526,164 research outputs found
Activation barrier scaling and crossover for noise-induced switching in a micromechanical parametric oscillator
We explore fluctuation-induced switching in a parametrically-driven
micromechanical torsional oscillator. The oscillator possesses one, two or
three stable attractors depending on the modulation frequency. Noise induces
transitions between the coexisting attractors. Near the bifurcation points, the
activation barriers are found to have a power law dependence on frequency
detuning with critical exponents that are in agreement with predicted universal
scaling relationships. At large detuning, we observe a crossover to a different
power law dependence with an exponent that is device specific.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
An RF-Driven Josephson Bifurcation Amplifier for Quantum Measurements
We have constructed a new type of amplifier whose primary purpose is the
readout of superconducting quantum bits. It is based on the transition of an
RF-driven Josephson junction between two distinct oscillation states near a
dynamical bifurcation point. The main advantages of this new amplifier are
speed, high-sensitivity, low back-action, and the absence of on-chip
dissipation. Pulsed microwave reflection measurements on nanofabricated Al
junctions show that actual devices attain the performance predicted by theory.Comment: 5 Figure
Vortex-type elastic structured media and dynamic shielding
The paper addresses a novel model of metamaterial structure. A system of
spinners has been embedded into a two-dimensional periodic lattice system. The
equations of motion of spinners are used to derive the expression for the
chiral term in the equations describing the dynamics of the lattice. Dispersion
of elastic waves is shown to possess innovative filtering and polarization
properties induced by the vortextype nature of the structured media. The
related homogenised effective behavior is obtained analytically and it has been
implemented to build a shielding cloak around an obstacle. Analytical work is
accompanied by numerical illustrations.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figure
Nitrate and phosphate availability and distribution have different effects on root system architecture of Arabidopsis
Plant root systems can respond to nutrient availability and distribution by changing the three-dimensional deployment of their roots: their root system architecture (RSA). We have compared RSA in homogeneous and heterogeneous nitrate and phosphate supply in Arabidopsis. Changes in nitrate and phosphate availability were found to have contrasting effects on primary root length and lateral root density, but similar effects on lateral root length. Relative to shoot dry weight (DW), primary root length decreased with increasing nitrate availability, while it increased with increasing phosphate supply. Lateral root density remained constant across a range of nitrate supplies, but decreased with increasing phosphate supply. In contrast, lateral root elongation was suppressed both by high nitrate and high phosphate supplies. Local supplies of high nitrate or phosphate in a patch also had different effects. Primary root growth was not affected by a high nitrate patch, but growth through a high phosphate patch reduced primary root growth after the root left the patch. A high nitrate patch induced an increase in lateral root density in the patch, whereas lateral root density was unaffected by a high phosphate patch. However, both phosphate- and nitrate-rich patches induced lateral root elongation in the patch and suppressed it outside the patch. This co-ordinated response of lateral roots also occurs in soil-grown plants exposed to a nutrient-rich patch. The auxin-resistant mutants axr1, axr4 and aux1 all showed the wild-type lateral root elongation responses to a nitrate-rich patch, suggesting that auxin is not required for this response
Quantum Hall Effect Wave Functions as Cyclic Representations of U_q(sl(2))
Quantum Hall effect wave functions corresponding to the filling factors
1/2p+1, 2/2p+1, ..., 2p/2p+1, 1, are shown to form a basis of irreducible
cyclic representation of the quantum algebra U_q(sl(2)) at q^{2p+1}=1. Thus,
the wave functions \Psi_{P/Q} possessing filling factors P/Q<1 where Q is odd
and P, Q are relatively prime integers are classified in terms of U_q(sl(2)).Comment: Version to appear in Jour. Phys.
