1,313 research outputs found
Convergence theorems for quantum annealing
We prove several theorems to give sufficient conditions for convergence of
quantum annealing, which is a protocol to solve generic optimization problems
by quantum dynamics. In particular the property of strong ergodicity is proved
for the path-integral Monte Carlo implementation of quantum annealing for the
transverse Ising model under a power decay of the transverse field. This result
is to be compared with the much slower inverse-log decay of temperature in the
conventional simulated annealing. Similar results are proved for the Green's
function Monte Carlo approach. Optimization problems in continuous space of
particle configurations are also discussed.Comment: 19 page
Divacancy superstructures in thermoelectric calcium-doped sodium cobaltate
We have grown single crystals of NaCaCoO and determined their
superstructures as a function of composition using neutron and x-ray
diffraction. Inclusion of Ca stabilises a single superstructure across a
wide range of temperatures and concentrations. The superstructure in the Na
layers is based on arrays of divacancy clusters with Ca ions occupying
the central site, and it has an ideal concentration
NaCaCoO. Previous measurements of the thermoelectric
properties on this system are discussed in light of this superstructure.
NaCaCoO corresponds to the maximum in thermoelectric
performance of this system.Comment: Produced using Revtex 4.1 and pdflatex. 7 Pages, 6 figure
Generation and Suppression of Decoherence in Artificial Environment for Qubit System
It is known that a quantum system with finite degrees of freedom can simulate
a composite of a system and an environment if the state of the hypothetical
environment is randomized by external manipulation. We show theoretically that
any phase decoherence phenomena of a single qubit can be simulated with a
two-qubit system and demonstrate experimentally two examples: one is phase
decoherence of a single qubit in a transmission line, and the other is that in
a quantum memory. We perform NMR experiments employing a two-spin molecule and
clearly measure decoherence for both cases. We also prove experimentally that
the bang-bang control efficiently suppresses decoherence.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures; added reference
Quantum random walks with history dependence
We introduce a multi-coin discrete quantum random walk where the amplitude
for a coin flip depends upon previous tosses. Although the corresponding
classical random walk is unbiased, a bias can be introduced into the quantum
walk by varying the history dependence. By mixing the biased random walk with
an unbiased one, the direction of the bias can be reversed leading to a new
quantum version of Parrondo's paradox.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, RevTe
Decreased expression of breast cancer resistance protein in the duodenum in patients with obstructive cholestasis
Background/Aims: The expression of transporters involved in bile acid homeostasis is differentially regulated during obstructive cholestasis. Since the drug efflux transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is known to transport bile acids, we investigated whether duodenal BCRP expression could be altered during cholestasis. Methods: Using real-time RT-PCR analysis we determined mRNA expression levels in duodenal tissue of 19 cholestatic patients. Expression levels were compared to 14 healthy subjects. BCRP protein staining was determined in biopsies of 6 cholestatic and 6 healthy subjects by immunohistochemistry. Results: We found that in patients with obstructive cholestasis mean duodenal BCRP mRNA levels were significantly reduced to 53% and mean protein staining was reduced to 57%. Conclusions: BCRP, a transporter for bile acids and numerous drugs, appears to be down-regulated in the human duodenum during cholestasis. The clinical impact of these results has to be investigated in further studies. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
Possible charge inhomogeneities in the CuO2 planes of YBa2Cu3O6+x (x=0.25, 0.45, 0.65, 0.94) from pulsed neutron diffraction
The atomic pair distribution functions (PDF) of four powder samples of
YBa2Cu3O6+x (x=0.25, 0.45, 0.65, 0.94) at 15 K have been measured by means of
pulsed neutron diffraction. The PDF is modelled using a full-profile fitting
approach to yield structural parameters. In contrast to earlier XAFS work we
find no evidence of a split apical oxygen site. However, a slightly improved
fit over the average crystallographic model results when the planar Cu(2) site
is split along the z-direction. This is interpreted in terms of charge
inhomogeneities in the CuO2 planes.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Persistence of antiferromagnetic order upon La substitution in the Mott insulator CaRuO
The chemical and magnetic structures of the series of compounds
CaLaRuO [, , , ] have been
investigated using neutron diffraction and resonant elastic x-ray scattering.
Upon La doping, the low temperature S-Pbca space group of the parent compound
is retained in all insulating samples [], but with significant
changes to the atomic positions within the unit cell. These changes can be
characterised in terms of the local RuO octahedral coordination: with
increasing doping the structure, crudely speaking, evolves from an orthorhombic
unit cell with compressed octahedra to a quasi-tetragonal unit cell with
elongated ones. The magnetic structure on the other hand, is found to be
robust, with the basic , -axis antiferromagnetic order of the
parent compound preserved below the critical La doping concentration of
. The only effects of La doping on the magnetic structure are to
suppress the A-centred mode, favouring the B mode instead, and to reduce the
N\'{e}el temperature somewhat. Our results are discussed with reference to
previous experimental reports on the effects of cation substitution on the
Mott insulator CaRuO, as well as with regard to theoretical
studies on the evolution of its electronic and magnetic structure. In
particular, our results rule out the presence of a proposed ferromagnetic
phase, and suggest that the structural effects associated with La substitution
play an important role in the physics of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
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