Majorana Fermions Signatures in Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling

Thermodynamic measurements of magnetic fluxes and I-V characteristics in SQUIDs offer promising paths to the characterization of topological superconducting phases. We consider the problem of macroscopic quantum tunneling in an rf-SQUID in a topological superconducting phase. We show that the topological order shifts the tunneling rates and quantum levels, both in the parity conserving and fluctuating cases. The latter case is argued to actually enhance the signatures in the slowly fluctuating limit, which is expected to take place in the quantum regime of the circuit. In view of recent advances, we also discuss how our results affect a $\pi$-junction loop.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

NoSOCS in SDSS. VI. The Environmental Dependence of AGN in Clusters and Field in the Local Universe

We investigated the variation in the fraction of optical active galactic nuclei (AGN) hosts with stellar mass, as well as their local and global environments. Our sample is composed of cluster members and field galaxies at $z \le 0.1$ and we consider only strong AGN. We find a strong variation in the AGN fraction ($F_{AGN}$) with stellar mass. The field population comprises a higher AGN fraction compared to the global cluster population, especially for objects with log $M_* > 10.6$. Hence, we restricted our analysis to more massive objects. We detected a smooth variation in the $F_{AGN}$ with local stellar mass density for cluster objects, reaching a plateau in the field environment. As a function of clustercentric distance we verify that $F_{AGN}$ is roughly constant for R $>$ R$_{200}$, but show a steep decline inwards. We have also verified the dependence of the AGN population on cluster velocity dispersion, finding a constant behavior for low mass systems ($\sigma_P \lesssim 650-700$ km s$^{-1}$). However, there is a strong decline in $F_{AGN}$ for higher mass clusters ($>$ 700 km s$^{-1}$). When comparing the $F_{AGN}$ in clusters with or without substructure we only find different results for objects at large radii (R $>$ R$_{200}$), in the sense that clusters with substructure present some excess in the AGN fraction. Finally, we have found that the phase-space distribution of AGN cluster members is significantly different than other populations. Due to the environmental dependence of $F_{AGN}$ and their phase-space distribution we interpret AGN to be the result of galaxy interactions, favored in environments where the relative velocities are low, typical of the field, low mass groups or cluster outskirts.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to MNRA

Effective transport barriers in nontwist systems

In fluids and plasmas with zonal flow reversed shear, a peculiar kind of transport barrier appears in the shearless region, one that is associated with a proper route of transition to chaos. These barriers have been identified in symplectic nontwist maps that model such zonal flows. We use the so-called standard nontwist map, a paradigmatic example of nontwist systems, to analyze the parameter dependence of the transport through a broken shearless barrier. On varying a proper control parameter, we identify the onset of structures with high stickiness that give rise to an effective barrier near the broken shearless curve. Moreover, we show how these stickiness structures, and the concomitant transport reduction in the shearless region, are determined by a homoclinic tangle of the remaining dominant twin island chains. We use the finite-time rotation number, a recently proposed diagnostic, to identify transport barriers that separate different regions of stickiness. The identified barriers are comparable to those obtained by using finite-time Lyapunov exponents.FAPESPCNPqCAPESMCT/CNEN (Rede Nacional de Fusao)Fundacao AraucariaUS Department of Energy DE-FG05-80ET-53088Physic

Magnification of signatures of a topological phase transition by quantum zero point motion

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOWe show that the zero point motion of a vortex in superconducting doped topological insulators leads to significant changes in the electronic spectrum at the topological phase transition in this system. This topological phase transition is tuned by the doping level, and the corresponding effects are manifest in the density of states at energies which are on the order of the vortex fluctuation frequency. Although the electronic energy gap in the spectrum generated by a stationary vortex is but a small fraction of the bulk superconducting gap, the vortex fluctuation frequency may be much larger. As a result, this quantum zero point motion can induce a discontinuous change in the spectral features of the system at the topological vortex phase transition to energies which are well within the resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy. This discontinuous change is exclusive to superconducting systems in which we have a topological phase transition. Moreover, the phenomena studied in this paper present effects of Magnus forces on the vortex spectrum which are not present in the ordinary s-wave superconductors. Finally, we demonstrate explicitly that the vortex in this system is equivalent to a Kitaev chain. This allows for the mapping of the vortex fluctuating scenario in three dimensions into similar one-dimensional situations in which one may search for other novel signatures of topological phase transitions.We show that the zero point motion of a vortex in superconducting doped topological insulators leads to significant changes in the electronic spectrum at the topological phase transition in this system. This topological phase transition is tuned by the doping level, and the corresponding effects are manifest in the density of states at energies which are on the order of the vortex fluctuation frequency. Although the electronic energy gap in the spectrum generated by a stationary vortex is but a small fraction of the bulk superconducting gap, the vortex fluctuation frequency may be much larger. As a result, this quantum zero point motion can induce a discontinuous change in the spectral features of the system at the topological vortex phase transition to energies which are well within the resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy. This discontinuous change is exclusive to superconducting systems in which we have a topological phase transition. Moreover, the phenomena studied in this paper present effects of Magnus forces on the vortex spectrum which are not present in the ordinary s-wave superconductors. Finally, we demonstrate explicitly that the vortex in this system is equivalent to a Kitaev chain. This allows for the mapping of the vortex fluctuating scenario in three dimensions into similar one-dimensional situations in which one may search for other novel signatures of topological phase transitions.926113FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP [2009/18336-0]2009/18336-

