802 research outputs found
Entanglement of a qubit with a single oscillator mode
We solve a model of a qubit strongly coupled to a massive environmental
oscillator mode where the qubit backaction is treated exactly. Using a
Ginzburg-Landau formalism, we derive an effective action for this well known
localization transition. An entangled state emerges as an instanton in the
collective qubit-environment degree of freedom and the resulting model is shown
to be formally equivalent to a Fluctuating Gap Model (FGM) of a disordered
Peierls chain. Below the transition, spectral weight is transferred to an
exponentially small energy scale leaving the qubit coherent but damped. Unlike
the spin-boson model, coherent and effectively localized behaviors may coexist.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; added calculation of entanglement entrop
Corrections to the Saffman-Delbruck mobility for membrane bound proteins
Recent experiments by Y. Gambin et al. [PNAS 103, 2098 (2006)] have called
into question the applicability of the Saffman-Delbruck diffusivity for
proteins embedded in the lipid bilayers. We present a simple argument to
account for this observation that should be generically valid for a large class
of transmembrane and membrane bound proteins. Whenever the protein-lipid
interactions locally deform the membrane, that deformation generates new
hydrodynamic stresses on the protein-membrane complex leading to a suppression
of its mobility. We show that this suppression depends on the protein size in a
manner consistent with the work of Y. Gambin et al.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur
Long-Term X-ray Variability in GX 354-0
We report for the first time the detection of long-term X-ray variability in
the bright bulge source GX 354-0 (=4U 1728-34) observed with the All Sky
Monitor (ASM) on board the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The 2-year RXTE
ASM database reveals significant power at ~72 days. Similar behaviour was seen
in the 6-year Ariel 5 ASM database, but at a period of ~63 days. The timescales
and light curves resemble the ~78 days modulation seen in Cyg X-2 and we
therefore interpret this modulation in GX 354-0 as a super-orbital effect.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in New Astronom
Weak localization of disordered quasiparticles in the mixed superconducting state
Starting from a random matrix model, we construct the low-energy effective
field theory for the noninteracting gas of quasiparticles of a disordered
superconductor in the mixed state. The theory is a nonlinear sigma model, with
the order parameter field being a supermatrix whose form is determined solely
on symmetry grounds. The weak localization correction to the field-axis thermal
conductivity is computed for a dilute array of s-wave vortices near the lower
critical field H_c1. We propose that weak localization effects, cut off at low
temperatures by the Zeeman splitting, are responsible for the field dependence
of the thermal conductivity seen in recent high-T_c experiments by Aubin et al.Comment: RevTex, 8 pages, 1 eps figure, typos correcte
Geometry of Frictionless and Frictional Sphere Packings
We study static packings of frictionless and frictional spheres in three
dimensions, obtained via molecular dynamics simulations, in which we vary
particle hardness, friction coefficient, and coefficient of restitution.
