240 research outputs found
ARPES Study of X-Point Band Overlaps in LaB and SmB - Contrast to SrB and EuB
In contrast to our recent finding of an X-point band gap in divalent
hexaborides, we report here that angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy
(ARPES) data shows that the gap is absent for trivalent LaB and is absent
or nearly so for mixed valent SmB. This finding demonstrates a nontrivial
evolution of the band structure from divalent to trivalent hexaborides.Comment: submitted to SCES '0
Exact quantum dissipative dynamics under external time-dependent fields driving
Exact and nonperturbative quantum master equation can be constructed via the
calculus on path integral. It results in hierarchical equations of motion for
the reduced density operator. Involved are also a set of well--defined
auxiliary density operators that resolve not just system--bath coupling
strength but also memory. In this work, we scale these auxiliary operators
individually to achieve a uniform error tolerance, as set by the reduced
density operator. An efficient propagator is then proposed to the hierarchical
Liouville--space dynamics of quantum dissipation. Numerically exact studies are
carried out on the dephasing effect on population transfer in the simple
stimulated Raman adiabatic passage scheme. We also make assessments on several
perturbative theories for their applicabilities in the present system of study
Sparse Coding Predicts Optic Flow Specificities of Zebrafish Pretectal Neurons
Zebrafish pretectal neurons exhibit specificities for large-field optic flow
patterns associated with rotatory or translatory body motion. We investigate
the hypothesis that these specificities reflect the input statistics of natural
optic flow. Realistic motion sequences were generated using computer graphics
simulating self-motion in an underwater scene. Local retinal motion was
estimated with a motion detector and encoded in four populations of
directionally tuned retinal ganglion cells, represented as two signed input
variables. This activity was then used as input into one of two learning
networks: a sparse coding network (competitive learning) and backpropagation
network (supervised learning). Both simulations develop specificities for optic
flow which are comparable to those found in a neurophysiological study (Kubo et
al. 2014), and relative frequencies of the various neuronal responses are best
modeled by the sparse coding approach. We conclude that the optic flow neurons
in the zebrafish pretectum do reflect the optic flow statistics. The predicted
vectorial receptive fields show typical optic flow fields but also "Gabor" and
dipole-shaped patterns that likely reflect difference fields needed for
reconstruction by linear superposition.Comment: Published Conference Paper from ICANN 2018, Rhode
Infection of XC Cells by MLVs and Ebola Virus Is Endosome-Dependent but Acidification-Independent
Inhibitors of endosome acidification or cathepsin proteases attenuated infections mediated by envelope proteins of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and Ebola virus, as well as ecotropic, amphotropic, polytropic, and xenotropic murine leukemia viruses (MLVs), indicating that infections by these viruses occur through acidic endosomes and require cathepsin proteases in the susceptible cells such as TE671 cells. However, as previously shown, the endosome acidification inhibitors did not inhibit these viral infections in XC cells. It is generally accepted that the ecotropic MLV infection in XC cells occurs at the plasma membrane. Because cathepsin proteases are activated by low pH in acidic endosomes, the acidification inhibitors may inhibit the viral infections by suppressing cathepsin protease activation. The acidification inhibitors attenuated the activities of cathepsin proteases B and L in TE671 cells, but not in XC cells. Processing of cathepsin protease L was suppressed by the acidification inhibitor in NIH3T3 cells, but again not in XC cells. These results indicate that cathepsin proteases are activated without endosome acidification in XC cells. Treatment with an endocytosis inhibitor or knockdown of dynamin 2 expression by siRNAs suppressed MLV infections in all examined cells including XC cells. Furthermore, endosomal cathepsin proteases were required for these viral infections in XC cells as other susceptible cells. These results suggest that infections of XC cells by the MLVs and Ebola virus occur through endosomes and pH-independent cathepsin activation induces pH-independent infection in XC cells
STM and RHEED study of the Si(001)-c(8x8) surface
The Si(001) surface deoxidized by short annealing at T~925C in the ultrahigh
vacuum molecular beam epitaxy chamber has been in situ investigated by high
resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and reflected high energy
electron diffraction (RHEED). RHEED patterns corresponding to (2x1) and (4x4)
structures were observed during sample treatment. The (4x4) reconstruction
arose at T<600C after annealing. The reconstruction was observed to be
reversible: the (4x4) structure turned into the (2x1) one at T>600C, the (4x4)
structure appeared again at recurring cooling. The c(8x8) reconstruction was
revealed by STM at room temperature on the same samples. A fraction of the
surface area covered by the c(8x8) structure decreased as the sample cooling
rate was reduced. The (2x1) structure was observed on the surface free of the
c(8x8) one. The c(8x8) structure has been evidenced to manifest itself as the
(4x4) one in the RHEED patterns. A model of the c(8x8) structure formation has
been built on the basis of the STM data. Origin of the high-order structure on
the Si(001) surface and its connection with the epinucleation phenomenon are
discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figure
Quantum dynamics in strong fluctuating fields
A large number of multifaceted quantum transport processes in molecular
systems and physical nanosystems can be treated in terms of quantum relaxation
processes which couple to one or several fluctuating environments. A thermal
equilibrium environment can conveniently be modelled by a thermal bath of
harmonic oscillators. An archetype situation provides a two-state dissipative
quantum dynamics, commonly known under the label of a spin-boson dynamics. An
interesting and nontrivial physical situation emerges, however, when the
quantum dynamics evolves far away from thermal equilibrium. This occurs, for
example, when a charge transferring medium possesses nonequilibrium degrees of
freedom, or when a strong time-dependent control field is applied externally.
