401 research outputs found
Passive States for Essential Observers
The aim of this note is to present a unified approach to the results given in
\cite{bb99} and \cite{bs04} which also covers examples of models not presented
in these two papers (e.g. -dimensional Minkowski space-time for ).
Assuming that a state is passive for an observer travelling along certain
(essential) worldlines, we show that this state is invariant under the isometry
group, is a KMS-state for the observer at a temperature uniquely determined by
the structure constants of the Lie algebra involved and fulfills (a variant of)
the Reeh-Schlieder property. Also the modular objects associated to such a
state and the observable algebra of an observer are computed and a version of
weak locality is examined.Comment: 27 page
Two-photon time-lapse microscopy of BODIPY-cholesterol reveals anomalous sterol diffusion in chinese hamster ovary cells
Background Cholesterol is an important membrane component, but our knowledge about its transport in cells is sparse. Previous imaging studies using dehydroergosterol (DHE), an intrinsically fluorescent sterol from yeast, have established that vesicular and non-vesicular transport modes contribute to sterol trafficking from the plasma membrane. Significant photobleaching, however, limits the possibilities for in-depth analysis of sterol dynamics using DHE. Co-trafficking studies with DHE and the recently introduced fluorescent cholesterol analog BODIPY-cholesterol (BChol) suggested that the latter probe has utility for prolonged live-cell imaging of sterol transport. Results We found that BChol is very photostable under two-photon (2P)-excitation allowing the acquisition of several hundred frames without significant photobleaching. Therefore, long-term tracking and diffusion measurements are possible. Two-photon temporal image correlation spectroscopy (2P-TICS) provided evidence for spatially heterogeneous diffusion constants of BChol varying over two orders of magnitude from the cell interior towards the plasma membrane, where D ~ 1.3 μm2/s. Number and brightness (N&B) analysis together with stochastic simulations suggest that transient partitioning of BChol into convoluted membranes slows local sterol diffusion. We observed sterol endocytosis as well as fusion and fission of sterol-containing endocytic vesicles. The mobility of endocytic vesicles, as studied by particle tracking, is well described by a model for anomalous subdiffusion on short time scales with an anomalous exponent α ~ 0.63 and an anomalous diffusion constant of Dα = 1.95 x 10-3 μm2/sα. On a longer time scale (t \u3e ~5 s), a transition to superdiffusion consistent with slow directed transport with an average velocity of v ~ 6 x 10-3 μm/s was observed. We present an analytical model that bridges the two regimes and fit this model to vesicle trajectories from control cells and cells with disrupted microtubule or actin filaments. Both treatments reduced the anomalous diffusion constant and the velocity by ~40-50%. Conclusions The mobility of sterol-containing vesicles on the short time scale could reflect dynamic rearrangements of the cytoskeleton, while directed transport of sterol vesicles occurs likely along both, microtubules and actin filaments. Spatially varying anomalous diffusion could contribute to fine-tuning and local regulation of intracellular sterol transport
Quantum-to-Classical Correspondence and Hubbard-Stratonovich Dynamical Systems, a Lie-Algebraic Approach
We propose a Lie-algebraic duality approach to analyze non-equilibrium
evolution of closed dynamical systems and thermodynamics of interacting quantum
lattice models (formulated in terms of Hubbard-Stratonovich dynamical systems).
The first part of the paper utilizes a geometric Hilbert-space-invariant
formulation of unitary time-evolution, where a quantum Hamiltonian is viewed as
a trajectory in an abstract Lie algebra, while the sought-after evolution
operator is a trajectory in a dynamic group, generated by the algebra via
exponentiation. The evolution operator is uniquely determined by the
time-dependent dual generators that satisfy a system of differential equations,
dubbed here dual Schrodinger-Bloch equations, which represent a viable
alternative to the conventional Schrodinger formulation. These dual
Schrodinger-Bloch equations are derived and analyzed on a number of specific
examples. It is shown that deterministic dynamics of a closed classical
dynamical system occurs as action of a symmetry group on a classical manifold
and is driven by the same dual generators as in the corresponding quantum
problem. This represents quantum-to-classical correspondence. In the second
part of the paper, we further extend the Lie algebraic approach to a wide class
of interacting many-particle lattice models. A generalized Hubbard-Stratonovich
transform is proposed and it is used to show that the thermodynamic partition
function of a generic many-body quantum lattice model can be expressed in terms
of traces of single-particle evolution operators governed by the dynamic
Hubbard-Stratonovich fields. Finally, we derive Hubbard-Stratonovich dynamical
systems for the Bose-Hubbard model and a quantum spin model and use the
Lie-algebraic approach to obtain new non-perturbative dual descriptions of
these theories.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure; v2: citations adde
Structural Insight into Eukaryotic Sterol Transport through Niemann-Pick Type C Proteins
Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) proteins are essential for sterol homeostasis, believed to drive sterol integration into the lysosomal membrane before redistribution to other cellular membranes. Here, using a combination of crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and biochemical and in vivo studies on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae NPC system (NCR1 and NPC2), we present a framework for sterol membrane integration. Sterols are transferred between hydrophobic pockets of vacuolar NPC2 and membrane-protein NCR1. NCR1 has its N-terminal domain (NTD) positioned to deliver a sterol to a tunnel connecting NTD to the luminal membrane leaflet 50 Ã… away. A sterol is caught inside this tunnel during transport, and a proton-relay network of charged residues in the transmembrane region is linked to this tunnel supporting a proton-driven transport mechanism. We propose a model for sterol integration that clarifies the role of NPC proteins in this essential eukaryotic pathway and that rationalizes mutations in patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C