Although frictionless packings of hard-spheres are always isostatic (with six
contacts) regardless of construction history and restitution coefficient,
frictional packings achieve a multitude of hyperstatic packings that depend on
system parameters and construction history. Instead of immediately dropping to
four, the coordination number reduces smoothly from as the friction
coefficient between two particles is increased.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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Progress toward chemcial accuracy in the computer simulation of condensed phase reactions
A procedure is described for the generation of chemically accurate computer-simulation models to study chemical reactions in the condensed phase. The process involves (1) the use of a coupled semiempirical quantum and classical molecular mechanics method to represent solutes and solvent, respectively; (2) the optimization of semiempirical quantum mechanics (QM) parameters to produce a computationally efficient and chemically accurate QM model; (3) the calibration of a quantum/classical microsolvation model using ab initio quantum theory; and (4) the use of statistical mechanical principles and methods to simulate, on massively parallel computers, the thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions in aqueous solution. The utility of this process is demonstrated by the calculation of the enthalpy of reaction in vacuum and free energy change in aqueous solution for a proton transfer involving methanol, methoxide, imidazole, and imidazolium, which are functional groups involved with proton transfers in many biochemical systems. An optimized semiempirical QM model is produced, which results in the calculation of heats of formation of the above chemical species to within 1.0 kcal/mol of experimental values. The use of the calibrated QM and microsolvation QM/MM models for the simulation of a proton transfer in aqueous solution gives a calculated free energy that is within 1.0 kcal/mol (12.2 calculated vs. 12.8 experimental) of a value estimated from experimental pKa`s of the reacting species
Self-similarity and novel sample-length-dependence of conductance in quasiperiodic lateral magnetic superlattices
We study the transport of electrons in a Fibonacci magnetic superlattice
produced on a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by parallel magnetic field
stripes arranged in a Fibonacci sequence. Both the transmission coefficient and
conductance exhibit self-similarity and the six-circle property. The presence
of extended states yields a finite conductivity at infinite length, that may be
detected as an abrupt change in the conductance as the Fermi energy is varied,
much as a metal-insulator transition. This is a unique feature of transport in
this new kind of structure, arising from its inherent two-dimensional nature.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, revtex, important revisions made. to be published
in Phys. Rev.
Corticosteroid Treatment Of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis In The Lewis Rat Results in Loss of V Beta 8.2+ and Myelin Basic Protein-Reactive Cells from the Spinal Cord, with Increased Total T-Cell Apoptosis but Reduced Apoptosis of V Beta 8.2+
We have studied the effects of corticosteroid treatment on the numbers of lymphocytes obtained from the spinal cords of Lewis rats with acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by inoculation with myelin basic protein (MBP) and adjuvants. Flow cytometric studies showed that treatment with dexamethasone (4 mg/kg) 8-12 h prior to study on day 14 after inoculation resulted in a reduction in the numbers of CD5+, TCR alpha beta + and V beta 8.2+ cells in the spinal cord. Limiting dilution analysis indicated that dexamethasone treatment 12 h prior to study on day 12 after inoculation reduced the frequencies of MBP-reactive and interleukin-2-responsive lymphocytes in the spinal cord to low levels, but reduced the frequency of concanavalin-A-responsive lymphocytes to a lesser extent. Using propidium iodide staining of nuclear chromatin we also studied lymphocyte apoptosis. Greater numbers of apoptotic cells were found in the cells extracted from the spinal cords of rats, examined on day 14, that had been treated 1-12 h previously with dexamethasone, than in saline-treated controls. This increased level of apoptosis was observed in the CD5+ and TCR alpha beta + cell populations. At 1-4 h after dexamethasone treatment there was a reduction in the selective apoptosis of V beta 8.2+ cells that normally occurs during spontaneous recovery from EAE. Therefore apoptosis of V beta 8.2+ cells cannot explain the reduction in the numbers of V beta 8.2+ cells and MBP-reactive cells in the CNS after dexamethasone treatment. By 8-12 h after dexamethasone treatment the selectivity of the apoptotic process was restored. These studies suggest that a reduction in the number of T-lymphocytes in the central nervous system contributes to the beneficial effects of corticosteroids in EAE
Hidden degree of freedom and critical states in a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a random magnetic field
We establish the existence of a hidden degree of freedom and the critical
states of a spinless electron system in a spatially-correlated random magnetic
field with vanishing mean. Whereas the critical states are carried by the
zero-field contours of the field landscape, the hidden degree of freedom is
recognized as being associated with the formation of vortices in these special
contours. It is argued that, as opposed to the coherent backscattering
mechanism of weak localization, a new type of scattering processes in the
contours controls the underlying physics of localization in the random magnetic
field system. In addition, we investigate the role of vortices in governing the
metal-insulator transition and propose a renormalization-group diagram for the
system under study.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures; Figs. 1, 7, 9, and 10 have been reduced in
quality for e-submissio
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