Bio-logic: gene expression and the laws of combinatorial logic
Original article can be found at: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/ Copyright MIT Press DOI: 10.1162/artl.2008.14.1.121At the heart of the development of fertilized eggs into fully formed organisms and the adaptation of cells to changed conditions are genetic regulatory networks (GRNs). In higher multi-cellular organisms, signal selection and multiplexing is performed at the cis-regulatory domains of genes, where combinations of transcription factors (TFs) regulate the rates at which the genes are transcribed into mRNA. To be able to act as activators or repressors of gene transcription, TFs must first bind to target sequences on the regulatory domains. Two TFs that act in concert may bind entirely independently of each other, but more often binding of the first one will alter the affinity of the other for its binding site. This paper presents a systematic investigation into the effect of TF binding dependencies on the predicted regulatory function of this “bio-logic”. Four extreme scenarios, commonly used to classify enzyme activation and inhibition patterns, for the binding of two TFs were explored: independent (the TFs bind without affecting each other’s affinities), competitive (the TFs compete for the same binding site), ordered (the TFs bind in a compulsory order), and joint binding (the TFs either bind as a preformed complex, or binding of one is virtually impossible in the absence of the other). The conclusions are: 1) the laws of combinatorial logic hold only for systems with independently binding TFs; 2) systems formed according to the other scenarios can mimic the functions of their Boolean logical counterparts, but cannot be combined or decomposed in the same way; and 3) the continuously scaled output of systems consisting of competitively binding activators and repressors can be more robustly controlled than that of single TF or (quasi-) logical multi-TF systems. Keywords: Transcription regulation, Genetic regulatory networks, Enzyme kinetics, Combinatorial logic, Non-Boolean continuous logic, Modelling.Peer reviewe
Kondo-transport spectroscopy of single molecule magnets
We demonstrate that in a single molecule magnet (SMM) strongly coupled to
electrodes the Kondo effect involves all magnetic excitations. This Kondo
effect is induced by the quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment (QTM).
Importantly, the Kondo temperature can be much larger than the magnetic
splittings. We find a strong modulation of the Kondo effect as function of the
transverse anisotropy parameter or a longitudinal magnetic field. For both
integer and half-integer spin this can be used for an accurate transport
spectroscopy of the magnetic states in low magnetic fields on the order of the
easy-axis anisotropy parameter. We set up a relationship between the Kondo
effects for successive integer and half-integer spins.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Accounting for Convective Blue-Shifts in the Determination of Absolute Stellar Radial Velocities
For late-type non-active stars, gravitational redshifts and convective
blueshifts are the main source of biases in the determination of radial
velocities. If ignored, these effects can introduce systematic errors of the
order of ~ 0.5 km/s. We demonstrate that three-dimensional hydrodynamical
simulations of solar surface convection can be used to predict the convective
blue-shifts of weak spectral lines in solar-like stars to ~ 0.070 km/s. Using
accurate trigonometric parallaxes and stellar evolution models, the
gravitational redshifts can be constrained with a similar uncertainty, leading
to absolute radial velocities accurate to better than ~ 0.1 km/s.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the Joint Discussion 10, IAU General
Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, August 10-11, 200
Spin relaxation in -type ZnO quantum wells
We perform an investigation on the spin relaxation for -type ZnO (0001)
quantum wells by numerically solving the kinetic spin Bloch equations with all
the relevant scattering explicitly included. We show the temperature and
electron density dependence of the spin relaxation time under various
conditions such as impurity density, well width, and external electric field.
We find a peak in the temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time at low
impurity density. This peak can survive even at 100 K, much higher than the
prediction and measurement value in GaAs. There also exhibits a peak in the
electron density dependence at low temperature. These two peaks originate from
the nonmonotonic temperature and electron density dependence of the Coulomb
scattering. The spin relaxation time can reach the order of nanosecond at low
temperature and high impurity density.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Isotropic, Nematic and Smectic A Phase Behaviour in a Fictitious Field
Phase behaviours of liquid crystals under external fields, conjugate to the
nematic order and smectic order, are studied within the framework of mean field
approximation developed by McMillan. It is found that phase diagrams, of
temperature vs interaction parameter of smectic A order, show several
topologically different types caused by the external fields. The influences of
the field conjugate to the smectic A phase, which is fictitious field, are
precisely discussed.Comment: To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. vol.73 No.
- …