Determination of the total width of the eta' meson
Taking advantage of both the low-emittance proton-beam of the Cooler
Synchrotron COSY and the high momentum precision of the COSY-11 detector
system, the mass distribution of the eta' meson was measured with a resolution
of 0.33 MeV/c^2 (FWHM), improving the experimental mass resolution by almost an
order of magnitude with respect to previous results. Based on the sample of
more than 2300 reconstructed pp --> pp eta' events the total width of the eta'
meson was determined to be 0.226 +- 0.017(stat.) +- 0.014(syst.) MeV/c^2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Non-equilibrium emission of complex fragments from p+Au collisions at 2.5 GeV proton beam energy
Energy and angular dependence of double differential cross sections
d/ddE was measured for reactions induced by 2.5 GeV protons
on Au target with isotopic identification of light products (H, He, Li, Be, and
B) and with elemental identification of heavier intermediate mass fragments (C,
N, O, F, Ne, Na, Mg, and Al). It was found that two different reaction
mechanisms give comparable contributions to the cross sections. The
intranuclear cascade of nucleon-nucleon collisions followed by evaporation from
an equilibrated residuum describes low energy part of the energy distributions
whereas another reaction mechanism is responsible for high energy part of the
spectra of composite particles. Phenomenological model description of the
differential cross sections by isotropic emission from two moving sources led
to a very good description of all measured data. Values of the extracted
parameters of the emitting sources are compatible with the hypothesis claiming
that the high energy particles emerge from pre-equilibrium processes consisting
in a breakup of the target into three groups of nucleons; small, fast and hot
fireball of 8 nucleons, and two larger, excited prefragments, which
emits the light charged particles and intermediate mass fragments. The smaller
of them contains 20 nucleons and moves with velocity larger than the CM
velocity of the proton projectile and the target. The heavier prefragment
behaves similarly as the heavy residuum of the intranuclear cascade of
nucleon-nucleon collisions. %The mass and charge dependence of the total
production cross %sections was extracted from the above analysis for all
observed %reaction products. This dependence follows the power low behavior
%(A or Z)
Kaon Production and Interaction
Exclusive data on both the elementary kaon and antikaon production channels
have been taken at the cooler synchrotron COSY in proton-proton scattering. In
the kaon--hyperon production an enhancement by one order of magnitude of the
Lambda/Sigma0 ratio has been observed at excess energies below Q=13 MeV
compared to data at higher excess energies (Q>300 MeV). New results obtained at
the COSY-11 facility explore the transition region between the regime of this
low-energy Sigma0 suppression and excess energies of 60 MeV. A comparison of
the energy dependence of the Lambda and Sigma0 total cross sections exhibits
distinct qualitative differences between both hyperon production channels.
Studies of kaon-antikaon production have been motivated especially by the
ongoing discussion about the nature of the scalar resonances f0(980) and
a0(980) coupling to the K anti-K channel. For the reaction pp->ppK+K- a first
total cross section value is reported at an excess energy of Q=17 MeV, i.e.
below the phi threshold. Calculations obtained within an OBE model indicate
that the energy dependence of the available total cross section data close to
threshold is rather difficult to reconcile with the assumption of a phase-space
behaviour modified predominantly by the proton-proton final state interaction.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Presented at Meson 2002: 7th International
Workshop on Meson Production, Properties and Interaction, Cracow, Poland,
24-28 May 200
Isospin dependence of the eta prime meson production in nucleon-nucleon collisions
A comparison of the close-to-threshold total cross section for the eta prime
production in pp --> pp eta prime and pn --> pn eta prime reactions constitutes
a tool to investigate the eta prime meson structure and the reaction mechanism
in the channels of isospin I=0 and I=1 and may provide insight into the
flavour-singlet (perhaps also into gluonium) content of the eta prime meson. In
this contribution we present preliminary results of measurement of the
quasi-free production of the eta prime meson in the proton-neutron collisions
conducted using the COSY-11 facility.Comment: Presented at 10th International Workshop on Meson Production,
Properties and Interaction (MESON 2008), Cracow, Poland, 6 - 10 June 200
High precision measurement of the associated strangeness production in proton proton interactions
A new high precision measurement of the reaction pp -> pK+Lambda at a beam
momentum of 2.95 GeV/c with more than 200,000 analyzed events allows a detailed
analysis of differential observables and their inter-dependencies. Correlations
of the angular distributions with momenta are examined. The invariant mass
distributions are compared for different regions in the Dalitz plots. The cusp
structure at the N Sigma threshold is described with the Flatt\'e formalism and
its variation in the Dalitz plot is analyzed.Comment: accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
Production of Eta Mesons in Proton-Proton Collisions Close to Threshold
A brief experimental overview on the close-to-threshold eta meson production
in proton-proton interactions is presented and the available observables in
measurements with unpolarized and polarized beam and target are discussed.Comment: 4 pages; Presented at Meson 2004: 8th International Workshop on Meson
Production, Properties and Interaction, Krakow, Poland, 4-8 June 2004;
Submitted to International Journal of Modern Physics
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