The type of adjuvant in whole inactivated influenza a virus vaccines impacts vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes a disease burden in the swine industry in the US and is a challenge to prevent due to substantial genetic and antigenic diversity of IAV that circulate in pig populations. Whole inactivated virus (WIV) vaccines formulated with oil-in-water (OW) adjuvant are commonly used in swine. However, WIV-OW are associated with vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD) when the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase of the vaccine strain are mismatched with the challenge virus. Here, we assessed if different types of adjuvant in WIV vaccine formulations impacted VAERD outcome. WIV vaccines with a swine δ1-H1N2 were formulated with different commercial adjuvants: OW1, OW2, nano-emulsion squalene-based (NE) and gel polymer (GP). Pigs were vaccinated twice by the intramuscular route, 3 weeks apart, then challenged with an H1N1pdm09 three weeks post-boost and necropsied at 5 days post infection. All WIV vaccines elicited antibodies detected using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay against the homologous vaccine virus, but not against the heterologous challenge virus; in contrast, all vaccinated groups had cross-reactive IgG antibody and IFN-γ responses against H1N1pdm09, with a higher magnitude observed in OW groups. Both OW groups demonstrated robust homologous HI titers and cross-reactivity against heterologous H1 viruses in the same genetic lineage. However, both OW groups had severe immunopathology consistent with VAERD after challenge when compared to NE, GP, and non-vaccinated challenge controls. None of the WIV formulations protected pigs from heterologous virus replication in the lungs or nasal cavity. Thus, although the type of adjuvant in the WIV formulation played a significant role in the magnitude of immune response to homologous and antigenically similar H1, none tested here increased the breadth of protection against the antigenically-distinct challenge virus, and some impacted immunopathology after challenge

A Dain Inequality with charge

We prove an upper bound for angular-momentum and charge in terms of the mass for electro-vacuum asymptotically flat axisymmetric initial data sets with simply connected orbit space

Vanishing Viscosity Limits and Boundary Layers for Circularly Symmetric 2D Flows

We continue the work of Lopes Filho, Mazzucato and Nussenzveig Lopes [LMN], on the vanishing viscosity limit of circularly symmetric viscous flow in a disk with rotating boundary, shown there to converge to the inviscid limit in $L^2$-norm as long as the prescribed angular velocity $\alpha(t)$ of the boundary has bounded total variation. Here we establish convergence in stronger $L^2$ and $L^p$-Sobolev spaces, allow for more singular angular velocities $\alpha$, and address the issue of analyzing the behavior of the boundary layer. This includes an analysis of concentration of vorticity in the vanishing viscosity limit. We also consider such flows on an annulus, whose two boundary components rotate independently. [LMN] Lopes Filho, M. C., Mazzucato, A. L. and Nussenzveig Lopes, H. J., Vanishing viscosity limit for incompressible flow inside a rotating circle, preprint 2006

Experimental determination of the non-extensive entropic parameter qq

We show how to extract the $q$ parameter from experimental data, considering an inhomogeneous magnetic system composed by many Maxwell-Boltzmann homogeneous parts, which after integration over the whole system recover the Tsallis non-extensivity. Analyzing the cluster distribution of La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ manganite, obtained through scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, we measure the $q$ parameter and predict the bulk magnetization with good accuracy. The connection between the Griffiths phase and non-extensivity is also considered. We conclude that the entropic parameter embodies information about the dynamics, the key role to describe complex systems.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let