Envelope solitons induced by high-order effects of light-plasma interaction

The nonlinear coupling between the light beams and non-resonant ion density perturbations in a plasma is considered, taking into account the relativistic particle mass increase and the light beam ponderomotive force. A pair of equations comprising a nonlinear Schrodinger equation for the light beams and a driven (by the light beam pressure) ion-acoustic wave response is derived. It is shown that the stationary solutions of the nonlinear equations can be represented in the form of a bright and dark/gray soliton for one-dimensional problem. We have also present a numerical analysis which shows that our bright soliton solutions are stable exclusively for the values of the parameters compatible with of our theory.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Crossover from Luttinger liquid to Coulomb blockade regime in carbon nanotubes

We develop a theoretical approach to the low-energy properties of 1D electron systems aimed to encompass the mixed features of Luttinger liquid and Coulomb blockade behavior observed in the crossover between the two regimes. For this aim we extend the Luttinger liquid description by incorporating the effects of a discrete single-particle spectrum. The intermediate regime is characterized by a power-law behavior of the conductance, but with an exponent oscillating with the gate voltage, in agreement with recent experimental observations. Our construction also accounts naturally for the existence of a crossover in the zero-bias conductance, mediating between two temperature ranges where the power-law behavior is preserved but with different exponent.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Correlated Nanoscopic Josephson Junctions

We discuss correlated lattice models with a time-dependent potential across a barrier and show how to implement a Josephson-junction-like behavior. The pairing occurs by a correlation effect enhanced by the symmetry of the system. In order to produce the effect we need a mild distortion which causes avoided crossings in the many-body spectrum. The Josephson-like response involves a quasi-adiabatic evolution in the time-dependent field. Besides, we observe an inverse-Josephson (Shapiro) current by applying an AC bias; a supercurrent in the absence of electromotive force can also be excited. The qualitative arguments are supported by explicit exact solutions in prototype 5-atom clusters with on-site repulsion. These basic units are then combined in ring-shaped systems, where one of the units sits at a higher potential and works as a barrier. In this case the solution is found by mapping the low-energy Hamiltonian into an effective anisotropic Heisenberg chain. Once again, we present evidence for a superconducting flux quantization, i.e. a Josephson-junction-like behavior suggesting the build-up of an effective order parameter already in few-electron systems. Some general implications for the quantum theory of transport are also briefly discussed, stressing the nontrivial occurrence of asymptotic current oscillations for long times in the presence of bound states.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, to appear in J. Phys. - Cond. Ma

Le cavità naturali di Santa Caterina (Nardò, Puglia)

Recenti esplorazioni condotte in alcune cavità sottomarine ubicate nelle insenature costiere tra Santa Caterina e Santa Maria al Bagno (Nardò, provincia di Lecce) testimoniano ancora una volta la rilevanza scientifi ca dei fenomeni carsici del Salento. La scoperta della Grotta Enzo Manieri-Elia (Pu 1836), avvenuta nell’agosto del 2019, ha stimolato ulteriori indagini speleologiche finalizzate a una migliore conoscenza dell’area. Immersioni successive lungo la costa, dalla Grotta Paolo Roversi a nord (località La Rotonda) fino alla cala di Santa Caterina a sud, hanno consentito di scoprire cinque ulteriori cavità marine, che sono state documentate e inserite nel Catasto Regionale

Ring localized structures in nonlinear shallow water wave dynamics

The nonlinear dynamics of the concentric shallow water waves is described by means of the cylindrical Korteweg-de Vries equation, often referred to as the concentric Korteweg-de Vries equation (cKdVE). By using the mapping that transforms a cKdVE into the standard one-hereafter also referred to as the planar Korteweg-de Vries equation (KdVE)-the spatiotemporal evolution of a cylindrical surface water wave, corresponding to a tilted cylindrical bright soliton, is described. The usual representation of a tilted soliton is 'non-physical'; here the cylindrical coordinate and the retarded time play the role of time-like and space-like variables, respectively. However, we show that, when we express such analytical solution of the cKdVE in the appropriate representation in terms of the two horizontal space coordinates, say X and Y, and the 'true' time, say T, this non-physical character disappears. The analysis is then carried out numerically to consider the surface water wave evolution corresponding to initially localized structures with standard boundary conditions, such as bright soliton, Gaussian and Lorentzian profiles. A comparison among those profiles is finally presented

On the computation of the Benjamin-Feir Index

Recently it has been shown theoretically, numerically and experimentally that the statistical properties (probability density function of wave amplitude and wave height)of long crested surface gravity waves depend not only on steepness but also on the Benjamin-Feir Index (BFI), which is the ratio between wave steepness and spectral bandwidth. The computation of this index requires the estimation of a number of parameters such as the spectral bandwidth and the peak frequency. For a given time series or a wave spectrum those parameters can be calculated using different methods, thus leading to different numerical values of the BFI. We analyze different approaches for computing the BFI and, based on numerical experiments with simulated spectra, we outline a unique robust methodology for its computation

Pyridoxamine, an Inhibitor of Advanced Glycation Reactions, Also Inhibits Advanced Lipoxidation Reactions: Mechanism of Action of Pyridoxamine

Maillard or browning reactions lead to formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on protein and contribute to the increase in chemical modification of proteins during aging and in diabetes. AGE inhibitors such as aminoguanidine and pyridoxamine (PM) have proven effective in animal model and clinical studies as inhibitors of AGE formation and development of diabetic complications. We report here that PM also inhibits the chemical modification of proteins during lipid peroxidation (lipoxidation) reactions in vitro, and we show that it traps reactive intermediates formed during lipid peroxidation. In reactions of arachidonate with the model protein RNase, PM prevented modification of lysine residues and formation of the advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs) N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine, N(epsilon)-(carboxyethyl)lysine, malondialdehyde-lysine, and 4-hydroxynonenal-lysine. PM also inhibited lysine modification and formation of ALEs during copper-catalyzed oxidation of low density lipoprotein. Hexanoic acid amide and nonanedioic acid monoamide derivatives of PM were identified as major products formed during oxidation of linoleic acid in the presence of PM. We propose a mechanism for formation of these products from the 9- and 13-oxo-decadienoic acid intermediates formed during peroxidation of linoleic acid. PM, as a potent inhibitor of both AGE and ALE formation, may prove useful for limiting the increased chemical modification of tissue proteins and associated pathology in aging and chronic diseases, including both diabetes and atherosclerosis

Intermittency and structure functions in channel flow turbulence

We present a study of intermittency in a turbulent channel flow. Scaling exponents of longitudinal streamwise structure functions, $\zeta_p /\zeta_3$, are used as quantitative indicators of intermittency. We find that, near the center of the channel the values of $\zeta_p /\zeta_3$ up to $p=7$ are consistent with the assumption of homogeneous/isotropic turbulence. Moving towards the boundaries, we observe a growth of intermittency which appears to be related to an intensified presence of ordered vortical structures. In fact, the behaviour along the normal-to-wall direction of suitably normalized scaling exponents shows a remarkable correlation with the local strength of the Reynolds stress and with the \rms value of helicity density fluctuations. We argue that the clear transition in the nature of intermittency appearing in the region close to the wall, is related to a new length scale which becomes the relevant one for scaling in high shear flows.Comment: 4 pages, 6 eps figure