896 research outputs found
Source of entangled atom pairs on demand, using the Rydberg blockade
Two ultracold atom clouds, each separately in a dipole-blockade regime,
realize a source of entangled atom pairs that can be ejected on demand.
Entanglement generation and ejection is due to resonant dipole-dipole
interactions, while van-der-Waals interactions are predominantly responsible
for the blockade that ensures the ejection of a single atom per cloud. A source
of entangled atoms using these effects can operate with a 10 kHz repetition
rate producing ejected atoms with velocities of about 0.5 m/s.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Dipole-dipole induced global motion of Rydberg-dressed atom clouds
We consider two clouds of ground state alkali atoms in two distinct hyperfine
ground states. Each level is far off-resonantly coupled to a Rydberg state,
which leads to dressed ground states with a weak admixture of the Rydberg state
properties. Due to this admixture, for a proper choice of the Rydberg states,
the atoms experience resonant dipole-dipole interactions that induce mechanical
forces acting on all atoms within both clouds. This behavior is in contrast to
the dynamics predicted for bare dipole-dipole interactions between Rydberg
superatoms, where only a single atom per cloud is subject to dipole-dipole
induced motion [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 88} 012716 (2013)].Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure
Response to the Comment on "Excitons in Molecular Aggregates with L\'evy Disorder: Anomalous Localization and Exchange Broadening of Optical Spectra"
In previous work, we have predicted novel effects, such as exchange
broadening, anomalous scaling of the localization length and a blue shift of
the absorption spectrum with increasing disorder strength, for static disorder
models described by stable distributions with stability index {\alpha}<1. The
main points of the Comment are that the outliers introduced by heavy tails in
the disorder distribution (i) do not lead to deviations from the conventional
scaling law for the half width at half maximum (HWHM) of the absorption
spectrum and (ii) do not lead to non-universality of the distribution of
localization lengths. We show below that the findings reported by us in the
Letter are correct and that the wrong conclusions of the Comment arise from
focusing on small {\sigma} values.Comment: Based on our response submitted to Physical Review Letters on January
20, 2012. We now also take into account the modifications made to the Comment
upon resubmission of the Comment. The Reply has been accepted in Physical
Review Letter
Intruders in the Dust: Air-Driven Granular Size Separation
Using MRI and high-speed video we investigate the motion of a large intruder
particle inside a vertically shaken bed of smaller particles. We find a
pronounced, non-monotonic density dependence, with both light and heavy
intruders moving faster than those whose density is approximately that of the
granular bed. For light intruders, we furthermore observe either rising or
sinking behavior, depending on intruder starting height, boundary condition and
interstitial gas pressure. We map out the phase boundary delineating the rising
and sinking regimes. A simple model can account for much of the observed
behavior and show how the two regimes are connected by considering pressure
gradients across the granular bed during a shaking cycle.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Indications for sharp continuous phase transitions at finite temperatures connected with the apparent metal-insulator transition in two-dimensional disordered systems
In a recent experiment, Lai et al. [Phys. Rev. B 75, 033314 (2007)] studied
the apparent metal-insulator transition (MIT) of a Si quantum well structure
tuning the charge carrier concentration . They observed linear temperature
dependences of the conductivity around the Fermi temperature and
found that the corresponding extrapolation exhibits a
sharp bend just at the MIT. Here, reconsidering the data published by Lai et
al., it is shown that this sharp bend is related to a peculiarity of
clearly detectable in the whole range up to 4 K, the
highest measuring temperature in that work. Since this peculiarity seems not to
be smoothed out with increasing it may indicate a sharp continuous phase
transition between the regions of apparent metallic and activated conduction to
be present at finite temperature. Hints from the literature of such a behavior
are discussed. Finally, a scaling analysis illuminates similarities to previous
experiments and provides understanding of the shape of the peculiarity and of
sharp peaks found in .Comment: Revised version (quantitative determination of exponent beta added),
accepted for publication by Physical Review B. Revtex, 10 pages, 9 figure
Couette Flow of Two-Dimensional Foams
We experimentally investigate flow of quasi two-dimensional disordered foams
in Couette geometries, both for foams squeezed below a top plate and for freely
floating foams. With the top-plate, the flows are strongly localized and rate
dependent. For the freely floating foams the flow profiles become essentially
rate-independent, the local and global rheology do not match, and in particular
the foam flows in regions where the stress is below the global yield stress. We
attribute this to nonlocal effects and show that the "fluidity" model recently
introduced by Goyon {\em et al.} ({\em Nature}, {\bf 454} (2008)) captures the
essential features of flow both with and without a top plate.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, revised versio
Mechanics of individual keratin bundles in living cells
AbstractAlong with microtubules and microfilaments, intermediate filaments are a major component of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton and play a key role in cell mechanics. In cells, keratin intermediate filaments form networks of bundles that are sparser in structure and have lower connectivity than, for example, actin networks. Because of this, bending and buckling play an important role in these networks. Buckling events, which occur due to compressive intracellular forces and cross-talk between the keratin network and other cytoskeletal components, are measured here in situ. By applying a mechanical model for the bundled filaments, we can access the mechanical properties of both the keratin bundles themselves and the surrounding cytosol. Bundling is characterized by a coupling parameter that describes the strength of the linkage between the individual filaments within a bundle. Our findings suggest that coupling between the filaments is mostly complete, although it becomes weaker for thicker bundles, with some relative movement allowed
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