Accordingly, certain parameters of underlying quantum subsystem acquire
stochastic character. Herein, we review the general theoretical framework which
is based on the method of projector operators, yielding the quantum master
equations for systems that are exposed to strong external fields. This allows
one to investigate on a common basis the influence of nonequilibrium
fluctuations and periodic electrical fields on quantum transport processes.
Most importantly, such strong fluctuating fields induce a whole variety of
nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena. A characteristic feature of such
dynamics is the absence of thermal (quantum) detailed balance.Comment: review article, Advances in Physics (2005), in pres
Data and 2D scaling relations for galaxies in Abell 1689: a hint of size evolution at z~0.2
{abridged} We present imaging and spectroscopy of Abell 1689 (z=0.183) from
GEMINI/GMOS-N and HST/ACS. We measure integrated photometry from the GMOS g'
and r' images (for 531 galaxies) and surface photometry from the HST F625W
image (for 43 galaxies) as well as velocities and velocity dispersions from the
GMOS spectra (for 71 galaxies). We construct the Kormendy relation (KR),
Faber-Jackson relation (FJR) and colour-magnitude relation (CMR) for early-type
galaxies in Abell 1689 using this data and compare them to those of the Coma
cluster. We measure the intrinsic scatter of the CMR in Abell 1689 to be 0.054
\pm 0.004 mag which places degenerate constraints on the ratio of the assembly
timescale to the time available (beta) and the age of the population. Making
the assumption that galaxies in Abell 1689 will evolve into those of Coma over
an interval of 2.26 Gyr breaks this degeneracy and limits beta to be > 0.6 and
the age of the red sequence to be > 5.5 Gyr (formed at z > 0.55). Without
corrections for size evolution but accounting for magnitude cuts and selection
effects, the KR & FJR are inconsistent and disagree at the 2 sigma level
regarding the amount of luminosity evolution in the last 2.26 Gyr. However,
after correcting for size evolution the KR & FJR show similar changes in
luminosity (0.22 \pm 0.11 mag) that are consistent with the passive evolution
of the stellar populations from a single burst of star formation 10.2 \pm 3.3
Gyr ago (z = 1.8+inf-0.9). Thus the changes in the KR, FJR & CMR of Abell 1689
relative to Coma all agree and suggest old galaxy populations with little or no
synchronisation in the star formation histories. Furthermore, the weak evidence
for size evolution in the cluster environment in the last 2.26 Gyr places
interesting constraints on the possible mechanisms at work, favouring
harassment or secular processes over merger scenarios.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors
The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave (GW)
detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the
scientific community to the point, when quantum behaviour of such immense
measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The
time, when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of
light is round the corner, and finding the ways to reduce it will become a
necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to
familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements
in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave
detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave
interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity.
We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general
linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of
quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of
gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention
is paid to the concept of Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its
surmounting.Comment: 147 pages, 46 figures, 1 table. Published in Living Reviews in
Relativit
CD4-Independent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Involves Participation of Endocytosis and Cathepsin B
During a comparison of the infectivity of mNDK, a CD4-independent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strain, to various cell lines, we found that HeLa cells were much less susceptible than 293T and TE671 cells. Hybridoma cells between HeLa and 293T cells were as susceptible as 293T cells, suggesting that cellular factors enhance the mNDK infection in 293T cells. By screening a cDNA expression library in HeLa cells, cystatin C was isolated as an enhancer of the mNDK infection. Because cathepsin B protease, a natural ligand of cystatin C, was upregulated in HeLa cells, we speculated that the high levels of cathepsin B activities were inhibitory to the CD4-independent infection and that cystatin C enhanced the infection by impairing the excessive cathepsin B activity. Consistent with this idea, pretreatment of HeLa cells with 125 µM of CA-074Me, a cathepsin B inhibitor, resulted in an 8-fold enhancement of the mNDK infectivity. Because cathepsin B is activated by low pH in acidic endosomes, we further examined the potential roles of endosomes in the CD4-independent infection. Suppression of endosome acidification or endocytosis by inhibitors or by an Eps15 dominant negative mutant reduced the infectivity of mNDK in which CD4-dependent infections were not significantly impaired. Taken together, these results suggest that endocytosis, endosomal acidification, and cathepsin B activity are involved in the CD4-independent entry of HIV-1
Measurements of neutrino oscillation in appearance and disappearance channels by the T2K experiment with 6.6 x 10(20) protons on target
111 pages, 45 figures, submitted to Physical Review D. Minor revisions to text following referee comments111 pages, 45 figures, submitted to Physical Review D. Minor revisions to text following referee comments111 pages, 45 figures, submitted to Physical Review D. Minor revisions to text following referee commentsWe thank the J-PARC staff for superb accelerator performance and the CERN NA61/SHINE Collaboration for providing valuable particle production data. We acknowledge the support of MEXT, Japan; NSERC, NRC, and CFI, Canada; CEA and CNRS/IN2P3, France; DFG, Germany; INFN, Italy; National Science Centre (NCN), Poland; RSF, RFBR and MES, Russia; MINECO and ERDF funds, Spain; SNSF and SER, Switzerland; STFC, UK; and the U. S. Deparment of Energy, USA. We also thank CERN for the UA1/NOMAD magnet, DESY for the HERA-B magnet mover system, NII for SINET4, the WestGrid and SciNet consortia in Compute Canada, GridPP, UK, and the Emerald High Performance Computing facility in the Centre for Innovation, UK. In addition, participation of individual researchers and institutions has been further supported by funds from ERC (FP7), EU; JSPS, Japan; Royal Society, UK; and DOE Early Career program, USA
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