces autophagy and synergizes with quinacrine in hindering the growth of human glioblastoma multiforme cells
open15noBackground: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), due to its location, aggressiveness, heterogeneity and infiltrative growth, is characterized by an exceptionally dismal clinical outcome. The small molecule SI113, recently identified as a SGK1 inhibitor, has proven to be effective in restraining GBM growth in vitro and in vivo, showing also encouraging results when employed in combination with other antineoplastic drugs or radiotherapy. Our aim was to explore the pharmacological features of SI113 in GBM cells in order to elucidate the pivotal molecular pathways affected by the drug. Such knowledge would be of invaluable help in conceiving a rational offensive toward GBM. Methods: We employed GBM cell lines, either established or primary (neurospheres), and used a Reverse-Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) platform to assess the effect of SI113 upon 114 protein factors whose post-translational modifications are associated with activation or repression of specific signal transduction cascades.Results: SI113 strongly affected the PI3K/mTOR pathway, evoking a pro-survival autophagic response in neurospheres. These results suggested the use of SI113 coupled, for maximum efficiency, with autophagy inhibitors. Indeed, the association of SI113 with an autophagy inhibitor, the antimalarial drug quinacrine, induced a strong synergistic effect in inhibiting GBM growth properties in all the cells tested, including neurospheres. Conclusions: RPPA clearly identified the molecular pathways influenced by SI113 in GBM cells, highlighting their vulnerability when the drug was administered in association with autophagy inhibitors, providing a strong molecular rationale for testing SI113 in clinical trials in associative GBM therapy.openMatteoni S.; Abbruzzese C.; Matarrese P.; De Luca G.; Mileo A.M.; Miccadei S.; Schenone S.; Musumeci F.; Haas T.L.; Sette G.; Carapella C.M.; Amato R.; Perrotti N.; Signore M.; Paggi M.G.Matteoni, S.; Abbruzzese, C.; Matarrese, P.; De Luca, G.; Mileo, A. M.; Miccadei, S.; Schenone, S.; Musumeci, F.; Haas, T. L.; Sette, G.; Carapella, C. M.; Amato, R.; Perrotti, N.; Signore, M.; Paggi, M. G
- …